#16 – THE EMPIRE

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Earlier on, we spoke about Rund's lay of the land. Today, we take a closer look at the history, and the current situation, of The Empire.



Currently, the Empire enjoys a privileged position: its borders are secure, and there are no wars except for an occasional conflict with one of the barbarian tribes. It's easy to think that things have always been like this; however, in the Age of Mages the same stretch of land has been divided into many more domains of mages, fiercely competitive with each other.

Lay of the land, Rund.

Before the Cataclysm, the western part of Rund has been of secondary importance, with the most advanced domains being located in the east, where the concentration of Sources of Magic Energy is the highest. The current state – known as the Empire – was created about four-five generations ago by the Second Legion, one of the five armies of mage Nesturs the Wise, and the only significant military unit to survive the Cataclysm.




Nesturs the Wise was famous for going against the current: while other mages focused on bringing into the world elaborate magic creatures, he worked with the regular human material, year by year changing his recruits towards his image of an "ideal soldier".

He used his powers to create magically enhanced armor: light and comfortable to wear, protecting its owners from both regular and magic weapons.

He used his powers to create magically enhanced weapons: weapons that were able to destroy not only regular enemies, but also those special creatures that were created immune to most of the traditional weapons.

He used his powers to create magically enhanced shields: light and durable, they offered an oversized protection area since they actively attracted projectiles flying around, so that an arrow aimed over the shield's edge at the head of its wearer would still change its trajectory to end up stuck in the shield.

He also created other items with similar effects, such as The Flag of the Legion that made those around it immune to magically-induced panic attacks, and so on.

On top of this, he worked with the selection and enhancement of the actual bodies of his soldiers, creating a group of humans that were substantially stronger than the regular folk, and lived longer than others (some of these traits successfully passed from fathers to sons, and some didn't).

The Legions of Nesturs the Wise carried the flag that depicted magically enhanced human soldiers as its main force, ready to strike the enemy at once.

At the time of the Cataclysm, Nesturs the Wise had five legions. All except for the Second Legion were on the battlefield when the conflict got out of control; all perished in the fight. The Second Legion, though, was stationed at the barracks as the reserve, and thus survived with lesser damage, in the aftermath establishing the state that later became known as the Empire.

With the evolution of the Empire, "the real story" behind the Legion has also evolved. Now, over one hundred years later, the Legion's magically enhanced skills are explained as "the true blood of the original human race", which soldiers and their heirs managed to preserve - on comparison with the rest of the population, that was "weakened by uncontrolled magic". As to the magically enhanced items, these are described as "sacred", with their effects due to the glory of the Legion's earlier hero-soldiers - rather than based on magic spells.

A major undertaking of the Second Legion since the Cataclysm is their on-going campaign to "lay to rest the bones of our brothers and fathers", which is focused on finding, digging up and re-burying the remains of earlier legionaries, with their advanced weapons and armor taken away to the Empire's closely guarded armory. Since the artefacts are described as "sacred", these weapons and armor cannot be openly traded - if someone lays their hands on such items, they must immediately bring them to the armory of the Empire, where they are generously rewarded. Using such items for personal purposes outside of the imperial army is punishable by death.

You, or your disciples, may try your hand at locating and digging up such artefacts, even though there's a very little probability to find those in the east. As to venturing west, where the legions originally perished, this presents a significant risk: not only will your disciples enter the territory with heavy presence of the Inquisition, but they may also encounter on such quests the imperial parties that are looking for the same thing, and will be absolutely unhappy to see competition.

The flag of the Empire is the interpretation of the Legion's original flag: now the hand is open, offering help to those in need; the triangle represents the knowledge of the state, and its stability; and the crown shines its light on all of Rund, until there are no more dark corners left in the world.

While being a runaway mage is a crime punished throughout the Empire, catching such runaway mages is far from being a priority for the imperial army, which spends the majority of its efforts on securing the western border with the barbarian tribes as well as on preventing the stronger among the lords of the Wild Lands from becoming too independent from the capital and avoiding its tax collectors.

The troops of the Empire are well-equipped, and fast - its soldiers are among the few who have the right to keep horses (horses are a rare and valuable asset that attracts immediate attention; outside of the army, only lords have horses, while the common folk uses donkeys and oxen).

At the same time, even if the army became concerned with your case, it is unlikely that they would pursue it - until and unless your Spire becomes a major force that may actually threaten the territorial integrity of the Empire. For their main advantages - fast travel and impressive strength of regiments - are of little use in the Wild Lands that are covered by ancient forests and often lack even the basic roads.

It is the Inquisition that is responsible for the criminal cases that involve mages, including those who ran away from the Guild of Mages; and while the Inquisition is very enthusiastic about their agenda, they are not yet as powerful as to command the attention of the Emperor.

Yes, there is possibly a threat somewhere in the Wild Lands. Perhaps a mutant settlement that's growing too strong. Perhaps a lord that's hiding a son who possesses the magic talent. Or maybe a village that started to trade with cyclops, leaving food at the entrance of their cave and finding iron there a few days later. But this is still too small for the imperial army to become attached to the matter… until it starts to present a real and actionable threat to the state.

While the Inquisition portrays itself as the always-alert, always-present force on the forefront of the fight to keep dangerous magic under control, the reality is often different. The job involves extensive travel, and the majority of the reports about 'wild mages' turn out to be false. Down on the ground, serving in the Inquisition is mostly about routine investigations, and a bit of politics, rather than about actually confronting the real danger. Quite a significant number of people who serve in the Inquisition give much more attention to their own career opportunities, rather than to the main cause of the organization.

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