The Empire (A Different Path)

**The Empire** is the main setting for a majority of *A Different Path*and is also the main antagonistic faction, being the home of many of the villains in the story.

## Overview

 The Empire is a world superpower that has last for a thousand years, boasting vast territories, resources and power. Its capital city is enormous, covering roughly 200,000 sq. kilometers, and is encircled on all sides by a huge wall guarded day in and day out by the Imperial Army. The capital's various districts are separated by large canals in which large trade ships run through in order to reach other parts of the city. Beyond the walls of the capital the country seems to be mostly rural, with an unknown number of cities and villages scattered through the land, along with sporting some desert and mountainous regions in the southern portion and a colder, more frigid and winter environment to the north. The exact size of the Empire is unknown, but it is most definitely the largest nation on the continent it shares with its neighbors, the Western Nations, consisting of Tesla, Delarus and Teppelin, to the west, the Northern Tribes to the north, the Southern Territories that are mainly occupied by nomadic tribes, and the rarely talked about Eastern Nation that lies beyond the ocean that acts as the Empire's eastern border.

## History

When the Empire was first founded by the First Emperor the nation rapidly grew to expand across the continent, obtaining nearly limitless resources and acquiring some of the best minds in the world. At some point during this period the First Emperor, wishing to ensure his nation would be able to defend itself from any and all foreign attacks, ordered the creation of the Teigu. These weapons were all incredibly powerful and increased the strength of the Imperial Military tenfold.

Several hundred years later it is stated that the Empire experienced a huge civil war, and as a result little is spoken about this event, with the only fact being that almost half of the original forty eight Teigu were either lost or destroyed during this conflict. Four hundred years before the current time the Emperor of that era decided to create his own Teigu, but the weapons produced from this effort were no match for their ancestors and as a result were dubbed Shingu. These weapons would be later sealed away and only returned to service as the tools utilized by the current regime's Assassination Squads.

The recent history of the Empire showcases a rapid decline from its former state largely due to the ascension of the current Prime Minister who only cares for his own pleasure and rise to power. His time as Prime Minister has been marked by an increase in government corruption, a harsh economic recession, eroding public order, rampant poverty and a great dissatisfaction among the general populace. As a result of the Prime Minister's actions there have the most famous being the Northern Tribes uprising and subsequent slaughter and takeover by General Esdeath and her army where she buried alive over four hundred thousand people.

In addition to these uprisings there have also been many defections from the Imperial Military, including several Generals, which has led to the birth of the Revolutionary Army, a rapidly growing organization dedicated to the overthrowing of the corrupt regime. A sub-faction of this specific group is Night Raid, a small organization consisting of Teigu-wielding assassins, led by the former General Najenda, that either defected from the Empire or came from outside of the nation that are hired to assassinate key targets and officials within the Empire.

## Culture

The Empire has a very diverse culture due to its massive size and span, with its citizens ranging from nomadic clans, small village communities, and city dwellers. Unfortunately, due to the corrupt government there have been many attempted uprisings and vast civil unrest. The villages and towns outside of the Imperial Capital suffer from heavy taxation and many have been unable to purchase food, leading to widespread shortages and poverty in the remote areas of the Empire. This has forced many citizens to move from the country to the capital to seek money to help their village, only to find death or a fate worse then death because of the high crime rate. Another common sight within the Imperial Capital is the arrest, torture and public execution of the Prime Minister's political enemies or those whom have refused to become one of his puppets, which has lead to a general atmosphere of fear throughout the capital.

Slavery is also very common within the Empire, but thanks to an unknown method they are able to become free. To show their status as slaves they are branded with a specific mark on them. Also, as a result of the high tax rates imposed on the villages outside the capital there have been many incidents of parents selling their children into slavery in order to gain money to sustain themselves, such as with Akame and Kurome.

## Government

The Empire, as the name implies, is an absolute monarchy where the Emperor's word is law. However he does not run the nation alone, with a Prime Minister and various advisers being at his side in order to help him govern the vast territory and regions within their borders. The current Emperor, due to the death of his parents and subsequent ascension to the thrown, is merely a child and acts more like a figurehead then a true ruler, with the true mastermind and ruler being the Prime Minister and the corrupt officials he has under his control.

## Military

The Empire possesses the strongest fighting force on the continent, the Imperial Military, which is organized into three branches, the Imperial Navy, the Imperial Army, which is the largest of the branches and consists of the regular army, the Incineration Squad, and the Surprise and Attack Divsion, and the Imperial Guard, which is tasked with guarding the Royal Family and Emperor, commanded by the Great General, the highest ranking military officer within the Imperial Military. There also exists a sub-division within the Imperial Guard named "The Faceless", a special force comprised of the best soldiers picked from the Imperial Guard by the Great General himself that is tasked with guarding the Imperial Palace itself. These hand-picked men however are not commanded by the Great General, but by the Prime Minister, and they serve him or her with undying loyalty. They have also earned an infamous reputation among the Imperial Military for their unnerving silence, due to the fact they never speak, and have led some to wonder if underneath their helmets they are even human.

The Imperial Army consists of several large armies each led by a General that consist of foot soldiers and cavalry that wield weapons such as spears, swords, shields, etc. There are also specialized platoons called "Gun Squadrons" that wield rifles. The Imperial Navy, albeit being the weakest branch of the Imperial Military, still wields an impressive fleet of warships outfitted with cannons that are used to guard the coast of the Empire and monitor pirate activities. A military police force named the Jaegers, led by General Esdeath, was also created to help curb criminal activity within the Imperial Capital and to hunt down and eliminate Night Raid. However, as of recent events, the Jaegers are now considered traitors to the Empire for attempting to assassinate the Prime Minister and interfering with the public execution of member Tatsumi. As a result, command of the former General Esdeath's army has been transferred to the new Great General Jacqueline.

There are many forts and castles that surround the outer and inner parts of the country, with the most infamous and strongest of these being the Shisuikan, a towering fortress built into a small mountain range close by the Imperial Capital that can act as a last line of defense if the Empire ever comes under siege by enemy forces.

The greatest military advantage the Empire has over its neighbors however are the Teigu it currently has within its possession, these almost mythical weapons and their users proving to be a formidable fighting force on the battlefield. However, due to the loss of almost half of these Teigu, the Empire's strength has been cut by a considerable amount but not enough to be considered a problem.

## Foreign Relations

Diplomatic relations with the Empire and the other nations of the world are mediocre at best. Most live in fear of the Empire due to the constant wars they wage on the nations they believe will be a threat to them in the future, with more prominent nations like the Northern Tribes detesting them to the point they attempted an uprising and were crushed. Mine has stated that the relations with the Western Nations and the Empire were so poor that it eventually came to the point when the Western Nations openly supported the Revolutionary Army and supported them in pushing for the capital with their own armies until they were effectively crushed by the New Great General and her forces led by one of her subordinates. As a result of this horrible defeat, the Western Nations were then invaded and conquered by the Empire in a matter of three days, with the remainder of its government and military forced to retreat into the mountain range located behind the capital city to wait for assistance and salvation while waging guerrilla warfare on their invaders.

The Empire maintains little to no contact with the Eastern Nation whatsoever, this lack of communication showcasing itself when the Jaegers go to the Eastern Nation and learn that its true name is the Kingdom of Straelka, and that it has technology far more advanced then the Empire, especially within its military.