** Regions of the Empire Midlands (Etra, Vala, Isla), the Provinces (Midwood, ?), the Colonies (Cover Islands, ?), and the Golden Road. The Empire How long has the Empire been around? 111 ages, but how many is that? Current one is 62 years, but some have been less than a year. The best tax records in the oldest provinces say the empire is about 60 generations (or 3000 years) old. The average length of an 'age' is therefore, about 27 years. The General Edict was given 62 years ago and has done a better job of keeping the nation running than the previous code did (the previous Emperor's reign was rife with civil war). **** The Emperor Emperor Josef IV is the official name for Lady Lizbeth Yates, the eldest daughter and only remaining survivor of the Yates line. Though technically, only a man may claim the title of Emperor, few complain that the Lady Lizbeth legally declared herself a man (or rather, few who complained about the matter remain among the living). *** The Continent **** The Midlands North of the Marble Isle Like the Holy Roman Empire if it were actually in Rome. Very melting-pot of cultures. High politics, medium magic. I need to figure out the bodies of water to get more details. Etra, Vala, Isla [transcribe from notebooks] Gleimendun is like Constantinople, a second capital of a broken piece of the Empire. Because it has broken off, the Song of Conquest is diminishing, allowing more old magics into the land. *** The Provinces **** The North There is a great difference between the area of the north claimed by the Empire, and that controlled by the Empire. The only area of the North (or Chill-Lands) from which the Empire has ever successfully collected taxes is the southernmost border settlements (of which there are 12) and Fort North. It is often said that a single southern town could more than match the value of the entire Northern province of the Empire, and that may be true in terms of wealth or resources, but in reality few forts anywhere in the Empire can brag the same quality of recruits brought into the Imperial Legion as from the tiny northern fort and outlying regions. The occasional goliath barbarian or glacier dwarf fighter making their way south and wanting to try their hands (and axes) at Legion life is more than enough incentive to keep the fort fully staffed and supplied. **** The Midwood The Northwestern-most stretch of the Deepwood, this is the most 'civilized' area of that great forest, or at least that most citizens of the Empire could ever hope to reach. Full of elves, gnomes, florans, faunus, halflings, and their kin, the Midwood is one of the most ethically non-human locations in the Jar. Regiments of the Empire's military raised from the Midwood are often called 'menageries' and use strange, but undoubtedly effective, tactics in combat. The ghostwise halflings come from an ancient ruin just outside the midwood. *** The Colonies **** Cover Islands Oft beset by pirates and even more often by deadly storms, the Covers are an expensive and dangerous colony to keep. That said, the islands remain one of the few places for the empire to acquire rare volcanic minerals and alchemical agents useful in the development of magical weapons. After the Black Tongues were disbanded in the Empire, many fled to the islands, where they find, fewer and more lax regulations on their activities. *** The Golden Road Running from the Citadel of Ice in the North to the Feet of the Last King in the South and twisting, diverging, merging, and turning around all sorts of places in between, the Gold Road is revered as sacred, and it's tireless, invisible creator worshiped by those who would seek safety traveling along its many gleaming golden cobblestones. The Golden Road belongs to the Golden God, though it is claimed by the Empire where it overlaps land claimed by the Empire. That said, the Golden Guides maintain control of the road regardless of the claims. You need a Golden Guide for the golden road, or you'll travel 100 miles and never lose sight of where you started, or worse, you'll go 90 miles to see your destination right ahead of you, then 90 more without it seeming to get any closer. The Golden Guides are either Travel Domain Clerics or (Fiend or Celestial) Warlocks. Despite the ambiguity, the Golden God himself is actually an Icon and a Fiend, a powerful one at that, and was involved in the discovery of the spell which created the tiefling pact. Once a gnome, the Golden God can be built as a [Gnome (Fine) Wizard 15 (Transmutation)/Patron 5/Icon 5]. The Golden God always needs more gold for the road, and the standing orders of the Golden Guides are to find and aid parties that can supply large quantities of gold. The Golden God builds the road daily, moving it slowly towards an unknown end. **** Lair The whole of the Golden Road is the Golden God's Lair. The gnome himself is cloaked in a Perpetual Greater Invisibility spell (via level 5 Icon power) and can cast *fabricate* at will.