Forstem Empire

The Forstem Empire, commonly known as the Empire, is an Empire with holdings from Wyndhalls in the north, to the Belar Waterway to the south. It stretches from both coastline of Forstem, from the Perran Ocean in the west to the Tymbolt Ocean in the east. and in many cases off the coast into islands around the Forstem continent. As a single entity, the Empire constitutes the largest single country on the world, and a dominant power in the formation and culture of the post Mælstrom world.

Pre-Unification
The very roots of the Empire can be found in the pre-mælstrom civilisations. The original twelve kingdoms which constitutes the Empire’s heartlands had been formed during the years of calm. With the coming of the mælstrom, the kingdoms and their works shattered. While in the post-mælstrom years they did begin to reform it Varilay was least effected. Viktor Pentecost, King of the Varilay, exploited this advantage. The War of Unification ended with Viktor victorious after six years of brutal warfare. With little in the means of defences and fortification after the mælstrom destroyed them all, much of the war consisted of infantry clashes. After his victory, six of the kingdoms pledged fealty to Viktor, and he named himself first Emperor of Forstem and Guardian of Mankind. During the war, and for several years after, the other six kingdoms were put to the sword and scattered.

Following the butchering of the six, the Pact of Unification was passed. The decree proclaimed that Mankind would be unified under the Forstem Empire in a grand, peaceful commune. It also forbade magic in its raw form and finally declared the other civilised races to have been corrupted by the mælstrom and cast out. Originally, the final clause was intended to justify the butchering of the six: three of these kingdoms were of Elf rulers, two of Orc.

The First Electorate and Expansion
Following the unification, the Emperor Viktor settled into life as centre of wealth to the former twelve kingdoms. Eventually, the Emperor died of gout, leaving no apparent heir. A brief period of conflict followed, but the Elector system was established following the consultation of the seven noble families. The head of each of the seven families would vote on their choice to Emperor from amongst themselves, along with several preset electors. This system in place, it was written into the Pact of Unification, the first of many amendments.

During a period of decades, the Empire’s influence began to slowly expand. By 49 wide roaming rangers, the Imperial Itinerants, brought willing kingdoms and states into the Empire, and marked stubborn hold outs for later assimilation. Several states were left surrounded by others all integrated into the Empire. Some of the furthest roaming Itinerants reached deep into the south, finding the empty deserts and occasionally wander nomadic tribes. To the north, they found the proud clans and the Snow King. In the south, little of value was seen and the north was their nothing but conflict.

With the Empire stretched from the east coast now to the west by means of diplomacy, it was deemed a good time to absorb the stubborn enclave countries, by force in this case. The Pact of Unification was amended once more in 71 to establish the Legion and the Navy, to serve the interests of the Emperor. What followed was almost a decade of war. With the military learning of three dozen states within the Empire, the Legion became an effective force, and the only professional military on Forstem. With strict structure and armaments, the Legion was baptised in the fires of battle. With all the central states united, the Empire had become one, solid whole and the Legion a well-trained force worthy of the Empire.

During the years that followed, the Empire experienced substantial economic growth. With free trade within their borders, and Itinerants and diplomats establishing trade with outlaying states, many of the states flourished as the Imperial Denar, a standard currency, circulated and flowed with haste. This post war boom lasted for near on three decades and the growth had brought the states within the Empire closer together. As the explosive economic upturn slowed, the Empire was in a strong position. With the benefits apparent and the Legion fierce, more and more of the bordered states joined the Empire.

War in the South
In 156, with the crowning of Emperor Harold II, of the Lloyds, the Empire saw the first real offensive push since the great wars after the Legion’s founding. In the short span of 2 years, the Empires holdings were pushed 470 miles south, to the great channel which split the desert continent from Forstem Central. General Hektor fell taking the channel from tribals, and when the Empire came to rest here they named the great fortress they built Hektor’s Rest, and the channel the Belar Waterway.

The organised Legion and the well-practiced diplomats of the Empire found little gain in the deserts of the south. With no real central power, and little knowledge of how to cross the lethal desert, the expansion staled. Word reached the Sultan of Thinna, deep in the desert. In a place where the Legion could never invade, Thinna had a power over the Empire which no other place had, untouchability. The many riches of the south still beyond the Empire, they were forced to make alliances with the Sultanate in the south. A bitter blow to Harold II pride, he died shortly with the Empire stalled.

With the coffers of the South flowing, another limited boom retook the Empire. During this time, the Empire had stop its long expansion, and for the first time since Viktor the Unifier the Empire settled into a peace.

War in the North
In 211, Emperor Alfred I broke the tradition of half a century, and mobilised the Legions. The last easy land for the Empire laid to the north. The following twenty years were one of the bloodiest in the Empire’s long history: the Winter War in the snow clad north lead to new problems for the Legion. While cold was a problem anticipated by Legion planners, the treacherous terrain proved their undoing. The Snow King exploited the fact throughout the war, the local Jarls easily navigating their native lands. In the end however the organised Legion outlasted the fighting spirit of the north, with the Empire able to replenish lost Legionnaires while the Huskarls proved unable to keep up with the bloody war. After twenty years, and hundreds of thousands slain, the war came to an end of sorts. The Snow King was forced to sign the Winter Accord, which had the remaining Jarls of the north pledge their fealty to the Empire and the Snow King lose his title. Alfred I had the Jarls and his family, the Helfri, marry where possible to ensure loyalty.

Fire and Blood
Emperor Harold III, commonly known as Harold of the Flames, came to power on the 300. Harold, who spent his youth in the sandy lands of the south, returns with new gods. His faith was strengthened by surviving plague. Shortly after his coronation he established the Church of the Day as a state religion. The Empire never had a unified religion, but under Harold of the Flames, this new worship was established by fire and sword. What followed was fifteen years of religious purges and massacres, during which all the images of the older gods were cast out and removed. Harold of the Flames establishes the Order which gives him his nickname, the Order of the Flame, to seek out and convert or murder so called heretics. Given drastic powers, and a seat on the Elector Council, the Order outlives the Emperor, who was killed during a riot in Vassas in 327.

In 379, Emperor William II is elected Emperor. Infamous forevermore as a narcissistic and unruly Emperor, William lead Vassas into a period of blood and debauchery known as the Years of Knives. During this period, William II led by force. While originally the use of the Legions was low, it soon expanded exponentially as William II became more and more paranoid that everyone was plotting to overthrow him. Soon, the violence spread to the noble families. After several such killings, all incomes into the Imperial Treasury stopped. During this period, the throne became deeply indebted to Thinna to support its expenditure. The debt was removed by the Sultanate, in return for the secession of the all lands south of the river Belar. Soon after this signed into the Pact of Unification, William was assassinated under pay from the Lloyds.

War over the Seas
In 591, Emperor Gregory V started the next expansion of the Empire. While intially opnion amongst the Councils did not favour any more military expansions, with the only real land left on Forstem been the proven inconquerable south, opnion swayed after two years of conflict far over the Tymbolt Ocean in Hianal started to see increased trade and wealth in the eastern regions of the Empire. The difficulty of moving enough men oversea however saw the War never truly end, Hianal becoming a constant warzone for the Empire, one which continued for hundreds of years while trade continued to move westward from Hianal.

The Hiarnal Invasion
In 841, tired of ceaseless exploitation, the clans of Hiarnal mounted a daring strike into Forstem. Slow to react, Viktor VI saw massive loses as the Legions, still mostly abroad, were unable to return to blunt the intial assaults. Several attracks from multiple points, including the western coastline saw promenant coastal cities and towns falling to the invaders. During the Defense of Vassas, Viktor VI was slain in the second day of the battle. Charles I was swiftly elected to replace the now dead Emperor, who with the assistance of the now returned legions halted the Hiarnal gains around the eastern coast, ultimately exterminating all invading forces without mercy.

After securing the east coast, Charles I mandated a swift attack on the western coast, while most of the Navy continued to repel raiders from the east, effectively cutting off reinforcements. The reclaimation was long and bloody, but ultimately Charles I lived long enough to see the Empire restored to it's former size, if not glory.

National Governance
According to the Pact of Unification, the Empire is a semi-constitutional autocracy. The Empire is ruled by the elected Emperor officially, but the procedures of governments remain between the Emperor and the House of Electors. The House of Electors is usually split into two sections:

The Electorate Council
Only meeting to elect the new Emperor itself, the Elector Council retains the same rough membership between reigns. It comprises of the representative of each of the seven grand families, another seven noble families of the Empire, the Lord High General of the Legion, the Lord High Admiral of the Navy, the Grandmaster of the Order of the Flame, the Grandmaster of the Order of the Black Throne, the Grand Parastor and seven representatives from the merchantman councils, giving a grand total of twenty six electors. They choose from upto seven candidates, always from the seven grand families. In the event of a tie, the Lord Itinerant, a now mostly traditional position, gets the final casting vote.

The Governing Council
The Governing Council is elected from any of the noble houses of the Empire. While the Emperor choose who fulfils which role within the Council, a certain number of Electors must agree with the Emperor’s decision. This prevents absolute control over the Empire by one family. The Council works the main day to day running of the Empire. For example, the Lord Treasurer can be found amongst their numbers along with the Lord Harvest. The Emperor is within his power to overrule any and all judgements by his council, and remove any member from the council, so as to retain his power. This gives a delicate balance between the Electors and the Emperor.

Overall policy is therefore decided by agreement between the Emperor and his Councils. While lesser families do also have a chance of taking a seat in the Council of Governance, their influence is mostly limited to each of the Grand Noble Families' domain.

Regional Governance
Regional governance is usually left to the seven Grand Noble Families, with seven of the nine regions of the Empire belonging to and ruled by one of these families, the exceptions been with Vostone and Viosan, which is ruled by House Galton and directly by the Emperor respectively. While each family rules diffrently, they often work under similiar means. The capital of the region is held by the ruling family, with other cities and towns, and their respective fiefs, controlled by vassel houses.

Fiefdoms
Fiefdoms are areas within a region controlled by a given house. A fiefdom usually includes a larger center for the Fief, be it a town, castle or even particually large village, which acts as a center of the political and economic center of the fief, if not the geograpthic one. A lord's domnion over the fief extends to his part ownership of all the land, and his right to a percentage of the land's produce, usually equal to the Imperial Tax. It is upto the Lord to ensure this remains steady, and in return for the tribute to the lords, they are expected to maintain a variety of public services. In truth, it is rare for a lord to manage the day to day issues of any fief, such a task is usually given to a Steward. Unlike a traditional fief, however, in the Empire the peasent are indeed freemen, peasents only in name. While the Lord rules the land, they are often free to do with it as they please. The popularity of farming leads to most land still been given over to it however, but farms are often tended to by one or several large famalies.

Geograpthy
As a whole, the Empire rules the largest landmass. As befits such a vast landmass, the Empire controls extraordinary amounts of natural resources, from timber to coal and other minerals.

Topograpthy
Spanning from the River Belar in the south, to the fortress of Wyndhall in the north, the Empire covers a range of climates.

Most of the Empire’s actual land holdings are the Forstem Heartlands. The Heartlands themselves consist mostly of grasslands, a good portion of which is arable land. The Heartlands end at the Hekart Valleys in the north and Deucan Mountains in the south. Of note is Mount Kenda, its peak the highest point on the whole continent.

Stretching the entire continent, the Empire has plenty of coastline. With the Tymbolt Ocean to the east, and the Perran Ocean to the west. Amongst these waters are many islands and archipelagos under Imperial rule, the most major of which are Vostone and Tren.

The Empire has thousands of rivers and inland bodies of water. The most major of these would be the Osten Lake, giving it a large amount of surface water resource.

Climate
The enormous size of the Empire and the remoteness of many areas from the sea result in the dominance of the humid continental climate, which is prevalent in all parts of the country except for the eastern coastlines. Mountains in the south obstruct the flow of warm air masses from the Tyran Ocean, while the plain of the heartlands make the Empire open to influences from the north.

Throughout much of the territory there are only two distinct seasons: winter and summer, as spring and autumn are usually brief periods of change between extremely low temperatures and extremely high. Great ranges of temperature are typical. In winter, temperatures get colder both from south to north and from west to east. Summers can be quite hot in the Heartlands however. The continental interiors are the driest areas.

Economy

The Empire has a market economy with enormous access to natural resources and manpower. As the central economy on Forstem, the continued growth derives mostly from Imperial rule. While the economic cycle does exist. The delicate balance of kingdoms under the rule of the Black Throne creates great potential for internal movement of goods, creating an almost self-contained economic system, mostly due to the single market and the single currency within the Imperial borders.

Stephen II, who established the tenants of taxation still present in the Empire in present day, allowed for a mostly restriction free economy, alongside a reasonable taxation policy which allows for the Empire’s existence.