The Eastern Empire is a military and magical powerhouse stretching from the eastern borders of Hardorn and Iftel to the Salten Sea. The capital city is Jacona.[1][2] Ruled by the Emperor, the Iron Throne[3] is passed to the Emperor-elect in the final years of an Emperor's reign. Administrations have always lasted at least fifty years,[4] and but usually over a hundred, for the Emperor must be a mage of at least Master-class, and as such, has access to life-extending magics. All of the Emperors but one were able to choose their successor. In the 2400 years since the Empire was established, there have been only 19 Emperors.[4]
Origins[]
The Eastern Empire[5] evolved from eight "county-sized" kingdoms ruled by a High King. When the Cataclysm and associated Mage Storms occurred, the High King got all of his magical equipment and mages protected under shelters so the artifacts were unaffected. Afterward, he was the only one with mage capabilities, and was able to seize control of all of the kingdoms and become the first Emperor.[6] The High King and then the Emperor ruled from the Conquest Throne until Kordas Valdemar's day. The authority of those Emperors was keyed to the Wolf Crown, the Imperial Ring, and the bespelled Imperial Carcenet, which was made from gold and iron. The gold contained protection spells, and the iron deflected counter-spells.[7]
In contrast, modern education in the Empire teaches that it was founded by a group of mercenaries[8][9] and regular army troops in the years following the Mage Wars. The official accounts state that these mercenaries went out and conquered lands for themselves. Pre-Imperial diaries that are not part of the official narrative indicate that they were originally part of the forces of a "great Lord" (Urtho) but were cut off from the main body of the army after a betrayal (General Shaiknam).[10] During the mass evacuation (from around Urtho's Tower), the army somehow received word to move to safety farther east. They were passing through their evacuation Gate when a magical force (the shockwave of the Cataclysm) hit them. It warped their Gate, throwing them even farther to the east. Where they landed became the core lands of the Eastern Empire.[11][12]
While it is never mentioned in the Empire's official histories, some memory of the Cataclysm has lived on in superstition which warns of unspecified danger in the west. The strength of belief in this superstition is why the Empire expanded as far as possible in every other direction before turning to conquer its western neighbor, Hardorn. The same superstition is why Kordas Valdemar chose to take his people west; the Empire would be less likely to pursue them into that dangerous region, where Valdemar was eventually founded.[13]
Expansion[]
For centuries the Empire conquered its neighbors, incorporating nation after nation into the Empire.[14] They followed the same tried and true formula to assure victory in their conquests. First, the targeted nation's government was destabilized and chaos was encouraged, with the goal of making life hard enough for the common people to build up anger and resentment toward their government. Then, when the nation was in a shambles, the Imperial Army was sent in with a strategy of divide and conquer. The shock troops took a calculated chunk of terrain. They were followed by consolidation troops that took care of any remaining resistance. Once the area was pacified, holding troops arrived to repair and build fortresses, roads and industries. They were followed by the administrators and Imperial Police who imposed Imperial Law on the newly minted citizenry. The last wave of conquest was the Imperial priests, who established veneration of the Emperor alongside whatever religion was found natively in the area. Then the whole process began again on the next chunk, with each successive line of troops sweeping across in waves.
Once a nation was fully incorporated into the Empire, they faced Imperial taxes, which amounted to sixty percent of their annual produce, and was adjusted each year. The army also conscripted all young men between sixteen and twenty-one years old. However, by the time they were faced with these unpleasant realities, conquered people usually felt it was worth the benefits they received.
Until the Mage Storms, the Empire was known for their reliance on magical contrivances, such as mage lights, and prolific use of magical Portals: permanent Gates. The Mage Storms effectively eliminated the use of these portals and other devices, causing massive chaos throughout the Empire.
Notes[]
- ↑ The Hobgoblin Ree Miniseries by Sarah A. Hoyt and Kate Paulk takes place in the Eastern Empire; Ree met Jem in Jacona.
- ↑ The capitol of the Empire when Kordas Valdemar left may have been High Ashuel, per "For Want of a Nail" by Rosemary Edghill and Denise McCune, in Changing the World, Valdemar Anthology, volume 5. However, the later, more authentic document, Beyond, has no name for the Imperial City, nor for the Emperor.
- ↑ The Iron Throne is made of weapons from conquered monarchs. One would assume this is an archetype, but the internet shows no history predating Lackey's Storm Warning published in 1994. That was two years before George RR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire was published in 1996. See Wikipedia: Iron Throne (A Song of Ice and Fire)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Storm Warning, Chapter 1
- ↑ Also mentioned once as the Aurinalean Empire: Winds of Fate, Chapter 3
- ↑ Beyond, Chapter 4
- ↑ Beyond, Chapter 3
- ↑ Storm Warning, Chapter 1, "stranded mercenaries"
- ↑ Storm Rising, Chapter 1, "band of mercenaries"
- ↑ Note: these mercenaries and troops were likely from the Sixth Army. Both the Third and the Sixth Armies were cut off (The Black Gryphon), but the Third Army founded Iftel (Storm Breaking, Chapter 8)
- ↑ Storm Warning, Chapter 14
- ↑ Speculation: it is possible that the forces or lands of the Sixth Army somehow merged with the High King's forces or lands, before or after an Empire was created, thus engendering the two narratives from the same history. Alternatively, perhaps the information about the High Kings was "lost," as it was not widely known a thousand years later.
- ↑ Beyond
- ↑ The Eastern Empire is culturally similar, and vaguely analogous, to the Roman Empire.