The Celestial Empire of Trodenhiem

The Celestial Empire of Trodenhiem is the last remnant of the once great Arcadian Civilisation and the direct successor of the Arcadian Empire and Union of Arcadian States; it is located within what under Arcadian Rule was known as the Arcadian Occidental Territories and since the collapse of the UAS has been the principle home of the Arcadian people. Trodenhiem itself is considered to be a world power, however in terms of land area and relative population size it is but a shadow of the Union which preceded it.

The Arcadian Empire was originally established in 1 2e after the unification of the lesser Kingdoms of Promethia, Trodenia, and Ekaterinia under the crown of Emperor Conrad I. In its early years the Empire was beset by infighting and efforts by nationalist factions within it to separate the three Kingdoms once more, however by 23 2e Conrad I had succeeded in destroying all organised opposition to his reign and the Arcadian people were united as one nation for the first time in recorded history. In the succeeding eras the Empire flourished and grew, steadily expanding and absorbing its neighbours including the Cadian Principalities and the Ruhr. By the fifth era the Arcadian Empire stretched from the Urivian Isthmus in the west to the borders of the continent of Isk in the east. The land currently occupied by Trodenhiem was not acquired until the Colonial Era during the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth eras when it was colonised and developed as a key trading post for spices, sugar, and tea. The collapse of the Arcadian Empire at the beginning of the Thirteenth Era marked the beginning of Troden history.

As of the beginning of the fifteenth era of the Arcadian Calendar the Celestial Empire of Trodenhiem is one of the two largest nations in the world in terms of population and is consistently ranked among the world's top ten most developed and economically powerful nations. With its dominating position on the northern coast of the Taranmerea Strait and its abundance of natural resources the Celestial Empire plays a significant role in world affairs and global trade. The Celestial Empire is a large Imperial state with a hierarchical government ruled by the Emperor, Konstantin IX who is the thirty fourth monarch of the ruling Lienstolv dynasty. Presently the Empire is ruled on behalf of the Emperor by a democratically elected duma, which advises the Chancellor and Privy Council on matters of state. Konstantin IX has ruled from 1 15e up to the present day and has ruled since the death of his father at the end of the fourteenth era. Unusually for a monarchy there is no clear line of succession, however a number of Princes, Princesses, Dukes and Duchesses are prominent in Troden public and political life. The system of government is one of deferred authority with the Chancellor ruling on behalf of the Emperor with a cabinet of ministers seeing to the different aspects of government - the monarch however retains a direct and supreme degree of power over all aspects of government.

The capital city of the Empire is Geddon which is also one of the largest cities on Yukon with a population of 180 million. The city itself is famous for its unique and unusual construction which carries deep below the earth into vast underground caverns and also up into the vertical plane. As such without ever leaving the city one can travel to the tops of some of the world's tallest buildings down to the bottom of some of its deepest man made subterranean vaults. In a vast ring around the outside of the city can be found huge agricultural and pastoral developments built either in the open or beneath huge agridomes.

The Celestial Empire of Trodenhiem is a nation of sharp contrasts, with extremely well developed urban areas thanks to the colonists' prefabricated structures, but striking and extensive agricultural developments elsewhere. The construction of modern infrastructure and steady conversion of unused land into industrial scale sustainable farmland have been a high priority since the early stages of the Empire with hyper-speed rail links and sea ports being chief among the major infrastructural projects. Beyond the towns, cities and developed agricultural or industrial land most of the Empire is given over to nature and renewable energy with a great deal of investment being put into building and maintaining wind farms, hydroelectric dams, and solar farms.

The basis of Troden law is the Great Social Contract, a document written by the Arcadian Emperor Konrad VIII in the 6th era, as a result the Celestial Empire has outlawed slavery and torture while the death penalty is reserved for serial murderers, major sex offenders, and major child abusers. The Troden Legal System is especially renowned for its strict child protection laws and low crime tolerance policies, however more recently traditional martial law has been relaxed in favour of open jury trials.

Etymology and Terminology

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Following the passage of the Promethius Mandate through the Imperial Parliament and the Imperial Assent being sealed, the Arcadian Mandate of New Trodenia was formally established in Taran. The colony's full name was the Arcadian Mandate of New Trodenia however it could correctly be referred to as New Trodenia, the Troden Colony or the Mandate. Sometimes it was referred to by the other inhabitants as the Greater Arcadian Reich or Empire, or simply the Reich; this is a grey area because the Mandate belonged to and was technically a part of the Reich, however as a colony should not be confused with the wider Reich as a whole.

Within the Reich there are many core provinces, but the Mandate was not one of these; the Provinces were central parts of the Reich which were entitled to a number of representatives in the Imperial Parliament and also had a say in the election of Imperial Officials. The Mandate was a colony of a lower order, meaning that it only had a single representative who answered to the government, the crown and the military. Eventually as the territorial holdings of the Mandate grew New Trodenia was formally renamed 'The Arcadian Occidental Territories' and was divided into provinces named after the historic nations absorbed by the Reich.

Upon independence the Mandate became an imperial commonwealth and referred to itself officially as the Arcadian Commonwealth of New Trodenia, dropping the Imperial designation 'Arcadian Occidental Territories'. The conventional short form changed to the Arcadian Commonwealth while the denonym remained unchanged, causing some confusion as both citizens of the new Commonwealth and the old Reich used this denonym. Following the passage of the Third Celestial Mandate and the collapse of the Arcadian Reich the Commonwealth renamed itself the Commonwealth of Trodenia.

As the thirteenth era progressed the dialect of Trodenia changed from the Old Arcadian of the crumbling Reich to the modern Arcadian language, as a result the name Trodenia became Trodenhiem in common speech; finally with the downfall of the Reich in 24 13e and the subsequent rise of the UAS in the East the Commonwealth finally broke with tradition and Old Arcadian convention and passed into law the 'Act of Nomenclature' which gave the Celestial Empire its present name of Trodenhiem. However it would not be until after the Great Calamity in the mid fourteenth era that Trodenhiem would change from a Commonwealth to the Celestial Empire - though in truth the official change of the nation's title changed little as Trodenhiem had been ruled by a monarch styling themselves Kaiser of the Occident since the nation's independence.

History

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The Arcadian Reich was the last surviving direct successor of the once vast Arcadian Empire which became the Union of Arcadian States in 24 13e, and which confusingly absorbed most of the original Empire's other successor states and territories. The Reich collapsed in 24 13e, meaning that the Union of Arcadian States and Celestial Empire of Trodenhiem existed concurrently as two separate arms of the Arcadian civilisation; after its collapse what remained of the Reich was either destroyed or absorbed into the UAS. Trodenhiem owed much of its infrastructure, technology and political structure to the Reich and the traces of its history as a colony could be seen throughout the country. Many historians argue over precisely when the history of the Celestial Empire should begin; conventional history tends to begin with the first discovery of Taran by Arcadian survey fleets in 246 10e however some scholars state that the history of the Celestial Empire should start later, during the years in which the independence movement fomented after the founding of the initial Arcadian colony in Taran, a smaller minority still point to the founding date of the Commonwealth when independence was first declared in 5 13e.

In its current form however the Celestial Empire traces its history back to 166 14e when the enigmatic Ai Lihua (later to be crowned Empress Ai Li-Hua I) rose to power and brought an end to the Zerbrecken period which had been ongoing since Trodenhiem's founding when the last universally recognised Kaiser, Johan I was assassinated. There is no academic debate about the precise founding date of the Empire; Ai Li-Hua concluded the Zerbecken by breaking the powerbases of the rival Starkenmänner and then having them killed. The last Starkenmann perished on the 6th June 166 14e and Ai Li-Hua was crowned Empress on the 7th, thus the precise time and date at which the Arcadian Empire (the Union's direct predecessor) came into being are recorded as 11:34 AM, 7th June 166 14e.

Arcadia in Urivia

The Mandate of New Trodenia was first conceived in the tenth era when Maxwell Ulrics, then the Oberfeldmarschall of the Arcadian 14th Army, authored an internal memorandum identifying Taran as a suitable site for the establishment of a large scale economic colony. Following it initial distribution the memorandum was picked up by Andrei von Strycker from the Arcadian Imperial government's Department of Colonies who forwarded it to the Prime Minister and the military command. Ulris' memorandum was then processed by the Department of Colonies who tabled it before the cabinet and then parliament. After funding and manpower was approved it was decided by the military that Maxwell Ulrics, the originator of the memorandum, should take command of the colonisation process as per the New Trodenian Mandate.

A colonisation fleet, accompanied by the Arcadian 14th Army, under Ulrics' command was assembled, a process which took 4 years, and dispatched from the Trodenian Shipyards from which the Mandate took its name. The colonisation craft were purpose built for the voyage and were designed to carry everything the colonists would need to construct a developed settlement as well as themselves being designed to be taken apart and used as raw materials in the construction of homes and fortifications.

The Ulrics Memorandum
A survey fleet had passed by Taran in 89 10e, identifying the continent as suitable for habitation; the earliest surveys did not determine whether or not the land was already inhabited however a later survey pass in 99 10e took a closer look at the terrain. With a human population already existing on Taran it was decided not to colonise the continent immediately, for though the Reich's overriding concern was the union of as much of the human race under a single Arcadian government as possible, Taran was seen as a low priority being as it had no world government and did not belong to a rival power; additionally due to its relatively remote location in relation to other major powers it was not seen as strategically important in any meaningful way.

During his time in the Survey and Reconnaissance Office of the 14th Army then Feldmarschall Maxwell Ulrics had been in charge of the survey fleets which had passed Taran and had closely monitored the reports; little is known of his early opinions or actions regarding Taran in the Survey and Reconnaissance Office since the relevant documents are believed to have been destroyed during the collapse of the Reich, however by 110 10e Ulrics had been promoted to the rank of Oberfeldmarschall of the 14th Army. Early in his tenure she posted a series of memoranda relating to regions surveyed by the SRO while he had been in command of it; in all five memoranda were distributed from his office to senior military and government officials.

Andrei Strycker, a leading minister in the government and one of those who had been watching Ulrics' career within the military quite closely received all five of the memoranda however dismissed three of them out of hand, only taking in two for consideration. Given its relatively remote location, as well as the pre-existing human population, Strycker chose Taran as the location for a colony; it is widely believed by historians that this decision was made by Strycker for three key reasons, firstly he hoped to endear himself to Ulrics who was a rising star within the military at the time, secondly Taran was the ideal place to send criminals, dissidents and other undesirables and thirdly the planet had huge potential for the cultivation of crops such as sugar.

In any event the memorandum resulted in action from the government, pressed on by Strycker, who restructured the 14th Army and started to assemble the colonisation force. Most of the colonists chosen were convicted criminals (who had either served their sentence or who were still serving them), political opponents of the government, dissidents, malcontents and other undesirables. Among the colonists were large numbers of radical intellectuals in numerous fields, whose views or avenues of research were unacceptable. It was believed by the Imperial Government that Ulrics and the 14th would be able to keep control of this unstable mix.

Landfall and Development
Upon making landfall Arcadian soldiers moved out and secured pre-designated territories as per the terms laid out in the Mandate from the disorganised local inhabitants. Once the territory was secured the colonists themselves made landfall at a selection of clearly identified locations and started the construction of their cities and farms. The steady process of national infrastructural development begin as soon as the major settlements were established; beginning with the construction of the Stahlwerks manufacturing plant, an early example of the factory, and ultimately leading to the construction of a road network, a series of deep water ports in strategic locations, the Ulricsgrad sugar refinery and Sombrey plantations among other things.

As the Mandate developed its infrastructure it became apparent that innovation and societal development would be necessary to the long term success of the colony; as a result early government policies focused on development in all fields of government, technology and engineering so that the Mandate was equipped to handle the difficulties specific to Taran. At the same time developments were held back and discouraged by the Imperial Government who were concerned that a highly developed Mandate in Taran could pose a danger to the unity of the wider Reich. This situation created early tensions between colonial and imperial officials and set the tone for the next five eras of relations between the Taran and Imperial governments.

When the Imperial Military finally withdrew from the colony the opportunity was taken to exercise a greater degree of freedom and the colonial military reorganised itself to meet the new demands of territorial defence and expansion. The reorganisation also came with steady rearmament, bringing the capabilities of the colonial military up to the same level as the Imperial Military. The increasing self-sufficiency and self-reliance of the colony's government institutions and economy lead to a greater sense of self-determination among the people of the Mandate. This found expression through the government moves to more closely align the colony with nations such as Katos, the Grand Dominion, Ajerrin, Onza and Nedea. The first treaty to be signed was the Bilateral Relations Agreement with 46566 which included a territorial recognition and expansion clause; treaties with the Grand Dominion and the Carcipe Islands soon followed.

In 365 12e the Mandate signed a treaty with Vvarden making the small country a protectorate; after a long civil war engulfed the troubled nation Mandate troops were deployed to end the violence. The Mandate's involvement in Vvarden would continue for the next five years and even by the time the Commonwealth was formed Troden troops were still engaged against rebel forces.

Independence
Finally the restrictions placed upon the Colonial Government became too great and Ulric's successors opted to declare independence, despite severe misgivings as to the nation's ability to wage a war of independence. Knowing that the Commonwealth must act quickly a series of raids were launched on Imperial forts facilities and trading post, as well as the Naval Detachment anchored in Geddon which ultimately resulted in their capture. The trading posts, largely used for docking, maintenance and respite for the Imperial Naval Detachment were refitted as shipyards and heavily fortified in order to produce fresh ships to supplement those captured in the early stages of the war.

For the next year the Commonwealth steadily built up its military forces, including its fleet, though ultimately it found itself outnumbered by even the single Grand Fleet sent to deal with what the Reich were calling a rebellion. The Commonwealth went through a period of rapid industrial development and reorganisation with technological development and arms manufacture reaching record highs. The result was a heavily militarised state which felt prepared for war and which had heavily prepared defences and defence strategies in place. After several years the Imperial Grand Fleet, lead by Grand Admiral Vogens arrived of the western coast of Taran and made anchor of the coast of Zues.

An immediate lightning assault lead by Commodore Sykes of the Commonwealth Fleet's 2nd Flotilla succeeded in bloodying the noses of the Imperial forces, and also served to distract and rile them in preparation for the defence of Taran. Over the course of the next week as the Grand Fleet steadily approached Taran repeated raids and hit and run assaults by Admiral Doenitz and Commodor Sykes succeeding in reducing the Imperials' overall strength and frustrated Vogen's desire for a decisive battle. Finally the Grand Fleet anchored in off the coast of Geddon to bombard the city; Admiral Doenitz was caught at this point and forced to make a desperate last stand while Commodore Sykes led a surprise assault with the remaining naval forces and captured the island of Zues from Imperial forces.

The loss of Doenitz meant the loss of around 60% of the fleet's overall strength and it would play only a minor part in the remainder of the War of Independence. The rest of the war would be fought in and around Port Imperial and Geddon, where Imperial forces started to land in force. A desperate Commonwealth defence lead by General Eikenaur succeeded in holding the Imperial forces in Geddon for several months and also wiped out 15% of Vogen's elite ground forces. However Eikenaur was forced to retreat allowing Imperial forces total control of the city.

Shortly after the fall of Geddon a series of communications between the Imperial commander, Grand Admiral Vogens and Oberbefehlshaber von Eiderling ended when the Grand Fleet caught fire at anchor under mysterious circumstances and was largely destroyed.

Exodus to Taran

During the Fall of the Reich thousands of disaffected citizens, fearful nobles, and military commanders chose to make the trip to Taran to join with the newly independent Commonwealth; either stealing, bribing, or buying ships to carry vast numbers of people across the seas away from the near genocidal violence which even no consumed the collapsing Reich. This promised both great benefits and great troubles in the time ahead for the Commonwealth which was already facing internal strife of its own after the assassination of the last universally recognised emperor, Johan I. This influx of refugees, so many of whom still carried with them the weapons, feuds, and loyalties of the old Reich only fuelled the instability further.

The Commonwealth fleet patrolling along the sea routes between Taran and Arcadia for almost a decade gathering together what refugees it could and aiding the people fleeing the collapse. Then as the last refugees fled the old Reich before the rise of the UAS the Commonwealth ships returned home, following the sea routes back west to Taran and the shuddering Commonwealth which struggled under the combined weight of vast numbers of refugees and vast political issues. It was hoped at this time that the Exodite Fleet would be able to remain whole and on one course for the duration, however as time passed several of the ships went their separate ways and struck out alone; in all this process cost the fledgling Commonwealth navy dearly, and was the final nail in the coffin of a united nation.

With the loss of so much of the fleet, and the sudden collapse of the old Imperial Order in Arcadia to the east fear and panic spread and the struggling regency government started to lose control. This fear ultimately led to the downfall of the Commonwealth, the people lost faith in their duma and in the ability of their leaders to address the problems which faced them; this combined with the fact that though rapidly developed much of the nation remained frontier land ill suited for maintaining and sustaining such a vast population caused riots and outbreaks of sporadic violence as people took matters into their own hands.

As the Commonwealth crumbled military and militia leaders started to desperately enforce order over their own parts of the nation and soon they took precedence over the elected government. The Commonwealth was no longer one united nation but a series of factions fighting over scraps in an effort to retain order and the support of the people under their control. This period was known as the Zerbecken and begun in 46 13e some ten years after the assassination of Johan I and the government finally disintegrated. In its place arose the Starkermann, individual warlords who each controlled a ship, or part of the Commonwealth, or in some cases multiple enclaves; these were political strong men remarkable for their low cunning and brutality. Most rose from the junior ranks of the military and militia and used their populist appeal or brutal nature to press-gang people into fighting on their behalf.

The Zerbecken effectively saw an end to Arcadian culture as military and survival concerns overrode everything else; soon the Starkermann ceased to fight for their people and instead started fighting for their own sake. There are few records from this time however the violence, uncertainty and brutality of it is ingrained in the Arcadian cultural memory to this day. Eventually, as the violence spiked to unprecedented levels, a new force arose. The few surviving military and political leaders gathered behind the visage of Ai Li-Hua, an enigmatic individual whose intellect allowed her to outmanoeuvre the Starkermann. With the backing of strong minded and strong willed men and women of the Commonwealth she succeeded in bringing an end to the Zerbecken through the elimination of the Starkermann. Following this Ai Li-Hua was crowned Empress of all Arcadians and she united the nation once more by giving it a united purpose, to rebuild the once great Arcadian civilisation as something new, Trodenhiem.

The Troden Civil War
The Troden Civil War was the only major civil conflict in Troden history and was sparked by the assassination of the reigning Emperor, Johan I who had succeeded his father Viktor II at the age of twelve. Viktor II had usurped the throne from the Lienstolv dynasty some thirty years prior with the backing of the Houses von Kircher, von Jarrick, and von Kluge - however by 45 13e he had alienated House von Jarrick and Lienstolv loyalists were growing in power and number. Upon the usurper Emperor's death in 46 13e the Markgraf, Farden von Jarrick, arranged for the assassination of his twelve year old son; as a result Johan I reigned for only fourteen days before his death. The assassination had far from the desired effect, both Houses von Kircher and von Kluge supported the assassinated Emperor's younger sister's (Elyse) claim to the throne and raised their armies and militias in order to place her on the throne; meanwhile House von Jarrick betrayed the Lienstolv loyalists when the Markgraf declared himself Emperor. The following year saw a succession of other major events which escalated the crisis, including the death of the Lienstolv candidate for the throne at the Battle of Teutoberg, the declaration of a Theocratic State by the Prelate of the Church of Ilvenn in Jakocz, and the rallying of an Arcadian Republican Restoration movement.

By 50 13e the Commonwealth, as Trodenhiem was formally known at the time, was divided between the Lienstolv Loyalists, the supporters of Emperor Farden I, the Theocracy of Jakocz, and the Arcadian Republican Restoration Army. After the Lienstolv Loyalists marched on Geddon and forced House von Jarrick to abandon the city it briefly seemed as though order would be restored, however at a decisive battle eight miles north of the capital the Lienstolv forces were subsequently routed by an army loyal to the Graf von Ulbricht. Many initially believed that von Ulbricht would declare for House von Jarrick, however instead he seized the city of Geddon for himself and set about establishing his own personal fiefdom with the declaration "...this colony, this Commonwealth is done. Henceforth it is the future of the Arcadian people to be ruled by local men of strength, ruling from their local fastnesses." Although von Ulbricht was forced to surrender the city three months after its capture to a regrouped army loyal to von Jarrick the Graf's words proved prophetic as local militias and garrison commanders, and no small number of noble houses, raised their own forces and set about fortifying their positions.

At the Battle of Valenheim in 86 13e after years of back and forth skirmishing Farden von Jarrick was slain and his forces were defeated; though he was succeeded by his son Karl who he had willed would take the crown of Emperor after him on behalf of House von Jarrick, Farden's generals and chief supports among the aristocracy abandoned the cause. The House Jarrick Loyalists subsequently ceased to be a contender on the wider political and military scene in the Civil War, after another crushing defeat at the Battle of Heinrich's Brook where Karl von Jarrick's battered and depleted army was defeated by a local militia led by local Starkermann Ivan Rusilov. The loss of so many men and horse, combined with the fact that it was an up jumped peasant in command of a militia force that had defeated him led Karl von Jarrick to commit suicide and the House's remaining supporters and retainers scattered. House von Jarrick would remain a footnote in the Civil War from that point on, with its head remaining little more than a local Starkermann over the ancestral lands in Trodenia.

The end of large national factions came in 98 13e with the Battles at Tarleton Hill, a three way engagement between the three largest factions and the Starkermann who supported them. The Lienstolv Loyalists, led by the Markgraf, Hubert III von Ulrics, managed to soundly defeat an army mostly comprised of armed peasants and religious zealots, led by the Archbishop of Leipzin, and though the Archbishop made a heroic last charge with his cavalry he was cut down by cannon placed upon the hill from which the battle took its name. As the last remnants of the Archbishop's army fled the field the Markgraf von Ulrics received word that a large force from the ARRA were making a beeline for the hill having intercepted scouting reports from the Theocratic Army. The ARRA forces were supported by five Starkermann whose powerbases lay near the hill and easily outnumbered his own, however von Ulrics chose to dig in around the hill and stand his ground. Two days later the ARRA army under General Reinhard Becker arrived to find von Ulrics and his forces dug in to strongly defended positions on the hill - he ordered an immediate attack without waiting for his full force to arrive and the resulting battle lasted for two days. When the 2nd Battle of Tarleton Hill came to an end only von Ulrics and some two thousand musketmen and a handful of cannon remained on the field, and though it was a nominal victory for the Loyalists they would never again command the numbers to contend for control of the entire nation.

For the next two hundred years the Civil War was fought back and forth; numerous attempts were made to raise armies large enough to take the entire nation, however time and again these attempts failed. Finally in 73 14e, three hundred and seven years after the death of Johan I, an enigmatic woman named Ai Li-Hua rose to power in Geddon and seized control of the city and surrounding territories with a force of mercenaries from overseas. A series of battles ensued as the Starkermann controlling the territories bordering Geddon attacked, fearing that this new contender may threaten their own positions, and after four years of fighting Li-Hua prevailed. Through the use of local militias, foreign mercenaries, and mercenaries hailing form the former Arcadian Reich she raised an army of five hundred thousand soldiers and with it intimidated the Starkermann of Promethia to surrender to her without a fight. As Promethia surrendered she gained its resources and military might - no longer requiring the foreign mercenaries she ordered them to leave Trodenhiem; some refused and attempted to raid and pillage the wartorn country, however Li-Hua led her new locally raised army and defeated each mercenary captain who defied her.

With her powerbase secure Li-Hua proclaimed her support for the restoration of the Lienstolv Dynasty and after proving her noble birth married the Lienstolv candidate for the throne, Konstantin von Lienstolv, and had herself and her husband crowned Emperor and Empress in Geddon. Together the pair demanded the surrender and submission of all of Trodenhiem, giving the Starkermann a choice, they could declare their support, swear fealty, and disarm, or they could fight and die. A brief alliance of Starkermann in Trodenia briefly threatened the newly restored Lienstolv Dynasty, however a series of battles at Baxter's Ford, Weismann Farm, and Willow Creek broke the back of that effort and one after the other the remaining Starkermann bent the knee.

What followed was a ten year period known as the Great Purge; the Empress Ai led her own personal army across the length and breadth of Trodenhiem seeking out sedition, hunting down those militias and Starkermann who had failed to disarm as agreed, and defeating the few who stubbornly maintained their independence. The Purge was brutal and violent, and some questioned the Empress' methods as she was apt to leave the towns and villages of those who resisted her with the corpses of her foes hung from the lamp posts or makeshift gallows is massive numbers. Ai I crushed the remnants of the Arcadian Restoration movement, stamped out the Republican rebels, and finally when she reached Jakocz she forced the Prelate at gunpoint to sign a Concordat making the Church of Ilvenn subservient to the monarch in perpetuity and formally recognising the monarch as the living embodiment of the Heavens for so long as a Lienstolv ruled. This done the Empress returned to the capital and with her husband proclaimed and end to the Zerbrecken and to the old Commonwealth; Trodenhiem would henceforth be ruled as the Celestial Empire. Following the great victories she had achieved the Empress Ai I was named 'Empress Ai, the First and Only' and subsequently faded from public view allowing her husband, the rightful Lienstolv monarch to rule the nation she had won for him.

The War of Twin Succession
In the aftermath of the Troden Civil War Emperor Konstantin IV ruled alongside his wife, Empress Ai the First and Only, and set about restoring the country to its former glory; for the duration of their fifty year reign they would be responsible for the redevelopment and reunification of the nation. Vast amounts of money were spent on the various things needed to make Trodenhiem a regional power and upon the death of Konstantin IV the nation was more prosperous than it had been at any time in its history. However the Emperor's death left a major problem, of his four children the eldest were twins, and though one was female and the other male the Troden laws of succession were almost non-existent on the subject; as a result factions grew around each of the siblings who both made preparations to assume the throne.

Prince Matheus was the popular choice over his sister Princess Elyse among the military and upper nobility, principally because he was a strong, robust male heir. However he was deeply unpopular with the nation's intellectuals, civil service, and citizenry and the Princess Elyse had won over much of her father's cabinet through her more measured and cautious approach during her time as a Princess. By contrast her brother was rash, impulsive, and militant; he had grand plans for the expansion of Trodenhiem as a major imperial power and wished to restore the old Arcadian Empire with Trodenhiem at its centre. Unfortunately for all concerned the twin sibling were not on good terms at all and the situation rapidly escalated as the supporters of each became more and more vocal.

Elyse was reluctant to take the throne, not believe herself strong or wise enough to bear the burdens of imperial rule, as a result in the early days following the Emperor's death it looked as though Matheus would assume the throne overruling his sister's supporters out of hand. However when the army proclaimed Matheus Emperor a month later Elyse final broke from her indecision and allowed her father's former cabinet to proclaim her Empress, this meant that there were two monarchs in Trodenhiem, both of whom claimed absolute power. Despite the support of the cabinet Elyse and her supporters were forced out of the capital city after Generaloberst von Papen mobilised the army against them; a brief firefight between Palace Guards loyal to Elyse and the Regulars of the nearby 3rd Imperial Hussars ensued during which the Palace Guard ensured their Princess' escape at great cost. At the end of the firefight the brutality of the Hussars galvanised the hitherto indecisive Palace Guard regiments in support of Elyse and a series of further skirmishes broke out throughout the Imperial City as the Guards tried to arrest Matheus.

The day after Elyse's flight from Geddon Matheus was crowned in a hurried ceremony and then went out to lead reinforcements from the 52nd Cossack Battalion against the remaining Palace Guards within the city. During the running engagements which followed the Palace Guards were all but wiped out and the Hussars and their Cossack reinforcements brutally suppressed any support for Elyse within the city. What followed were three days of pillaging and plundering as the city was ransacked under the pretence of hunting down his sister's supporters and other dissidents; the Sack of Geddon only came to an end when the navy turned its guns on Matheus and his soldiers and bombarded the city from out in the bay. Incensed Matheus declared the Leutnant-Admiral in command of the flotilla which had bombarded his forces a traitor and had his soldiers start rounding up naval officers; after two dozen junior naval officers were lynched by Matheus' forces the navy declared for Elyse.

A week after their expulsion from the capital the leader of the military forces loyal to Elyse, Leutnant-Admiral Gerhart von Ulrics, re-entered the city at the head of a mixed force of Marines, local Militia forces, an Palace Guards and fought their way to the Lienstolv Gate, Staatpalast, and Kaiserpalast. Once the key routes into the city were secure Elyse made her own way into the city at the head of the 5th Regiment of Horse, of which she had been ceremonial Officer Commanding since her sixteenth birthday. Equipped with Maxim and Madsen machine guns as well as Mauser rifles the 5th stormed first the Staatpalast and then the Kaiserpalast but found Emperor Matheus in neither; stories that Empress Elyse bore the regimental colours as she joined the assault were later corroborated by various sources. Once the Kaiserpalast was taken Elyse was formally but swiftly crowned on the same throne as her father and brother, and then resumed her role in the fight for the rest of the city as the Standard Bearer for the 5th.

With the defeat of Matheus and his supporters in Geddon the majority of the Army elsewhere in the Empire swore loyalty to Elyse, with those Generals who had initially declared for Matheus being forced to formally surrender to Leutnant-Admiral von Ulrics as a sign of their humiliating defeat. The most notable exceptions to the Army's surrender and support for Elyse at this point were the Cossack, Hussar, and Bozniak regiments who rallied around Matheus in the city of Czerniy and then started to march for Geddon. By this point the local militias had been raised against Matheus' forces and the whole of the Navy had declared its support for Elyse following the Geddon Lynchings which meant that even with the Cossacks, Hussars, and Bozniaks at his back Matheus was severely outnumbered. However the regiments which had declared for Matheus and remained loyal to him were widely considered to be among the elite of Trodenhiem's army and were mostly mounted; in initial engagements on the March to Geddon Matheus' forces crushed the militia and light infantry units in their way with ease and fears rose that he may retake the capital.

Elyse refused to flee the capital for a second time and ordered the units of Marines under her command to set up fortified machine gun positions along the main approaches to the city, with trench lines to provide cover for her militia forces. The result was a series of overlapping killing fields. The battle which followed signalled the end of the era of horse mounted cavalry as Matheus' mounted units in their bright decorative uniforms charged repeatedly at the entrenched Marines and Militia forces, only to be cut down by withering machine gun and rifle fire with every attempt. During the final charge Matheus himself was cut down by one of the machine gun nests and became the last Troden Emperor to die leading troops in battle. In subsequent months the situation stabilised and returned to normal, however this War which took less than three months, was pivotal in bringing an end to the era of cavalry; it was also the first western war in which machine guns were widely deployed.

Second Elysian Period
The Second Elysian Period is defined as the eighty year reign of Empress Elyse II, also known by some scholars as the Mourning Period after the Empress' unofficial title 'the Mourning Empress'. During her reign numerous changes rapidly overtook Trodenhiem and the nation shrugged off the last vestiges of the Civil War - it was also during her reign that the Empire truly became an industrial power.

Following the War of Twin Succession the reign of Elyse II was a welcome period of peace, and through her Chancellor, Leutnant-Admiral Gerhart von Ulrics, used this peace and stability as the foundation for the 'Great Leap Forwards', an ambitious programme of government funded infrastructural projects which generated the vast capital needed to support the full development of an industrial economy. The Great Leap Forward, though initiated by von Ulrics in the early years of Elyse II's reign, would be the central policy of all successive Chancellors until the end of the Second Elysian Period. The chief aim of the programme was to extend the network of roads and rail lines to all corners of the Empire so that the wealth generated in the cosmopolitan and highly developed cities could be allowed to efficiently spread outwards into the wider countryside, thus allowing for the growth and development of towns and villages.

One of the first Acts of the programme ended the practice of Serfdom once and for all and switched the Empire to a modern tenancy system. The nobility were systematically made to sell much of their land holdings to the government, and surrender their old rights and privileges to a more democratic model of government whereby an elected Duma advised the Empress and her Chancellor, and ratified the laws passed by them. By placing control of the treasury in the hands of the Duma the Empress gave her people a very real stake in the governance of their nation and the result was that over a period of two decades the nobility significantly declined in economic power and influence. The end to serfdom necessitated that a new means of providing for the lower classes be found and under modern trains of thought the solution to this was found to be employment - thus not only did the government pour money into infrastructure, but also investment in industry.

The Troden nobility during this period began to seek grants and government investment so that they could build and operate their own mines, quarries, and factories to fuel the Second Industrial Revolution, thus mitigating or reversing the economic losses suffered by the end of serfdom and the forced purchasing of their land. As a result what had once been a pure aristocracy where wealth and status were predicated by birth, now became a strange blend of plutocracy and aristocracy where wealth was now determined upon shrewd investment and efficient business practices. Of course the aristocracy were not the only ones to benefit and over time a large class of industrialists and capitalists arose which challenged the wealth a power of the older orders; this sudden upsurge in commoners gaining in wealth became a key issue that Chancellor Gerhart von Ulrics' successor would have to confront.

Von Ulrics' successor was the Markgraf, Jan van Stoltzer, a relatively young member of the upper aristocracy whose wealth came as a direct result of the industrial and economic reforms of his predecessor. Von Stoltzer acknowledged the necessity of the reforms and the advances in industry, but was troubled by the growing tensions between the increasingly rich and well educated industrial and capitalist classes, and the once absolute aristocrats. Many industrialists were pushing for the abolition of the aristocracy altogether, however too many of the key supporters of the Empress were members of said aristocracy and were as such utterly opposed to the end of their privileged status. Von Stoltzer's response was a masterful work of compromise which would become typical of his administration over the succeeding years; a new Act was passed allowing persons with sufficient wealth to purchase for themselves lesser titles of nobility so long as they could prove their law abiding nature, and good character. At a stroke von Stoltzer had essentially eliminated the privileged status of the aristocracy without anyone realising it, because now anyone with sufficient wealth in money and property could become an aristocrat.

Geography

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The Empire is a large nation spanning the southern tip of the Taran continental peninsula. The majority of the Empire centres around the however to the west a large section skirts Taranuko Strait around the Zuesian Gulf which separates the western mainland from the island of Zues. The mainland on the southern tip of Taran forms the core of the Empire's territory with the capital city, Geddon, rests within the large shallow inlet known as the Geddonian Sea, sitting in a relatively central position along the southern coast. The contiguous 'mainland' territory of the Empire is broadly considered to be the crossroads between the continents of Taran, Uko, and Merea and stretches east to the second city of Czerniy and west to the city of Jakocz. South across the Taranmerea Strait lies the United States of Columbia, Trodenhiem's closest neighbour in geographical terms.

The northern provinces are largely warm to temperate, with large but sparsely dispersed deciduous forests in between which can be found mostly grasslands in which a thick and tall native grass is predominant. Once cleared these lands are quite fertile and this provide the significant bulk of the Empire's agricultural land; the southern regions of this zone are thick with bamboo forests from which many trade goods are derived and it is between these forests are found well developed natural rice paddies and plantations which have since been cultivated for agriculture.

Further south towards the centre of the nation the terrain changes to become flatter and with little forestation; these territories are largely considered to be savanna land and are used for industry and pasture land. This land is dry and arid but is also quite densely populated due to the land's vastness and its lack of fertile land; this has made it the preferred area in which vast settlements are constructed. The mineral wealth of this region is also considerable with significant deposits of varying metals, carbon deposits and a limited selection of precious metals which have resulted in major mining and quarrying operations.

The far east of Trodenhiem is much more rugged and covered with dense jungle and rainforests with a heavy tropical climate; in these regions the land is primarily used for foresting and forest gardens. Considerable settlements have been carved out of this dense and unforgiving territory, though densely populated these settlements are small in physical area as flat ground is a rare commodity.

Administrative Divisions

The Celestial Empire consists of eight provinces each being further subdivided into districts and counties the number of which varies from state to state. Each province is managed by a local government which forms its own divisional office of the nation's Home Office; each state is led by a Governor and their executive staff, with locally elected dumas filling support and advisory roles. Each District is controlled by a Magistrate who is elected from a government approved list and is managed by a subdivisional office of the provincial government.

In addition there exist seven Special Exclusion Zones, sometimes referred to as Free Cities, which represent the Empire's largest urban centres. The SEZs come under the jurisdiction of their respective Bergomeister and represent highly developed cities which require direct governence independent from the wider concerns of a province. The territorial boundaries of SEZs are determined purely by the total urban extent of each city, as a result these boundaries a shifting on an almost yearly basis. Finally there exists the Imperial Metropolitan Area of Geddon; this is the Imperial Capital and is as such controlled directly by the Imperial government, its territorial borders are not specifically defined since the metropolitan area is constantly expanding as a result the neighbouring provinces are obliged to surrender the land into which the IMA expands.

The provinces at the point of the Union's founding were East Cadia, North Cadia, South Cadia, Promethius, Eketraine, Zues Island, and Trodenia. Of these four remain largely unchanged in size and extent (with the exception of territories ceded to the SEZs). North and East Cadia, Promethius, and Eketraine remain largely as they were upon Trodenhiem's independence; with South Cadia and Zues Island surrendering territory to form West Cadia, thus abolishing Zues as a province, while Trodenia gave up over half its territory to form the Ruhr. The Cadian provinces, excluding West Cadia, were designated in order to represent the large Low Arcadian ethnic majorities found there, while Eketraine and Promethius represent the High Arcadian ethnic majority. Trodenia was unique in that it was designated to represent two ethnic minorities, the Nordrin and Sudtrin while the Zues Island province was named after the island of Zues ad the now extinct Zues people. The Ruhr was later separated from Trodenia due to the establishment of a large Arcadian majority there and in time the separate definitions of Low and High Arcadian were rolled into the singular Troden ethnic group. Despite the clear ethnic designations in terms of representation citizens, regardless of ethnicity or creed are free to travel between the states and to dwell within whichever states they choose.

The Special Exclusion Zones are Czerniy, Jakocz, Reutersberg, Stratze, Vestin, Ulricsberg, and Vaaneheim. The people dwelling within these SEZs vote according to the nearest province to their SPZ in duma elections and are considered citizens of that province for the purposes of passports and internal movement.

Culture

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The Empire's culture has been defined by a number of factors; from its history as an Imperial Colony, the War of Independence and of course historic Arcadian culture. The fact that the modern Empire is an amalgam of five major ethnic groups with two other significant ethnic minorities and many other less prominent localised minorities, thus Arcadian culture has evolved as a combination of these different cultures and ethnic identities; the fact that it was founded as a holding place for dissidents and criminals from all over the former Arcadian Reich has also heavily defined modern Troden culture with a strong sense of social justice, freedom and equality.

Literature
The majority of the literary contributions of the Empire are centred around conflict, politics and history; typically science fiction and fantasy are a great deal less popular than works based upon historic events or a political message. Compared to many other nations Trodenhiem produces significantly fewer published works; however publishers in the Trodenhiem are well known to have quite high standards. Much of the literature which is now commonly deemed to be of Arcadian origin is in actual fact ancient Arcadian.

Due to the separate nature of Arcadian cultural development away from the civilisations of Kavo and Isk little in the way of classical Arcadian literature is familiar to the rest of the people of Taran; however since Trodenhiem moved away from its more isolationist policies ancient Arcadian literature has gained greater popularity. Ancient Arcadian Classics are comparable to those found in Ancient Kavo and Ancient Isk in terms of content and nature; interestingly the arts of poetry and haiku were developed by the Arcadians independently of those in Uko.

Most pre-modern Arcadian authors were also theologians, philosophers and social activists; such authors include Gerhardt Klauser, Ai Utgert, Wilhelm Brasse and Tamon whose works addressed a broad spectrum of issues. A central feature of much Arcadian philosophy is the Social Contract, the Arcadian belief that all people within a society are signatories of a contract of rules for proper conduct which places a moral obligation upon every person to understand their place within society and to adhere to the laws of the contract. Though this concept was created before a definitive written social contract existed the great philosopher and Kaiser of the Reich Conrad the Great committed the Great Social Contract to writing. More recently graphic novels and comic books have increased in popularity and Arcadia is a major producer of visually striking and distinctive graphic literature.

Music
A variety of musical genres are popular in the Empire, from localised folk and ethnic music to rock and metal; the largest grossing charts are for rock and swing music, followed by pop, metal and bluegrass. Notable classical composers of Arcadian origin include Rudolf Klyste, Olivia Ulrics, Soljun Kay, Bwerth Gwynaog, Tenzin Li, Reiji Umei and Satake Tohnda; living composers include Tye Jian, Po Dheng Shi, Ghur Laang and Shanshin Dollo. Of particular note among contemporary Arcadian composers is Huan Qing who has pioneered the electric-opera and electric-orchestral movements with pieces such as Kytho the Sky God and The Nail of Sianzi.

The Empire is home to a number of world renowned symphonic and electric orchestras including the Geddonian Imperial Orchestra, Kaijin Concert Orchestra and Qing Electric Orchestra all of which receive significant critical acclaim and exposure for their use in modern film and television scores. The Celestial Empire is one of the most prolific producers of television series and films on Yukon and as a result has a number of notable film score composers including Guang Dai, Zhou Heng and Maldari Jahk. Thanks to the nation's considerable levels of cultural and ethnic diversity and intermingling Arcadia is considered to produce a number of distinctive musical styles and is particularly well known for its sweeping thematic pieces.

Ueji Kano is one of the most successful Troden musicians and composers of the modern era and her musicals, film scores and modern operas have dominated popular culture in Geddon's Grandway District; among her most noted works are The Thieves' Banquet, Totentanz, and Empress Mine. In 10 15e Kano was awarded the highest civilian award for contributions to culture available in Arcadia, the Imperial Rosette, which was bestowed upon her by the Canoness Zherucken on behalf of the Emperor. Kano has also achieve some international success.

In the field of popular music the rock bands Solway Firth Spaceman, Leading Fire, The Ruttles and St1gma are among the highest selling artists domestically, each considered to be genre defining in their own time. Solway Firth Spaceman, led by frontman Rik Wye, were instrumental in the success and development of what is now considered to be classic rock and led to the widespread popularity of the genre in Trodenhiem. Currently the Troden charts are dominated by domestic acts such as Beats Antique, Concrete Lacquer, Midas Massage, and Coni Cons, all of whom have received high praise and critical acclaim at the annual Arcadian Music Awards in Czerniy.

Important People

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Arcadian and Troden history has been defined by a number of significant figure. A large part of Arcadian culture is to revere historic figures who are viewed are role models and heroes; a popular theme in literature and film is the representation of such figures.

Konstantin the Great
Born in the late 10th Era on the Imperial capital of Arkades, Konstantin I was the 220th Kaiser of the Greater Arcadian Reich and the 198th of the Markov Dynasty. He was also the first Kaiser not to be named after a previous ruler since Conrad I in the 2nd Era, being as he was named after a minor saint of the Imperial Ilvenni Church on whose Saint's Day he was born.

Maxwell Ulrics

Maxwell Ulrics was the officer in charge of the establishment of the Arcadian Mandate in Taran, granted the title Oberbefehlshaber in the process by the Imperial Army of the Greater Arcadian Reich. He served as Oberbefehlshaber for the majority of his career of some 50 years in all.

Ulrics was born and raised as the heir to a lesser Barony on the outer extent fo the empire. Owing to the tumultuous collapse of the Greater Arcadian Reich, and the nature of his upbringing no records are available giving any details about his childhood, however it is known that he had little to do with his parents after departing for Taran, and was disinherited by his father on his deathbed. As the first son of a Baron Maxwell was considered to be the height of fine Arcadian breeding and though his house was fairly minor it traced its lineage back to the First Empire, lending him a considerable degree of influence.

The entirety of Maxwell's childhood and early adulthood was defined by the strict religious schooling of the era; being born into a noble family, raised from infancy into a world of intrigue and politics and undergoing puberty and the eventual commencement of adulthood under the rigid teachings of his day. Education in the Reich was centred around a rigorous combination of intense physical conditioning and rigid mental discipline; from as young as eight years Ulrics will have been able to speak five languages fluently, play a musical instrument and perform intermediate level mathematics one would usually expect of a ten year old. Noble children were raised to fill important government and military positions and were carefully sorted according to their talents and skills; apparently Maxwell was marked for military service given his later entry into the military officer cadre.

Because Ulrics seldom spoke of his childhood publicly and no records of it remain, much of this period in her life is down to supposition based upon what is known for certain about the Imperial government and education system. By age ten he will have been sorted as a candidate for military service and will have embarked upon the next phase in his life as an officer candidate; during puberty his physical and mental development will have been carefully monitored and directed by means of education, indoctrination and physical activity and upon reaching the age of eighteen he will have been required to marry and have at least one child to generate the next generation of noble children. He does not seem to have met or been involved with this child after its birth, however Ulrics often expressed regret that he had not been more involved in his son's life.

Having provided the mandatory child for the continuation of the family line, after a brief period of physical reconditioning to adjust him mentally and physically back into normal military life, he will have been entered into formal officer training. By all accounts he must have been considered an excellent student because upon completing his training he was commissioned as an Unterkommandant, the highest possible rank for a newly commissioned officer. From here records of Ulrics' life and career are available, because officials and historians in the Arcadian Mandate made a point of collating copies for future reference, should it be necessary.

Maxwell rose rapidly through the ranks, earning a field promotion to Kommandant after his CO was killed in action during the Eighth Zhuan Rebellion which was subsequently upheld. After the conclusion of the rebellion, during which he had participating in the siege of Laiping and the Palace Putsch, he was transferred to a cadet regiment where he served as Kommandant for five years before being promoted to 2nd Oberkommandant of the 122nd Cadet Regiment and then Leutnant-Oberst. During this time he took on two proteges from among the cadets and ensured their commissioning as Unterkommandants, a rarity for such individuals who have to go through the cadet program after passing out.

Maxwell would eventually rise to the rank of General of the 14th Army and then earn the seniority rank of Feldmarschall, being assigned to the Survey and Reconnaissance Office. It was in this capacity that he authored and dispatched a now legendary memorandum to her fellows in the S&RO as well as the office of Andrei Strycker among other ministers.

Strycker, a leading minister in the government and one of those who had been watching Ulrics' career within the military quite closely received all five of the memoranda however dismissed three of them out of hand, only taking in two for consideration. Given its relatively remote location, as well as the pre-existing human population, Strycker chose Taran as the location for a colony; it is widely believed by historians that this decision was made by Strycker for three key reasons, firstly he hoped to endear himself to Ulrics who was a rising star within the military at the time, secondly Taran was the ideal place to send criminals, dissidents and other undesirables and thirdly the planet had huge potential for the manufacture of deuterium fuel.

In any event the memorandum resulted in action from the government, pressed on by Strycker, who restructured the 14th Army and started to assemble the colonisation force. Most of the colonists chosen were convicted criminals (who had either served their sentence or who were still serving them), political opponents of the government, dissidents, malcontents and other undesirables. Among the colonists were large numbers of radical intellectuals in numerous fields, whose views or avenues of research were unacceptable. It was believed by the Imperial Government that Motako and the 14thth would be able to keep control of this unstable mix.

Ulrics rule over the early Arcadian Mandate was defined by rapid development programs, public funding and investment in industry and expansive agricultural programs. His chief concern was with the wellbeing of the colonists who inhabited the Mandate and with attaining the level of economic output required by the Writ of Colonisation issued from Arkades. Early programs he initiated include the rapid construction of plantations and farms in the coastal regions, as well as a massive eastward expansion into the vast unclaimed territories there.

At first Ulrics' regime was entirely military with key subordinates appointed to important government positions. The Mandate started out being subdivided into Military Control Districts with each having its own military commander. Immediately after the colonisation of Taran Ulrics was promoted to the courtesy rank of Oberbefehlshaber, a largely honorary rank within the Imperial Military at the time which denoted nominal seniority over all but the Imperial General Staff on Arkades. This rank allowed him to create a unique internal rank system for both the military officer and officers of state; during this period the Colonial Army was raised and trained while the 14th was broken down and divided into local commands.

Ten years after his arrival on Taran what remained of the 14th was ordered to withdraw from the Mandate, leaving Ulrics to command the colony using the locally raised Colonial Army and the National Guard which consisted largely of segmented units originally from the 14th. Ulrics again reorganised the Colonial Army and National Guard, merging them into a single organisation called the Mandate Military Forces.

After the withdrawal of Imperial forces from Taran the Imperial government on Arkades started to imposed increased taxation on the Mandate, as well and a tithe on personnel meaning that the Mandate was required to send a certain quota of troops to serve in the Imperial Military. This caused tensions to rise between the colonists and their government and Ulrics came under increasing pressure to cut ties with the Greater Arcadian Reich; however Ulrics instead opted to negotiate the terms of the tithe and taxation, thus securing concessions in exchange for productivity quota for sugar.