Amestrian Empire

The Amestrian Empire is the most powerful human nation in Cybele. It is located in the southern regions, stretching across the entirety of the Great Plains.

## History

The empire's roots lie in the Southern Territories Compact for Trade and Defense of 8A 7002, an alliance structure which tied the four southernmost human fiefdoms together as vassals of their larger and more powerful northern neighbor, the region which today contains the capital of the Empire. In this agreement, the southern nations surrendered a portion of their sovereignty in exchange for substantial direct financial assistance and trade benefits to assist in their constant wars against orcish raiders. This compact proved quite effective, and with the joint efforts of the Southern Rangers and the northern military, the orcish threat was greatly reduced. With their borders mostly secured, the southern nations looked outward, and the newly formed Amestria set out to become the Amestrian Empire. over the next 300 years, most of the 17 human fiefdoms which covered the southern regions of the continent were either conquered or absorbed by treaty. These conflicts became known as the Unification Wars. The conquest of the final two fiefdoms was less supported and more violent than most of the others, and is still a major domestic issue in the Empire today.

## Political Structure and Economics

As the empire grew, governing it became more unwieldy and new systems were required. Amestria is unique among human nations in having multiple major cities and robust network of infrastructure, communications, and trade. This large and complex nation required the creation of a more robust system of management and interest aggregation than simply an emperor and their court. The current system has three important parts, the Emperor's office and court, the Imperial Senate, and the Governors. In theory, the Emperor has supreme authority over all government. However, an emperor who wishes to govern with any effectiveness participates in the larger system of interest aggregation. Local nobility theoretically has similar authorities in the provinces and cities, but similarly shares power in practice.

The nexus of interest aggregation is the Imperial Senate. The senate is formed of 1000 Senator -Votes, which could theoretically allow for as many as one thousand senators. In practice, there are rarely over three hundred. Senators are elected using a muti-tiered system of representation. Somewhat of a relic of the days of major orcish-human wars, anyone who wishes to be a citizen and vote must have four years of military or civic service. Most adults, including many peasant farmers, do this four years, and about half the eligible population has citizenship. Any citizen is entitled to then vote for a Patron. There are no districts, and citizens may vote for any patron from anywhere. Anyone who can get 100 votes can claim a Patronship. These generally form around city guilds or other minor interest groups. Patrons then vote for Representatives, who must have the support of at least 50 Patrons to claim a seat. Representatives usually represent smaller cities, boroughs in larger cities, or moderately substantial industrial, trade, or ideological interests. Representatives then support Senators. By definition, a Senator must have the support of at least 1/1,000th of the empire's population. Based on the support which any given Senator secures, votes are reapportioned once per year, with one vote being awarded for each 1/1,000th. Often, a few Senators control theoretically enough votes to control the Senate alone, but such powerful Senators are generally opposed to each other. The Senate operates the government in practice, with the emperor working to influence the Senate and only overriding it at great political cost. Governors then enforce the decrees of the Emperor and the Senate on a provincial level.

The current emperor is Alistair II. Hoping to contrast himself with the previous expansionist Emperor Cailan, the current emperor has taken his name from the first Emperor Alistair who presided over the most internally unified period in the Empire's history. So far this internal focus has struggled to bring peace to the land.

## Military

The Amestrian Military is the world's largest by number, largely due to the citizenship process requiring military service. It is generally considered the third most capable after the Thero-Vindurian Imperial Military and the A'laurian Military. This is in flux as the Amestiran military acquires an increasing number of technologies from the Dwarves and Elves. The Amestrian Military is highly regimented and under the direct control of the Emperor, and in modern days is most commonly deployed to the northeast due to the ongoing violence there and to the southwest, due to the orcish raids present.