Amiro Empire
Geography
Stretched out across nearly half a continent, the Amiro Empire is the largest state known to Orlos.
Excerpt from History of Orlos
by Allanor
The Amiro Empire covers an area of over 77 million square kilometers. It stretches over 8,000 kilometers from its southern most to northern most tip and over 12,000 kilometers from east to west; it is an empire of epic proportions. However, most of this territory is uninhabitable by the empire. The Sandswept Wastes to the north block its advance further north and its southern reaches include many areas controlled by the Amiro Empire. This area may have valuable ores but is largely incapable of agriculture to support the empire with the exception of the river valleys. Additionally, the center of the empire is composed of the Amiron Sea, a large body of water used for easing travel but not capable of supporting land based life.
However, the western edge of the empire is more open to expansion and agriculture. The jungles and savannahs here support a broad range of life forms and the majority of the empire's populations reside in the western provinces. This is also the empire's most contested border.
People and Architecture
The Amiro Empire boasts of some of the most exquisite buildings in the world, with the architecture styles changing nearly as frequently as the wind's direction.
Excerpt from Buildings of the World
by Gerald Square
The architectural styles of the Amiro Empire change in each of its provinces and for the purpose that the building was created to fulfill. The most standard building style in the squat and square constructions associated with the military occupation. These generally date back to the conquest years and are more prevalent in the outer provinces.
Beyond this the elven architecture, using soft curves and arches, abound in the center of the empire. Alturn in particular is constructed of arches and multiple levels over the river. This sort of style slowly changes further from the center of the empire and the elven heart as the more human lands are approached, transitioning from the arches to more angular buildings and towers.
The most prominent buildings tend to be constructed of marbles of a variety of colors independent of the province. The common building materials change though. The eastern provinces are largely constructed of sandstone. The western provinces are more composed of wood harvested from the forests and jungles.
Finally, the halfling populations throughout the empire tend to use the terrain more. They will convert caves and holes into habitable dwellings or travel using small caravans and tents. This can create small towns that almost literally spring up overnight or dwindle at the same rate, events that can cause a lot of stress for the local nobles.
Structure / Organization
In empires spanning multiple environments and peoples and cultures, a constant is needed to maintain the balance.
Excerpt from To govern an empire
by Erdon de Loungville
The government of the Amiro Empire is officially lawful neutral. It ranges along the good and evil axis but a balance in maintained by the laws which govern the empire. At the epicenter of this balance in the emperor, the enforcer of neutrality. The emperor, male or female, must maintain the neutral stance to ensure that he retains the respect of the warlords. Emperors who have failed in this respect have inevitably brought on civil war.
The will of the emperor is enforced by the Emperor's Shadow, his own personal spy network. They monitor the activities of the citizens and warlords to ensure that they do not plot against the emperor or each other. This spy network is monitored by the Man of Many Faces and keeps most of the citizens on their toes.
Beneath the emperor society is broken into three categories: the guilds, the aristocrats, and the priesthood. The guilds are managed by the Merchant's Parliament; a conglomerate of the heads of each of the guilds and trades throughout the empire. Of these, several of the guilds have more authority than the rest, primarily the Magician's Circle and the Caravaner's Guild. The Merchant's Parliament is responsible for scribing the legislation for the empire and dealing with the more economic elements of administration.
The Aristocrats are composed of two primary groups: those of Amiro Blood and those without. Any descendent who can prove their direct ancestry to the original settlers carry an extra prestige and many of them stay in the central palace of Alturn. They also tend to be nominated to government positions more frequently and hold higher positions. Otherwise, the next step beneath the emperor are the Warlords. The Warlords are responsible for managing and running each of the different provinces. Although they are supposed to maintain neutrality like the emperor, oftentimes they stray from the central concepts in how they administrate their province.
The final group is the priesthood. The high priest of Orlo is the head figure of the state, aiding the emperor in treading the balance in managing his empire. The head priests of the other religions then provide additional advice when requested. Many religions though, particularly if they should be too chaotic in their precepts, are not supported in the empire and in certain provinces some along the good or evil axis could also be disallowed.
The lowest level of society are the slaves. Slavery is not endorsed by the emperor but individual warlords can choose to allow it in their provinces. This can often lead to arguments between different warlords and the trading agreements between them.
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Internal Relations
In politics, anything goes.
Proverbs of the Wise
The internal politics of the Amiro Empire tends to be a rough and hectic place to be. Most Warlords tend to have fractious relationships and there is generally at least one or two border conflicts happening at any given time with the Emperor trying to mediate between the two. Although they will not openly act out against each other in a more blatant manner, there have been numerous occasions where the circumstances behind the death of an opponent warlord have been suspicious enough to merit investigating.
The relations with the priesthood is almost worst. To the Warlord's perspective, they interfere far to much in the politics of the empire. However, in the priest's perspective, they are merely ensuring that the warlords maintain the neutral stance dictated by the emperor. This has resulted in several religious wars and conflicts to rage through the empire, particularly when a warlord has a preference over one deity that begins to take the prominence from Orlo.
Finally, the guilds tend to have major disagreements with the Warlords and aristocrats. The major guild members tend to be the richest people in the empire, although they constantly accuse the aristocrats of over taxation. This has resulted in many laws being passed through the Merchant's Parliament targeting the aristocrats. The conflict between these two groups seems to be coming to a head and the fallout could stretch through the whole empire.
International Relations
It is not a question of if the Amiro Empire will expand into our territory, it is a matter of when.
The Amiro Empire has shaky relationships with most of its neighbors. While countries respect the empire and treat it respectfully, it is more out of a fear that they will use any harsher response as an excuse to invade and expand its own territory. This results in many lucrative trade deals being made that prospers the guilds within the Amiro Empire far more than those outside of it.
This has led to many more covert operations to try and delay or even prevent the empire's expansion. Although many different organizations have been formed, most are routed out by the Emperor's Shadow in relatively short time, the Shadow's superior spy network and magical detection capabilities making short work of their opponents. Its newest opposition is the Knives of the Dawn, an organization whose sole purpose is the prevention of the empire's expansion and bringing light to reveal the Emperor's Shadow. This spy network is quickly growing and, while most prominent in the northernmost provinces, has more isolated agents throughout the whole empire.
Policies and Laws
1.1.236: Every person, creature, or object that enters within territory governed by the Amiro Empire shall be subject to the laws thereof.
1.1.236.1: Exceptions to this law include (although see 1.1.237 for their alternative points):
...
- The Emperor of the Amiro Empire
- Members of the Emperor's Shadow on guild business
- Diplomatic representatives
Excerpt from the Laws of the Amiro Empire
The policies of the Amiro Empire are similar to most law abiding nations. Acts, such as, killing (outside of ritual duels), stealing, rape, vandalism, and assault all have extremely high penalties, going as far as death in many cases. The laws are practiced very strictly to encourage people to follow them.
However, slight nuances may change between the different provinces. For example, certain provinces may allow slavery, particularly as a means of paying an excessive debt, while others have it completely outlawed. In some provinces the details on what counts as a ritual killing may also be different, providing loopholes for individuals who fit just the right criteria (such as, killing being acceptable as a means of vengeance against someone who you believe to have wrongfully taken all of your possessions in an economic transaction). In such cases though it will likely fall to a jury to decide the persons innocence. This can sometimes lead to very bloody conflicts between families that is perfectly within the law of the province. These nuances do not generally cause a problem unless the conflicts spill over into an adjoining province with different laws.
Resources
The empire runs on its wagons.
A slogan of the Caravaner's Guild
The Amiro Empire is a rich empire. It holds vast deposits of ores and gems. The western frontiers hold large mines of gold, iron, and diamonds that are then exported back into the central empire. The eastern provinces, while still rich in iron, hold much more natural products. The jungles produce herbs and timber that is then shipped to the rest of the empire. It is also the breadbasket that feeds most of the empire. Finally, the more central provinces are connected to the Amiron Sea which provides and abundance of fish and other oceanic materials that they use.
To walk the line
Founding Date
1202 AC
Type
Geopolitical, Empire
Capital
Training Level
Professional
Veterancy Level
Experienced
Demonym
Amiron
Government System
Monarchy, Constitutional
Power Structure
Federation
Economic System
Market economy
Subsidiary Organizations
Deities
Location
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
- Alturn Province
The Crystal Palace
by Arimel using Midjourney
Located in the center of Alturn, the Crystal Palace is the home of the Amiro Emperor. It is created of thousands of blocks of intricately carved marble and took over a hundred years to construct. Even now, halls and rooms are constantly being added as the palace expands to meet the demands of the empire.
At the very heart of the palace is the Hall of the Throne, upon which the emperor sits. This hall is nearly five stories high and decorated as a forest. Visitors to this most esteemed location are often struck speechless by the sheer detail and beauty adorning the room, let alone the level of wealth on such blatant display.
Comments
Author's Notes
This article is still very much a WIP. There are so many things I have yet to discover about the Amiro Empire and a long way to go to find them. This will be a developing article.