The Viland Empire
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The setting for The Warmonger Duchess and Her Female Husband, the Viland Empire is a loose collection of semi-sovereign nations similar to Rome or the Holy Roman Empire. Viland spans an entire continent and several adjacent islands, but the exact number of nations within the empire fluctuates frequently due to the imperial government's encouragement of constant infighting amongst vassal states. At the time the story begins there are 100 nations within the Empire, but that number begins changing very quickly. The Empire’s government is run on a feudal system, with the emperor at the head of the imperial government and a hierarchal network of nobility serving under him. Nations within the Empire are generally ruled by nobles of varying ranks, with Duke being the most powerful ruling rank and Count being the weakest. Lesser nobles, such as Viscounts and Barons, cannot serve as leaders of independent nations, but may serve under a ruling noble. Some nations use their own unique names for different ranks, but the basic rank requirements remain true. The Empire’s legal system is controlled by a series of complex, esoteric, and immutable laws. Imperial law always takes precedent over local law, and the letter of the law is considered far more important than the intent of the original lawmakers. Imperial law is considered sacred in a practical sense and, in fact, is often treated as more important than religion in imperial society. The Empire’s religion is a loose pantheon of deities picked up from various distinct cultures as the Empire conquered and assimilated them. The entire Empire ostensibly follows the same religion, but individual nations often retain some unique beliefs from their pre-Empire religions. Therefore actual religious practices can vary somewhat from region to region. These three aspects of Viland's culture are what primarily drive the conflict in Warmonger Duchess, a story about a minor noble making a bet with a goddess and figuring out how to take advantage of legal loopholes to conquer the empire.
*Author's Note: Much of this wiki is written in-character from the perspective of a noble of the Viland Empire, and therefore shows the biases and opinions that would be common to that kind of person. This wiki doesn't contain any information which could be considered a direct spoiler for The Warmonger Duchess and Her Female Husband, however some information might hint towards plot elements that have yet to be revealed in-fiction.
