The Iron Empire
The Iron Empire, or as some scholars call it, the Second Iron Empire, is the dominant power along the Shimmering Sea.
Structure
The Imperial Bureaucracy
The Imperial Bureaucracy is perhaps the Empress's greatest asset in the Iron Empire. It is built on several pillars, all dedicated in service to the Empress's Law. From the tax collectors to the scribes to the Hands of the Empress, there are tens of thousands of people working to ensure that the thirty provinces of the Iron Empire function and that 'a woman could walk the main roads of the Empress's domain alone without fear of being harmed'. The Empress sits at the head of this bureaucratic engine, acting as the ultimate check on any one pillar.The Senate
Though the Empress is the undisputed head of the government, ruling absolutely, she does permit a Senate to exist to present her with laws and changes to the laws for her approval. Every ten years, there is an effort made by the Imperial Scriptorium, one pillar of the Empress's feared Imperial Bureaucracy, to send out the most up to date legal code to all the different provincial governors throughout the Iron Empire. This helps ensure that even the most remote regions of the Iron Empire still fall under the Empress's Law. The Senate is composed of one hundred members, though from different backgrounds. The Senators are selected for their position according to the following breakdown: There is one Senator from each of the districts of the Iron Empire chosen directly by their governor, for a total of thirty. There is one additional Senator from each district that was chosen by a popular election of the imperial citizens who dwell within that district. Fifteen Senators are chosen from the ranks of the Imperial Bureaucracy. Ten are selected from the Iron Legion. Ten are selected from the Merchant Families of the Convocation, as a token of good will to the Convocation of Five. The final five Senators are the Empress's to select. Once sworn, all Senators serve until their deaths.Imperial Scriptorium
Though to most imperial citizens, the scribes are simply record keepers and do the census, the Scriptorium works to collect and analyze reports from across the provinces and the Empress's agents abroad to allow the Empress and her governors to make informed decisions. Most of its rank and file were raised in the Scriptorium's many schools, providing them the training in reading, writing, mathematics, political theory, history, and much more. It is most often the fate for children of criminals whose parents were executed for breaking the Empress's Law. Those who are too old are lack the aptitude are sent instead to the Iron Legions. Every province in the Iron Empire maintains at least one school of the Scriptorium. Those with the wealth and influence to pay the Scribes' rates often will hire older scribes to tutor their children, particularly if their family serves another branch of the Imperial Bureaucracy or has a tradition of command in the Iron Legions.The Steel Code Courts
Judgement and interpretation of the Empress's Law throughout the Iron Empire is undertaken by the Steel Code Courts. While in the large cities and provincial capital, there are enough members of the Steel Code Courts to allow for true courts and trials throughout the year, most of the citizens of the Iron Empire must wait until the time when a justicar from the Empress's Hands visits their village or a neighboring one. These events are not random but scheduled and often the Justicar will remain in the region for at least one week if not longer. Should there be more cases than they can try in their scheduled time, the Justicar may leave some of their students behind to adjudicate in their place. The name of the Steel Code Courts comes from the tradition of placing a steel engraving of the first section of the Empress's Law on the door of the courthouses as a testament to the permanence of the rule of law within the Iron Empire. It is said that the Empress herself penned these words when she first rose to her position nearly a century ago.Empress's Hands
The Justicars rarely travel alone, but rather with a retinue that includes their students as well as any bodyguards they feel is required. Though they can request members of the Iron Legions for their protection, the Imperial Bureaucracy has simply found it less hassle to provide the Justicars with a yearly stipend to negotiate for their own protection rather than to create any disruptions in the Legions. Most Justicars, due to their nature as the 'swords of the Empress', are trained to fight and each carries a sword of office on their person, designed especially for executions. Many small mercenary companies can make a stable if not necessarily prosperous income.Culture
The Imperials believe that they are the height of civilization due to both the strength of their military and the codified system of governance. While the Empress rules as a despot, most accept it as a necessity to provide the security and stability for their daily lives. They believe that the other nations, while not necessarily lacking in their own virtues, would benefit greatly from the Empress's Law.
Public Agenda
The Empress' stated goal is to conquer the Shimmering Sea for the good of all. She rose to power during the Age of Storms, when the Mistwalkers had all but overrun the world of Terraneus. The Iron Empire exists so that that can never happen again.
History
The modern Iron Empire was forged during the late days of the Final Storm, when the Old Iron Empire had all but collapsed to its core region in the region of Ceralus, buckling under the strength of the Mistwalkers. The Empress appeared among the Iron Legions, rallying them as they started to fracture. She used her sorcery to lead her soldiers to victory. At the end of the war, she had marched her forces to the city that would be renamed Citadel and was crowned Empress.
Following that, the Iron Empire went through a period of quiet for about twenty years as the Empress restructured and retrained the Legions. With her society reordered, the Empress's Law in place, and the foundations of what would become the Imperial Bureaucracy laid, the legions were sent forth to retake the lands she had once held. Noble families with lines from the Old Iron Empire aristocracy had set themselves up as Kings and Queens in the chaos of the Age of Storms and the Empress was merciless in, if they would not bow the knee and submit to her 'restructuring', removing them and rebuilding.
Within a century, she had restored the borders of her Empire to what they were at its height. Within another fifty, she had expanded beyond to claim the Bloody Plains, the north coast of the Shimmering Sea, and most recently, the port of Scarmouth in the Jungles of Kar'ack.
That most recent acquisition came at the end of the most difficult war in the modern Iron Empire's history. The Empress herself had been forced to assist her legions and navy as they fought the armies of the Shadowlord. For the first time in many years, the world was reminded of the Empress's power as from her capital ship, she broke the Sea Walls of Scarmouth and let the water drown the city, killing thousands, before her legions set foot in the ruined city to break the Shadowlord's forces for good. The war had not ended there, as the Shadowlord had escaped, but it was a reminder to any why the Empress (and also her Chosen, all talented sorcerers as well) was to be feared.
Now, the Iron Empire works to secure its new borders and stop malcontents such as the Broken Crown from undermining its efforts. It has wars on multiple fronts, but this has given other nations time to grow.
Military
The Iron Legions and the Iron Navy are considered to be some of the best trained and best equipped armies in the Shimmering Sea. The Legion is predominantly an infantry based army with excellent discipline and logistical support that makes most Merchant Families envious of the efficiency. Often, a Legion is supported by the sorcerous abilities of one of the Chosen, particularly when the Empress considers a battle vital.
Trade & Transport
Much of the trade that is done with the Iron Empire is done through the Merchant Families of the Convocation of the Five, a semi-autonomous peninsula within the borders of the Iron Empire. The Iron Empire (or more specifically, the provincial governors) then buy the goods from the Merchant Family at a negotiated rate and from there, they are responsible for its distribution. This is how foreign goods are delivered to the people of the Empire and how prices are kept controlled.
For goods that are produced by the Empire, they are often brought to the local or provincial market and then sold and bartered for by the citizens as needed.
Education
All Imperials receive some level of education, enough to read and write. Beyond that, it is a privilege of the aristocracy or those who can afford to study with the Imperial Scriptorium.
Infrastructure
The roads of the Iron Empire are maintained and patrolled through the taxes paid by its citizenry. District capitals are fortified with walls, though most cities lack such protections unless they are near the borders or are particularly old. There is a current project among the Senate to bring aquaducts to every district to ensure that all of the Empress's citizens have access to running water and can remove their waste. This has resulted in increased tariffs on foreign goods, including the silk treasured by the Imperial aristocracy, which has caused public outcry, but the plan has the Empress's approval.
Forging Order from Chaos
Type
Geopolitical, Empire
Demonym
Imperials
Leader
Head of State
Government System
Dictatorship
Power Structure
Unitary state
Economic System
Mixed economy
Currency
The currency of the Iron Empire is not backed by iron, but by gold and other precious metals. The smallest currency is the Brass Crowns, followed by the Silver Crowns. These two are stamped with the image of the empress on one side and then the official symbol of the mint to allow it to be tracked back to where it was created. A Silver Crown is worth ten Brass Crowns.
After the crowns, there are Dominions, which are flat squares of gold, likewise stamped with the symbol of the mint where they were made. These are often rarely used for actual transaction through most of the Empire, as even one Dominion should be enough to take care of a family for a season. Dominions are used to simplify ledgers of companies or government records, though if one demanded payment in the gold plaque, in theory it could be done. This is not especially practical as there are not many who would be able to receive a Dominion and be able to exchange it fairly.
Major Exports
Wool, linen, wood, wine, olives and olive oil, iron, silver
Major Imports
Silk, spices, gold, exotic beasts, dyes, gemstones
Legislative Body
The Senate
Judicial Body
The Steel Code Courts
Executive Body
The Provincial Governors
Subsidiary Organizations
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Notable Members
Related Ethnicities
