Empire

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Empire (帝国)
Alias(es)	Old Empire; Ancient Empire in later Valoisian historical usage 677
Type	Emperor-led sovereign state 103
Government	Imperial monarchy with an Imperial Council; major decisions could be made through the smaller Imperial Privy Council 103 490
Capital	Imperial Capital 8 103
Status	Later exists largely in name only, leaving the Border Count's Territory and a reconstructed Imperial Capital 673
First Appearance	Chapter 4

History

Formation and regional order

The Empire's core was the former Marlin Kingdom, whose military expansion subdued northern barbarians and eastern grasslands. Conquered people were sent north as serfs or south as workshop laborers, while military fiefs tied small estate nobles directly to the Emperor 137.

Its territory was politically uneven. The Empire incorporated disparate regions with conflicting interests, which successive emperors concealed through continued warfare 137. Bayern, the southern pole of the Empire, retained exceptional autonomy because of its strategic position, wealth, and ability to resist outside enemies; its royal guard formed the backbone of the Southern Army Group 130.

Centralization and continental war

The Imperial Council's budget disputes exposed the divide between regions. The Core Zone and eastern/northern representatives sought higher military spending, while western and southern commercial regions opposed the resulting taxes and wartime trade losses; southwestern representatives, meanwhile, had proposed expanded welfare and insurance spending 103.

Behind the public debate, the Emperor accelerated the Terminating Edict project. Its prototype had already suppressed magical power across an entire city for twenty-seven seconds, and the Emperor ordered funding prioritized for reliable suppression of both magic and divine arts 103.

Southern resistance complicated mobilization. Bayern refused to place its legions under direct Imperial deployment, and other southern states followed its example; the Chancellor avoided a potential north–south civil war by turning the dispute into negotiations over how many garrison troops each state could retain 341.

Following victory over Valois, the Empire purged local military powers through tribunals, reorganized its command structure, and reduced the Duma River Alliance to a nominal existence. It ceased to function as a confederation held together by agreements and parliament, becoming a state centered on the Emperor's absolute authority 358.

William II's reign and decline

War losses and the earlier Emperor's failing health triggered factional conflict in the Imperial Capital 268 436. During the Imperial Capital Night Riots, the Crown Prince reached the palace, took the throne as Emperor William II, and pacified rebellious Imperial Army troops; Chancellor Otto resigned at the new Emperor's request 489.

William II expanded anti-magic policy despite increasingly unstable rule. After the war, Anti-Magic Devices began appearing around towns, major cities, and borders, while the Emperor considered proposals to create large-scale Dead Magic Zones 623.

The Empire later endured famine, the collapse of its eastern defensive line, a refugee flight, and the fall and reconstruction of the Imperial Capital. In the later era, it survived only in name, with the Border Count's Territory and the new capital as its principal remnants 673.

Government and Society

Imperial authority

The Emperor held decisive authority over military funding, force restructuring, and strategic projects. The Imperial Privy Council—attended by the Emperor, Chancellor, Imperial Marshal, and senior officials—handled matters considered too important for broader deliberation 103.

The Imperial Council represented regional interests but was vulnerable to electoral and property-based inequality. In directly administered and free states, only recognized citizens could vote or stand for office, and voting weight varied by land and assets 440.

After William II's accession, the Imperial Council building was destroyed during the riots. The new Emperor called for faster electoral-district reform and proposed an Imperial Privy Council above the legislature as a stabilizing institution for traditional nobles 490.

Citizenship and labor

The Empire was comparatively tolerant of intelligent races within its borders, where dwarves and demi-humans could be found alongside humans 5. This tolerance did not guarantee equal status: Polar Dwarf refugees and Grey Elves employed on Imperial railway projects lacked full citizenship and were placed under Imperial Army control as “Non-Citizens” 241.

Remnants of serfdom persisted in both the Empire and Bayern 374. Military-merit estates continued to bind conquered peoples to low-productivity agricultural labor, while military advancement became increasingly inaccessible to common soldiers 552.

Magical education

The Empire promoted academy education lasting four to six years. Graduates became official Mages and could continue into Magic Tower research, while those who left the magical path could still be recruited into the military, Imperial departments, merchant associations, or the Mage Guild 4.

Official Mages who did not pursue further study could serve as low-ranking military Mages stationed across the Empire to handle magic-related affairs 4.

Military and Industry

• The Imperial Army was a political and economic institution as well as an armed force, with its own schools, privileges, arms corporations, retired estate owners, and Army Mage system 484.
• Military-merit aristocrats, concentrated in the northern regions, were a persistent source of pressure for greater military budgets and expansion 103.
• The Empire built north–south railways using dwarf technology and monitored dwarf and Grey Elf labor. At least one line was a secret military railway intended to transport weapons against the Church 241.
• The Southern Army was reorganized after early campaigns, with local powers removed and younger graduates from Imperial military and magic academies inserted into the command chain 103 358.
• By the later war, the Empire had completed north–south logistics and infrastructure integration through the Helmut Defense Line, giving it the institutional capacity for total war 530.
• General mobilization drafted young people into the military and placed them along the Helmut Defense Line's trench-and-fortress system 531.

Anti-Magic Device Program

Terminating Edict

The Terminating Edict was developed to suppress magic and divine arts. By its early testing stage, it had completed three theoretical verification experiments and one prototype operation test; a citywide emergency activation suppressed magical power for twenty-seven seconds 103.

The Emperor demanded accelerated funding, miniaturization, and eventual mobile wartime deployment 103. During the battle on the Plain of Despair, an Imperial airship's Anti-Magic Attack stripped paladins of their divine powers before artillery targeted them 369.

Helmut Defense Line

Fourth-generation Anti-Magic Devices were installed along the Helmut Defense Line under the command of the Empire's “Great Tech Overlord.” Powered by Dulling Transmutation Dust, they required less preparation time and operated for longer periods than previous models 526.

Their activation disrupted Mage Guild communications, forcing the Guild to use contingency plans while the Empire shifted to non-magical radio communication 526.

The Empire Supernatural Security Control Act set a goal of installing long-term Anti-Magic Devices in every Imperial settlement with more than ten thousand residents within ten years 528.

Dead Magic Zones and Magic Networks

Postwar deployment extended Anti-Magic Devices around major cities and borders. The Emperor also considered the Stagnation Theory, which proposed restricting magical flow to create large-scale Dead Magic Zones 623.

Although presented as anti-magic infrastructure, much of the later system depended on outside support. Magic Generators, disruptors, and Magic Weavers were secretly supplied through the Valois Company, and the resulting Dead Magic Zones could be converted into controlled Magic Network coverage for authorized users of the new spellcasting system 641.

Relationships

• Imperial Army — The Empire's principal military instrument and a major political force, with its own Mage corps, schools, privileges, and industrial backers 484.
• Imperial Council — Representative institution for states and regional interests; repeatedly divided over budgets, electoral reform, and Imperial centralization 103 490.
• Kingdom of Bayern — Powerful southern member state whose autonomy, legions, and industrial capacity made it a persistent obstacle to central control 130 341.
• Mage Guild — Long-standing magical institution that clashed with the Empire over Anti-Magic Device deployment and cross-border communications; later returned to the Core Zone in the guise of device maintenance 384 625.
• Republic of Valois — Major military and ideological rival. The Empire later maintained a secret ceasefire with Valois amid its internal crisis 611.
• Reason Above All society — Anti-magic ideological group that offered Transmutation Dust, raw materials, steam engines, and financial support for the Empire's Anti-Magic Device network 624.
• Border Count's Territory — Semi-autonomous northern territory established by William II for Richard von Dahlberg and Imperial Spellcasters; it was exempt from Anti-Magic Device restrictions and Imperial Council oversight in exchange for defending against Mother Goddess threats 638 639.

Later Legacy

• The Empire's later historical memory was contested: Valoisian historians referred to it as the Ancient Empire, distinguishing it from the later Valois Empire 677.
• Imperial loyalists attempted to restore the old throne by abducting Alec and crowning him “Alec I” aboard an ancient starship. Alliance forces stopped the attempt and arrested the restorationists 676.