Manian Empire

The Manian Empire is an empire on the eastern side Southern Continent, with some territory in the south-west of the Eastern Continent. It is ruled by Emperor Manus XIV Medicus and it is currently the 6th year of his reign. The capital is the city of Mano, located on the banks of the River Manu.

## History

The city of Mano was founded by Manus, a demigod son of Morea, posthumously dubbed Emperor Manus I. The Manian Callendar has year 1 as the founding year of the empire, the year Manus laid the foundations of his city. During the reign of Emperor Manus II Faatus, the empire started to increase in size, conquering a number of neighbouring tribes. To facilitate this, he made an alliance with the Lung Empire, who sent general Pang Juan to assist the Manians. This led to the combined forces' defeat by General Qi and strategist Bin at the Battle of Aris' Pass.

Emperor Manus V Sine Peccato established the noble house of Maximus for his bastards towards the end of his reign to have them become the empire's greatest defenders: elite heroes capable of taking on foes far beyond the average soldier's capabilities.

The empire reached the land of Denna during the reign of Emperor Manus VII. There was an unusually high amount of resistance from the native dennans. This slowed the empire's expansion in the north. Over the succeeding centuries, all of Denna has been conquered save for the village of Irreductibles Dennis, which is currently waging a guerrilla war against the empire. The conquered part of Denna have been reorganised into the Imperial Province of Dennus.

Emperor Manus VIII Inanitas decided to invade the Eastern Continent, hoping to make some gains there while his son, Gaius Manus Userpator made the greatest gains in Denna under a single general, before or since. When the emperor conquered the kingdom of Longua in year 443, turning it into the Imperial Province of Hydrus and ending their alliance with the Lung Empire, Gaius marched on Mano with his armies and conquered it. He reigned as dictator for three months before he was assassinated.

Emperor Manus IX Multijugus established the noble house of Nobanus for his many bastards, and had it based in the Province of Hydrus. His aim was for it to fulfil the same role in the empire's territory on that continent as the Maximi did on the empire's mainland. While they have fulfilled their role well over the centuries, their higher numbers and better funding making up for their relative inexperience, they have often come to blows with the Maximi over the empire's security, particularly the Superbi branch of the family.

The 7th and earliest years of the 8th centuries of the empire were particularly bad ones, with a string of rulers who were negligent at best or tyrannical at worst. Things changed when Empress Mana XI took the throne, and people started to respect the imperial family again. Her son, Emperor Manus XIV Medicus is currently the emperor, and he is loved by the people.

## Government and Law Enforcement

The empire's government is controlled by the emperor. No laws or major acts of government can be done without his approval. Beneath the emperor are 300 senators appointed by the emperor who act as his advisors and debate legislation. There are also many public officials elected into office by the citizens of the empire, and many elected officials are given honorary positions after their term is over. Many senators hold the major official positions alongside their role as senator, and one must have had at least one official position just to qualify for appointment to the senate, although a military equivalent can also be used. Different positions have different requirements. There is a large difference between those eligible to vote and those who do vote though: voting can only be done for minor officials within major cities of the empire, and major officials within Mano itself, so those without means to be in those places at the right time miss out on their vote. "Citizen" is defined within the empire as those born to a citizen, adopted by a citizen, or granted citizenship by the emperor. Those who live within the empire who are not legally citizens have fewer rights than full citizens. The emperor annually grants citizenship to all those without citizenship who have served in the empire's military for twenty years.

Each senator is expected to provide a security force who act as law enforcement within the part of the empire that senator is in. If the senator is the governor of a province, their security force will likely be the only one within the province's capital. In Mano however, there are many competing security forces, which has led to feuds and violence between different security groups occasionally. Rank within one group does not necessarily mean anything to another group, and when one group arrests a member of another group, their senatorial sponsors typically have to sort things out between them.