Roania
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The Radiant Empire is an extrasolar unitary empire based along the inner rim, with exclaves on Mars and Neptune. Though generally isolationist, it a founding membr of the Concordat of the Phoenix. Under the government of the Young Princess (now the Beauty Who Restores Justice), Empress Alessa, and Grand Vizier Radmiel, a modernization campaign has caused ructions throughout the staid and traditionally-minded citizenry.
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Etymology
The official name of the Radiant Empire is generally transliterated as Syrlesahun, a rough translation of which would mean "Command of the ShiningLight", hence the more common translation of 'Radiant Empire'. Other popular titles include The Seat of the Imperial Diadem, in reference to the emblem of Imperial Authority, or the Land of Eternity.
In foreign circles, the empire is referred to primarily as 'Roania', despite the annoyance this causes the Roanians themselves as well as the offense it causes their imperial subjects.
Etymology of Roania
Roania is a corruption of the actual High Roanian word Ruahniya, a word whose origins are lost in the mists of time, but is hypothesized to be linked to the river Ruah on Altecrast. The river itself, of course, dried out over 6500 years ago in the Great Cataclysm, but the civilization that would eventually unite the population of Altecrast is believed to have been cradled by its waters. Ruahniya properly refers to the territories and habitations of the Roanians themselves, and is generally used in Imperial Parlance to refer exclusively to the homeworld.
Imperial Culture
The Radiant Empire is a land of many contrasts, containing as it does over eighteen billion citizens and a multitude of settled worlds, ranging from the towering spires of Rudan Prime's Imperial 1,1 to the waterside septs of Salmr IV (Rk). Thus, across this expanse of space and worlds, cultures often vary considerably, despite official imperial policy that promotes a unified culture to go along with their unified government. Imperial policy is generally hamstrung by a failure to coordinate cross-planetary communication for non-military purposes.
Roanian Culture
The Roanians are the majority of the empire's population, and are ubiquitous across most of it. They make up most of the government and military, and all of the noble houses are Roanians, though non-Roanians have at times been adopted or married into these ranks. There are three formal groups of Roanians, categorized in the three areas they live. However, many of them share similar traits. The Roanian man wears robes or a tunic and leggings, the Roanian woman wears robes or a dress, they tend to prefer their comforts, have a love of fashion, and are frequently noctophobic.
They mostly prefer midrange temperatures to heats or lows, and tend to thrive in a range from fifty to seventy degrees. They can be arrogant, but are occasionally capable of surprising acts of generosity, and take their responsibilities to one another very seriously. Roanians also take hospitality rights almost as law, and a breach of hospitality on either party is treated seriously. To be a Roanian is generally to be a member of The Temple of the Radiant Flame, with other religions oppressed, suppressed, and exterminated whenever and wherever possible.
Roanians are startlingly fond of walls, and every Roanian settlement, no matter how large or small, is encompassed by walled boundaries, even if they are only palisades. The most famous of these walls is the Shining Wall, which circles the central district of the great Imperial City and is picked out with semi-precious minerals and gold and is also, according to most experts, utterly useless as a defensive structure. Other prominent walls include the Great Wall, which surrounds the entire imperial palace district, shielding the island it sits on from view.
Silver
The Roanians may be the galaxy's single largest importers of silver, owing to that precious metal's supreme importance as a symbol of the pure 'Ai', the ShiningLight of the Radiant Flame. This means that people rich enough to afford silver vestments or jewelery are respected highly, with poorer people forced to use the comparatively more common metals of gold and platinum (known generally as 'lesser silver').
The Roanian Homeworlds
The four Roanian homeworlds of Rudan Prime, Altecrast Tertius, Lesa Tertius (Ailisara) and Kelenvar Quaternary (Centerpoint) are the senior parts of the Radiant Empire. 'Homeworld', in this case, does not mean the world that the species originated from (the Roanian term for this is often translated as such, but a more direct term would be 'world of origin'), but is an administrative function for those worlds that were reunified under Aleazaner I, rather than colonized under his successors. These worlds are administered directly from Rudan as constituent parts of the empire, and are organized with local political bodies to set policy. Homeworld Roanians are often both more open to foreigners, as well as more arrogant to races they perceive as newcomers, an arrogance that can often slip over the line to hostility at a moment's notice.
Rudan Prime is the capital world of the Radiant Empire, and the location of the Imperial City and the Palace of A Thousand Stars (generally just called The Imperial Palace). It is the primary economic center of the empire, with 4.5 billion residents. Primary settlement is on the southeastern continent, which has been primarily identified with the Cosmopolis of Imperial City, while the southeastern continent Eilvar-Lorodecrast is the location of much of the planet's heavy industry and docking, as well as the banned land of Lorodecrast, where the administrative apparatus of the Temple of the Radiant Flame is located.
The massive northern continent of Atlair is settled primarily along its edges, the interior being opened either for agriculture or wildlife preserves, while many nobles possess estates along the coast. The Imperial Summer Home is on an island to the south-west of the desert subcontinent of Ssalvr.
The two moons are Makleilai and Leillyhun. Makleilai (the Little Night Light) is the location of small-scale industry and secondary shipyards, while Aileillai (The Greater Night Light) is the location of the Court of the Ancestors, a sacred territory where the ashes of the nobility, the imperial family, and heroes of the Empire are preserved in tombs and monuments.
Altecrast Tertius is the origin world of the Roanian species, however its population level is low and primarily constituted along the Plain of Sorrowing Flame, where the capital of the Supreme Magistracy once sat. Most of the rest of the world is, even now, blasted heath, and the change is immediate and noticeable when leaving one of the settled zones. The primary economic activity of most settlers is excavation and study, however there is a small tourism industry, catering to offworld Roanians (non-Roanians are banned from the Sacred Precincts). Prominent citizens from Altecrast include Grand Vizier Radmiel, while the southern section of the Plain of Sorrowing Flame holds the primary estates of House Cheruv.
The navy's primary shipyards are located in orbit here as well, completely covering the surface of Altecrast's moon.
Ailisara is the Paradise World of legend. However, it is a paradise world to the Roanians, which means the settled areas are both low in temperate and high in altitude. Shrevesar, the primary city, is located on the northern continent in a weather current which keeps the temperature at a consistent 60 degrees almost all year long. House Drakharn and House Seraph maintain their primary estates here, however the patricians of both reside primarily in Imperial City. Roanians from here tend to be the most accepting of foreigners, and are disproportionately active in the diplomatic sectors.
Centerpoint is so-called from its near exact location in the middle of the empire. There is little of interest here, as it is primarily dominated by House Ophar's biotechnological facilities. House Ophar's estate was located in the main city of Asera, named after a prominent Matriarch of House Ophar in the distant past. Following House Ophar's collapse and the pronouncement of the Great Ban, the estates and many of the biotechnological facilities have been destroyed, and the current status of Centerpoint's economy remains in question.
Colony Worlds
Apart from the Homeworlds, the Roanians and their subject races have settled, or resettled, many other planets. They are generally low-population, agriculture-oriented, and their government consists of officials dispatched from Rudan Prime. Many of these officials are responsible for multiple worlds, holding their courts in the most populous townships in their trust. The most populous colony world is Nesri Secundus, with over five hundred million inhabitants, and the least populous is Kenesa Quintuary, with a total population of 30,000. New colonies are occasionally settled in order to expand agricultural and industrial output.
The colonial calendar is dependent on the calendar of the homeworld the original colonists arrived from.
Mars
The Roanian Colony on Mars is officially New Roan, and it consists of the separate institutions of Cassandropolis and Darsalin Base. It is administered by a viceroy appointed from Rudan Prime. There have been three viceroys since the colony's foundation, Ecanus Cheruv being the most recent. Roanian inhabitants on Mars tend towards the eccentric, many of them adopting solar style clothing.
Subject Races
There are a number of subject races besides the Roanians in the empire, making up the remainder of the population. Few of them are met frequently beyond the Radiant Empire's borders, or even within. They are all governed by two authorities. First, the (frequently nominal) administration of the local planetary governor. Second, their tribal institutions, which are left alone provided they ensure a frequent payment of taxes and military service and secure quiet. The most prominent races are listed below.
Salamanri
The Salamanri originated in the distant past on the Swamp World of Rk (catalogued by the Roanians as Salmr Quaternary). The administrative base of Governor Noraen is the orbiting satellite SeptWatch, which has a total roanian population of thirty five thousand, primarily military personnel. The capital of High Chief Kch'ra is Red Fang Sept, a settlement of approximately fifty salamanri clutches. Their government is fragmented and tribal, and Kch'ra is frequently suspected of overstating his support in order to maintain his prestige with Governor Noraen.
The primary opponent of Kch'Ra is Kar of the Black Talon, a semimythical figure who opposes all agreement with the Roanian government and continues to reappear even when presumed dead. The Black Talon Sept was exterminated by fusion bombardment during Aleazaner II's reign, however Kar appears to have escaped untouched and is hiding in Rk's swampy terrain. Noraen is unwilling to order a military strike.
Rk's climate is semi-tropical, and varies from marsh to swamp across the single continent. Most salamanri settlements are on the northern lands, as their aquatic culture does not travel well over the great central desert to the southern realm. As a result, the southern lands are left to their own devices, and occasionally hunting trips are launched in search of the mythical Keslar Moss, a plant which heals all ills (according to legend) but has grown very rare in the north. Rumors of a second sentient species in the south lands are viewed as unconfirmed and Noraen has expressed no interest in funding or allowing an expedition with that as its purpose.
Prominent offworld Salamanri include Ss-rk-ssha, a former ambassador to the Duma and a nominee for Viceroy of Mars, and the Gold Scale Guard, a special force raised to protect the person of the Emperor himself (or, in the present time, herself).
Felinoids
The two billion felinoids are the most ubiquitous race in the empire after the Roanians themselves, found more frequently amongst the Roanians than in communities of their own. Their homeworld, Nmmmr (cataloged by the Roanians as Nelia Tertius), is administered as a colony by Governor Raphael Katar-Ophan, who holds responsibility for appointing a Pridelord of the felinoid clans. Felinoids are often found in menial or servile positions, frequently doing work that in other lands would be left to nonbiological sophonts.
The Roanians, for their part, treat the felinoids as something between pets and moving furniture, feeding them and providing them with shelter and otherwise ignoring their existence. The felinoids appear to have absolutely no self-respect, and will quickly agree to tasks that might prove to be dangerous. A quirk that frequently infuriates Roanians is that of all the two billion felinoids, none of them have an individual name in High Roanian, all insisting on some approximation of a purr or growl (generally pronounced Nmmr). As the felinoids are a primarily nonverbal race, prone to fits of stoic or sullen science, they have developed other signs to identify amongst themselves that Roanians who work with felinoids regularly are forced to learn them.
Desertkin
Desertkin are, or were, human colonists to the world Desefica. Over thousands of years, they slowly became innured to the harshness of their worlds, developing a new civilisation that would, alas, not avail them at all when the Roanians invaded and subjugated their entire civilisation in a matter of days. The tribes scattered from their settlements to dwell as nomads in the desert, leaving the Roanians to control the poles and fresh water.
The Desertkin acknowledge little authority beyond their own chiefs, and perennial raiding and slavery is their normal lot.The Roanians have, through necessity, a loose grip on the Desertkin, with taxes and military service being taken when the tribes come into the pole settlements to trade for armaments or necessities. Dotted throughout the surface of the planet are ancient ruins, predating the arrival of the desertkin upon the world. The governor is Khar, who spends his days in an alcoholic haze and occasionally sends desperate letters to the Colonial Office requesting a reassignment.
Government
The Radiant Empire is a unitary monarchy in which the Empress is supported by an able body of ministers, who lead the assorted bureaucracies. All power radiates from the monarch, who is theoretically the only constant figure in the government.
Empress Alessa
The person of the Emperor (Aivsyrn {M}, Aivsera {F}) possesses powers that are potentially limitless in both scope and scale. The Empress Alessa Cadarea (Regnal Name: Esahlyru.) is supreme commander-in-chief of the military, font of all political power, and unites all legislative and executive functions in her small and delicate person.
The Imperial Diadem
The Imperial Diadem is the Crown of the Radiant Emperor, an incredibly ancient artifact dating back to the Supreme Magistracy. It has been the symbol of power on Rudan Prime since the age of the Shadowlords. It was originally the symbol of office of the Governorship of Rekarth Province, an area of space that lies within the imperial fringe.
Laws regarding the Empress
An Emperor's person and name is considered sacred both during their life and afterwards. It is a serious crime to either impugn or attack either a reigning Emperor or a deceased one, either through word or deed. This can lead to trouble for historians, both foreign and local, as occasionally it is believed that the truth behind many stories of the older emperors is not as positive as the stories generally portray them; a matter that is of supreme indifference to either the government or the imperial family.
Azrael
Impugning the great First Emperor, damaging any of his artifacts, or questioning his acts prior, during or after to his ascension is considered high treason, a crime against the Temple, lese majeste and offenses against the ancestor. There is a specific law covering this, which proscribes the harshest form of death and damnatio memoriae for all offenses. This leads to a certain sameness amongst biographies, of course.
Deposing an Emperor
In times of crisis, the leaders of the Greater Houses may summon The Council of Those Who Assure the Enduring Just Rule of the Radiant Empire for the purpose of removing the Emperor from power. In order to do so, the Greater Houses must first come to a unanimous decision to call said body. Then, the noble houses must, in council, vote 2/3 in favor of deposition, and 3/4 in favor of naming a new emperor, voting continuing until either criteria is reached or the Greater Houses decide to reconcile with the emperor, to a maximum of forty rounds of voting on each decision.
Generally, of course, most Emperors have viewed this as a personal insult and have put an end to such voting immediately, meaning that until the False Emperor's reign no aristocratic rebels survived to either reach a quorum or nominate a new monarch.
The Council of State
Directly beneath the Empress, and answering solely to her, are the heads of the imperial secretariats. Organized in a collective council generally termed the Imperial Cabinet, they act under the leadership of Grand Vizier [[Radmiel], whose position allows him a great deal of influence (some would say undue influence) over the empress' government. Other prominent officials include Daria Kara, the Justiciar, and Malhelm Fell, the colonial and foreign secretary.
Religion
See: Temple of the Radiant Flame
The Temple of the Radiant Flame is the only legal religion in the Radiant Empire. Conversion is not only discouraged, but actively persecuted, and missionaries from foreign lands may find themselves imprisoned or worse. All subjects of the empress, regardless of race, are expected to follow one of the authorized sects of the Radiant Flame without question.
