History of The Empire

The known part of the world of Terra Nihil was inhabited by several empires that have existed in perfect symbiosis for centuries. Some of them were larger than others, some were smaller, some were more developed and some were developing more slowly. Despite these differences, peace and stability have been maintained in those empires by efforts and wisdom of their kings.

One of those smaller ones was an empire situated in the east side of the continent. Even since the very beginning, during which the whole land was covered only in separated settlements, strong and valiant leaders headed its people. The very first one named Adelmund united all the tribes and developed a writing system. His son, whose name was Ansgar, continued in his footsteps and initiated compulsory education, while the third king in a row named Kalle, the son of Ansgar, enacted the first basic human rights.

The empire had many kings, in one case even now already legendary Queen Ruperta, whose power about as ten bulls was a background for many legends known till these days. The land was a witness to a lot of destinies and heroic deeds, but as for now, let us move straight to the penultimate king, whose name was Lorand III, also known as Lorand III the Great, the son of Delbert IV, whose decision has brought the empire to the long awaited times of great advancement.

The sovereign Lorand III had his wife Deloise which gave birth to two sons, Ellard and Thelonius. Both were looking to him with respect and humility. Lorand III ruled righteously and benignantly and that is why he was so popular and enjoyed by the people and the royal court. Given the fact that he loved his land, he could no longer look at the misery of the least developed parts of the empire and the very slow development of the most prosperous ones, therefore he had summoned the greatest wise men, mostly alchemists, who after many years of experimentation and research invented an element capable to make life in the empire easier and help the land to the advanced development. They named it lunarium.

Lunarium is a mixture of synthetic oils and natural ingredients enriched with radioactive rays collected from Moon’s radiation through huge towers called lunarium gathering devices. This element brought an unlimited source of light and heat and thanks to it the empire was quickly able to bring feeble industry and the commercial sector back to life. Lunarium was manufactured in special factories mainly by volunteers and prisoners and delivered to the whole empire through a complicated network of infinitely long pipes and reservoirs. The Empire was experiencing its best period at that time.

One day, the royal family was hit by a tragedy. To these days still an unknown offender took advantage of the situation, that Lorand III was participating in a traditional hunt, overcame the high walls of the castle and murdered Deloise. This unfortunate event has hit hard the entire land and the royal court, but especially Thelonius, who loved his mother more than anything.

Not so long after the murder of Deloise, the empire was hit by another terrible fate. Ellard, the son of Lorand III the Great, was found dead on a path leading to the neighboring empire. He was travelling there with a couple of ambassadors in order to present the might of lunarium and offer it as an opportunity for further development. His death is still being shrouded by mystery, since even though the official results of the investigation says about an unfortunate incident, several clues found on the scene indicates that it was an another murder related to the royal family.

Those times were too difficult for Lorand III to handle and due to them he fell ill. His illness was so serious that he could no longer continue as a ruler of his land and so knighted Thelonius as a new king. Thelonius continued in the father’s footsteps and was advancing in development of the empire. Beside that, he also used lunarium in order to make the army stronger and also developed a special military unit, so called the Lunomancers, but that all was against the will of his father, the former king. Thelonius has defended his decision aiming on the protection of the empire and the magical element from a potential invasion of armies of the other empires which could plan an attack in order to gain Lunarium by violence and terror.

On January 21, 1298 Lorand III the Great died and soon after that Thelonius was appointed as a supreme commander of the military units. The Empire has began to write its new chapter.

The Empire in the present

The Empire is set in an industrial-gothic architectural style powered by a mighty element called lunarium. All the buildings and places in the land are connected via pipes, pumps and various machines running on it creating a complex network that distributes lunarium to the every corner of the Empire.

The current leader of the Empire is the Emperor Thelonius. The Empire under his command has totally disposed of the hunter and gatherer lifestyle as well as farming only to use the potential of lunarium to the fullest. Thelonius has began to expand the Empire by offering the latest lunarium technologies to the other lands, thus, if he was accepted, he gained control over them. Despite the revolts of some resistance groups in those lands, most of its people welcomed lunarium since the quality of its lives has incomparably increased. 

Geographically, the Empire is mostly covered in a complex of mountain ranges called the Night Highlands. There is a lot of gothic castles scattered over the hills and below them there are usually farmers who live there. The Empire’s boundaries extend to the regions of  unpopulated forests and swamps on the northwest side,  the east and southeast of the land borders an ocean which still bears no name. The west, northeast and southwest side border the neighboring empires.

Lunarium

Lunarium is a mixture of synthetic oils and natural ingredients enriched with radioactive rays. It is produced in special factories where except the scientists there were also volunteers and prisoners working there in the past. In the present most of the workers are only prisoners and slaves that work in harsh conditions. Their only reward are small vials of lunarium to which they are addicted. A possible by-product of the lunarium production can be toxic substances able to contaminate the enviroment.

Lunarium as a digestible product has huge negative impacts on the consumer. Signs of mutation can be seen after a long term of usage, which can lead to premature death or a mutation. Mutations are still a matter of the research and its exact cause is still uknown. To avoid these negative consequences the Empire created an inhibition mechanism called the Lunar device, which has numerous benefits. The user of the device can consume large doses of lunarium with seemingly no side effects.

Lunar Device and Lunomancers

A device integrated into the body of a soldier that can be mounted on the back of the wearer. It is difficult to manufacture, requires special training for the wearer and can therefore be usually worn only by generals, officers and high-ranking soldiers as well as the Emperor himself. It is partially integrated into the body with a complex system of pipes that connect to the blood stream.

The actual wearer of the device – a Lunomancer – is only a tool in the hands of a higher power. There are several versions of the device. The basic version (Mark I) has a significantly reducted intake and regulation of lunarium into the body. The holder of this version receives only a few basic skills. Each subsequent version improves the wearer’s powers greatly. The highest level device (Mark IV) is possessed only by the Emperor.

Savages

The Savages are various tribes, hordes and kinds of thinking creatures that originally did not belong within the original borders of the Empire, for the last time seen during the reign of Lorand III the Great, but after peaceful conquering their lands by the emperor Thelonius they became its part. In the present, most of them inhabits the outside the Empire, those least developed lands and parts of Terra Nihil. In the past they were a hard core of riots happening during the times when their lands had merged with the Empire.