Next is geography and so on:
The continent is about the size of europe, and located slightly longer to the south. The northern parts are located around the lattitude(?) of belgium, the southern around the central to north of Algeria.
There is no desert as such, nor much in the way of plains. The south is fairly hilly, kinda dry, but not bad enough to border on desert.
The central lands consist of rivers and grassland mostly, with some forests here and there.
The north is mountains, deep valleys and next to infinite evergreen forests.
The major cities are located around an ocean -kinda like the black sea in that it is almosy a huge lake but with a small opening into the sea- and the rivers cutting through the grassland. The ocean is located in the central south of the continent, and it is in that ocean that the island housing the bureaucratic capital is located.
There's mountainranges to the north and to the west.
The northern:
There's only one nation not subjugated and assimilated by the empire on the continent and that's a small nation to the far north of the continent. BEcause of the mountains, valleys etc, it's next to impossible to dislodge them from there, though the empire has been trying for a long long time. Soldier's who've been fighting in the north, or better yet, been in command, are often the ones who later rise to the top within the empire. Veterans from the northern campaings are considered the toughest of the tough.
It is slightly odd that a nation as powerfull as the empire seem unable to win the war. The northerners have superior steel and so on, but still. Compared to those of the empire, their armies are minisqule.
The island:
- is a strange phenomenon. It's sides are several hundred metres high, and almost unatrualy smooth. Climbing them has never been acomplished as far as anyone knows. The only way to enter is through a port on the southern side. The port is a small town of it's own as the food to the capital, mail, reports etc etc etc all go through it.
I'll write the intro post to the rpg thread with an illustration of how the entrance etc looks, but I'll give the basic explenantion: Stepping of one of the many ships at the capital's port, you're faced with a huge, perfectly smooth, black wall of stone, curving slightly inwards and strethcing up into infinity. Along the cliff wall there are several major gateways, leeding into the very heart of the island. There are two on each side. In the middle there's a set of stairs. These stairs cut straight through the stone all the way up to a another gateway almost at the very top.
The gates at ground level leads to a huge and incredibly complex labyrinth. You see, any citizen of the empire have the right to meet with the council during the council's monthly official meeting. However, as the empire house a population of several tens of million of people, some limits had to be put in place. So, the petitioners or whatever they are are free to meet with the council, they just have get through the labyrinth first.
The stairs are for the nobility. Though, no unconditionaly so. In order for anyone to be allowed to climb the stairs instead of using the labyrinth, one needs a written permission from either one of the twelve, or more rarely, the emperor himself. Do not be fooled however, the climb is an exhausting one and must be done on foot with no assistance from anyone else. Many a nobel stay out their days in the capital as they are too old, too weak, or too scared to brave the stairs back down.
Food, reports etc are hoisted up in a farily simple system of baskets, rope and so on
The capital itself is huge. The entire top of the island, and most of it's insides are occupied by apartments, storagerooms, archives, meeting rooms, treasuries, libraries, chappels, observation towers, pigeon towers and so on and so forth. You've got quite a major . There's also several huge parks sprawling all the way to the edge. Most of the population, excluding -though not always- the nobles, are born, live and die within the capital, never once leaving for the rest of the empire. There are peple whos family never once left for hundreds if not thousands of years. There's quite an extreeme hirarchy of servants, guards etc based on the time ones family has lived there.
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Right, that's it for now. Have to be sosial again. Will do more tomorow. You're to define your family as you see fit. MAke up their own story, where they come from, what they do and so forth. Just check it with me before you set it in stone
cheers