Overview
The Etresi Imperium is a large semi-feudal monarchy and is comprised of six exarchates the Imperial Demesne and thousands of smaller entities. The Imperium encompasses is the driving political, economic and social force of Vachik Civilization. Encompassing thousands of worlds the Etresi Imperium and having a population numbering into the trillions it is widely regarded as the largest polity in the Enlightened Universe. Its influence is so pervasive that the sphere of Vachik civilization is not known as the Vachik Sphere ,but instead the Imperial Sphere.
History
Main Article Vachik History
The Etresi Imperium was founded by Edtasthat Etresi in 2800 marking the end of decades of bloody conquest known as the Unification Wars. During which Edtasthat Etresi united the scattered remnants of civilization following the collapse of the Vachik Interstellar Commonwealth as a result of the Old Enlightenment Crusades. Initially barely more than warlord’s fiefdom Edtasthat heirs (most notably Tepazin II Etresi the Reformer) laid the foundation for a state which would grow in size and endure for millennia. However the Imperium was severely tested during the Etresi Civil War when Tepazin's twin grandsons fought for the throne leading to the weakening of the central Imperial Dynasty and the rise in prominence of the Council Lords. Ultimately the Etresi’s would lose their grip on power and be replaced by a series of Emperors who were no more than puppets of the now powerful Council lords.
The council lords were to effectively rule the Imperium through these puppet emperors for nearly a century until the early 3100’s. When the Imperium was shaken by the emergence of a evangelical religion lead by an incredibly powerful Psionic known as Lemasi Khaddar preaching a new religion centered around the Enlightenment. Using his power and numerous converts Lemasi Khaddar would be elected Emperor and his attempts to establish a new order would plunge the Imperium into a series of bloody conflicts known as the New Enlightenment Crusades, where the Secular Nobility lead by the Sivans would clash with the Merendavi’s Khaddari Enlightmentalists for domination, ultimately splintering the Empire into a autonomous collection of semi-feudal states.
The New Enlightenment Crusades would continue until the moderate factions of the Empire, most notably the Krauth’s, and Privakani Etresi’s brought a measure of stability to the Empire, ushering in the so called “High Imperial Era” where the borders of Vachik civilization extended into what would become the march worlds, and prosperity abounded. While wars occurred in the period most notably the 4th Imperial Civil War, they were minor in comparison to those that came before. Yet the High Imperial period would come to an end with the Ruvari Dynasty whose incredible wealth allowed them to buy the throne ushering in a new era of corruption. When the last Ruvari Emperor Akash II died without a clear heir the Council Lords squabbled amongst themselves for the throne. Unable to agree on a successor they turned to violence, initiating the Succession Crisis which would fracture the Imperium into a civil war which would endure for 150 years.
Admist the squabbling Exarchates a small rump state of less than 100 worlds existed centered on New Vachik. Ruled by the Lord Protectors they fought to remain independent while the Exarchs and Vestarches of the Imperium dueled for the throne. It wasn’t until Ketu III Etresi later known as the Great managed to defeat his rivals and overthrow the lord protectors was the Imperium as a whole truly restored. Proclaiming a New Era he vowed to restore the stability of past generations, intending to bring the March Worlds settled during the High Imperial Era back into the Empire. While initially successful he died with his work unfinished. His heir though was simply not up to the task. Ketu IV Etresi the Mad nearly destroyed his father’s accomplishments out of paranoia and fear for his status and position. Plunging the Imperium into yet another civil war after attempting to murder the Council lords.
While he was quickly overthrown his disastrous rule caused the conquest of the expansive Rimward Marches to drag on for decades, which became known as the Rim Conflicts Era. The Conflicts continued until Empress Orissa Krauth cut a deal with one of the most powerful Marcher lord's Sazin Vosachin making him an Exarch and officially granting him lordship of the troublesome region. In exchange for bringing the wayward worlds of the region into the Imperium by force if necessary. While her plan was successful, albiet unpopular Orissa Krauth was one of the last powerful leaders of the Imperium. With no external crisis and an Empire more massive than ever the need for a powerful Emperor declined, and the bureaucrats and nobility rose to prominence once again.
With the frontier pacified and the nobility satisfied managing their own expansive domains the Imperium entered a new Golden Age grander and in many ways greater than the High Imperial Era. Thousands of new worlds were colonized beyond the March Worlds in a region known as the Far Reaches. Economic expansion and technological advances heralded previously unthought-of levels of prosperity. Yet the good times could not last. Economic growth slowed, technological advances decreased in frequency begging a slow stagnation which would grip the Imperium. This stagnation panicked the nobility leading to a Cold War between the member states of the Imperium most importantly the Great Exarchates and the Emperor's themselves. Massive arms buildups and races occurred in preparation for the war they thought was soon to come, creating a powder keg that ignited after the suspicious death of Emperor Corram IV Amati.
Kasairas Etresi the young Exarch of the Etresi Dominions and Sazin VII Vosachin Exarch of the Rimward Marches and Minister of Technology both hungered after the throne and tired of the stagnation and that had gripped the Imperium for generations. A contested election occurred with Sazin VII Vosachin narrowly declared Emperor over Kasairas, fearing a civil war he ordered his rival arrested, however Kasairas escaped to Privakani with most of his followers and declared himself Emperor several weeks later. Declared an outlaw and usurper by Sazin VII Vosachin Kasairas and his supporters were now officially in revolt against the rightful Emperor on New Vachik. So began the Revolt of the Exarchs one of the bloodiest and in the end final chapter of the Etresi Imperium.
After years of fighting Sazin VII Vosachin emerged triumphant forcing Kasairas Etresi to flee deep into the Far Reaches of space never to be heard from again. However it came at a heavy cost, the fighting had left the Imperium in ruins and continuing to decline. Moreover Sazin VII Vosachin did not emerge from the war unscathed during the Siege of New Vachik he was mortally wounded and would have died if not for mind uploading technology. In a desperate move he transferred his consciousness from flesh to machine despite the risks such a move would simply kill him or drive him insane. Yet through dumb luck, fate or something else it was successful. Now effectively immortal Sazin and his advisers worked tirelessly to build a new order out of the ruins of the Old Imperium. Creation of a new order could not simply happen overnight and the Imperium managed to linger on for nearly 300 more years to its 2000th anniversary. Only for it to be dissolved on that very day and replaced by Sazin VII Vosachin's Eternal Imperium ruled by him and his advisers who had long since abandoned their mortal bodies and endure as immortal machines.
Imperial Government
The Emperor
The Emperor is effectively the supreme ruler and autocrat of the Etresi Imperium invested with wultimate governing authority as head of state and head of government, his or her powers are not limited by any constitution or by the law. He in theory wields unrestricted political power over the sovereign state and its people. However his unrestricted power is held in check by sheer size of the Imperium. It is simply impossible for one man to rule the entirety of the Imperium and as a result he is forced to delegate significant parts of his authority to the centralized Imperial Bureaucracy and the entrenched high nobility. While a powerful emperor is able to use his influence and the military to enforce his will, many emperors especially those ruling during the Late Imperial era were little more than pawns of powerful coalitions of the high nobility.
Council Lords
The Council Lords were initially created as a rubber stamp parliamentary organization known as the Imperial Advisory Council (IAC) by Emperor Tepazin II Etresi the Reformer as a concession to the powerful figures of the early Imperium in order to secure support for his reforms. While officially possessing little actual power the Council lords rose to become an incredibly important advisory body to the Emperor. With various members of the Council lords often being promoted to positions of power within the Imperial Hierarchy. While the IAC originally consisted of non-hereditary selected individuals during the Etresi Civil War that began to change. To gain support in the war Bivadi & Cidan Etresi began offering hereditary seats on the IAC and began granting noble titles to its members. After the defeat of Cidan and the assasination of Bivadi the Council Lords placed their young cousin Cidan II Etresi on the throne and ruled as regents for more than a decade and enacted numerous policies that expanded their power. Giving the council the power to elect the next emperor, dissolve the Imperium by 3/4ths majority vote, and the power to confirm the appointees to nearly every office of the Imperial Bureaucracy. Cidan II was never interested in the affairs of state and in a manner similar to his predecessors continued to expand the number of individuals on the Council Lords by awarding grants of nobility and seats to individuals who would contribute to his grand colonization plans, and fund his numerous exploratory missions into deep space.
By the end of the early Imperial era the Council Lords had developed from a purely advisory body to the main organ of the Imperial government. The Emperor only remained on the throne if backed by powerful coalitions of the Council lord nobility and the last three emperors of the Early Imperium were the so called "Council Emperors" because they divested their power almost entirely from the support of these powerful coalitions. In addition to controlling the office of Emperor the Council Lords squabbled over control of the various ministries and departments of the Imperial Government with political infighting hampering the effectiveness of these organizations. It wasn't until Vaishi Sivan backed by his powerful personal holdings and numerous allies seized the throne that the powers of the Council Lords was curbed. Against the backdrop of the new Enlightenment Crusades Vaishi Sivan and his successors for a time curtailed the power of the Council. Institituing a reign of terror where he successfully cowed the Council with a series of bribes and repressions that gave him a near Carte Blanche to stabilize the central government of the Imperium and cement his absolute control over the Imperial Heartlands, at the cost of greater and greater autonomy for his powerful vassals and the states along the Imperial frontier.
The Council Lords returned mostly to its advisory role, throughout the entire high Imperial Period with its official powers mostly stripped away it influence lay within its membership, as powerful lords such as the Exarchs and Vestarchs returned to their role as kingmakers using their own holdings to protect their own interests and push their agenda's. While remaining a hereditary council their only remaining powers were those granted under the reign of Tepazin II Etresi. After the death of Akash II Ruvari the council lords could not agree to a successor with no less than 16 individuals claiming the title of Emperor. As the Imperium collapsed around itself the remaining unaligned Council Lords mostly Despotes and Vestes formed the Interim Ruling Council headed by the Lord Protector and ruled a rump state centered around New Vachik for nearly 150 years until it was conquered by Emperor Ketu III Etresi the Great. During this time the Council Lords albiet those remained effectively governed the Empire with the Lord Protector acting as the Head of State and Military leader.
Imperial Offices
- Estate Imperial: Manages the worlds of the Imperial Desmense
- Imperial Linguistic Society: The ILS is one of the oldest Imperial Offices and is responsible for maintaining language standards throughout the Empire in addition to providing cheap and affordable linguistic services (I.e Implants, translators, dictionaries etc.)
- Imperial Exchequer: Handles Imperial Incomes from the Emperors Personal Territories and pays salaries to Imperial Officials and is responsible for managing the Imperial Households finances.
- Imperial Archives: Based on New Vachik the Imperial Archives is a massive library/museum/databank etc. containing the collected knowledge of Vachik Civilization. Numerous sub-offices are scattered throughout the Imperium. The Archives due their knowledge base oversee numerous Imperial Research Groups funded by the Emperor.
- Office of the Palace: Officially manages the day to day affairs of the Imperial Palace.
- Office of Information and Public Relations: The propaganda arm of the Emperor responsible for spreading official proclamations, declarations and secret communications.
- Imperial Security Service: Officially the bodyguards of the Emperor made up of numerous Household Guard Units and the First Fleet of the Imperium. Likewise many sub-branches serve as clandestine special forces and secret agents acting on behalf of the Emperor.
- Office of Titles and Accounts: Manages claims, titles and the granting of titles to the nobility. As a result the office of titles and accounts is one of the most prestigious of the Imperial Offices.
- Office of Standards and Measurements: Is vastly important in maintaining or at least trying to maintain standard timekeeping and measurements throughout the Imperium. However it is the least prestigious of the Imperial Offices.
- Imperial Privy Council: Officially holding no powers the Privy Council is a set of handpicked advisers to the Emperor, with no set requirements. Unofficially they often wield great power and influence often being said to speak with the Emperors voice on many matters.
Civilian Ministries
- Ministry of Justice: Oversees the Imperial Courts.
- Ministry of State: Diplomatic Office tasked with maintaining diplomatic ties with the member states of the Etresi Imperium and any foreign nations.
- Ministry of Trade: Operates the Merchant Marine of the Imperium and supposedly acts as a neutral broker for interstellar trade deals.
- Ministry of Commerce: Officially the Ministry of Commerce provides oversight to the Central Bank of the Imperium and is responsible for setting government fiscal policy.
- Ministry of Energy: In theory they are to set a national energy policy. However the Imperium is so vast this is all but impossible. As a result it is mostly a regulatory organization maintaining SOP and issuing permits and licenses including the production of Antimatter.
- Ministry of Information and Communication: Operates the Imperial Relay networks and the Courier Drone ships tasked with maintaining interstellar communication. Also helps fund private enterprises that fall under their purview.
- Ministry of Technology: Similar to the Imperial Archives they are the Council lords controlled ministry that finiances and oversees research projects.
- Ministry of Internal Affairs: Officially an "Intelligence" Organization tasked with counter-terrorism and espionage duties which threaten the Imperium as a whole. Riddled with corruption the IA ministry is a cesspool of politics and most of its offiical roles have been subsumed by other organizations within the Imperium.
- Ministry of Colonial Affairs:
- Ministry of Transportation: Builds and maintains the Imperiums Jump gate Network. Is also maintains a registry of FTL capable ships operating within the Imperium. While required to be licensed many ships fall through the cracks with only about 30% of the ships in the Imperium registered.
- Ministry of Health:
- Imperial Treasury: In charge of drafting the annual Imperial Budget, managing tax collection as well as "Printing" money. One of if not the most powerful ministry, and thus is a highly desirable position. Also maintains a paramilitary force used to collect taxes from worlds and/or nobles who think they can shirk their duties.
- Ministry of War: Provides civilian oversight for the Imperial Military Service. Is mostly staffed with nobles from the Council Lords with a military background (Usually non-IMS however) and their aides. The ministry is something of an old boys club and ripe with nepotism and armchair generals with little practical experience.
- Ministry of Education: Sets educational standards throughout the Imperium. However it has little official powers to intervene on planetary levels. However it does operate many of the Imperiums premier Universities and Colleges.
Law
The nature of the Etresi Imperium means laws and law enforcement are primarily local matters. With the central government on New Vachik largely aloof from the day to day legal proceedings of the Imperium. However the Imperium as a whole maintains a set of laws known colloquially as the "High Laws". While these laws initially only applied to the nobility, jurisdiction was extended to all Imperial citizens under the reign of Arvahd Krauth. Officially the High Laws are designed to protect the stability of the realm with the original passages mostly dealing with Treason, Assasination, Falsifying Titles, Blackmail and during the New Enlightenment Crusades Heresy. Yet over the years the law code has been expanded to everyday crimes as well. The High Laws are enforced and crimes investigated by the Imperial Magistrate Marshall Service, and accused individuals brought to trial in the Magisterial Courts which operate according to Civil Law.
However the Imperial Magistrates and its agents are highly unpopular throughout the Imperium as their powers put them at odds with both the local nobility (individuals most likely to fall under suspicion) and the local law enforcement and courts who dislike having their authority outranked. This limits the effectiveness of the courts and the enforcement of the High Laws, and only a small amount of arrests and trials are done under the purview of the Magisterial Courts.
Regions
Main Article Regions of the Etresi Imperium
The Etresi Imperium is massive entity spanning thousands of light years, and nearly the entirety of the Imperial Sphere. The Imperium is comprised of four primary "Mega" regions based off the length of time since Vachik colonization. In turn these regions are divided into regions named after their position relative to the galaxy, I.E Rimward Marches, the Trailing Reaches etc. These major regions are then broken up into numerous sub regions known as sectors usually named after the most important star system or planet within such as the Privakani Military District, or occasionally after natural formations such as the Furnace sector in the Coreward Far Reaches comprised mostly of a large nebula. Sectors are in turn divided into smaller sub-sectors and follow a similar naming pattern.
Member States
Main Article The Exarchates, The Vestarchies, The League of Despots, The Hegemonic Associations
The Etresi Imperium is more a federation than a true empire, while Edasthat Etresi was successful in uniting the Vachik under his banner, he and his heirs were incapable of forming a truly centralized state despite their best attempts. The slow nature of FTL travel & the limited interstellar communications provided by early data drones made governing from a central location almost impossible. On worlds and star systems that resisited Vachik expansion the local governments were overthrown and replaced by military governors, whilst other worlds that peacefully surrendered, or allied themselves to the growing Imperium were allowed to retain their own leadership, except fealty was now owed to Edasthat Etresi.
Many of these appointed governor positions became hereditary & these locally powerful individuals steadily assumed more rights and privileges during the Imperial Era, eventually becoming full blown hereditary nobility under Cidan II Etresi. The most powerful and successful of these nobles, became the Exarchs & Vestarchs holding sway over dozens, if not more than a hundred worlds. Essentially carving out miniature Empires and fiefdoms of their own within the greater Imperium.
In contrast Hegemonic Associations generally derived from republics & federations which peacefully capitulated to the Imperium or were founded during the various expansion periods. In a hegemony a single star system or world would assume a leadership role, with the other worlds generally sending representatives to said world. Which would then elect planetary leaders and send representatives to the Council Lords. However Hegemonies at least until the Late Imperial Era tended to be much smaller and localized than the Exarchates & Vestarchies.
Demographics
Main Article Demographics of the Etresi Imperium Great Families of the Etresi Imperium
The Colonial Affairs Ministry periodically every twenty years compiles a rough census to measure the population of the Imperium. During the last several centuries the population of the Imperium has skyrocketed due to the long standing stability of the so called "Golden Age of the Imperium". The population is now estimated to be around 4 trillion Vachik, nearly quadrupling since the restoration of the Emperors under Ketu III Etresi the Great. Around 78% of the Imperiums population lives within the Core Colonies or the Imperial Heartlands, and roughly 2% inhabit the vast expanses of the Far Reaches. As of the 4480 Census the estimated population growth projection for the Imperium is hovering at around 1.2%, however most of the growth is occuring in the March Worlds and Far Reaches, with the population of the Heartlands and Core Colonies remaining stagnant.
Language
Main Article Vachik Language
Language within the Etresi Imperium is highly diverse owing to the historical failures to impose a single common Vachik tongue, and the ubiquitous nature of cheap translator implants and software produced by both private enterprise and the Imperial Linguistic Society. There are thousands of languages in the Imperium, nearly as many as the amount of star systems within the Empire. However only a select few manage to extend beyond the gravity well of their planet of origin. By far the most widespread language is Frumenti which originated on the world of Privakani. It is the official state language of the Imperium and is spoken at least as a second tongue by the vast majority of the Nobility and government officials. At last census an estimated 8% of Vachik spoke Frumenti as their first language and around 17% as their second.
Religion
Main Article Religions
The Etresi Imperium is officially a secular state, however religion has played a very important role in both the creation of the Imperium and in some of the greatest crisis that have threatened to destroy it. The most prominent religion is that of Khaddari Enlightmentalism which is followed by around 33.9% of the population, and is the official religion of the Krauth Protectorate and Rimward Marches Exarchate. The second largest following is Atheism at around 29% of the population, the Sivan Family is staunchly atheistic and as such State Atheism is the unifying doctrine of the Sivan Hegemony. Old Enlightenment Religions dating back from before Khaddari Enlightmentalism is followed by 16% of the population, and are popular in the territories controlled by the Ruvari Family and much of the Imperial Heartlands. Ancestor Worship is popular in the Etresi Dominions where many families maintain Virtual Shrines to their ancestors and consort with AI constructs or Beta copies of their deceased forebears, this worship comprises about 10.4% of the Imperiums population. 6.7% of the population follows pre-enlightenment faiths that pre-date space travel and managed to survive the religious turmoil following the Enlightenment. They are scattered throughout the Imperium in small numbers with no major concentrations except on Old Vachik. Finally 4% of the Imperium belongs to various other religions too minor or divergent to be part of the larger categories.
Infrastructure
Transportation
The Etresi Imperium like every other major interstellar state is made possible by advanced FTL technology developed after the Enlightenment. However even with FTL technology the size of the Imperium coupled with jump deviation means it can take months to travel from Old Vachik to the poorly mapped Far Reaches. To improve transit times the Etresi Imperium has constructed one of the most expansive jump-gate networks in the Galaxy known as the Empyrean Way. The Empyrean Way links most of the Star-systems of the Heartlands and many of the Core Colonies ,but the network is patchy at best in the March Worlds and nearly non-existent in the Far Reaches.
For most Vachik Interstellar travel is a rarity outside of the Upper Classes and Nobility with interstellar trips often a once in a lifetime Occurance. Likewise FTL vessels are officially required to be registered and ownership requires numerous permits and licenses (Not to mention hefty bribes). However in reality less than half the FTL craft in the Imperium are registered with the Transportation Ministry. However Interplanetary travel within a system is fairly common and Orbital travel in most systems especially those with Space Elevators is potentially an everyday Occurance for many citizens.
Communications
The Etresi Imperium mostly relies on a massive fleet of Datadrones operated by the Ministry of Information/Communication. However there are not enough of these Imperial Backed Datadrones to go around and the bandwidth is mostly used for military or governmental purposes. Civilian messages will often be delayed for weeks potentially months at a time, especially if being sent to a "backwater" system. However most Exarchates and Vestarchies maintain their own more limited Data-drone fleets, which primarily only operate within their states boundaries and as a result are less overstretched in their use, however priority use for the military and government still apply. To improve civilian communication speed however many private companies have constructed their own (albiet smaller) fleets of Data-drones that travel pre-set routes whose bandwidth can be purchased by citizens for fairly speedy ,but expensive communication.
Science and Technology
The Vachik are one of the oldest space-faring species in the Galaxy having created their own small interstellar colonies before the Enlightenment. The Vachik were the second race to develop a functioning FTL Drive after the Pontik and the first to develop a practical (albiet more limited) jump-gate design. Outside of FTL technology the Vachik have prided themselves as expert developers of electronics and computers, especially in regards to Artificial Intelligence and Cyber-ware, with AI's both sentient and non-sentient are found throughout the Imperium. Likewise Cybernetic implants, especially communication wetware is incredibly commonplace and affordable by all but the poorest Vachik. One source of pride for the Vachik is the process of Mind-Machine Transfer, which was developed shortly after the Enlightenment ,but was abandoned due to the lack of mental stability in transferred individuals until recently. Consequentially Vachik biological and genetic engineering technology has significantly lagged behind galactic standards partially due to religious restrictions and a priority focus in other fields.
Over the last several centuries of the Golden Age the Imperium has been suffering a so called "stagnation" with scientific breakthroughs and new ideas reducing in their frequency. While the Imperium marshals vast scientific capital the lack of any real science policy, along with the entrenched satisfaction of the "status quo" has made the always tightfisted Ministry of Technology short on funds for new projects. Likewise the size and nature of the Imperium has made it difficult to disseminate new technology and ideas and to oversee a effective education policy that encourages the development of science and math skills.
Energy
Like most civilizations the Etresi Imperium mostly relies on Nuclear Fusion technology for its power needs. the first efficient Deuterium-Deuterium industrial reactor was unveiled around sixty years before the Enlightenment. Since then fusion technology has advanced becoming smaller and more efficient. He-3/He-3 Fusion is the most commonplace reaction, as He-3 reactors are reliable, easy to maintain and the fuel widely available. However more advanced Proton-Chain Fusion reactors have become increasingly prevalent during the Late Imperial Era . Likewise large Antimatter Farms (Particle Accelerators located close to stars and powered by solar energy) produce fairly large amounts of antimatter. Most Fusion reactors are in reality Antimatter induced, allowing them to be more easily started and built more compactly. Antimatter Annihilation reactors are rarer and are expensive to maintain, however the energy density of Antimatter generates immense amounts of power. These reactors are usually found only on top of the line modern spacecraft especially newer classes of Capital Ships. However due to the dangers of Antimatter it is tightly regulated by the Ministry of Energy and the regional governments of the Exarchates.
Economy
Main Article Economy of the Etresi Imperium
The Etresi Imperium overall operates a capitalist mixed economy, however different regions and member states of the Imperium often have different guiding economic systems. The Imperial Government itself is highly involved in the economy of the central worlds of the Imperial Desmense, however beyond its borders it maintains primarily a laize-faire economic policy as he member states oppose interference by the Emperor in their domains . The Sheer size of the Imperium and its isolation from other spheres means imports and exports are an extremely small portion of the economy, however internal trade between member states is quite commonplace, facilitated by the Empyrean Way jump gate network that links most of the developed star systems of the Imperium together.
The Imperial Government maintains a standard currency printed and issued by the Ministry of the Treasury and it is backed by the extensive holdings of the Emperor, and the faith that it will not rise to highly to inflation. The Imperial Tecida is currently the currency utilized by the Imperium succeeding the Keciel which was dropped nearly 130 years ago in response to massively rising inflation.The Tecida is legal tender in every member state of the Etresi Imperium (National currency was ratified by the council lords under Nasara Etresi in 2905). However the Exarchates, Vestarchies and many Megacorporations and Despotates print and back their own local currency, however it is usually worthless or subject to horrendous exchange rates outside of its issuing states borders. Thus the Tecida is utilized for most major long distance economic transactions throughout the Imperium.
Imperial Calender
The Imperial Calendar was established by Tepazin I Etresi as a universal calender for the Imperium. Using the coronation of Edasthat Etresi the Great as the first day of year zero. So for example, the Enlightenment occurred on year -605 B.F (Before Formation) on the Vachik Imperial calender and the Secession Crisis is dated to 892 A.F (After Formation).
The Imperial year is divided into 36 weeks of 8 days each, meaning the Imperial year is 288 Days. This corresponds roughly to the orbital period of the original capital world of the Etresi Imperium, Privakani. However the Imperial calender lacks the months relating to the various seasons on its world of origin, as they do not really apply to the Imperium as a whole. Each day corresponds to the rotational cycle of Privakani, which is roughly 29 hours.
This means that the Imperial year is roughly 8352 hours, compared to the Terran year which is 8760 hours.
Armed Forces
Main Article Armed Forces of the Etresi Imperium
As the Etresi Imperium encompasses the majority of the Imperial Sphere, and nearly the entirety of its population and industrial might. As a result the Imperium boasts possibly the largest military in the known galaxy. However due to the size and nature of the Imperium the military power wielded by the Emperor is less than it appears on paper. The armed forces of the Etresi Imperium are divided primarily between the Imperial Military Service which is under the direct control of the Emperor and funded through both taxes and incomes from the Imperial Estates, and the much more numerous "levies" of variable quality drawn from the vassal states of the Empire. Naturally these vassal states are often unwilling to part with their forces without compensation and the Emperor requires any troop requests be approved by the Council Lords (which in itself is a long and time consuming process). In addition these levies are not subject to any standards and are of varying quality, with large states like the Etresi Dominions maintaining well trained and equipped forces, Wheras a minor despot may maintain only a small force equipped with surplus weaponry.