The Pandese Empire

Population: 17.2 million. Sometimes called Pandesa. The largest realm of Bandagora located in southern Belandria and Dacria. In addition, Pelosi, Norsa, Italbar and other islands are Pandese. The Pandese cities number the capital Pandesa and Hardor, Plendor, Sleet, and Hest. The Pandese is a highly civilized country with a strong tradition of stable social order. The aristocracy are privileged but also have many duties that endanger their lives. Note that though the raising and maintenance of armies is done by the central government, it is natural for the aristocrats to become officers in the imperial army. And per Pandese tradition, a commander leads his troops from the front line, not from the rear. The Pandese have a strong sense of nationality, honor and loyalty, things they see as closely related to their view of the gods. Enki has ever been the dominant deity of the Empire, although other gods, most recently Lilith, have been more influential for short periods of time. The intricate social order, where each knows his place and displays this knowledge by discreet signs such as correct form of address, can make the Pandese appear haughty and condescending to foreigners. A servant who waits on nobleman from another country will do as he is ordered, but will be hard pressed not to show signs of his wonder that one can be a noble without knowing the basics of civilized speech. Though hardly the only reason, a partial explanation is that the Empire has had a history of being surrounded by hostile barbarians. Two related languages are spoken in the Pandese Empire: Dinors and Dacrian, the border between the two languages lies roughly to the west of Hardor. Among the aristocracy mastering both languages is natural, and aristocrats often test the mettle of any upstarts by switching between the two languages during conversation.
The Imperial succession is limited to ten families and the Pendragon knights. When an emperor dies, the throne is offered first to the family of the deceased, then to the other families ranked by the shortest time of absence from the throne and finally to the Pendragon knights. Women may rule as well as men, but all must qualify by defeating three different gladiators in the public arena. They may lose any number of times. Currently, the Fachan house ranks first by virtue of Hardaukar's rule, then come the houses (in that order) Sunobon, Atlida, Cato, Romus, and Vega - all of which have had the head of their house rule the Empire at least once. Then come houses (also in order) Telemis, Revar, Ecto, and Orega. At the moment, House Fachan does not have another candidate for the throne. Hardaukar's nephew, Sardis, does have one victory in the arena, but he was sorely defeated in 1114 and has not made another attempt since then. In the event that Hardaukar dies before one of his own sons qualifies (even if the oldest son, Nikopol, repeats his father's remarkable feat and makes his third win at the tender age of 14, this won't happen until 1125), the three-tined crown will then be offered Comilis, head of House Sunobon. If he refuses, it then passes to Verdis Atlida. Only two women have ever qualified for rule, of which only Yolande was made ruling empress. The unlikely clause that a Pendragon knight can be emperor has been invoked once, when the Empire was on its knees, and war had depleted the ranks of the Imperial families (see Nikopol I).
Maps V, VI, IX and X.
==History==
The Empire consider its history to start with the founding of Pandesa as a Dacrian colony. The precise date is a bone of contention among Pandese historians, but most argue that the city was founded -152, three years prior to the founding of Hardor. In -24 Pandesa seceded from Dacria, and grew to be a large kingdom in the course of the next centuries, with colonies on Osbane. But in 419 Pandesa lost its Osbantine possessions to Ontaine, and in 442 a civil war broke out. At the peace in 445 the nation was divided into two parts: Pandesa and Norsala. This division lasted until 517, when Zagyath  had conquered all of the larger Dacrian cities except Hardor. Pandesa, Norsala and the Dacrian Union then founded the Pandese Empire making the Pandesan royal family the new Pandese Imperial family and making the priest king of Hardor second in command (see Pontifex Maximus). At this time the Pendragon order was made an Imperial order. Though unable to hinder the fall of Hardor in 519, the Empire had finally regained Dacria from Zagyath by 527. Then 30 years of peace followed, but in 557 Ontaine invaded the western part of the Empire, not stopping before they had reached the base of Eubonia in 563. The Pandese did not have the strength to attempt to regain the lost lands, and simply had to suffer the loss. In 631 the Iluvar invaded Dacria and had conquered most of it by 634, leaving only Hardor and Plendor untouched. Ontaine renewed its attacks in 651, and in 655 they reached the lines of the Iluvar near Hardor. Then they turned back to Eubonia, besieging and finally taking Pandesa in 673. At that time, all that remained of the Empire was Hardor, Plendor, Norsa and Italbar. If the Ontainians had really made an effort, they would have destroyed the Pandese Empire. 
A lost chance many Ontainians bemoan today. Instead the tide of war turned. Ghorghis had died in 661, and without the drive of an ambitious ruler, the Iluvar slowly returned to being what they were to begin with, nomads. The Pandese did not dare to declare war before 732, but then the campaign was successful, and by 740 the Iluvar had been driven out of Dacria. In the meantime two events had shaken Ontaine, firstly the Dark Stallion, secondly the Kangrisorn Prophecy. These two events in combination made Ontainians emigrate to the north in droves, leaving those who stayed arguing about who was in command. When the Ontainian civil war broke out in 753, the Empire had prepared, and by 755 Pandesa was reconquered. The next 200 years the Empire gradually regained its lost territories. In 970 the Pandese Empire and Ontaine made what Penboyn called an "unholy alliance". The Pandese assisted Ontaine in the Kangrisorn Wars in return for land. In 973 the Pandese was given the territory within 50 miles southwest of Brangalynn, including Telluria. This made the Empire the enemy of many, notably Penboyn, and in 1035 the Empire changed sides again with the Treaty of Vintendra In the ensuing war, they conquered Pelosi from Ontaine. In 1073 the Empire attacked Nordacria and conquered Ollyway and Hest. Ollyway rebelled repeatedly, however, causing the death of Milatis VI in 1099. This made way for Hardaukar III, who gave Ollyway back to Nordacria at the peace in 1108. Despite the peace with Nordacria, Hardaukar appears an aggressive emperor who surprisingly took the Kirrlar Pass in 1105. The expected grand scale war with Ontaine has yet to come.????
==Legal system. ==
See also the Pandese Senate. The Pandese Empire is rigidly structured, not as much by law as by social hierarchy. In many ways it is the ultimate clientele state, where most citizens cannot prosper unless he or she is protected by either a patron or an organization. For example, women are considered the equals of men in the eye of the law, yet few women hold positions of power. In practice, an adult woman cannot do anything of significance without the consent of her husband (if she is married) or her father (if not). If she were to do so anyway, she would be shunned by society despite her doing nothing illegal. Similarly, a farmhand would be ill advised to contradict the farm manager, who again would not cross the landowner, and so forth all the way up to the aristocracy. 
In the Pandese Empire all are considered equal by the law. All crimes are assessed by the local proctor (a kind of sheriff), and his ruling is imparted immediately upon reviewing all relevant facts. The goal of such judgment is to undo any damage to the victim, and if this is impossible, then to punish the perpetrator by doing equal damage to him. If the damage is monetary, short or long time slavery is a common punishment. If no one else demands the services of a convict, the Zarunese sulfur mines are always in need of workers. Note that the above means that killing a slave is punishable by death, at least in principle.
There are three exceptions to the above. One is sacrilege, where the punishment is meted out by the desecrated temple or temple of the appropriate god. Another is trial by combat where the suspect may absolve himself by defeating a Pendragon knight (preferably) or a kaerl ungar officer (usually). This possibility is mostly employed in connection with crimes of passion, most crimes are not eligible for trial in this fashion. The final and most common exception is the court trial, in which the accused pays for the full legal proceedings including a professional judge and an impartial jury in the nearest city or large town. The judge and jury are appointed by the city governor or town burgomaster. In these cases the accused often gets off with compensating the victim financially and paying a fine to the city. It is standard procedure unless protested by the victim's side. This means that a nobleman in the countryside can kill a slave and suffer nothing but a huge fine, either because the murdered has no one to speak his case, or the relatives prefers the money. Note that actual trials are not very common, as most cases are "tried in the court of public opinion" with an eye both to the local power structure and to tradition, mostly ending in a combination of self-inflicted punishment, exchange of favors or goods, and monetary compensation.
The use of "uncontrolled" magic is forbidden in the Pandese Empire. Uncontrolled magic is either obvious energy discharges or attempts at influencing the mind. The punishment is forced enrollment in the Pandese army. The minimum sentence is one year, more if someone got hurt.