As the War in the West raged across the Ergonian mountains, the fragile Empire was pounced upon by a new people – the Qatunax. Crossing through the Cloudspine Mountains on the south east border of the Empire, this group of new, related Kingdoms tore through the helpless and underdefended province with ease, digesting them and creating brand new states.
Checked for several years by the Hypanis river, distracted by infighting and laid low by plague, the Empire was divided on its response, with some wishing for an accommodation with the newcomers and others calling for counter-invasion. In the end, nothing was done – political gridlock caused the Empire to look for lower hanging fruit. However, during the terrible winter of 1870, the Qatunax crossed the frozen Hypanis in force and began a spearhead assault that utterly broke the Empire for what may be the last time.
A number of Emperor Nikandros’s defeated enemies from the civil wars of twenty years before rose up to form their own successor states as Despots or Princeps, joined by other disaffected generals and governors. Interestingly, none claimed the title of Emperor, in contrast to nearly all previous rebellions. Some of these states chose to submit to the Qatunax while others fought them and were largely swept away, their peoples enslaved or massacred. The Pentarchy in the south was able to mount a spirited defence, joined by some of the adjacent provinces of the Empire along the edge of the Great Salt.
Though the Qatunax were defeated in multiple large-scale battles and many more skirmishes, more often than not the Imperials were divided, which facilitated the Qatunax’s strategy of divide and conquer. This allowed the Imperials to be defeated in detail. Notably, this also resulted in the destruction of the Temple at Henius, an important religious site in the Eastern Church that was defended by three Legions whose commanders refused to work together and were thus destroyed one by one. The Rape of Henius, as was called, also resulted in the death of two of the Emperor’s children, scions of the Church and defenders of the Temple.
The barbarians’ drive quickly brought them to the gates of the Imperial capital at Asterrea, where they were let in by the traitorous Consul of the Palace, the Emperor’s Chancellor, who had been promised a high place in the new order. What followed was one of the most vicious sackings that the world has ever seen. It is unlikely that true figures will ever be known, but the city of two million that had been the capital of the Empire that Darius Firebrand founded now laid in ruins. A month of butchery extirpated its population - either simply murdered, sacrificed to the strange gods of the Qatunax, enslaved or driven to serfdom at the new nearby “high capital” of the Melkete. Emperor Nikandros and nearly all of his court laid dead, including the Consul of the Palace who’d let the enemy in.
However, his son Darius was away with a significant body of soldiers. The Remnant Empire was established, a new state that while small, offers some hope of the re-establishment of the broader state – someday, perhaps.
The Empire rests on one pillar - the Emperor, supported ably by the Senate. In the Empire, Senators are appointed by the Emperor based on their gens' (family's) rods and staffs - the more rods and staffs, the more members of the gens sit in the Senate. The Senate, therefore, has a varying number of seats. The Consuls of the Palace and Legion are the two prime magistracies. The Senate may vote on them, or they may be appointed by the Emperor, depending on a myriad of considerations, including strength of the Emperor and Senate at the time.
The Consul of the Palace is the head of the Imperial Chancery and effectively the Empire's Prime Minister or Chancellor. Under him are the Imperial Ministers in charge of different chancery departments; another title for a ministers is Vir Illustris (Illustrious Ones). One Minister/Vir Illustris is effectively the Consul of the Palace's deputy. Below the Ministers are Quaestors, who head sub-offices for the Ministers, and govern provinces. Quaestors are the mid-level administrators of the Chancery.
Like the appointment of the Consul, the Senate has influence on who is appointed to the Ministries and Quaestorships, along with the Consul of the Palace. Sometimes there is a vote in the Senate, and sometimes when the Consul is especially powerful they may exercise direct control of appointments and sometimes the Emperor might appoint who he wills directly. Any officials lower than Quaestor are dealt with internally to that department. As with other aspects of the nature of the Empire, this is in a mostly top down manner.
On the Legion side, Legates (Generals) and Praetors (Legion Commanders) are appointed in a similar manner to Ministers and Quaestors; sometimes directly by the Consul of the Legion, sometimes the Senate votes and sometimes the Emperor decides. Again, this depends on a variety of considerations, including who is stronger and more influential.
Voting was once somewhat more widespread, for a variety of the magistracies that are now dealt with by the Senate and bureaucracy. However, very early on in the Empire's history this began to change, and voting rights for magistracies were abrogated less than two hundred years after the death of Emperor Darius Firebrand the Great, around 250 IE. The only voting that has happened since then in the Empire itself is for city level officials in certain cities; the client-states of the Pentarchy are an exception, and still have some kind of voting for some of their internal rulers. Other cities are directly administered by the Chancery, and have no ability to conduct voting. Where voting is done, it is on a restrictive franchise, primarily based on level of wealth and distinctions of one's service to the Empire.
There are multiple facets to the people in the Empire. Both commoners and nobility exist, serving the Emperor as necessary. In reality, everyone below the Emperor holds their social position at the Emperor's whim. What are called noble houses in the West are called Gens (plural Gentes or sometimes just Gens), but function similarly. A noble gens is recognised by the issuing of a wax seals and rods by the Emperor, with more rods meaning a higher social status. To serve in the Senate, administer territory and occupy high offices of state (both in the Legion and the Chancery), one's family must have seals and rods. These can and are given out to people who impress the Emperor, but can also be stripped from a family. It is also good to note that blood isn't as important in the Empire as it is in the West. One can be adopted into a powerful family if they are impressed, and for all intents and purposes they are considered to be of that blood.
Some noble families are exceedingly ancient, reckoning their distinction by offices held by ancestors, deeds accomplished in service to the Empire and, of course, the number of rods their family holds. However, while nobility might own vast tracts of land, feudal service as it exists in the West does not exist in the Empire. Commoners may rise to nobility in recompense for distinguished service and great deeds, but it is not a regular occurrence.
There are two main overlapping cultures within the Empire – those who are within active service, and those who are not.
Those within the so called “Emperor’s companions”, whether in the myriad of offices under the Imperial Chancery or in the Imperial Legions. They are dedicated completely to their service. Almost all their needs are provided for, including food, shelter, money and social status. Service through conscription is mandatory for nearly all citizens barring some exceptional circumstances, such as long-term disabilities and typically lasts around five years. Citizens may then be afforded the option to continue serving as professionals with terms of 20 years, which even for those of the rudest origins provides a significant boost in social status as well as a pension and other benefits for their families.
Those outside of active Imperial service are expected to do their duty by providing for those running the Empire. Noble Gentes are expected to provide the leading citizens of the Empire, typically beginning as low-level leadership during their conscript phase. If they do not continue with mandatory service, they are expected to use their skills and status in the organisation of the civilian economy for the benefit of the Empire. Excessive luxury is officially frowned upon for all citizens, though it of course varies significantly by region.
The overall principle of hereditariness and service dominate Imperial society – what one’s parents did in service to the Empire is often what their children do, though there are of course exceptions. However, shirking service is seen as an utter disgrace throughout society and those found to be doing so face a host of punishments, from fines, to branding, to slavery and up to death. It is also seen as mark upon one’s family, amplifying the social pressure to act within the Empire’s norms.
There is a cultural life beyond service, however, rooted in Imperial Colleges scattered throughout the Empire, in the philosophical academies (especially prominent in the client-states of the Pentarchy) and in the myriad of arts, preserved from ancient times.
Public sporting events are a large attraction for Imperials and festivals celebrating them are quite common. These events originated in the Pentarchy in antiquity and are designed both to entertain and also to glorify strength and fitness for service to the Empire. Prizes are often large and the competitions themselves are well attended. Other popular forms of entertainment include horse and dog racing, public recital of literature (especially the classical forms), plays and poetry readings. All of these are supported by the Imperial Chancery as promoting good values among the population, including citizenship, service, self-sacrifice and the warrior tradition.
The Empire, though diminished, fights as in the days of old. While many legions were destroyed in the violence of the invasion, small cores of various defeated forces retreated to the Remnant with their standards, possibly creating the template for a renewed army at some point in the future. It is important to note that within the official territories of the Empire, armed forces outside of the government were rarely permitted. This rule has been significantly relaxed since the retreat to the Remnant territories, and the Remnant appears to be accepting whatever kind of help it can get against the Qatunax.
Both the Legion and the Chancery have their own forces, but the Legion provides the vast majority of military might to the Empire. However, allied client states such as the Pentarchy are permitted to maintain their own military arrangements, though they often host significant Imperial garrisons as well.
At full strength, each army is organized in Legions of five thousand men, containing full combined arms forces. Legions are further broken down into ten units (Cohorts) of five hundred men. When able, they employ standard armaments, standard armour and a well organised logistics system. The Legion has two tiers of soldiers – conscripts and volunteers. Conscripts do a mandatory term of service for five years and volunteers serve for twenty year contracts, something which gives them prestige and social benefits. Joining the legion suspends social rank. Knights are a rank that can be earned by anyone in the Legions, though they are often awarded to the sons and daughters of nobility as a direct commission. Knights make up many of the Legion's officers, or Centurions.
The greatest strengths of the Legions are their ability to use their extensive ranged arsenal to badly weaken their enemies before closing with and destroying them. Everything from crossbows to javelins are in use, often decimating an opponent before melee even begins. When the fight does come to melee, legionaries are capable of a shattering charge which can finish the enemy. Since the return of magic, the Empire has aggressively recruited and cultivated these abilities and as such, they have a robust corps of Imperial Wizards which aid in their campaigns.
Beyond the regular soldiers of the Legion, the Imperial Limitanei act as an elite border control force that is made up of some of the Legion’s best and operate with near total independence. Though they are members of the Legion, the Imperial Chancery is usually granted command the extensive Cohortes Vigilum which offer many combat support and service support functions including logistical support and civil policing, though some of them also are employed as direct shock troops that are especially suited towards urban areas.
Finally, the Classis, or Imperial Fleet is located both along the shores of great bodies of water as well as important rivers, providing both offensive and defensive capabilities. Since the contraction of the Remnant to the northwest of the Empire, little of the Classis remains under their direct control – however, a large fleet exists in the Pentarchy, still serving under the Imperial banner but commanded by the Pentarchy government, which is a hybrid of the cities themselves and the Imperial provinces that joined to them after the Qatunax Melkete invasion.
The head of the Imperial Legion was the Consul of the Legion, though since the dismantling of the Empire the current set up is ad-hoc. Below them are the commissioned ranks of the Legates (Generals), Praetors (commanding individual legions), Tribunes (sub-commanders of legions or commanders of task organised groups), Centurions (officers commanding units anywhere from Cohort to Century).
Assisting the commissioned officers above are a variety of non-commissioned officers – the optio (the second in command of a Century), the Principales (commanding groups of thirty) and the decurion (commanding groups of ten).
Legionary - All regular soldiers in the Legion are Legionaries.
Infantry - Armed with large shields, gladii, two javelins and armoured in segmented steel cuirasses, the Lorrica, or in full scale. Often, they are outfitted with spears replacing one of their javelins. Each Legion has five cohorts of infantry.
Heavy Infantry - Wearing a heavier version of their Lorrica armour that covers most of the body, heavy infantry are armed mainly with polearms such as glaives. They are, however, also trained with sword and shield, having come from the regular infantry ranks. Each Legion has three cohorts of heavy infantry, which usually form the Legion’s vanguard.
Archers - Despite their name, a holdover from earlier times, archers are armed with hand held repeating crossbows, gladii, small shields and armoured in scale. They are members of the infantry and heavy infantry cohorts. Each of the infantry cohorts has one hundred archers. They often act in close support of legionary infantry.
Cavalry - Armed with large shields, broadswords and armoured in Lorrica cuirasses or scale armour. Like their western cousins, they may carry lances for the initial charges; however large units of them eschew lances and carry instead hand held repeating crossbows, easy to load on horseback which make them devastating. Each Legion has two cohorts of cavalry, one of shock cavalry (lance armed) and the other of missile cavalry (crossbow armed).
Engineers - The Empire has a Corps of Engineers that does surveying, construction of fortifications and a wide array of public works besides. Due to the latter job, they often are seconded to the Imperial Chancery to build priority projects, though they remain under arms and members of the Imperial Legion. During war time, they also man the Legion’s artillery pieces.
Imperial Wizards - The newest wing of the Imperial Legions, the Imperial Wizards were previously headquartered in the capital of Asterrea, where the Imperial Wizards’ College was located. Since the destruction of the city, they have been left without a central institution of their own. Imperial Wizards provide magical support of various kinds to the units of the Imperial Legion, often in small groups of two or three.
Cohortes Vigilum - The Cohortes Vigilum, or Vigil, make up all soldiers of the Legion who do not conduct regular military duties as their primary function. They act may act as policing forces throughout the Empire, including in cities and in rural areas, as well drilled militia and control much of the logistical system which was crucial to the smooth running of the Empire.
Despite their stated role of combat support and service support, there are a number of highly trained units in the Vigil which are extremely effective in direct combat, often attaching to the Legion for training purposes and, especially, their expertise in urban operations.
Lictors Lictors are a specialised sub-set of the Vigil. In the old Empire, they preceeded all magistrates designated by the Emperor as having authority, clad in robes and bearing bundles of rods and an axe head that showed that the magistrates had the authority to correct (with the rod) or execute (with the axe). They've long since become a professional unit of bodyguard for both officials and the Emperor
, and are among the few troops to wear the Empire's colours. Though they no longer have their bundles of rods, they still retain these painted on their shields and cloaks.
Lictors vary in number depending on the magistracy. The Consul of the Palace and of the Legion each have 12, as does the Princeps Senatus (the head of the Senate). The Emperor bears a guard of 24 lictors on formal occasion, though he may decide to employ as many as he wishes.
Limitanei The Limitanei are an elite corps of scouts and rangers which answer directly to the Consul of the Legion. They are stationed close to all the Imperial borders and afforded an independence which makes them the envy of most other units. Service in the Limitanei is extremely prestigious and they are paid far more than their brethren in the Legion. Usually operating mainly in small units of no more than 30 or 40, the Limitanei does not employ conscripts and requires soldiers to have a minimum of seven years’ service and an exemplary record.
Classis The Imperial Fleet, or Classis, is located both along the shores of great bodies of water as well as important rivers. Sailors, marines and Imperial controlled merchants make up the various elements of the Classis.
The Imperial Chancery is the name of the civil government of the Empire and was created by the reforms of Emperor Anastasius after he had withdrawn from the Civilised West. It handles almost all the Empire’s business – from Imperial, provincial and municipal governance, to tax collectors, Imperial mines and factories, the courts, clerks (of enormous importance in such a large government), messengers and the intelligence service. The Senate of the Empire, which has existed since its founding, comes under the purview of the Chancery and supplies most of its highest level administrators.
Many aspects of the economy that in the West might be handled privately are operated under the auspices of the chancery. As well, although the Cohortes Vigilum (or Vigils) are technically members of the Legion, they are usually detached and assigned to the various levels of the Chancery for their use. The Chancery has its own guard service as well that it uses for enforcement of its decrees – for example, the enforcement of tax collection.
The Chancery is appointed in a top down manner, and organised in a hierarchy that broaches little flexibility. Its head, the Consul of the Palace, also acts as a type of “Prime Minister” for the Emperor. Under the Consul of the Palace are the Imperial Ministers who are assigned the title of Vir Illustris. A whole host of civil servants fall out under them, again in hierarchy, giving the Chancery its top down structure. Below the ministers are a series of Quaestors, who govern provinces and head sub-offices. Quaestors are the mid-level administrators of the Chancery, and below them are the vast majority of its force.
Aside from the Chancery bureaucracy are Senators, chief of which is the Princeps (or Principessa) Senatus, the head of the Senate. Senators must come from highly distinguished noble families of significant wealth. Far from powerless, the Senate has the ability to promulgate decrees that must then be acted upon by the Chancery, unless vetoed by the Consul or the Emperor. In practice, most wise Emperors listen carefully to the vast experience of the Senate in matters of governance. As noted, Senators supply almost all the high to mid level Chancery administrators, from the Consul down to the Quaestors.
The majority of those doing their five years of mandatory conscripted service within the Empire choose or are assigned the duty in the Chancery. Service can be done in any of the arms of the Chancery according to competencies, need and personal connections, the latter of which are vastly important. It is rather common and even accepted that beyond their paycheque, Chancery members, especially those in administrative or supervisory positions, will likely enrich themselves via graft and corruption. While this sometimes goes against Imperial law and can result in punishment for severe cases, corruption is so widespread that it is simply considered a norm and cost of day to day life in the empire.
Since the fracturing of the Empire, the Chancery has been thrown into chaos in the lands that still operate under the Remnant. It remains to be seen how they adapt to the massive change in circumstances.
The former Vir Sidus Empire was vast, covering a continent with mountains, plains, rolling hills, forests and even some arid zones of tundra in the far north. The majority of the Empire was fertile in one way or another and produced more than enough food to feed its people.
Areas of note included the western border along the Ergonian Mountains, the south eastern border along the Cloudspine Mountains and the untamed jungles beyond and the fertile and the Imperial south along the eastern end of the Great Salt that contain the old cities of the Pentarchy. The far East of the Imperial lands are bifurcated, in their northern end containing large tracts of plains, hills and forests that extend far outside the borders and in the south containing the shores of the Eastern Ocean, which stop at the edge of the Cloudspine Mountains.
Since Qatunax invasion and the destruction of the capital of Asterrea, the Imperial Remnant has been clustered around a stronghold in the northwestern Ergonian region of the former territories. Its new provisional capital since 1871 has been Valesca, once a sleepy provincial town, a retreat for the rich and famous connecting the Empire to the great forest and swamp lands to the north, has been re-rolled as its head. Its province was unimaginatively also named Valesca.
Besides being anchored by the massive Ergonian range to the west and controlling the passage to Rhone and the Civilised West, Valesca province is surrounded by lower mountains on its southern and eastern flanks and large, boreal forests and marsh to the north. The territory is still agriculturally sufficient and contains a number of Legionary bases, making it a natural fortress and point of resistance against the invaders.
Currently, they have expanded into their former Colonia's of Aequor and Galenthia. Liberating lands that were taken by the Qatunax and made Imperial Territory once again. These are the Imperial Colonies of the West: http://eternalcrusade.wikidot.com/imperial-colonies-of-the-west
The Imperial Remnant follows the Eastern Faith exclusively, with no active pockets of any other religious system on sovereign Imperial territory. Surprisingly, it is extraordinarily similar to the Church of the One, other than having a separate High Priest or Priestess that is in effect the head of an office of the Imperial Chancery. Their holidays are broadly similar to the Church in the West, although the liturgical forms vary widely among different Rites in the empire, creating a breath-taking diversity of ceremony in the different regions.
The Imperial Church also puts a stronger emphasis on duty to one’s sovereign (the Emperor) and sometimes leans towards nearly deifying the Empire itself, which helps reinforce the loyalty among most Imperial citizens, who tend to be extremely religious.
The whole of the Empire followed the One Faith until the Qatunax invasion, whereupon the destruction of the Church was affected in those territories directly controlled by the invaders and only marginally tolerated in those Imperial lands that swore allegiance to them. In these vassal territories of the Qatunax, priests of the One are regularly killed (often in sacrifices to the Qatunax gods) and where somewhat protected are harassed by the new rulers of those lands, with large portions of the population being forced into worship of the Qatunax pantheon. If this continues, it is likely that in several generations there will be only a minority of those following the One in these lands.
The Imperial economy is command driven by the Chancery, with private enterprise subject to significant direction and interference by the state. In order to maintain the massive Imperial Chancery and Legions, everything is highly taxed and these taxes are ruthlessly collected. Due to the size, inherent wealth and diversity of the Empire, their domain produces nearly everything they require, including foodstuffs, mined metals and finished goods of all kinds. While the aforementioned taxes sometimes bite deeply into the profitability of Imperial business and have been sometimes regarded as stifling, cautious governments have generally been very careful to ensure that these do not overstep bounds into unsustainability.
While trade with the Civilised West was ceased other than the passage to Rhone in Aequor, it continued briskly with neighbouring civilisations in all other directions than the south east, whose Cloudspine Mountain range bordered no known peoples until the emergence of the Qatunax.
However, government overreach into the economy, corruption and graft by officials has occasionally brought the level of economic burden to a boiling point and provided very fertile ground for rebellions. This led to the large uprisings following the Qatunax invasion.
The Remnant’s economy is landlocked and much contracted, though it still conducts trade through Rhone. It is likely that in order to strengthen the economic foundations, they will need to diversify and potentially expand out of their redoubts.
Innumerable. See all of the Darius legends and Imperial history.