Records of Expansion: History, Geography, and Politics

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History, Geography, and Politics

BEFORE THE SEALING

The origins of the Eternal Empire lie in history long before our Immortal Empress sent her chosen ones, the Raskithecal, forth to conquer the lands and bring their people under her divine guidance, when the Immortals were reviving Idalos after their conflict all but destroyed it. In what is now Eastern Idalos, there was a small mountain tribe who were revived by Ethelynda, The Noble Serpent of Protection. This tribe took on aspects of the serpent, their legs changed to tails, their skin to scales, their hair to pseudo-living snakes. Under Ethelynda's guidance, this tribe grew into a clan of fearsome warriors who took it on themselves to defend those around them.

However, there were those who refused the protection of Ethelydna's children, then known simply as the Ithecal. Whether it was aversion to their alien appearance, pride in their humanity, or antagonism towards Ethelynda, these people refused to allow the Ithecal into their villages and cities. And, in time, their cities fell and their people perished. The Ithecal were anguished by their loss, perceiving these deaths as their own failure. Desperate to avoid any further loss, they declared that they would force their protection on others. Ethelynda, unwilling and incapable of understanding this necessity, begged her children to cease their conquest, as even those that had once willingly looked to them for aid now feared them.

But the Ithecal, knowing that sometimes it was necessary to use fear to keep people safe, refused the the pleas of The Noble Serpent. For though they admired Ethelynda's intentions and noble heart, they also understood that her methods would not keep Idalos safe. Promising Ethelynda that they would protect Idalos for her, the resumed their conquest. But Ethelynda, unable to accept this necessity, raised her hand against her children and sealed them away from the rest of Idalos, preventing their conquest and subjecting the lands the Ithecal had once protected to the ravages of war and desolation.

RASKALARN'S GIFT

Time in their prison seemed eternal to the imprisoned Ithecal and, robbed of the purpose that gave their very lives meaning, the Ithecal raised their voice in lament, crying out for mercy, for guidance and purpose. And, after what seemed an eternity, guidance and purpose was granted unto them from a source that was unexpected, and at first, mistrusted. Ethelynda's eternal foe and rival, Raskalarn the Conqueror, appeared before the forsaken Ithecal and promised them that she could free them and give them the ability to bring the rest of Idalos under their protection, in return for their service and loyalty.

Having long known Raskalarn as an enemy, the forsaken Ithecal debated heavily amongst themselves about whether or not to accept the Conqueror's offer. After lengthy, and sometimes violent, debate, Raskalarn's offer was accepted and those who were once Ethelynda's chosen children bowed before their new Empress. Giving her new children the name Raskithecal, to mark them as her chosen, Raskalarn told them that they would not immediately be leaving their prison, but would rather be using it to train themselves into army to far surpass their previous might.

Time should once again have seemed endless, but now once again empowered with purpose and meaning, the Raskithecal found their time training under Raskalarn passed with remarkable speed. The Conqueror, who they soon found to be a remarkably capable instructor, rearranged their political and military structure and taught them new tactics with which to conquer Idalos and bring under the Raskithecal's protection and Raskalarn's guidance. And when their training was complete, Raskalarn raised her hand and broke the seal keeping her army, her empire, her new children imprisoned.

THE BIRTH OF EMPIRE

Loosed once more upon the world of Idalos, the Raskithecal first journeyed west from their original home near the mountains to meet up with others who served Raskalarn. There, on the top of a sheer cliff, they began construction on the heart of their fledgling empire, the great city of Korlasir. As crews worked on building the city, they began to conquer the settlements around them, bringing them into the empire once village or town at a time. Though the ruler of Korlasir, Raskalarn was not content to sit idly on her throne and frequently rode at the front of her forces, fighting alongside her Raskithecal and Human followers.

The empire grew at an astounding rate, accomplishing more than the Raskithecal ever had under Ethelynda. Some came willingly under the empire's protection, others chose to fight until their entire armed force was destroyed or enslaved. However, for all that Raskalarn fully intended to bring the entirety of Idalos under her reign, she refused to allow her forces engage in needless destruction or other, less savory outpourings of warfare. This earned the Immortal Empress some measure of respect amongst even her most reluctant conquests.

In due time, the empire began to encounter other territories. Rharne, ruled by the Immortal Ilaren, rebuffed the Empires advances with such skill that Raskalarn immediately called a truce with Ilaren's forces, not being foolish enough to risk her forces against a superior foe without need. Volanta, who followed no Immortal, and Yaralon, who followed many, also resisted the expansion of the Eternal Empire, so Raskalarn turned her attention to the east, her wars of conquest pushing the boundaries of the empire all the way to the mountains, where only Avaern was able to stand against her armies.

KAREM AND THE BIRTH OF VALTHARN

In time, Raskalarn's refusal to allow unnecessary destruction or the unsavory brutalities of war, when combined with her ability to win the people of conquered territories over brought allies to her cause. Many were human warriors seeking a better master to serve, but one was more, much more than that. Karem, The Hunter, sought Raskalarn out and offered her services the Immortal Empress, convinced that Raskalarn was the only one who could unite the Immortals and end their inane wars.

Some of Raskalarn's commanders, especially the Raskithecal, were suspicious of Karem, knowing her connection to Ethelynda. However, Raskalarn calmed them and accepted Karem's offer. The Hunter became the leader of The Eternal Empire's scouts, ranging far ahead of the main army as it turned south towards the Hotlands. She quickly proved her skill and loyalty, becoming one of Raskalarn's most trusted advisers and commanders.

As the wars moved south, Raskalarn, who was never one to distance herself from her commanders, became pregnant after a brief liaison with one of her human generals. In the typical course of such things, she gave birth to a girl, a girl she named Valtharn. Valtharn's father, though a loyal general of The Immortal Empress, felt no familial love for either mother or daughter, and made no attempt to act as a father figure to the young princess. Despite this and the numerous demands on her time, Raskalarn was rarely away from Valtharn throughout her early childhood and seemed to genuinely love her daughter.

SABOTAGE AND TREASON

Now, despite the best efforts of the empire's loyal citizens, there were still groups that served another lord besides our Empress. By and large, these groups were allowed to operate in peace as long as they did no harm to the empire or its people. Of course, one bad action can bring such things to an end, and it was one group that had operated in secret that brought an end to this policy. Sintra, the secretive Immortal of manipulation, had been looking for a way to weaken the empire and expose Raskalarn to attack by outside forces. To this end, she ordered one of her servants to assassinate Valtharn, who was still only an infant.

However, the plant was foiled by the fact that Raskalarn kept up a habit of checking on the infant princess throughout the night. Sintra's Webspinner assassin was killed and the princess's life was saved. At first, many thought that would be the end of it, as Raskalarn made no action besides an increase in the thoroughness and frequency of troop inspections. Then, in one day, her reaction and the depths of her rage at Sintra's malice were revealed. In a feat of coordination that astounds military scholars to this day, every city, town, and village in the empire had its citizenry escorted to an open field or clearing or plaza by the military and every house, business, and storage facility was searched top to bottom.

Most were innocent of any crime, and in a demonstration of the legendary discipline of the Imperial Legions, nothing belonging to such an innocent was harmed, though civil criminals were arrested on the spot. Anyone found to have a connection to Sintra or her Webspinners was killed on the spot, and anyone found to have connections with any other faction was told to either forswear their allegiance or suffer exile from the empire. Magic was discovered by the empire in this fashion, and a few mages chose to serve Raskalarn rather than leave. Most have since been killed however. Tourists and other such people were likewise invited very firmly to leave and the empire closed it's borders for over fifty arcs. Ever since, a connection to the Webspinners has been a death penalty and other factions have immense trouble finding a foothold, as the Immortal Empress will allow no one who does not serve her to rise to any political or military prominence whatsoever. For such people, even finding employment can prove difficult in some places, though border towns and major cities are kinder to travelers and tourists than more rural locations.

A TIME OF PROSPERITY

Following Raskalarn's purge of the webspinners and other factions was a time of consolidation and stabilization. Conquered territories who were still having trouble adjusting to being part of the empire became the focus of much of the court and the Imperial Legions main focus became the extermination of bandits and other unsavory elements, as well as the infrequent rebellion. During this time, the border city of Cahryst, already known for being a center of religious study, received a great deal of information on not only the Immortals but also what little information is known of the near-mythical Original Beings from both Raskalarn and Karem, leading to new avenues of study for the scholars of Cahryst.

Korlasir also developed in this period. Having been built on top of a sheer cliff, Raskalarn took the opportunity presented by this time of peace to improve on the city's defenses. An explosive substance, black powder, had been obtained from the city of Avaern by merchants since Raskalarn's aborted attempt to take the city and large quantities of this substance, as well various Krorros users, began to blow more and more of the gentler side of the cliff away, until the only way for any significant travel to reach the city was up a narrow path buffeted on either side by jagged cliffs, with sections of the road itself blown out and replaced by drawbridges.

However, despite the internal peace of The Eternal Empire, there were still some problems from abroad. Perhaps the most notable of this was the empire's discovery of the island nation of Yithiral and it's inhabitants. This new breed of Ithecal, once again led by Ethelynda, were smaller than their Raskithecal predecessors, but they every bit as skilled and between the natural defenses provided by their oceanic fauna their fortress-like capital city of Ivorian, it was decided that until an opportunity presented itself, there was to be little to no contact between The Eternal Empire and Yithiral, though any time an Ithecal or Raskithecal met, tensions were sure to be remarkably high.

VALTHARN'S RISE AND FALL

During this time of peace, the imperial princess Valtharn grew into a young woman, tutored by both Raskalarn and Karem, as well as various scholars and military leaders. For reasons unknown, and undebated lest such questions draw the empress's ire, Raskalarn elected to distance herself from her daughter, usually speaking to her only in official capacity. What is known is that this change was very sudden and confused many people, Valtharn among them. It is commonly believed that Karem knows the reason, but as any attempts to question The Hunter about the matter have led to the questioner being chased around Korlasir by her wolves, scholars are content to speculate.

Valtharn prospered despite her mother's distant nature, rising with almost unbelievable speed to the rank of {PLACEHOLDER}. Those who served with her noted that she was very clearly skilled on the battlefield, and many hoped that she would turn out to be every bit Raskalarn's equal. However, the longer Valtharn spent in the field, facing down bandits and rebels for the most part, the more violent and bloodthirsty she seemed to get. At first, no one noticed Valtharn's nature, hoping it was merely a sign of eagerness and hotheadedness, rather than something more malicious.

Alas, Valtharn's cruel and violent nature became all too apparent when she placed in charge of routing a rebel band in the eastern reaches of the empire. An attack on a cave system the rebels were believed to be hiding in, which her advisers had warned her was suicide, led to the deaths of most of her troops. In a rage, Valtharn accused a nearby village of collaborating with the rebels and ordered the entire population put to death. Her soldiers refused and Valtharn was restrained to be taken back to Korlasir. Further enraged by this treatment, Valtharn slaughtered her guards and engaged the body of soldiers her decimated force had met up with. After a brief skirmish that ended in Valtharn's murder of her eldery father, Raskalarn herself arrived and quickly subdued her daughter. Unable to excuse her actions, The Immortal Empress stripped Valtharn of her rank, title, and position, then had her exiled from the empire, having been unable to bring herself to order Valtharn's execution. The traitorous mortalborn was taken to the Hotlands, given food and water, and left to her fate.

RECENT HISTORY AND CURRENT AFFAIRS

Following Valtharn's exile, there was another brief period of peace, but this time an almost tangible air of sadness loomed over the empire. Empress Raskalarn clearly grieved for the loss of her daughter and seemed to have trouble attending to the needs of her empire and became more withdrawn from the public eye. Her closest advisers took as much of the burden off her shoulders as they could but the effect Raskalarn's mood was having on the empire was all too apparent. Order started to slip in the outlying regions and even the iron discipline of the legions began to waver.

However, before this rot in the hearts of the empire could spread far enough to do serious damage, our Immortal Empress returned to the public, once again in full authority as Empress of The Eternal Empire. Order in the border regions was quickly reestablished and legions were perhaps even more disciplined than before. Ready to once again expand the Empire, Raskalarn took direct command of a full third of her armies and moved south, pushing into the Hotlands until the forces of Nashaki, with aid from the mercenary city of Yaralon, forced Raskalarn's forces to a halt.

At the same time, forces under the command of Karem and the other generals began to move west or north, threatening Volanta, Rharne, Viden, and Rynmere. Though an uneasy truce has once again been reached with these territories, there are many smirmishes on the border and the threat of war looms great over the Eastern Continent of Idalos. In addition, Raskalarn and Karem have begun to take note of the wars beyond that continent, particularly between the two Immortal factions. The Pro-Mortal faction, seemingly lacking a concrete leader, were considered the most immediate threat as they have more territories abutting The Eternal Empire. However, Faldrun's Anti-Mortal faction is watched closely, as Viden is likewise close to the empire's borders, and worse, Valtharn the Traitor has joined with her psychotic uncle's Immortals.

For now, there is a brief period of peace, but our Immortal Empress is amassing her armies, who wait eagerly to bring the rest of Idalos under her divine guidance.

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Due to it's size, The Eternal Empire encompasses several different terrain types and geographical features. This the geography of The Eternal Empire, for ease of reading and understanding, will be broken into the Western, Central, Southern, Northern, and Eastern regions.

WESTERN

The western part of the empire, of which the most noteworthy city is Cahryst, is dominated by by part of the Unabor forest. Sadly, this portion of the Great Forest falls under the dominion of Scyn the Intolerant. Cahryst itself, as well as the western regions other towns and farms, are outside the area directly dominated by Scyn, but the great sequoia tree is a source of much concern. Scyn is ever seeking to expand it's domain and thus the woodcutters and loggers of the region are traditionally seen with a military escort, else the region of the Great Unabor Forest, known internally as The Forest of Corpses, will consume the citizens of the empire alive.

Making matters worse is that The Forest of Corpses is the only known place in Idalos where the feared Skin Flayer Tree can be found in large numbers. And if that wasn't bad enough, Scyn exerts enough control over them that they forgo their normally lethargic ways for a much more active and aggressive approach. For this reason, anyone who lives, works, or is stationed withing a league, or three miles or five and four-fifths kilometers, keeps a ready source of fire nearby to combat these vicious monstrosities of The Forest of Corpses.

The rest of the Western part of the empire lacks any notable geographic features or landmarks, aside a lack of the vicious flora that inhabits The Forest of Corpses, a fact for which many are truly grateful.

CENTRAL

The central region of The Eternal Empire is mostly plains and small, benign woods. Due to Korlasir's location within this region, it is heavily patrolled by the military, making it difficult for any kind of dangerous flora or fauna to gain a significant foothold. As such, this is the is the most heavily farmed area of the empire and provides the bulk of it's food sources. In addition to the frequent farms, there's also quite a few towns and villages in this region.

However, even the heart of the empire is not without it's problems. Bandits haunt the woods of this region and even this far from the Forest of Corpses, Skin Flayer Trees can be found haunting the region. Fortunately, they are as lethargic as they usually are, and the frequent military patrols root out these vicious renegades of Scyn's domain and burn them. Few other monsters roam this region, allowing it to serve as safe and peaceful home for the citizens of The Eternal Empire, as well as the Immortal Empress herself.

However, the only notable landmark of this region is Korlasir itself, and the titanic sheer cliff it sits upon.

SOUTHERN

Like the western region, the southern region of the empire is dominated by another part of the Great Unabor Forest. However, unlike The Forest of Corpses, this section falls under the benevolent guidance of Maguon. Known as The Sacred Forest due to an imperial edict that forbids any unauthorized logging or hunting within the bounds of Maguon's domain, this region is the biggest source of healing herbs and other medicines in the empire, and one of the biggest in Idalos.

This is largely due to Maguon the Benevolent, the master of The Sacred Forest, who bestows its gifts in exchange for the protection of the forest, though Maguon's generosity is not limited to the empire, nor indeed even to those who actively protect the forest. Any who come to The Sacred Forest and do no harm to its inhabitants, be they animal, plant, or sentient mortal, is welcome and will find food and shelter a plenty. It was in recognition and gratitude of this generosity that Raskalarn declared this forest a sacred place.

Unlike The Forest of Corpses to the west, the growth and expansion of The Sacred Forest is limited only by Maguon itself. Due to this, The Sacred Forest is much larger than The Forest of Corpses, and because of Maguon's goodwill, many inhabitants of this region choose to live in the forest itself. While getting lost within The Sacred Forest is not uncommon, those who lose their way have little to fear, and will usually find themselves directed to their destination by the forest itself.

NORTHERN

The northern region of the empire is a small region, mostly covered by mountains and snow. This region is mostly known for it's mining and fur trades, as the mountain fauna has incredibly high quality hides and quarrying into the mountains yields ores that are impossible to obtain anywhere else in the empire.

Sadly, aside from the fur and ores, there is little of note in this region. Its heavy snows make it an unwelcoming region, of little interest to the civic minded, and its lack of any military worth make it of little interest to ambitious military commanders looking to make a name for themselves in the battlefield. Those who have a mind for trade will find fur and ores aplenty, and markets for them all over the empire, but these goods are expensive to obtain.

Hostile fauna in the region are rare and mostly made hostile by mortal intervention, such as reindeer, moose, or bears. Wolves can be found in this region in greater numbers than anywhere except The Sacred Forest, but this usually pass far by mortal settlements, and when they do wander into areas, it's usually because one of Karem's servants has called them.

EASTERN

The eastern region is considered the smallest of the regions, mostly made of desert and bare plains. This region has little to offer anyone, and is mostly used by the military to prepare soldiers for campaigns into the Hotlands. That being said, the desert sands are not safe, as sand sharks have been spotted in this region, as well as the rare sand lion.

Due to the dangerous fauna, imperial citizens wishing to explore the desert area of this region require either an armed escort or a demonstration of adequate skill to survive an encounter with the monster in the region. In either case, a pass from the eastern plains garrison will be required before any non-military personnel is permitted to enter the desert.

The plains are also fairly barren due to the lack of sufficient grazing for herds or adequate soil for farming. Thus the only major sign of civilization in this region is the eastern military outpost, which is a mixture of a small town and a military base, providing a base of operations and place of rest for the soldiers training the desert.

Some theorize that the military has uncovered an oil deposit in the region, used to supply the military's siege and defensive armaments, but the military publicly denies this claim.

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GENERAL POLITICS OVERVIEW

Politics within The Eternal Empire are simple on a surface level, but get more complex when looked at in detail, due to the need to keep the social power of the various political groups evenly balanced. Not to say that the balancing system of the empires political systems have always succeeded, but in the case of such failures, our Divine Empress has stepped in to realign the balance of power and occasionally remind her more ambitious and foolish servants that all power in The Eternal Empire is held by grant of the Eternal Throne and can be removed whenever Raskalarn wishes, with such removals potentially being fatal to those who earned such ire.

Ostensibly, The Eternal Empire is an meritocracy, with political progress being decided by an individuals ability in their chosen field. To a great extent this is true, as incompetency is a fast way to get ones self removed from any position of power. However, this mandate, known as The Law of Ability, is not always enough to keep those in power from promoting those whom they personally like or those who bestow them with gifts of gold or other prizes.

Make no mistake, despite the best efforts of the empire, the wording of the laws, and the threat of Empress Raskalarn's displeasure, corruption can infect those who hold power in The Eternal Empire as easily as any other political entity, exempting maybe that of the almost-mindlessly savage Mer or the honest-to-a-fault Ithecal of Yithiral, though these exceptions are not fully proven and are believed to be due to a lack of sufficient sophistication in the case of the former and the close oversight of not one but two brutally honest Immortals in the case of the latter. In the case of The Eternal Empire, it is simply too vast for even Raskalarn and Karem combined to maintain a close enough watch to prevent such corruption. That being said, anyone found to be abusing their power in such a fashion is stripped of their high rank at best, and sent to the try to contain The Forest of Corpses at worst.

Political Groups

In order to understand imperial politics, one must understand the various political groups and their limits.

The Eternal Throne: This political entity, such as it is, does not need much elaboration. Raskalarn rules from The Eternal Throne, and her word is the highest law. While Raskalarn welcomes suggestions, corrections, and improvements to her plans and laws, outright disobedience is considered the highest treason and utterly unthinkable to most. There have been times when Raskalarn has forgiven such disobedience, but this only happens when such disobedience occured because Raskalarn herself was in the wrong and the offending party in the right. And even then, such forgiveness can only come Raskalarn herself.

The High Courts: Made up of Raskalarns closest and most trusted advisers, The High Courts are the generally considered to be the only political group besides Raskalarn herself that is above the corruption that infects the other groups, largely due to the fact that Raskalarn herself decides who ascends to this coveted position.

The members of The High Courts are the leaders of the various political groups, a representative of the citizenry of each region of the empire, and of course, Karem. As Raskalarn selects those who join The High Courts, this political entity is the purest example of The Law of Ability, as only those who are truly talented and skilled are selected by our Divine Empress to advise her, barring the Regional Representatives, who are chosen from among the common citizenry, and are chosen more for how well they know their region than any specific ability.

The position of a member of The High Courts is held until the bearer either resigns the post, retires completely, or dies. In the entire history of The Eternal Empire, only member of The High Courts has been forcibly removed from the position: Valtharn.

The Imperial Legions: The most internationally known of The Eternal Empires political factions, The Imperial Legions is, of course, the empires military. The primary tool of conquest, The Imperial Legions are arguably more powerful than the other political groups, but is held in check by its own size and the fact that getting a single agenda from this group is all but impossible due to the varying individual goals of the {PLACEHOLDER}.

That being said, whenever The Imperial Legions manage to focus on a single political goal, they've got enough people to make it very difficult for other groups to counteract them without banding together to do it or attempting to convince Raskalarn to interfere.

More information on The Imperial Legions can be found in the book focusing on them.

The Order: The most secretive of the empires political factions, The Order serves as the intelligence gathering and assassination arm of the empire, operating in secret outside the empire to bring those who resist Raskalarn's guidance to their knees. Promotion is based as much on management abilities as field skill, and the secretive nature of The Order makes its political goals hard to determine.

The Order is kept in balance largely by their own secretiveness, as it makes other political groups loathe to ally themselves with The Order, since they are never sure if their goals are really aligned or if The Order is merely saying they are.

The Crafting Guild: In charge of managing and overseeing the various trades that make up the economy of The Eternal Empire, this political faction is smaller than one might think, as individual artisans or merchants are rarely part of the guild. The guild serves as a voice in government for tradesmen, and in return, they agree to render themselves subject to investigation by the guild should a trader or artisan be suspected of cheating their customers or other such foul play.

Admittance to the guild is based on crafting skill to an extent, but more important is that the potential guild member be completely above foul trade and deliberately bad craftsmanship. The Crafting Guild is kept in balance by the fact that compared to the other factions, they have relatively little political power. That being said, they are generally considered trustworthy and tend to be well unified.

The Research Council: Serving as both the medical and experimental arm of the empire, The Research Council is viewed by many with a mix of gratitude and wariness. While it is true that The Research Council has greatly improved the quality of life in the empire, it's equally true that they have nearly wiped some of their own bases, which are usually located in isolated places, through experimentation on one dangerous disease or compound or another. This has led to many being worried that they will lose control of something in their custody at some point and doom many a citizen of the empire.

Promotion in The Research Council is based largely on skill, though the truly high ranked know how to keep a secret. Kept in balance partly by their reputation as mad scientists and partly because they have difficulty drawing themselves away from their research long enough to get any major political push going.

The Library: The political group that manages the accumulation, access, and preservation of knowledge within the empire, The Library is in charge of the schools, the Grand Temple in Cahryst, and of course, the libraries found in each city, including The Grand Imperial Library found in Korlasir. However, it also serves as the diplomacy arm of the empire, as the members of The Library tend to have a more moderate temperament than members of the other political groups.

Promotion is based on a mixture of the individual's own knowledge, their research ability, and their negotiation ability. The political power of The Library is balanced out by their small size, as their smaller than even The Crafting Guild, though ability at negotiation and their amassed knowledge give them more political power than their size would indicate.

Special Laws

The Law of Ability: One of the very few laws set down by The Divine Empress without input from The High Courts, The Law of Ability dictates that it is skill in one's trade that dictates how far they can rise within the empire, as opposed to monetary or political clout. Not to say that it doesn't get circumvented now and then, but such things are generally considered treason unless one can provide a very good reason for why they promoted a less skilled person over a more skilled one. This usually revolves around temperament or loyalty in situations where the circumvention is done honestly, as opposed to being done for money or favors.

The Law of Trial By Combat: A defense for those who feel they have been judged unfairly, The Law of Trial By Combat means that if someone feels like they are innocent of the crime they have been charged with, they can challenge their accuser to a fight so that they may defend themselves directly. These fights are not to the death, but until one side either yields or a judge calls the fight. If the defendant wins, they are innocent. If they lose, they are guilty. This law can only be overturned by The Divine Empress.

General Crimes and Punishments

Note that all crimes are only punishable when performed against a citizen of the Empire. Any crimes committed against a non-Imperial are ignored, or in certain cases, congratulated.

Murder: Punishable by death
Assault: Punishable by a prison or labor sentence of a minimum of thirty Trials up to maximum of thirty Arcs.
Theft: Punishable by a prison or labor sentence of a minimum of thirty Trials up to a maximum of thirty Arcs.
Treason: Punishable by death
Mutiny: Punishable by exile (Only one known case, as this is usually considered treason)
Kidnapping: Punishable by enslavement to the victim or their family
Espionage: Punishable by torture, enslavement, or death
Blackmail: Punishable by enslavement to the victim or their family

Slavery in the Empire

Slavery in the empire comes in many forms, from personal slaves to pleasure slaves to labor slaves. However, across all of these forms of slavery, one thing is constant. A slave, no matter their origin, is considered a citizen of the Empire, however low their station, and are protected as such, meaning that the unwarranted assault or murder of a slave is subject to the same punishments as if they were committed against a free citizen. There are, however, extenuating circumstances, such as if a slave refuses to do their duty or attempts to escape.