Solurian Empire

Overview

The Solarian Empire is the Shire's newest superpower, coming onto the stage after a long period of civil war and instability in the far west. After the war, the Solarian Empire is considered to have a very high level of technology, easily rivaling the other powerful empires and nations. From the capital city of Sol, the Solarian Empire protects its' holdings and ensures peace and stability in the region through economic and military dominance. the Solarian Empire's founding precept is: From Dusk to Dawn, We watch over.

History

The history of the Solar Empire begins with the founding of the original capital city, Puesta del Sol. Puesta del Sol was founded in the early days of the Shire, so far to the north-west that it never even came into contact with the large majority of other budding nations and empires. This beginning period is now known as the Age of Night, and is the harshest and most violent period in the Solarian Empire's history.

Age of Night

The Age of Night was the period in which the Solarian Empire expanded to its' Pre-First Age size. According to historians, the Age of Night began with the short war between Puesta del Sol and the neighboring city of Malk, across the large bay. Under command of the military general Pelagin Mistus, the Solarian Empire saw its' first conquest and expansion. After this, the empire went on to conquer and claim seven other major cities in the region, vastly expanding its' area of influence. During this time, the northern territories of the empire saw a rise in plague and disease victims.

At this point, the assassination of the Solarian hero and general, Pelagin Mistus (now in his old age) sparked a war with the nearby city-state of Hardfaste. To combat this, the leading general forcibly appointed the First Emperor of the Solarian Empire, Titus Cematin. Under his rule and command of the military, the empire managed to fight the Hardfaste armies and navies to the outskirts of their capital city. The city of Hardfaste was where the assault stalled, as it was located high upon cliffs overlooking the only entry to the plateau that lead up to the city's walls. This deadly command of the assault's position led to the long Siege of Hardfaste, which was said to have lasted nearly two hundred days. Historians have determined that during the Siege of Hardfaste the first outposts and forts in the deep north went silent. At this point, the Solarian Empire's holdings included over forty-three minor towns and nine major cities, with almost one hundred thirty-seven forts and outposts. This age has been seen as the point were the Solarian Empire's holdings were the largest. Small wars and conflicts occurred with neighboring cities and holdings of other western empires, but the Solarian Empire's holdings generally held even. Puesta del Sol went through sixteen more emperors during this age, culminating with the last emperor of the Age of Night, Celtan Puest IV.

During the rule of Celtan Puest IV, a patrol in the northern territories stumbled upon a gruesome sacrificial cult which had been abducting civilians and sacrificing them to some unknown horror. Following this disturbing revelation, and the resulting reports, armed forces among the northern towns, villages, outposts, and forts discovered members of the same cult who had been spiriting unassuming citizens of the empire past the northern borders for sacrifice. After the interrogation of one of the few cult members that had no taken their life during capture, Celtan Puest IV and his council discovered that these abductions had been occurring over the time of the past twelve emperors, or nearly two-hundred cumulative years. During the investigation by a squad of knights from the capital city itself, the result of these sacrifices was dragged into the light.

Over the past years, the dark entity that had been accepting sacrifices had been gathering a vast army of undead humans and creatures of the north. Numbering in the millions, the following invasion was the reason for this age's name. The mass exodus from the north, coupled with the mass movement of military forces to combat the new threat, resulted in a level of chaos previously unseen by any other nation. Refugees from the north and injured soldiers strained the Solarian Empire's capacity for food collection and distribution, sparking riots and small conflicts all throughout the north. Nearby empires and nations began chipping away at the edges of the empire's holdings, and with the threat in the north, the empire could not respond. Due to their focus on revenge, the other nations quickly fell to the hordes of demonic undead from the north. Shortly after the loss of its' fifth major city, Emperor Celtan Puest IV began mandatory evacuations from the Solarian Empire's territory.

A surviving text from a historian at the time details the terror as Puesta del Sol was evacuated:

Upon the hills surround the city, fires rage as armies meet one with the intention to destroy and one with the intention to die. Each soldier that fell gave us a second of time but gave the dead another weapon. ... As the evacuation ships cast off, the great navy of our empire fought off the horrific atrocities the dead called boats. Even now, as we cast off, I see burning husks of great naval vessels and terrified peoples of our city swimming for safety. I fear [the empire] might not make it from this calamity.

As the surviving ships fled the empire, it was said that the great capital could be seen burning far on the horizon for many days. An estimated 73 million of the 77 million citizens of the Solarian Empire died during the invasion of the demonic undead. Every other empire and nation known to the Solarian Empire fell. This came to be known as The Long Dark.

First Age

After fleeing for nearly a year, scrounging supplies and food from the land they could find, the survivors of the Solarian Empire's Age of Night landed on the peninsula where Sol currently exists. After almost four years of building and farming, the main foundations for what would become Sol were laid. To commemorate the grandeur which was once the Solarian Empire and to remember the horrific invasion during the Age of Night, the city was named Sol and the first emperor, Pelagin Symbel, formerly the last surviving admiral of the Solarian Empire's navy, was appointed.

(editing to be continued, eventually)

Government System

The Solarian Empire's governmental center is at the capital city of Sol. Prior to the Second Age of the Solarian Empire, the holdings of the Empire were governed by the Emperor and his council of select few advisers, consisting of the General of the Army, the Admiral of the Navy, the Currency Adviser, the Civil Adviser, the Governance Adviser, and the Economic Adviser. Following the Unity movement at the end of the First Age, the emperor was removed from power and the Advisory Council was turned into the current two-part Governing Council.

From here, the Governing Council that is comprised of the military council and the civil council makes and revises laws and practices that prevent crime and allow the Empire to prosper. From Sol, the council has met in emergency sessions 137 times and has had over 1000 general session meetings. The members of the two councils can change drastically over time, which means that council-passed laws often are changed or reformatted.

As such, most cities, towns, and villages under the govern of the Solarian Empire have their own set of additional laws that prevent conflict between their own citizens. Each civil council member represents a selection of villages and towns (that is made known to them after their appointment to the council) who they can speak for or raise the concerns of. The military council's members advise on issues dealing with bandits, raiders, enemy empire forays, or war, and are often too busy coordinating military war and supply efforts to attend general council meetings. As such, in day-to-day governance of the Solarian Empire, the civil council holds most authority.

There have been times where the civil council has attempted to remove by law or oust the military council, but these efforts have either been proved futile or have led to drastic mistakes. For more information on this, see the articles on the Routhearst Incident and the Solarian Civil War of 1917.

Data Overview

People of the Empire

The Solarian Empire consists of a large amount of nationalities, all of whom are required to pass the citizenry exam upon immigration or upon reaching the age of 18. Failure of this test can have a variety of results, the majority of which are confidential, but usually results in a re-test at a later appointed date. The nationalities of the Solarian Empire are as follows:

Native Solarian: 67%
Ancestral Solarian: 17%
Misc/Immigrated: 16%

(Note: census data is rough on the exact amounts of Solarian citizens who stem from other nations or empires, but there is an estimated 16% of the total population that comes from outside the 'original' Solarian Empire)

The total population of the Solarian Empire, according to census data from 2014, is currently at 373,546,170 citizens, 60,932 awaiting citizenry testing or re-testing.

Culture

The Solarian Empire's culture has bits and pieces from nearly all of its' immigrated populace and claimed territory, due to the freedom each area has to practice its' religion and ancestral beliefs. However, due to the nature of the Empire's population, the main culture lies in the cultural background of the Age of Night, the First Age, and the Second Age.

The main underlying idea in Solarian Culture is that one needs to be prepared. This is seen in both its' military structure and the state of its' borders. this comes mainly from the fear of the Age of Night and a possible repeat of the flee from the undead. With this in mind, all Solarian funerals include two things: the burning of the deceased and the sending of the deceased into the ocean.

In a typical Solarian funeral, the recently passed is placed onto a small boat and pushed into the sea, where the boat is set on fire and those at the funeral watch it burn. This is followed by celebration for their passing into the life after this one and their eternal rest (they will never be brought back as one of the legion of undead).

More on this can be read in the article on the Solarian Sect.

Solarians often pride themselves on physical fitness and mental sharpness, two aspects which are seen in the wise decisions of the governing bodies and the citizens who put them there. The Solarian Military branches train rigorously and continue this training until retirement or discharge. If one cannot reach the ideal in one aspect of this, they are not cast aside or looked down upon, as Solarians view themselves only as strong as their weakest link. Often, you will see a citizen helping someone on the streets of the cities if the person is struggling to complete a task.

In regards to city planning, each town, village, or city has some aspect of a wall for defense, and some way of getting to the sea or the air in case of evacuation or retreat. Solarian ships have small boats for escape and Solarian airships have parachutes and small aircraft in the event the airship is going down.

Violence is seen as a necessary evil, but it is not avoided if other action proves fruitless or impossible. However, massive loss of life, as seen in the Unity movement during the end of the First Age, is seen as a waste of life and a possible danger to the Empire's survival.

Above all else, personal honor is valued the most. In the Empire, if you hold no honor in your dealings or actions, you cannot progress in society. Historians believe this is due to the deep roots of the Empire, and its foundation way back in the beginning of the Age of Night, where honor itself was the only thing keeping war at bay. This can also be seen in the First Age, where honorable towns or villages managed to survive through alliances or peace treaties while dishonorable groups were quickly dispatched. Oddly enough, leaving an enemy to die painfully is seen as incredibly dishonest, and as such the majority of Solarian military weapons are geared towards quickly killing an enemy with little to no warning or pain.

These values have led to conflict with certain nations and empires in the recent years.

Religions

Following the Unity movement at the end of the First Age, most violent or radical religious groups were defeated with military action or jailed under the authority of the Solarian Unity Collective. As such, religious violence and uprisings have drastically decreased in number and frequency since the beginning of the Second Age.

The main religion in the Solarian Empire is the Solarian Sect, which makes up an estimated 97% of the Empire's religious citizens. However, the Solarian Empire's other religious groups hold the same rights and freedoms as the Solarian Sect, despite the massive dis-balance in religious views. Overall, the Solarian Empire is comprised of 72% religous members and 28% non-religious members.

Military

The Solarian Empire's military forces are divided into two main branches: The Army and the Navy. The Army branch handles ground wars, domestic support, fort and outpost manning, and enforcement of the Empire's ground borders. The Naval branch handles the air-space and water-space of the Empire, the transport of military forces, the escort of vital mercantile vessels, the shipment of support supplies around the empire, and the transport of relief groups in case of natural disaster. The efforts of these two branches are mainly coordinated by the military council portion of the Governing Council.

The Solarian Military is often held as one of, if not the largest, military force in the Shire, mainly due to the large amount of citizens and territory the Solarian Empire has to protect. However, in most cases the military is avoided in events of hostile action or encroachment, as going to war would certainly mean a heavy escalation. As such, the military council has become renown for their shifty and dirty tactics, ranging from harassment of enemy forces by small, mercenary raiding groups (untraceable back to the council, of course) to economic sanctions so heavy they have been known to cripple entire cities.

While the actual and precise numbers are kept confidential by military forces, the Solarian Military is estimated to number nearly 2.8 million. This number has been unconfirmed by high-ranking officials, who have often stated Blatantly stating the amount of your military personnel is asking for some sort of trouble.

Naval Vessel Classes

Aerial Vessel Classes

Research and Technology

The Solarian Empire's technology and research capabilities and facilities have long been held as trend-setters in the breaking edge of, well, technology and research. Throughout multiple different research bases, the Empire's leading minds and researchers develop advanced cures, weaponry, transportation systems, and technology aimed towards aiding the Solarian Empire's citizens and military.

Recent speculation has led to rumor that has led to the suspicion that researchers in a base somewhere have begun researching and developing teleportation technology which may allow for travel using a separate dimension; but once again, this is unconfirmed.

Currently, the Solarian Empire is well-known for developing its' widely used Thaumo-nuclear reactors, which harness the energy of a nuclear reaction within a magically-enhanced container of synthesized crystalline form. In other words, a nuclear fission reactor that is capable of producing energy to power ships for long periods of time.

Sol has three disclosed, state-funded research bases, all of which have an unknown location:

Economic Status

The Solarian Empire has long been seen as a valued trade partner, even before the Unity movement of the first age. Due to the large amount of port and coastal villages and cities, the Solarian Empire has a vast and capable network of trading posts and re-supply points for any allied or neutral with it. In fact, nearly every city or village in the Solarian Empire is on the coast or on a river with access to the coast, making the Navy capable of easily reinforcing or protecting each and every of these points. The Solarian Navy also patrols friendly waters and air, which massively reduces the possibility that a vessel is attacked by bandit raiders or pirates.

The central trade point of the Solarian Empire is, without a doubt, the capital, Sol. From here, an estimated 79% of all trade goes to or comes from. As such, the main capital is well known for both its' ports and the goods available due to this. The Solarian Empire also provides a vast amount of trade via the unofficial fleet of merchant sailors that use airships to move overland.

Due to these trading capabilities, the Solarian Empire is, without a doubt, one of the major economic superpowers in the Shire.

Territories

The holdings of the Solarian Empire are as follows:

Cities

Note: Military action on retaking the city has long been in the works, with slow progress into the undead territory each passing year.

Rigel