The Empire came about with the best of intentions. Emergency High Marshal Gallus Tretarian reformed the Harithman Republic a few years after the Beast Wars were resolved in 140 ATC, citing the need for unity and solidarity in the face of the new rebel threat in the east and the newly discovered dragon fiefdoms in the west. After living for over 150 years at this point in time, many saw him as a blessing sent from the gods to lead them into peace and prosperity. If peace were to be maintained, he argued, the weight and ways of the past must be cast off. With this justification, he cast off the millenia-old name of Harithma and renamed the capital to Tretaria. Eventually the new Emperor would establish a new imperial religion and lay down a series of laws that would ensure his rule for centuries to come.
Now, Emperor Tretarian rules from his fortress-palace, the Black Keep. Most nights he can be spotted atop its' tallest spire, watching over his loyal subjects and, some say, watching for those being unruly or unlawful to bring swift justice and order to his lands.
The Empire currently consists of the regions formerly known as Harithma, Southern Harithma, the Beasthills, Brightvalley, and a portion of the Dune Kingdom. These have been changed into the Capital Province, Middle Province, Eastern Province, Lower Province, and the Badlands respectively.
After the Harithman Republic defeated the Free Peoples Republic and their enormous hordes of orcs, hobgoblins, giantkin, and other "beastmen" in 140 ATC, they declared the region under Republic control and the lands safe for settling. The Beast Wars, as they would later be called, further solidified the need for Chancellor Gallus' position as Highmarshal. After the war, the Highmarshal declared the area safe and secure enough to begin settling, and so a new age of eastern expansion began.
In 155 ATC, after 15 years of relative peace and prosperity in the Republic, Chancellor Gallus declared a temporary absence and left the Republic in the Senators' hands while he investigated... something in the Realm of Magic (Later called the Cognitive Realm).
In 205 ATC, the Chosen One (a prophesized human woman that was said to be fated to 'topple giants') launched her first surprise attack in the south of the Beasthills. The Legion had only a token presence in this area, and were quickly overwhelmed. Word spread like wildfire, with every village and town attacked sending more and more refugees out into the other fledgling settlements.
The Chosen One ripped through the southern Beasthills, quickly moving east and taking over all of the mainland Istian fortresses. After a few disastrous skirmishes by the Istian Navy, the oligarchy quickly decided to cut its' losses and surrender to their foe. Through intense negotiations (the Istio ruling classes only real skill), Istio became a mostly independent underling of the Chosen One, sending a large portion of their resources and soldiers in regular shipments to the fortress docks now held by the beast armies. With the new shipments of food, metal, and soldiers, the Chosen One was able to redouble her efforts and started moving west, taking every settlement in her path.
In 207 ATC, the Chosen Ones army reached St. Benton, the easternmost fortress of the Harithman Republic. Perhaps understanding that the city was impervious to sieges due to its supply lines and vast stores of resources, she ordered a multi-pronged assault on the city through the lake, sewers, air, and ground. A scant few minutes after the battle started, Chancellor Tretarian reappeared on the shores of Lake Century in a flourish of swirling lights and gusting winds.
His presence after so many years bolstered the once-flagging morale of the Legionnaires in the city; once he joined the fight directly with his newfound physical abilities, the tide very quickly turned against the monstrous armies. The Chosen One, sensing she was now outmatched, retreated back into the Beasthills.
The Second Beast War was now in full swing, with the Chancellor taking command and getting the Legion back into fighting shape. Many had questions regarding his absence and new abilities, but no written record of his responses, if any, exist.
What is known, however, is that the Legion started winning battle after battle and forced the rapidly-declining beast armies to resort to guerilla tactics. Wherever Chancellor Tretarian joined the field himself, there were few Legion casualties. Those that would speak on the matter likened him to a god of battle, using his incredible strength and skill to slaughter the enemy forces without a scratch on himself. Soon, where the Chancellor showed, the enemies fled.
It took 3 years to retake all the territory lost and to finally corner the Chosen One herself. The Chancellor pushed her to the North Beasthill Redoubt and had an advance force burn all of the Istian ships in the harbor. Cut off from her southern strongholds and a retreat to the water, the prophesized hero they called the Chosen One was unceremoniously captured by Chancellor Tretarian and his forces. No record of what they did exists, but hushed whispers from the more loose-lipped of the Legionnaires there that day say that Gallus walked over to the Chosen One, dragged her into the water, and drowned her himself. They spoke also of his bone-chilling silence during the entire ordeal, as if he simply was annoyed at her struggling to resist his strength.
In 210 ATC, after the conclusion of the Second Beast War, Istio was forced to confront what they had done. Then-Chancellor Gallus moved to enact heavy trade sanctions on the island nation as recompense for their contributions to the enemy. They had little choice but to comply. Over time, new atrocities would come to light and Istio would inevitably be blamed each time. The Senate used the outrage to enact heavier sanctions on Istio, further improving Harithma's economic position and scoring easy points with their constituents.
Inevitably, owing to the slowly increasing economic pressure, Istio revolted. In the waning winter at the start of 284 ATC, Istian diplomats revealed the signing of an Independence Agreement, insisting that they be left alone and all sanctions removed as they were no longer under the Republic's thumb.
It took the Legions 9 months to conquer Istio. Between the horrific undead invasion of the largest island, the flagging economy, and the general hopelessness the citizens felt towards the overwhelming strength of the Republic, the proud history of the once-great trading empire collapsed. The leaders were given a choice, give up their wealth and power and become citizens of the Republic, or die.
Public executions were held for the leaders who resisted. In an effort to boost loyalty, Gallus toured the islands, meeting the new Republic citizens and reassuring them that their prosperity was only just beginning. Legionnaires garrisoned all the major cities, but the city of Emporio was declared a disaster area and additional forces and resources were sent to fight off the hordes of wandering undead.
In 141 ATC, a joint expedition of the free Gnomes and the Republic encountered a ship flying flags no one recognized. They approached, signalling wildly and shouting across the water to make sure they were clear about their peaceful intentions. Thankfully, the others understood and the two ships quickly pulled up alongside each other to talk. The others had a number of half-dragons on their crew, and explained that they hailed from a land called Ragoth, specifically from the lands of the Red Court.
In short order, communications were established and initial discussions about each others lands proceeded at a breakneck pace. It was decided a joint celebration would be held, with each side showing off their food and drink to the other. Once everyone had sufficiently recovered the following day, they each agreed to head home and share the monumental news with their leadership: they weren't alone on Sarella!
Trading was somewhat slow for decades due to the distance between continents, and the sheer hostility of the intervening ocean. In 286 ATC, a misunderstanding between traders devolved into an all out fight, with each side limping back for reinforcements, returning with half a dozen ships each. All told, there were 400 casualties between the two sides before the Chancellor stepped in and requested a meeting with the Dragon Lord responsible.
Negotiations were able to uncover the truth in short order and thus, a scant few months after hostilities started, an official peace treaty between the Republic and the Red Court was signed. Over the following weeks, the Chancellor would meet with all 4 of the other Lords and sign additional peace treaties with each of them, with only Black demanding concessions. Once the Chancellor gave the Black Lord the agreed-upon alchemical samples, peace was official between the Republic and all of Ragoth.
The Chancellor returned home after over a year abroad, wary of this new, dangerous neighbor. By 350 ATC, all of the Chancellor's pieces would be in place, and the Imperial Reformation would begin.
After the celebration of the new year in 350 ATC, the Chancellor declared that the Republic would undergo a restructuring. The Chancellor claimed that he was rooting out corruption and allowing the common man more upward mobility, but anyone who knew all the pieces well enough saw it for what it was: a solidification of power. The now-Emperor began construction on a new keep, moving out of what was still known as King Gaius' old palace in an attempt to distance himself from the old ways.
The Senate was to be kept intact and their elections continuing to be democratic, but the Emperor would still have the final word in any of their proposals. It was claimed that this was an anti-corruption measure, since as the Emperor is the only one who can be trusted not to be corrupted, he retains the right to dismiss any obviously self-serving proposals and legislation.
The old Republic had no official church, allowing for a multitude of various monotheistic and polytheistic beliefs. The new Empire, however, declared the Emperor the personification of all benevolent gods' wills and therefore the ultimate worldly deity. Old religions were not technically illegal, but any religious institution that wanted to operate in an official capacity needed to be part of the Imperial Religion.
Once the Unified Theory of Magic gained wider acceptance, the Emperor realized that worship literally became strength thanks to the effects the sentient mind has on the Cognitive Realm. Following this acceptance, the Emperor started cracking down much harder on all other religions, officially only recognized as cults. The relationship of the people to the Emperor in a religious capacity is quite complicated to this day, with many praising the Emperor as a personification of whatever other deity they believe in. The Way of the Open Heart maintains texts on old religions in its' many libraries, having been granted a special exemption by the Empire thanks to their many good deeds and benevolent ways.
Today, there are still some believers that have held true to their ancient religions. Unfortunately for those religions, as many of those believers convert fully to Imperial worship, the power of those old gods fades and transfers to Emperor Gallus. Thus continues the self-feeding cycle: physical demonstrations of power convert skeptics, giving him more power to demonstrate, shaking faith in the old 'unseen' gods, granting him more power, etc. It certainly helps the believers that the Emperor has lived for over 1000 years with no apparent aging and has a nearly unknown personal life.
After the rise of the now-Emperor Tretarian, Elves were cast down from their opulent lives and forced to live in squalor. Emperor Tretarian had been forced to play nice with the haughty ruling class for centuries, until he could maneuver himself into a position to do something about it. He informed the populace that because Elves had treated every other race as second-class citizens for all of recorded history, they were now to be cast down and spend their time as bottom-rung citizens instead. Every other race was to be treated as equals, but elves were to be given special sanctions and punishments as recompense for all of their manipulation and pain they had caused over the last few thousand years.
Those elves that were found to not harbor rebellious intent were "allowed" to live in specially-designated areas of major cities, with various restrictions. Even now, 400 years after the Purge, the contempt towards the elves has changed little. Most elves find themselves victims of constant mistrust, suspicion, and assumptions of guilt. Most of the Garrison finds patrolling the elven districts more trouble than the people inside are worth, leading to an almost independent nation within each major city policed by its' own people.
Recently, there have been small but growing movements calling for the punishments of elves to end. Most of this is dismissed as bleeding-heart empathy and an ignorance of the past, but many hold out hope that legendary heroes can negotiate for their release, and end their suffering.
The Imperial Railroad was completed in 170 2e and connects the eastern, western, and southern ends of the Empire. The trains use an arcanium-laced steel rail on both the track and the train itself to achieve a form of levitation, similar to real-life maglev trains (though not nearly as fast). Typical fares are between a few silver and a few gold (dependent on distance and first class/coach/etc) and average speeds are about 75mph.
The Imperial Gate System has only recently been completed, starting with a gate to Outerworld and adding the Ragoth Gate in 190 2E. The system allows large amounts of man and material to be transported instantly from one Gate to another, but requires a skilled wizard to operate and consumes a small amount of Arcanium each usage. The first gate was set up to ease transport from Outerworld to Sarella, as previous trips required very powerful wizards working in conjunction to transport everything, and they could then only make one round trip per day. Now, the system has been relatively streamlined, allowing individuals to depart in large groups for a nominal ticket cost. Trips to Ragoth and Outerworld are both heavily regulated thanks to political tensions and hostile fauna, respectively. Most individual tickets to Outerworld run about 25 gold, and those to Ragoth average about 15 gold.
The Inquisition is the official enforcing body of the Empire in its entirety, in contrast to local garrisons or militia (real-life feds vs local police). They police the wealthy, politically important, large churches, and anything in between, ensuring religious loyalty and prompt payment of taxes. In the 100th year of the 2nd Era the Emperor formed his Black Hand: 5 elite Steel Inquisitors that he wields as his personal enforcers. These Steel Inquisitors are implanted with Blessings and have been… reworked to the Emperors' specifications, resulting in what are possibly the most dangerous beings on the continent save the Emperor himself. Few have seen the Steel Inquisitors and lived, so rumors abound regarding their identities, abilities, and motivations. Very little has been substantiated... just as they prefer.
Halflings:
When the Empire was finished with their subjugation of Istio, they turned their sights south to address the odd rumors coming from the Dune Kingdom. The Emperor sent the 1st and 2nd Legions south to investigate, but they were held up in Brightvalley, a Halfling army and a mountain of a political mess blocking their passage. The Legates were not authorized to attack as they were not at war with the smallfolk, so they sent word to Emperor Gallus and waited in the southernmost fortress of the Empire.
The Empire was fresh off of conflict with Istio and tired of war, so Gallus decided an overwhelming show of force would cease hostilities before they began. The Emperor ordered 4 more legions to march south, leaving only 2 to defend the Beasthills and Harithma. Four weeks later, the Halflings saw the forces and equipment arrayed against them, and wisely decided it was better to live under their protection instead of in opposition.
A fair treaty was signed, and the Halfling army was disbanded and their lands annexed into the Empire. The Legions continued south without conflict, unaware that it was too late to stop the coming tide of Arcanium and the warped monsters it produced.
Hobgoblins:
The hobgoblins were more than happy to join such a powerful ally. Of course, this was a new attitude that only came about once the previous High Marshal of the Hobgoblins was deposed and a more favorable ruler took the throne. Gallus worked with Morrow's Shield to depose the sitting High Marshal, an isolationist traditionalist. The Hobgoblins are given special dispensation to continue their ancient religion, given the special circumstances surrounding it (see Hobgoblins for details).
Once this was done, the Hobgoblins joined quietly and without fuss, becoming full citizens of the Republic.