The Mastorian Empire (ðə mæstɔ:æʧæ empaɪə)
Structure
Imperator: The supreme leader of the Empire, and the matriarch or patriarch of the Mastoracza Dynasty. The Imperator gets the final say on any and all decisions related to the governance of their realm. The matriarch or patriarch is decided upon the death of their predecessor by a family conclave where all close descendants are able to vote on a successor. More often than not the one chosen will go on to become the Imperator, with the freedom to divvy up the assets of the Dynasty as they see fit.
The Holy Congress: Comprising a group of three Proctors, who each act as the heads of the Dallan faith in the Mastoracza Empire and are responsible for the faith's governance. The three Proctors inhabit the cities of Vos Bison, Instanbrakt, and Nabos respectively.
Grand-Prince/Grand-Princess: Members of the royal family who are bestowed the duty of the Governor take on the title of Grand-Prince or Grand-Princess. The title can also be held by the selected heir of the Imperator who shall also be known as Prince-Apparent or Princess-Apparent.
The Grand Council: The governing body of the Mastorian Empire. The Grand Council debates and discusses issues and policies that directly impact upon the Mastorian Empire and vote on what they want to happen. The Imperator has the right to agree with their decisions or to block them, however it is most common that the Imperator will support the will of the Grand Council. The Grand Council is a chamber with one-thousand-two-hundred-and-sixteen seats. It is comprised of two bodies;
- The Inner Council: The cabinet of the Mastorian Empire, a small council of leaders in their respective areas who propose policy and advise the Imperator directly. They wear masks of solid gold when speaking to the Grand Council so that it is clear that they speak on behalf of the Imperator.
- The Greater Council: The general voting body and the key stakeholders of the Mastorian Empire. They wear Titanium masks that protect them from magic that might alter their mind, and also so that people do not know their identity, can not be biased by it, and can judge their words based solely on their merit. They are selected by various means and dependent on their affiliation. The groups given seats on the Grand Council are as presented below;
| Faction | Seats | % of Council | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mastoracza | 243 | 19.99% | Ruling dynasty; often acts in concert with the Mastorian Sword and Shield and the Shadow Council. |
| Great Houses | 220 | 18.09% | Twenty-Two Great Houses, each with ten seats each; they are a hereditary power bloc. |
| Guilds | 180 | 14.8% | Economically dominant institutions; often corrupt and entrenched. |
| Sword & Shield | 144 | 11.84% | Military elite, influential in national security and policy. |
| Dallan Faith | 132 | 10.85% | Religious institutions and theological authorities. |
| Protectorates | 96 | 7.89% | Hakonia, Miellikia, and others contribute seats via treaty. |
| Shadow Council | 72 | 5.92% | Intelligence and secret policing arm; subtle but crucial. |
| Boyars | 129 | 10.61% | Military-aristocratic class, especially powerful in provinces. These are the only elected officials on the Grand Council and are voted on by the Imperial Magnates. |
Governorates: Provinces of the Mastoracza Empire. Each Province is ruled over by a Governor who has some autonomy to make decisions that directly impact upon that Province so long as those decisions do not contradict the will of the Imperator and the Grand Council. They also preside over legal disputes involving the Dukedoms of their Province.
The Protectorates: These are lands that pay tribute to the Mastoracza Empire in exchange for their protection. These Protectorates are considered a part of the Mastoracza Empire, though they maintain their own autonomy as a state. These can be presided over by rulers of any title.
The Wada Woli: The Council of the Wills, they are the acting Civil Service of the Mastorian Empire and are responsible for ensuring that the policies ordered by the Imperator, or any other ruling official with the agency to create policy are implemented and enforced.
The Shadow Council: The intelligence wing of the Mastorian Empire. They are responsible for managing espionage against foreign powers, monitoring internal security threats, and engaging in acts of sabotage and assassination where they deem necessary to maintain the power of the Mastoracza and the state.
- The Gildan Ren: A Guild of Assassins legally authorised to kill and commit various other crimes by the state. They are sent to target political dissidents and to quell potential threats.
The Dukedoms: Divisions of the Provinces of the Mastorian Empire. Each Division is ruled over by a Duke who has some autonomy to make decisions that directly impact upon that Division so long as those decisions do not contradict the will of the Imperator, the Grand Council, or their Governor. They answer to their Governor directly and will answer to them in legal disputes. They also preside over legal disputes involving the Counties of their Division.
The Great Houses: Houses of the Fourth Circle are treated with high esteem and are considered equal in rank as an institution to the Dukedoms (with many Great Houses ruling over Dukedoms themselves). The Great Houses claim descendance from one or many Venerated Ancestors. Those who are a member of a Great House but hold no other rank or title are called Magnates.
The Counties: Sub-Divisions of the Divisions. Each Sub-Division is ruled over by a Count or Countess who has some autonomy to make decisions that directly impact upon that Sub-Division so long as those decisions do not contradict the will of the Imperator, the Grand Council, their Governor, or their Duke/Duchess. They answer to their Duke or Duchess directly and will answer to them in legal disputes. They also preside over legal disputes involving the Baronies of their Sub-Division.
The Baronies: The lands of the Sub-Division. These lands are ruled over by a Baron or Baroness. They answer to their Count/Countess directly and will answer to them in legal disputes. They also preside over legal disputes involving the populations that inhabit their land.
The Boyars: Anointed in recognition of service to the Mastorian Empire, the Boyar are respected figures who can be selected as candidates and voted on by Magnates to join the Grand Council. They are treated with esteem and are considered equal in rank as an institution to the Baronies.
The Noble Houses: Houses of the Fifth Circle, are not quite held in the same esteem as the Great Houses but are still greatly valued. The Noble Houses claim descendance from one or many Venerated Ancestors. Those who are members of a Noble House but hold no other rank or title are called Magnates. Any Magnate can vote on Boyars to join the Grand Council.
Culture
Economy
With the rising industrialisation of the Mastorian Empire and the autonomy of the Golems working within the factories, the less educated population moved in large swathes into the countryside to take up work in the agriculture and mining sectors. This meant that the cities of Upper Mastoria became centers of education, religion, and culture. There are many universities, fanes, restaurants, and libraries. Outside of the cities, smaller communities have sprouted up across the countryside as mining towns and farming communities. These keep with many of the Third Age traditions, and there are many who whisper about the return of Du Khaan. They are known to enjoy many local festivals and celebrations unique to their own people. They are considered primitive and back-water by many of the city dwellers, whereas they in turn typically perceive them as isolated and unaware of the Empire's true population and struggles.Assets
History
The Fourth Era
The Ashes of Empire
The fall of the Khanian Empire plunged the heartlands of Vilia into chaos. With the inexplicable disappearance of Du Khaan, the former imperial territories fractured. In the wake of the collapse, new identities emerged. The regions of Zatokawień and Alwaria retained a memory of centralised authority, while regions such as Drokowalia and Norwyk returned to ancestral governance, embracing the old ways once suppressed by Khanian decree.
Across the continent, a religious awakening stirred. Pilgrims trekked to seek ancient ruins and sacred forests, drawn to the forbidden magic that Du Khaan had tried to erase or embrace.
A cult of Du Khaan—formed in secret amongst the impoverished and disenfranchised—idolised their missing Imperator as a divine martyr, destined to one day return. In contrast, many scholars and priests condemned his memory, reshaping theology to exorcise his influence from the Dallan faith and rendering him a false prophet.
The Rise of the Mastorians
Amid this fragmentation, a new power rose in the west. The Mastoracza family, once wealthy merchants of Zatokawień, transformed trade routes into arteries of conquest. Backed by coin and hired swords, they seized control of Per Frejrik and proclaimed the Mastorian Dawn, a vision of rebirth for the region rooted in bureaucratic order and spiritual meritocracy.
Artemi Mastoracza, a pious and intelligent man would work in consort with the Time’s Acolyte and would unveil the Dallan Dominion—an ideology that fused ancestral faith with rigid governance. His son, Martin Mastoracza, would go further, uniting Zatokawień and Alvaria into a single kingdom. He claimed the ancient capital of Nabos, rebuilt elements of the Crystal Road, and reactivated the Mamnomaga, a long-slumbering magical train. Thus was born the Kingdom of Mastoria, the first true successor-state to the Khanian vision.
The Final March
Yet Mastoria's ascendancy was not unchallenged. In the west, the reformed elven realm of Eluatu rose from the ruins of Eryndariel, governed by the militarized Khelun Ordu, an order that aspired to see the destruction of the Pauri Empire and to ensure that they could never again threaten the free people of Vilia As old enmities resurfaced, a fanatical movement took shape: the Final March. Preaching a return to puritanical faith and a holy war against the so-called Daegar (a slur for the Elves), this crusade rejected both Mastorian bureaucracy and Eluatu’s Elven minority.
At its head stood Vorrakhan the Justiciar, a warrior-priest whose charisma turned scattered zealots into a formidable army. Declared War-King, Vorrakhan launched a brutal campaign across Kaskejdia, annexing its few inhabited regions in the name of divine justice. His legions stormed north and westward, igniting a war that would consume the continent.
The War of the Justiciar
Vorrakhan the Justiciar would see a necessity in uniting the entire continent of Thallia in order to face the Elven threat and so would turn their attention to the ever-expanding Kingdom of Mastoria. Initially, the Mastoracza would falter under the onslaught. Nabos fell after a bitter siege, and Vorrakhan declared a new theocracy from its captured temples. The remaining Mastorian loyalists, led by the stoic Kel Martina Mastoracza, fled to Istanbrakt and prepared for a last stand. But hope came from the south.
Prince Lambert Mastoracza secured alliances with Zenosz and their religious justiciars the Dimark, supplying gold, troops, and critical magical artefacts from the southern rifts of Skrejbarkaria. At the Second Siege of Nabos, as Vorrakhan's grip tightened, a shadowy group known as the Gildan Ren struck—assassinating the Justiciar and unravelling his crusade.
Empire Forged in Ash
In the aftermath, the world reshaped itself. Lambert’s Peace carved up the fallen realms of the Justiciar, integrating Zenosz, Eluatu, Norwyk's southern flanks, and Kaskejdia into a new imperial structure. The Mastorian Empire was born.
Even so, fractures remained. Nabos and Vos Bison, the great religious cities, resisted full integration, asserting their sacred autonomy. The Gildan Ren, once mere assassins, were integrated into a new imperial intelligence agency known as the Shadow Council. Meanwhile, the Khelun Ordu, though nominally defeated, remained a sword held in reserve, and beyond the mountains, the dread Imperium Paurialis lingered behind magical wards, untouched by war.
Demography and Population
Total Population of the Empire: 155,000,000
- Population of Eluatu: 25,000,000 (16%)
- Population of Upper Mastoria: 90,000,000 (58%)
- Population of Lower Mastoria: 10,000,000 (7%)
- Population of Zenosz: 30,000,000 (19%)
Total Population of the Protectorates: 7,000,000
- Population of Hakonia: 5,000,000
- Population of Miellikia: 2,000,000
Territories
Eluatu
Lower Mastoria
Upper Mastoria
- Alwaria: Completely under the authority of the Mastorian Empire.
- Kaskejdia: Occupied primarily on the lower slopes of the bordering mountain ranges.
- Norwyk: Occupied primarily on the outskirts of the central planes and around the lower slopes of the bordering mountain ranges.
- Skrejbarkaria: Completely under the authority of the Mastorian Empire however significant segments of the division are uninhabitable or inaccessible.
- Zatokawień: Completely under the authority of the Mastorian Empire.
Zenosz
Military
The Mastorian Armed Forces
The Mastorian Shield
The Mastorian Shield serves as the Empire’s primary defensive force and internal garrison. Its mandate is the preservation of order, the protection of borders, and the swift suppression of insurgency, rebellion, or foreign incursion.
The Shield maintains a permanent presence across every Province and Protectorate, operating out of fortified bastions, border keeps, and regional citadels. These fortifications serve as both military strongholds and logistical hubs, ensuring rapid deployment capabilities throughout the Empire’s territory.
Each Province and Protectorate is commanded by a Military Governor, who oversees the recruitment, training, and deployment of Shield units within their jurisdiction. While largely autonomous in regional affairs, these governors answer to the High Command of the Shield, headquartered in Istanbrakt and answerable directly to the Imperator and the Grand Council.
In times of major conflict, the Shield may be bolstered by reserves drawn from the Mastorian Sword, ensuring flexibility between defensive and offensive operations.
The Mastorian Sword
The Mastorian Sword is the Empire’s offensive strike force—trained, equipped, and held in strategic reserve for the prosecution of military campaigns beyond the Empire’s borders.
These standing armies are organized into Expeditionary Forces, each comprising infantry legions, cavalry regiments, war mages, engineers, and supply corps. They are kept in high readiness at key staging grounds across the Empire, where they drill relentlessly in preparation for Imperial conquest.
In the event of war, the Imperator appoints an Expeditionary General, drawn from among the Empire’s most decorated commanders, to take supreme command of a Sword host. Once deployed, these forces operate independently from the Shield, executing long-range invasions, foreign interventions, and punitive campaigns in enemy territory.
Religion
The Dallan faith is the most prominent and influential religion within the Empire, with its power rivalling that of the Imperator themselves. The actions of the Dallan faith within the Mastorian Empire are governed by the Holy Congress; a group of three Proctors who reside in Istanbrakt, Nabos, and Vos Bison and are responsible for negotiation with the Empire and the administration of religious lands.
Religious land was previously granted autonomy by the Imperator and was free to govern itself based on its own laws and customs, however this autonomy was revoked by Imperator Martin Mastoracza VII. Each division of religious land is governed by a Synod, a council of religious figures native to the area who decide upon matters of governance, law, and commerce.
Other Religions
The Venu faith has grown its prominence in Lower Mastoria given that its practitioners inhabit the land that sits on its south-eastern border. The Rakshasa and Human practitioners of the faith tend to keep to themselves and operate out of small and secluded makeshift temples.
Within the borders of the Mastorian Empire lies the isolated and autonomous grotto of Yaga Ingol. Within this grotto exists the heart of the Yagan faith, a group of cultists who practice the worship of the Baba Yaga. From here many of the Yagani people emerged from their grotto and spread worked to proselytise their faith across the Mastoracza Empire.
The wandering Druids of the Fauran faith are known to pass through the lands of the Mastoracza Empire, and while they are known to keep to themselves and rarely interact with the civilised lands of the Empire, or interfere with their affairs, they have been known to trade with their people and come to the rescue of those in danger in the wilderness.
Laws
On Imperial land, the law stands as such;
On Pain of Death;
The following crimes are considered capital offenses under Imperial law. Conviction results in immediate execution unless exemption is granted by the Grand Council or relevant high authority.
- Assault on a Member of a Great House: Any assault committed on Imperial land against a noble of a Great House, without express sanction from the Wada Woli, is punishable by death. Members of the Shadow Council and the Imperial Guard are exempt.
- Banditry: Engaging in highway robbery or violent theft on Imperial roads or towns is punishable by death. Bandits may petition for clemency by testifying against fellow conspirators or accepting state-imposed branding and indenture.
- Espionage: Selling or transmitting state secrets to foreign powers is an act of espionage. Convicted agents face execution. Exemptions granted by the Imperial High Court require mandatory blinding. All trials of this nature are held in Istanbrakt by the Imperial High Court.
- Mind Manipulation: The unauthorised magical coercion, enchantment, or domination of the mind of a sentient Mastorian citizen or official is punishable by death. Members of the Shadow Council and the Imperial Guard are exempt.
- Murder: The unauthorised killing of any person on Imperial land is punishable by death. Exemptions are permitted for self-defence. Members of the Shadow Council and the Imperial Guard are exempt.
- Piracy: Any act of piracy within Imperial waters results in execution. Conditional pardons may be granted for valuable testimony, though permanent branding is mandatory.
- Treason: Conspiracy against the Imperator or state institutions—including tax evasion, sedition, or the attempted murder of officials—shall be prosecuted as high treason. All trials of this nature are held in Istanbrakt by the Imperial High Court.
On pain of temporary death;
- Religious Violations: Sacrilege, heretical rituals, and unsanctioned divine magic is strictly prohibited. Those convicted are executed by the Gildan Dumarych and their corpse will be reanimated into servitude under Guild supervision.
- Unlicensed Necromancy: The practice of necromantic arts—defined as any magic that reanimates, manipulates, or binds the dead—is strictly prohibited on Imperial soil without a writ of sanction issued by the Wada Woli. Convicted necromancers are executed by the Gildan Dumarych and their corpse will be reanimated into servitude under Guild supervision.
On pain of mutilation;
- Bribery: Attempted bribery of a government official. Those convicted will face the removal of one hand. Exemptions may be granted on contextual grounds.
- Escaping Confinement: Fleeing lawful detention—be it prison, forced labour, or asylum. Those captured after escape face the removal of one foot to ensure they cannot flee again. Exemptions may be granted to those who provide credible intelligence leading to the arrest of traitors or who offer a service deemed of strategic value to the Empire. However, even in these cases, branding is mandatory.
- Spoken Treason: The vocalisation or promotion of treasonous ideas, even without direct action. Those found guilty will have their tongue removed. Exemptions may be granted to informants or those who dismantle treasonous plots, but the act of speech is considered sacred and its corruption must be punished—branding always accompanies clemency.
- Theft of Great House Property: Stealing from a member of a Great House—nobility sanctioned by the Empire—is not merely theft, but a symbolic challenge to the feudal and political order. Offenders will lose their dominant hand. Members of the Shadow Council and the Imperial Guard are exempt.
On the threat of a negotiated period of confinement;
- Assault: Acts of physical assault without the permission of the Wada Woli are strictly prohibited. Those found guilty of such a crime face a period of confinement and forced labour proportionate to the extent and severity of their crimes. Members of the Shadow Council and the Imperial Guard are exempt.
- Beast-Keeping (Dangerous): The keeping of dangerous or unlicensed magical beasts within city walls or near civilian populations. Those found guilty of such a crime face a period of confinement and forced labour proportionate to the extent and severity of their crimes. Members of the Shadow Council and the Imperial Guard are exempt.
- Corruption: Embezzlement, abuse of office, or use of position for personal gain. Corruption is punishable by a negotiated period of confinement and forced labour proportionate to the extent and severity of their crimes. Exemptions may be granted on contextual grounds.
- Civil Disobedience (Major): Organized noncompliance, illegal protest, seditious gatherings. Civil Disobedience is punishable by a negotiated period of confinement and forced labour proportionate to the extent and severity of their crimes.
- Distribution of controlled substances: The distribution of controlled substances without the permission of the Wada Woli is strictly prohibited. Those found guilty of such a crime face a period of confinement and forced labour proportionate to the extent and severity of their crimes. Members of the Shadow Council and the Imperial Guard are exempt.
- Fraud: The provision of false Imperial documentation or information is strictly prohibited. Those found guilty of such a crime face a period of confinement and forced labour proportionate to the extent and severity of their crimes.
- Insanity: Those who are convicted with a confirmed diagnosis of insanity are confined to an insane asylum until such a time that their diagnosis can be addressed.
- Smuggling of illegal goods: Importing or exporting illegal products to or from Imperial land is strictly prohibited. Those found guilty of such a crime face a period of confinement and forced labour proportionate to the extent and severity of their crimes. Members of the Shadow Council and the Imperial Guard are exempt.
- Theft: The theft of private property is strictly prohibited. Those found guilty of such a crime face a period of confinement and forced labour proportionate to the extent and severity of their crimes. Members of the Shadow Council and the Imperial Guard are exempt.
On the threat of a negotiated fine;
- Beast-Keeping (Non-Dangerous): Keeping of minor or domesticated magical animals without permits. Fines are suitable for first offenses or if no harm occurred. Repeat violations could escalate to mutilation. Members of the Shadow Council and the Imperial Guard are exempt.
- Civil Disobedience: Minor, individual acts of noncompliance like curfew violations or pamphlet distribution. Minor incidents without violence or seditious content may be handled with fines, escalating upon repeat offense.
- Consumption of controlled substances: The use of controlled substances without the permission of the Wada Woli is strictly prohibited. Those found guilty of such a crime face a fine proportionate to the extent and severity of their crime.
- Smuggling of legal goods: Importing or exporting legal products to or from Imperial land without registering those products with Imperial port authorities is strictly prohibited. Those found guilty of such a crime face a fine proportionate to the extent and severity of their crimes. Members of the Shadow Council and the Imperial Guard are exempt.
Agriculture & Industry
The Mastorian Empire is the beating heart of Vilia’s economic engine—an industrialized, self-sufficient superpower that has fused arcane mastery with mechanical innovation. Its vast landmass spans golden plains, blackened quarries, river-fed deltas, and magically saturated territories that together feed a globe-spanning economy. Its rise to power has been rapid, driven not by manpower alone but by its unparalleled access to the Nexus Point at Skrejbarkaria—the singular source of magical energy that transformed a sprawling feudal empire into a post-industrial juggernaut.
The Nexus Engine
At the core of the Empire’s economy is the Magical Nexus Point at Skrejbarkaria, nestled in the far north of Upper Mastoria. Here, arcane engineers and Wada Woli-certified artificers harvest raw Nexal energy, distilling it into crystalline magical batteries. These batteries are distributed via fortified Mamnomaga and air routes across the Empire, powering everything from automated foundries and arcane mills to municipal infrastructure and Guild owned frigates.
Nexus energy is the Empire’s most valuable export, granting the Mastorian state lavish wealth and global political leverage. Attempts by foreign powers to replicate this technology have failed disastrously or attracted Mastorian intervention.
Industrial Power
With the aid of Golem labour powered by Nexus batteries, the cities of the Empire have become industrialized hubs of immense production capacity. Human labour has been displaced by tireless arcane constructs in almost every sector of urban industry. This has created sprawling factory wards in major cities like Istanbrakt and Volskarka, operated by Guild overseers and patrolled by arcane enforcers, at the cost of massive unemployment in urbanised areas.
Major industrial outputs include:
- Metalworks: The Empire’s mountainous spine and western hills yield rich veins of iron, copper, and coal. These are refined in golem-run forges into steel, armour, weapons, and machinery.
- Shipyards and Skyyards: Coastal provinces and high-plateau cities host massive yards where Guilds construct imperial dreadnoughts and commercial barges.
- Textiles and Uniforms: Automated looms in cities like Tytanbrakt and Nabos produce civilian and military garments at staggering volume, spun from wool, flax, silk, and synthetic fibers.
- Chemical and Alchemical Refining: Nexus-fuelled laboratories distill potions, combat drugs, fuels, dyes, and explosives at scale for both military and civilian use.
- Arcano-Mechanical Goods: Magical tools, constructs, prosthetics, and enchanted weapons are exported worldwide, often monopolised by the Guilds of Innovation and Siege.
Agricultural Transformation
As golems displaced urban labour, the working class migrated to the countryside, leading to an explosion in agricultural development. Towns grew into market hubs, and vast tracts of wilderness were converted into organised farmland, with some areas guided by seasonal druid-engineers and magical climate stabilizers.
Key agricultural outputs include:
- Grain and Staples: The central river valleys and lowlands produce wheat, barley, oats, and legumes in bulk, feeding both army and citizenry.
- Livestock: Massive ranches in the southern provinces raise cattle, pigs, feng, and draught animals. Guild-led selective breeding has produced superior meat, leather, and mounts.
- Viticulture and Orchards: Along the Empire’s south-eastern fringes and warm southern coast, vineyards and citrus groves produce wines, oils, and fruit exports.
- Honey and Wax: The foothills and forest margins support large-scale apiculture. Mastorian honey is prized both as food and alchemical ingredient.
- Arcane Agriculture: Select farms use regulated magical enhancements—soil transmutation, weather stabilization, accelerated crop cycles—to ensure record-breaking yields.
Mining and Resource Extraction
Mining towns—often built overnight near new discoveries—pepper the Empire’s central and eastern regions, many sustained by magically automated machinery. Notable exports include:
- Iron, Coal, and Copper: Extracted in enormous quantities from the western mountains and southern basins, these metals feed the Imperial forges.
- Salt and Sulfur: Critical for preservation, alchemy, and munitions, mined from inland lakebeds and volcanic fissures.
- Gemstones and Rare Crystals: Found in the eastern bad-lands of Kaskejdia and the swamps of Drokowalia, often used in enchanting, summoning, and high-grade artillery.
- Nexus Residue and Arcane Shards: By-products from Nexus-powered installations, carefully harvested and sold at a premium on the market.
The combined power of magical infrastructure, automated labour, and resource supremacy has elevated Mastoria into a global hegemon—able to outproduce, out-farm, and outlast any rival on the continent. Yet the ever-widening gap between Guild magnates and displaced citizens sows tension across its many borders, even as the Empire’s influence continues to grow.
Trade & Transport
The Mastorian Empire thrives on a pulse of relentless movement—of goods, people, and magical energy—flowing across a vast and expanding network of land and sea routes. With infrastructure spanning from the icy highlands of Skrejbarkaria to the sunlit shores of the Amberic Sea, the Empire’s economy is built not only on what it produces, but on how quickly and securely it can move its bounty.
Trade within Mastoria is both a matter of statecraft and strategic dominance, overseen by Guild regulators, enforced by the Wada Woli, and driven forward by some of the most ambitious transport systems in the known world.
The Crystal Road
At the heart of the Empire’s logistics lies the Crystal Road, an immense and ancient causeway that predates the Mastorian Empire, first laid down in the age of the Pauri Empire. This gleaming, rune-etched highway spans the Empire's north-central expanse, connecting the triad of Thallia, Valoria, and Doran—three historic capitals of imperial power.
Modernised with arcane enhancements and kept in flawless condition by Nexus-powered golems, and the labour of Giants, the Crystal Road is the primary artery through which trade flows. Its most legendary feature is the Mamnomaga: a vast, slow-moving convoy of mammoth-hauled carriages, each the size of a small manor. Protected by arcane wards and Imperial convoys, these mobile fortresses carry goods, passengers, and above all, Nexus batteries from the forges of Skrejbarkaria to every major province of the Empire and beyond.
The Mamnomaga stops only at fortified trade hubs, each a mini-city of inns, Guild halls, and customs houses. Merchants brave the high prices for the privilege of hitching their caravans to this slow-moving but unstoppable colossus.
The Amberic Corridor
While the Crystal Road dominates the Empire’s interior, the Amberic Corridor defines its global reach. This extensive road network begins in the inland city of Yaszaw, then stretches down through fertile lowlands and dense settlements to the southern coast of Lower Mastoria, where the Rewa Ojo empties into the Amberic Sea.
The Corridor serves as a high-volume export route, where trade goods—ranging from enchanted constructs and iron ingots to grain, textiles, and livestock—are shipped via river barges and Nexus-powered cargo vessels. The coastal port cities such as Martinbrakt act as major international trading centres, offering docks to foreign merchants and embassies under tight Imperial surveillance.
From here, the Mastorian Empire trades with the world: luxury goods to the east, weapons and machines to client states, and, most critically, Nexus batteries to foreign powers willing to pay in gold, labor, or concessions.
Local Infrastructure & Roads
As the Empire’s population decentralised and the countryside bloomed with agricultural and mining communities, the state undertook an enormous campaign of road-building. New imperial roads, built of stone and reinforced with mortar, now connect even the most remote frontier settlements to major trade centres.
- Guild Couriers and Arcane Post: Ensure fast communication via enchanted letter-chits and communication beacons stationed at key outposts.
- Imperial Tollgates: Operated by Guilds or the Wada Woli, maintain strict regulation of road traffic, collecting taxes and inspecting cargo.
- Wagontrains and Skycarts: Move regional produce and goods—grain, livestock, timber, ore—to local markets and depots, where they can be picked up by larger trade convoys.
Waterways and River Trade
The Empire’s great rivers—like the Rewa Ojo, Zadorra, and Karnak—are essential trade corridors in their own right. River ports bustle with barge convoys, ferrying grain and ore downstream while bringing Nexus batteries and luxury goods back inland.
Many Mastorian cities have grown around river junctions, where docks, guildhalls, and customs authorities preside over both legal trade and a thriving black market in banned magical goods, relics, and unlicensed golem parts.
Air & Magical Transit
Though still limited in scope, air transit is an emerging force in imperial logistics. The Guilds of Siege and Innovation have begun testing skyships powered by Nexus batteries, capable of transporting elite passengers and high-value cargo across regions at unmatched speed.
Additionally, high-ranking members of the Mastoracza, certain Guilds, and the Wada Woli have access to teleportation gates or Nexus-linked waystones—extremely expensive infrastructure that ensures instant travel between secured cities.
Education
Education in the Mastorian Empire is a tightly regulated institution, shaped by the twin imperatives of control and efficiency. Designed to reinforce loyalty to the state and maximise utility to the Empire, the education system is a tool of both uplift and oppression, promising advancement while ensuring obedience.
While literacy is widespread and basic schooling is available across much of the Empire, true education—critical thinking, magical study, historical truth—is tiered, surveilled, and unevenly distributed across class and caste.
Primary Schooling: The Imperial Curriculum
All children in the Empire are required to attend Imperial Schools, standardised across provinces and administered jointly by the Guild of Metrics and the Office of Internal Order. These schools teach:
- Basic Literacy and Numeracy
- Imperial History (heavily curated)
- Guild Law and Citizenship
- Foundations of Nexus Safety and Conduct
- Work Aptitude Testing to sort children into occupational tracks
Education at this level is free and mandatory for citizens, though quality varies starkly by region. Rural areas receive rote instruction from underpaid Guild teachers, while urban centres boast large learning halls. The reality is that education is not as readily available as the Empire might imply, and many of the urban slums have no educational providers at all.
Graduation from primary schooling qualifies a citizen for most low-level Guild labour, factory roles, and militia service.
Secondary Tracks: Guild or Military
At the age of 12–14, students are sorted into one of several tracked institutions:
- Guild Apprenticeships: For those showing aptitude in math, engineering, trade, or management, often beginning as unpaid junior clerks or cogs in guild workshops.
- Military Academies: For the physically gifted or politically expendable; trained as soldiers, Wada Woli operatives, or enforcers.
- Rural Service Schools: For surplus population—trained in farming, maintenance, or golem oversight, then deployed to frontier towns.
Acceptance into these tracks is based on a mix of test scores, family background, Guild influence, and, unofficially, bribes.
Higher Learning: The Academiae
True higher education is the domain of the elite. Entry into an Academia, of which there are only a dozen in the Empire, requires noble sponsorship or Guild seniority.
Graduates of the Academiae are slotted into high-ranking roles: ministers, mages, engineers, or administrators. Many also go on to join the Venerated Houses, the Empire’s ruling caste.
Each University is effectively a fortress of arcane privilege, with magical libraries, artificial minds, and Nexus-reactive laboratories.
Disparity and Access
Education in Mastoria mirrors its social structure: a pyramid of scarcity, where knowledge flows downward only when controlled.
- Venerated Houses educate their children with private tutors, often beginning magical instruction or martial craft from the age of four.
- Guild families access elite apprenticeships and provincial colleges, though advancement is slow without sponsorship.
- Common citizens may never see beyond the standardised curriculum (if they see that curriculum at all) unless they display rare potential.
- Outlanders and Protectorate subjects are usually excluded entirely.
The Empire justifies this disparity as “optimization of human resources”, claiming that overeducation of the lower classes leads to sedition and inefficiency.
Black Education & Resistance
In the undercities and hinterlands, informal networks of “black tutors”, wandering sages, and heretical scribes work to pass on banned knowledge: real history, forbidden magics, subversive philosophy. If caught, they face imprisonment, mutilation, or death.
Some rebel factions, like the Blight or the Crimson Dawn, run underground schools as part of their recruitment. These offer radical instruction in sabotage, and ancient lore.
Infrastructure
The Mastorian Empire’s vast infrastructure is the physical skeleton of its dominion—an intricate mesh of arcane technology, engineered marvels, and administrative order. From the ruins of the Pauri and the rise of magical industrialization, Mastoria has shaped its cities and countryside into a machine of governance, logistics, and control.
These physical assets not only ensure the health and well-being of its citizens but also sustain its grip on power and its ability to project force across Vilia.
The Crystal Road
The Crystal Road is the imperial artery of Mastoria: a colossal, ancient highway of enchanted stone stretching from the western reaches of Thallia to the eastern borders near Doran, passing through Valoria and Skrejbarkaria.
- Magically reinforced slabs resist weathering and damage
- Lined with rest-forts, trading posts, and waystations
- Patrol routes for Wada Woli and Guild convoys
- Serves as the path of the Mamnomaga, the mammoth-drawn trade trains
It connects the major cities and the Nexus core, allowing for safe and efficient transport of magical batteries, resources, troops, and people.
The Mamnomaga Network
At the center of imperial land transport is the Mamnomaga system—massive arcane carriages drawn by trained mammoths, each embedded with levitation rigs and load-distribution runes.
- Operate along the Crystal Road and Amberic Corridor.
- Capable of carrying cargo, nobles, or even golem troops.
- Protected by runic armor and guarded by mounted auxiliaries.
- Caravans have dedicated terminals at major cities.
This is the backbone of imperial logistics, enabling trade and troop movement at an unprecedented scale.
The Amberic Corridor
This modern network of paved and rune-marked highways connects Yaszaw to the southern coastal port cities where the Rewa Ojo drains into the Amberic Sea.
- Supports inland resource extraction and maritime trade.
- Dotted with Guild toll gates, customs houses, and relay towers.
- Ends at fortified harbor-cities capable of processing thousands of tonnes of goods per day.
This corridor forms the Empire’s gateway to overseas commerce and diplomacy.
Roads, Bridges, and Waytowers
With the ruralisation of the working class, the Empire has embarked on a vast program of road-building:
- Tens of thousands of miles of imperial-grade roads.
- Bridges spanning mountain valleys and rivers.
- Waytowers serving as rest stations, signal relays, and surveillance points.
- Runestones embedded in crossroads to amplify communication magic.
This expanding network allows even distant towns access to trade, law, and imperial presence.
City Infrastructure: Water, Waste, and Nexus Lines
Major Mastorian cities feature layered infrastructure reflecting their magical-industrial character:
- Aquaducts and Pressure Wells: Distribute fresh water from mountain reservoirs, using Golem-pumped canals.
- Sewage and Waste Reprocessing: Managed by the Guild of Sanitation, using filtered tunnels, slime-vats, and elemental disintegration units.
- Nexus Lines: Magical conduits or battery hubs that distribute power from Skrejbarkaria to industrial districts, often guarded like military zones.
Each city is engineered for resilience, surveillance, and centralized control.
Fortresses, Border Towers & Citadels
To maintain imperial dominance and quell resistance:
- Forts and Border Keeps watch the frontiers, especially in rebellious or Protectorate regions.
- Imperial Palaces and Universities double as both educational and military bastions.
- The Bastion Network: A system of hexagonal military outposts, each within reinforcement range of the next.
These act as both deterrent and rapid response to unrest or invasion.
Arcane Infrastructure
Unique to Mastoria is its magical infrastructure, derived from Nexus energy:
- Battery Spires: Tall crystalline pylons channelling power from Skrejbarkaria to key sites.
- Portal Gates: Limited-use teleportation circles in key cities for official use only.
- Glyph Rails: Experimental, magically accelerated cargo lines in elite districts.
These structures are maintained by the Guild of Arcana and are jealously guarded from misuse.
Civic Buildings and Bureaucratic Nodes
The everyday engine of Empire:
- Town Halls and Courts: Oversee land disputes, taxation, and local law.
- Guild Archives: Maintain census records, contracts, and trade licenses.
- Imperial Embassies: Located in foreign cities or Protectorates, fortified with magical wards and diplomatic envoys.
- Tribunal Chambers: Grand judicial halls where the Mastoracza administer high justice.
- Memory Archives: Etheric libraries embedded in city cores, storing state records.
Provinces of the Mastorian Empire
- Eluatu: A militarised frontier of vast plains and rugged mountains, home to the Khelun Ordu who guard against the return of the Elves from the Pauri Empire.
- Lower Mastoria: A colonised southern territory of wild steppes and tribal resistance, where the Empire seeks to subdue the native Zmumadian peoples.
- Upper Mastoria: The imperial heartland and seat of power, spanning frozen tundras, fiery wastes, fertile valleys, and ancient mountains, ruled by the Mastoracza and Great Houses.
- Zenosz: The sacred cradle of the Dallan faith, where divine myth and mortal devotion meet beneath the holy caves of Vos Bison.
Protectorates of the Mastorian Empire
- Hakonia: A rugged land of lakes and forests ruled by the noble Hakon line, where warrior and tribal cultures have long blended into one.
- Miellikia: A dense, mystic forest realm inhabited by Gnomes and the Five Tribes, whose treetop societies remain deeply independent despite imperial protection.
- Koron: Gold Coins - Minted with the face of Imperator Martin Mastoracza VII, Imperator-Avowed Anatolya Mastoraza, Imperator Martina Mastoracza III, or Prince Lambert Mastoracza "the Peace-Maker".
- Seren: Silver Coins - Minted with the face of the Acolyte Alvar, the Acolyte Garundas, Kel Martin Mastoracza I, or Imperator Anatoli Mastoracza II
- Kopar: Copper Coins - Minted with the face of High-Queen Valrynn Alvarys, Galagon "the Dragon Slayer", Artemi Mastoracza, or Kel Konstancja Mastoracza I.
- Nexus Batteries (primary export and leverage tool)
- Arcane Machinery and Constructs
- Weapons and Armour
- Textiles
- Luxury Goods
- Refined Alchemicals and Combat Potions
- Food Surplus (grain, preserved meats, honey)
- Spices, Silks, and Exotic Luxuries
- Cultural Artifacts and Religious Icons (for museums or private collectors)
The Grand Council serves as the primary legislative authority of the Mastorian Empire, crafting and debating the laws, edicts, and policies that govern its vast territories. Though ultimate power rests with the Imperator, the Grand Council is the crucible where Imperial law is shaped, negotiated, and contested.
The Council is composed of 1,216 seats, divided among the Empire’s most powerful institutions and factions. These include the ruling Mastoracza dynasty, the Great Houses, the Guilds, the Dallan Faith, the Sword and Shield (military), the Shadow Council (intelligence), the Boyars (provincial nobility), and representatives from the Protectorates. Each faction holds a defined number of seats, with many enjoying disproportionate influence based on historical privilege, wealth, or military power.
Laws are typically drafted by factions or committees within the Council and proposed to the Greater Chamber, where they are debated and revised. A simple majority of 609 votes is required to pass any motion. However, passage through the Council does not guarantee implementation—every approved policy is then submitted to the Imperator, who may choose to ratify or reject it. While the Imperator holds absolute veto power, rejecting the collective will of the Council is politically perilous and may risk factional backlash or civil unrest.
Once a law is ratified, it falls to the Wada Woli (Council of the Wills)—the Imperial civil service—to interpret and implement it across the provinces and protectorates of the Empire.
Though designed as a collaborative organ of governance, the Grand Council is frequently mired in corruption, factionalism, and political brinkmanship. The interests of entrenched power blocs—especially the Guilds, Great Houses, and Mastoracza—often overshadow the needs of common citizens, making the passage of meaningful reform difficult without significant political maneuvering or external pressure.
Justice in the Mastorian Empire is administered through a hybrid system that blends civil governance, religious authority, and the will of the people. The Judicial Body is not a single unified institution, but rather a decentralized network of tribunals and judges operating across the Empire’s provinces and protectorates.
Once an accused is apprehended, they are presented with a choice: a Trial by Tribunal or a Trial by Bloodshed.
Trial by Tribunal
This is the standard judicial process in the Empire, overseen by a Tribunal of Three:
- Judge of the State – Appointed by the regional ruler (Baron, Count, Duke, or higher authority).
- Judge of the Faith – Chosen by the local Synod of the Dallan Faith, ensuring religious oversight.
- Judge of the People – Elected by a randomly selected jury of citizens from the local population.
The accused is granted legal support from the Dimark, an Imperial institution responsible for assembling evidence, locating witnesses, and advising the accused on legal procedure. At trial, however, the accused must speak in their own defence, while prosecution is led by either a member of the City Guard (in cases of secular crimes) or the Dimark (in crimes committed on religious lands or with theological implications).
After the presentation of arguments and evidence, the Tribunal votes. A majority determines the verdict—two votes for guilt results in conviction, while a majority for innocence results in acquittal.
Trial by Bloodshed
An older and more controversial form of justice, Trial by Bloodshed allows the accused and accuser to resolve the matter through ritualised combat. The trial is overseen by a Nabomark, a martial adjudicator trained in both law and combat traditions.
Each side selects a champion—who may be themselves or another—to represent them in battle. Before the duel, both champions cut their palms and bleed into a shared basin, symbolically invoking the gods and ancestors as witnesses. The terms of the duel (weapons, environment, death vs submission) are negotiated beforehand.
Victory in combat determines the ruling: the victor is declared just, and the loser, guilty.
Though the Trial by Bloodshed is technically still under the purview of the Tribunal, the judges must approve its use in advance. They may deny the trial if it is deemed inappropriate—for instance, if one party is physically incapable, if the crime is of an abstract nature (e.g., fraud), or if the accused is under protection of diplomatic or clerical immunity. In regions of the Empire, especially more urban or religiously governed areas, Trial by Bloodshed is outright banned, while in others it is seen as a sacred and honourable tradition.
Law is enforced in the cities of the Mastoracza Empire by the Konstat, a group of guards devoted to the preservation of the city. They are divided into various divisions;
- The Konstat: Responsible for investigating crimes.
- The Patrok: Patrol key parts of their respective cities.
- The Prowydan: Responsible for maintaining fair business practices in the city market districts.
- The Rosztety: Guards that are sent to break up large gatherings, protests, and riots.
- The Kodatnik: Guards that take taxes from the people and provide punishment for those who can not pay.
Beyond the cities, the law is enforced by the Patrok;
- The Konstat: Responsible for travelling to crimes that occur outside of the cities in order to investigate and subjugate the guilty parties.
- The Patrok: Individuals that patrol the roads of the Empire for signs of criminality or danger.
- Bounty Hunter: Individuals who follow bounties placed by the Empire to recover criminals alive or dead and return them to face justice.
- The Strawna: Rangers who patrol the wilderness and are responsible for hunting and culling dangerous wildlife to keep them away from civilisation, and also for identifying and addressing signs of banditry and criminal behaviour.
