[center][b]Etruscan Empire[/b][/center] [img]http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs51/f/2009/288/1/1/Rheinland_Freelancer___flag_by_Neethis.png[/img] [b]Government Type:[/b] Autocratic Empire (L'etat, c'est moi!) [b]Economy Type:[/b] Mercantilism, Isolated [b]Capital:[/b] Cesia [b]Race(s):[/b] Humans, other races are shunned and persecuted [b]Leader(s):[/b] *Emperor Endor, the Duke of Cesia, Primarch of Aedus, Defender of the Realm *The Duke of Galenave, Marshal of the Empire, the High Captain *The Duke of Veii, Keeper of the Sword, Lord of the Marches *Saar Tarquin, Intendant of Coldomore, Admiral of the Arenreil [b]Persons of Importance:[/b] [b]Military:[/b] The Imperial Army is a relatively new beast. Though there was always forces loyal to the Emperor, until Emperor Horus's reforms the soldiers were loyal first to their princes, then to the Emperor. In addition, as it was the responsibility of the prince to equip his army, and most princes controlled only a small territory, the etruscan armies were frequently defending their lands with obsolete weaponry. Emperor Horus ended all this, leaving only a token force at the command of the prince, the rest serving, and being payed by, the Empire. This reform was one of the major causes of the Ducal Wars, which also served to prove the efficacy of the Emperor's system. The Imperial Army is divided into three great branches, each led by a magnate. [center][b]The Ostendeil (Infantrymen)[/b] [img]http://www.cmhg.gc.ca/cmh/book_images/high/v1_c2_s08_ss01_02.jpg[/img] The Ostendeil forms the core of the army. Its soldiers are equipped muskets and swords; Typically, they will fire a volley into the enemy lines before charging in to engage them in brutal close quarter combat with their blades. It is infamous for its mortality rate: Using the vast manpower pools of the Empire as its primary resource, the generals are known to throw thousands to their deaths without hesitation. As a result, most battles in which the Empire engages in become meat grinders. Despite the heavy casualties this strategy causes, it is surprisingly effective, as very few enemies are capable of sustaining this kind of warfare. The nobility serve apart from the commoners, acting as cavalry, harassing the enemy and chasing down those who run. Both commoners and nobles suffer terribly at the mere mention of insubordination, however. The first offense results in flogging, the next hanging. Discipline is all-important. The Ostendeil is led by the Duke of Galenave. [b]The Arenreil (Air Fleet)[/b] [img]http://th03.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2013/008/3/3/heavy_airship_design_by_michalkus-d5qw4bf.jpg[/img] The Arenreil is the pride of the Imperial Army, and according to many, the finest killing force prowling the sky. It first began under Emperor Horus, built almost from scratch. Emperor Endor's father expanded it considerably, and Endor himself has continued this policy. The large quantities of Etherium inside the Empire are jelously guarded by the Emperor, without which such a fleet would be impossible to keep in the air. Each ship is under the command of a nobleman, and they are frequently passed down from father to son, thought the Emperor reserves the right to appoint his own captain. Only the finest men of the Empire are permitted to serve on these flying behemoths. No position of command is more prestigious than the admiralship of the Arenreil, currently held by Saar Tarquin, a man of cloth. The Arenreil's destructive power is unrivaled, though its focus on heavy warships has led to a shortage of light corvettes capable of protecting the trade routes to Quodra. [b]The Reil (Fleet)[/b] [img]http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/301/5/7/carrier_battleship_by_waza8i-d31phcq.jpg[/img] The Reil is currently led by the Duke of Veii. Once the pride of the Empire, it now suffers under the shadow of its brother, the Arenreil, which also takes the lion's share of the Emperor's favor and funds. It is not by any means frail, its massive battleships capable of matching the fleet of any other nation, but it is undersized, and most of the ships are outdated. The sailors who serve in the Reil are equally unsatisfactory, with their low pay leading to discipline issues. Still, its capacities are adequate for its usual duties. [/center] [b]Brief History:[/b] The peoples of the empire have inhabited the region since the dawn of civilization. For most of this time, the land was fractured in a patchwork of tiny nations, first the innumerable chiefdoms, and then the petty princes. Many great civilizations, seeing this weakness, campaigned to expand their influence there, and for a long time the rulers of the land were unable to work together effectively. It was in this world that Aedus was born. He was of a people known as the Etruscans, one of the multitudes of tribes inhabiting the region, his father a moderately successful merchant. He spent much of his life as any other, taking up his father's trade, yet all that changed when one day he received a vision in a cloud. The peoples of Adrius worshiped false gods, he was told, and the only true gods were Nya, the bringer of life, and Karo, bringer of death. The faithlessness of mortals was due to the deceit of Karo, who sought to turn away mankind from Nya with the aid of his inhuman servants. Aedus preached his new faith with zeal, and united the Etruscans under the banner of Nya. They then sought to cleanse the land of the vile influence of Karo, conquering a vast swathe of territory. Non-humans were massacred or expelled from the land whenever a territory was taken. The drive was led by brilliant generals who defeated armies many times the size of their own. Though Aedus was murdered by a pagan zealot, he became a martyr for the Etruscans, and his son was named Emperor (Meaning "Protector of the Faith") of the Etruscans. This was the dawn of the Empire. The young empire, led by a series of vigorous emperors, continued to expand in the following years, taking more land, and converting most of the neighboring nations to their faith. Yet this golden age was not to last, and when Emperor Ashnard died without heir, a civil war broke out which tore apart the empire. Once more, the land was divided, and the emperors would for centuries onwards be reduced to puppet rulers, their title holding no real authority. In those days, each duke ruled his lands as if they were his personal kingdom, and the nobility frequently warred each other. The discovery of etherium changed the situation, however. The Empire grew rich, as its lands were rich in this new commodity, and great trading cities along the coast emerged, dominating the seas. In addition, the emperors of the period were very capable, and slowly gathered their power, with great care not to draw the attention of the nobility until it was too late. The dukes eventually realized that their position was threatened, and in the reign of Emperor Horus they revolted in the great Ducal Wars. Though the land was ravaged, the authority of the Emperors was newly cemented, and once more the empire began preying on its neighbors, though this time with an imperialistic drive instead of religious zeal. The current emperor is Emperor Endor, the grandson of Horus. The empire he inherited is both mighty and wealthy, and he is poised to add more peoples into the Empire. There are many difficulties, however; Though the nobility were subdued in the wars, many peoples resist assimilation, and several territories, notable the Duchy of Tolos, suffer a brutal insurgency. [b]Foreign relations:[/b] *Esmaria is an ancient enemy of the Empire, with a rivalry extending all the way back to the foundation of the empire. Esmarians begrudge the loss of the western coast of the Empire, taken from them during the initial explosive expansion of the Etruscans. At the same time, the imperials still spit in mention of the Achia War, where Esmaria delivered a humiliating defeat on the divided Empire and seized Achia, the ethnically-etruscan border region between the two powers. Whenever either country goes to war, the other is sure to join the enemy side. [b]Administrative Divisions:[/b] The Empire is divided into three kinds of provinces: Duchies, ruled by the high nobility, territories, managed by the Emperor himself, and Saardoms, lands held by a Saar (Bishop). There are officially 16 of these provinces within the Empire, though South Achia is currently under Esmarian control. [img]https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/823/erkw.png[/img]