Enlightened Empire

"It is self-evident to anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of the world that the beings of the world are divided for a reason.
The brutish Orc, relying on strenght rather than intellect.
The noble but misguided human, weak on its own but insurmountable when many.
The Jötnar great and small, isolated mountain folk working their secrets underground.
And lastly of course, the Elves. Fairest, oldest and wisest of the races, it is our duty to put the other races to good use and teach them the truths of the Eternal King."
-Aethold, third voice of the Eternal King.

Structure

The Enlightened Empire is a theocratic state under the absolute rule of the Eternal King, a divinely appointed monarch that has allegedly lived since the beginnings of the Elven species. His word is commanded by a second-in command aptly named a "voice" appointed upon the death of the previous one.
Imperial society is a heavily hierarchical one, divided into three main races with several sub-races complementing them. The three main races are Elves, Humans and Orcs. Elves are the race highest in the hierarchy. These are the rulers, academics, farm owners and artists of the Empire. Humans are the second race. Ever since the exodus of the Orcs humans have become the major target for Imperial expeditions and make up a majority of the workforce, especially in regards to manual labour. Humans are assigned a variety of tasks, from working in vast farms, mines or forestries overseen by Elves to smaller industries like textile manufacturing and although highly taboo, prostituiton. Orcs are the lowest race in the hierachy, often taking the same place as beasts of burden and are increasingly used for the most heavy-duty tasks. These are mostly descendants of Orcs living in the area before the exodus and as such their population is highly managed by their Elven overseers, though yearly culling has recently been prohibited for fear of a population decline.

Public Agenda

The primary indicator of wealth and status within the Empire is the ownership of one or several Orcs or Humans, which is also the foundation of the many vast state-run operations like mining, logging and smithing. Therefore the aquisition of more humans and previously Orcs is the key driving factor of Imperial policy, both foreign and domestic.

Assets

The Empire posesses a vast amount of resources as catalogued in the imperial census, ranging from hundreds of vast industrial farms and mines to a large well equipped army of Elven warriors and Human auxillaries accompanied by a large and maneuverable fleet.

History

The Empire traces its alleged founding to the first emergence of the Eternal King, who united the Elves into a unified Empire and allied with the Humans against the Orcs, either subjugating them or driving them away into the east. Since then the Empire has gone on to conquer much of the lands inhabited by Elves, only encountering major resistance in the south and from neighboring Empires.

Demography and Population

Elves still make up a majority of the population of the Empire, found most commonly in the rural interior and in every town across the Empire. The demographics are more mixed in the border regions and in major industrial areas, where a large quantity of humans and Orcs can be gathered when working in a specific industry. Aside from isolated bands of raiders in the south, there are no Kobolds and no other species have any permanent settlements in the Empire.

Military

The core of the Imperial military consists of well trained and armoured Elven soldiers who operate primarily as cavalry along with a large assortment of specialized roles. These often conduct raids in neighboring territories to seize humans or other livestock to enrich the Empire and are stationed in a series of military fortifications on the frontier.
In times of war the Elven peasant class are called upon to form a large infantry force and are given rudimentary training to improve unit cohesion. These forces can often be aided by human auxiliaries, who are often little more than untrained farm workers given basic equiment and promised higher status in return for being a human shield in perhaps the most literal sense of the word.

Technological Level

The Empire is technologically similar to most of western Kontinent, having mastered the production of steel and its various uses, but is not greatly concerned with matters pertaining to the extraction or use of Old Magic.

Religion

The only permitted religion is the Imperial priesthood dedicated to the Eternal King. These conduct sermons and perform rites in the name of the Eternal King and lead the masses during public expressions of worship. The priesthood itself makes up the Imperial bureaucracy and is thus tasked with mainating most machinations of state, meaning it has no real organization of its own outside the state.

Foreign Relations

The Empire has up until recently sought to constantly expand, but recent military setbacks has driven it to adopt a less agressive stance towards some of its neighbours. Raids are still conducted against the populous and poorly defended areas of the Northern Chiefdoms and the fringes of the Skull Throne, but cannot penetrate the fortifications of Cimyra in the south despite their best efforts. The only unified realm with which the Empire maintains cordial relations with is the Assorsuaq, who actively trade with each other and have a common interest in keepin the Northern Chiefs divided.

Agriculture & Industry

One of the most recognizable aspects of Imperial society are the great state-run industries to which a majority of the lower races are assigned. Great farms managed by humans and overseen by only dozens of Elves are ubiquitous and provide most of the food and animal material consumed by the Empire. Likewise, great industrial complexes of mines and forges worked by the lower races and overseen by a small cadre of Elves make up the vital backbone of the Imperial military and are relied upon to produce hundreds of blades and pieces of armour a day.

Trade & Transport

The Empire barely engages in traditional trade with other nations, preferring to remain self-sufficient by maintaining a vast network of roads to connect the various resources and their associated industries with the large towns of the coast and the large military prescence along the frontier. Despite this, some amount of trading has been established with the Assorsuaq, who in exchange for Orcs and Humans give the Empire luxury items like rare furs, medicinal extracts like horns and rare flowers and even the occasional Tupilac guardian.

Education

The only race eligible for any major form of education are the Elves, who are often taught by local religious scholars to join the Imperial bureacracy or if they are lucky receive patronage to develop their natural skills, be that as an alchemist or painter. Most other elven professions are hereditary and passed down from one generation to the next. Humans may in rare cases learn to operate more advanced tools like spinning wheels or forges, but like the Orcs are mostly restricted to unskilled manual labour.

Infrastructure

Like many other local states the Empire maintains a large network of roads to connect various industries across the Empire. Sewer systems and aqueducts exist in most major cities along with most notable buildings (libraries, organs of state, laboratories etc). Most of the greater farming complexes are placed in more rural areas, primairly to give time for cities to prepare themselves in the event of a revolt by the lower races.

"Hail the Eternal King!"

Type

Geopolitical, Theocracy

Alternative Names

The Great Menace, The Empire of Chains

Demonym

Imperial

Government System

Monarchy, Theocratic

Power Structure

Unitary state

Economic System

Mixed economy

Currency

The Imperial Geld

Neighboring Nations

• Kingdom and Lands of Cimyra