Fading Suns - Imperial Survey 6

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Fading Suns - Imperial Survey 6 - Imperial Fiefs,

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I
MPERIAL
F
IEFS
Written by: Rustin Quaide. Developed by: Bill Bridges. Art by: John Bridges. Maps by: Chris Howard.
© 2003 Holistic Design Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction without written permission of the publisher is
expressly denied, except for the purpose of reviews.
Fading Suns
,
Imperial Survey,
and
Imperial Fiefs
are
trademarks and copyrights of Holistic Design Inc.
1
I
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URVEY
A Knight’s Tale
2
Salutations to Emperor Alexius, my liege lord,
Imperator
Pacificus,
the Emperor of Universal Peace, whose calm de-
meanor brings stability and order to the center of the Em-
pire, and whose wisdom and might spread out like the rays
of a central star, pacifying the remote regions of barbarism
and lawlessness. In the tradition of those earlier reports done
by my fellow Questing Knights, I shall provide a brief intro-
duction about myself before starting my report on the Impe-
rial Fiefs — the worlds of Byzantium Secundus, Tethys, Stig-
mata and Nowhere.
My father came from a distaff branch of the Orlando
family, and could claim a drop of Justinian blood from a
remote ancestor, Lady Aurora Justinian, second daughter of
Count Virgil Justinian, whose lands were seized by the
Keddah on Grail after the assassination of Emperor Vladimir
Alecto. She wed a free man of reputed wealth, Luis Orlando,
and moved with him to Tethys. This is all public record.
Unlike some poor freeman, who claim to be bastard sons or
granddaughters of the great nobles, our claim is there, in
the Nicea Codex, but it has neither helped nor hindered my
family, as my branch dropped from noble to freeman status
ages ago. Once on Tethys, the Orlandos became weapon
suppliers to the Regency, producing military clothing, gear
and small sidearms as members of the local Orlando Guild
(named after my family) for generations.
My mother came from a more liberated family, the Cincas
from the free city of Maguat, who were, however, escaped
serfs from a minor Torenson estate. Seven years residence
in Maguat makes one by law a freeman; hence the saying:
“City air makes a man free.” As a child, I remember mother
rolling her eyes and leaving the room when father would
tell my sister and I about the ways of the universe. Sipping
on his evening beer, his feet propped up on his favorite stool,
father would explain that the universe needed an emperor.
He would then go into his long explanation of the hierarchy
of station, from the lowliest serf to the highest lord, which
mirrored the Pancreator’s reflective hierarchy of celestial
saints and angels. “A higher truth holds together the Known
Worlds, one mixed with the allegiances of ethical powers —
the great nobles, the Church, and so on,” he would say, draw-
ing a picture in the air of orbiting worlds circling a great
sun, symbolized by his flush face.
“The Emperor, Pancreator grant one returns to us —
the Emperor looks after the affairs of the great nobles, who
look after the affairs of the minor nobles and guilds, who
look after the freemen and serfs, who look after us, and we
owe the next higher station our allegiance, so great are their
cares, as the Church, in descending order from Patriarch to
parish priest, administer our souls.” I would listen in awe,
and line up my little military toys accordingly. My mother —
I suspect now she had some taint of Republicanism in her
family — would call us children to bed after too much of this
talk. I would sleep at night, dreaming of planets circling a
flush red star — the Emperor!
The Emperor Wars were a tense time on Tethys, as so
many loyalties to varying families had been encouraged by
different royal houses during the long night of the Regency.
Tired of overseeing the night shift of our little guild sidearms
factory, at age 16 I ran off to Glarson’s Point, where the pro-
Darius faction of the Regency armed forces were recruiting.
Already knowledgeable about firearms, energy swords and
armor, and of freeman status, I went into a sort of officers
training school held on one of the harsh moons of the solar
system (I cannot say more, nor divulge the location). After
six months of drilling, parading, handling weapons, and
enduring forced night marches, I was commissioned as Lieu-
tenant Orlando of the 9th Tethys Loyalists, and sent to
Ravenna with 900 soldiers from Blight Town, the toughest,
meanest S.O.B.s Tethys had to offer. I think they respected
me because I had copied the royal demeanor so well, and I
heard the men say I was some sort of Hawkwood bastard —
the nephew of Darius. I did nothing to discourage these ru-
mors, but the troops also liked the fact I knew my weapons
and could repair any malfunctioning sidearm.
One day, news came that Darius had been killed. I, along
with Captain Marchuko and Count Julian Hawkwood, im-
mediately declared our forces for his nephew, Alexius. Two
months later, we were thrown into battle on Stigmata, to
rescue the Garrison from the Symbiots. This was a harsh
battle, even with command of the air, and the 9th was in the
thick of it. Captain Marchuko got cut off attempting a rescue
of a small band of Stigmata loyalists outside Sylan. Marchuko
and his men were now surrounded in the same fortress the
Stigmata loyalists had been. Disobeying orders, I took 230
I
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soldiers and surprised the Symbiots, storming the fortress
and picking up our banner, while getting the 70 survivors
out. I personally slew a leader of the alien forces. Upon re-
turn to our lines, I expected imprisonment or death for dis-
obeying orders, and was immediately arrested. However, the
following day I was released and brought before Alexius
Hawkwood, who forgave and reinstated me. Word of our
rescue had revived morale (badly needed) on Stigmata, and
I found myself something of a folk hero to the troops.
Later, after the Emperor’s coronation, I was knighted
personally for acts of bravery during those years, the most
notorious being my action on Stigmata. I found myself a
knight of the Emperor, owing allegiance to him alone. This
was entirely new, and the other houses did not know at first
what to make of it. I owe my allegiance directly to the Em-
peror, not House Hawkwood (which he has wisely distanced
himself from to avoid further strife on the part of the other
major houses). Emperor Alexius granted me some small land
on Tethys, and an even smaller three acres in the hills over-
looking the Imperial City, where I find myself most often,
when relaxing from Questing Knight duty. The Emperor
Alexius is a judicious and fair man, honoring the greatest
and least of his subjects. I stand as testimony to the grace
and honor he has bestowed on me, a guildsmen’s son with
serf’s blood now raised high.
Sir Armand Orlando,
Imperial Knight,
Order of the Phoenix
Byzantium Secundus
Byzantium Secundus, jewel of the Empire and the Im-
perial Throne World, beckons like a great star across the
Known Worlds, circled like moons by the lesser houses,
guilds and Church. The Church, House Decados and certain
guild leaders deny this characterization, and the Li Halan
and Hazat attempt a vain theater in which the recent past
has not happened. All one need do, however, is go to the
Imperial City and see the ambassadors from across human
space and beyond, and the truth of my assertion becomes
clear. Truly, this world is the greatest epic poem, crafted by
the Pancreator, using humanity as the principle character.
This isn’t, as an old al-Malik noble told me, the old Regency
World.
“There is an excitement in the air,” the refined count
told me, sniffing the calming
gova
leaves and crushing them
into his warm tea. “The fashions, the parties, the intrigues
— all are drawn here, moths to the imperial flame. In the old
days, the Regency banquets would be ignored by polite so-
ciety, you know; people would go to embassy affairs or wit-
ness yacht races, anything to avoid the solemn poetry and
dull complacency of the Court. Now, it is standing room only
— and the girls, all vying with each other for the Emperor’s
eye. It is enough to wish one was young and stupid again…
no offense.” The count later excused himself with a young
courtesan, who was, unfortunately, barely 16 and the daugh-
ter of a Hazat noble, thus causing another scandal for a
season already thick with them.
If my remarks on Byzantium Secundus are brief, it is
because there are many fuller books out there about the
imperial world, the best guide being titled simply
Byzantium
Secundus,
written by a native, a former magic lantern writer
and art designer in the corrugated industry who desired to
find more informative uses for his pen. I should add that
Byzantium Secundus is 85 percent water, and slightly larger
than Holy Terra.
History
I am no historian, but I did consult a number of librar-
ies for my research. The best was in the Imperial Archives.
The planet was experiencing a reptilian age similar to Urth’s
Mesozoic when a ship from the energy consortium IOPEC,
rumored to be called
Hrunting
, landed here in the 24
th
cen-
tury. IOPEC executives, many from the Asyad family, named
the planet New Mecca. However, after a few generations,
the colonists felt more loyal to each other then the off-world
corporate owners, and a slow rebellion began to foment. As
the First Republic lost outlying planets to the emerging in-
dependent governments, it sought New Mecca as a base to
launch successful counterstrikes against the rebellious
worlds. Already the deadly vice of Sathraism had affected
pilots leaving the New Mecca jumpgates, and this caused
further conflicts.
House Hamid led a noble armada to victory against the
First Republic on the planet, and the name of Baron Santius
became enshrined as the ancient liberator of the world. People
still leave petitions on his statue today, seeking address for
wrongs; this has been the custom for generations. The Hamid
helped humanity lead the counterattacks during the Ukar
War, but were not as successful in battle as other houses.
Lead by Patriarch Palamedes, the other houses captured more
territory. During this conflict, New Istanbul, as New Mecca
was also called, suffered raids from the Ur-Ukar (c2800?).
The Hamid were overthrown by House Cameton, led by
Viscount Psellus, who wed Duchess Malikah Hamid, thus
3
I
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Byzantium Secundus
Tr a i t s
Cathedral:
Cathedral of Saint Maya (Orthodox)
Agora:
Port Authority (the Authority, a local guild)
Garrison:
10
Capitol:
Imperial City
Jumps:
0
Adjacent Worlds:
(All nightside) Aragon, Criticorum,
Leminkainen, Madoc, Pentateuch, Pyre, Shaprut, Sutek,
Tethys
Solar System:
Vesuvius 1, Santius 2, Byzantium
Secundus 3 (Jericho), Aden 4 (new Malta) Magog 5
(Tuszla, Amida, Cyril), Iblis 6 (Derelict)
Spacestations:
Diadem (Imperial Fleet), Cumulus (Mer-
chant League)
Tech:
6
Human Population:
6 billion
Alien population:
600,000
Resources:
Grain
Exports:
Grain, starships, politics
Landscape:
Mostly water, with swampy island conti-
nents dotted with city sprawls.
bly to save New Mecca, but actually to finish the Republic
forever. The Church had warned about the sins of
technosophy, and it stepped in to lead the common people
away from the dangerous devices the Republic had left be-
hind. A later pro-Republican revolt in 4004-4009 almost
redelivered the planet to the Republican forces. This part of
the planet’s history is largely ignored by noble historians.
New Mecca was renamed Byzantium Secundus and
eventually fell to House Gesar. However, the barbarian in-
cursions continued for 500 years, and finally Vladimir Alecto
united the Known Worlds and chose this world as his capi-
tal. After his victory over the Vuldrok king, Froljir the Ill-
Fated, he came here for his coronation and met sudden death
in 4550. House Gesar was subsequently wiped out in wars
with the al-Malik and Decados. Since then, House Cameton
reemerged as the leading royal house on the planet, but was
overshadowed by the Regency set up after Emperor
Vladimir’s assassination.
The assassination of the last regent, Samitra Li Halan,
led the way to the Emperor Wars and Alexius’ ascension to
the title of regent and then later, Emperor. The Siege of Jeri-
cho, which occurred on Byzantium Secundus’ moon towards
the end of that conflict, ended when a mysterious bombard-
ment destroyed its atmosphere plants, leaving many Impe-
rial forces dead, but more of the Decados and Hazat forces
perished than initially thought. I lost an uncle there, and
was stationed on Byzantium Secundus at the time, watch-
ing Cameton forces.
Now ruled by Emperor Alexius, Byzantium Secundus
enjoyed an amazing recovery, and one can scarcely believe
that this was a war-ravaged world just over a decade ago.
Some soldiers and even other knights I have met were
alarmed at Alexius’s dropping of his leadership of House
Hawkwood, but I assured them this was a shrewd move
that would help both friends and foes. If Alexius had claim
over the Hawkwood and Imperial worlds, it would ignite
another civil war with the other houses. Shrewdly, Alexius
set himself up as Emperor of all the worlds, showing no
favoritism. He has also shown great strength by displaying
that he does not need to directly rule more than the Imperial
lands, which he knows are enough to keep his military forces
second to none. Emperor Alexius called the bluff of his en-
emies and left them even more awed by his power and im-
perial authority than before. “The man who surrenders a
noble house gains a universe,” as the 42
nd
century Eskatonic
seer Balthazar said.
Byzantium Secundus is made up of the five island con-
tinents Aldaia, Ghast, Viridian and Old Istanbul, Harmony
and Tamerlain. Many of the islands are slowly sinking into
the seas, a symptom of the fading suns phenomenon. Luck-
ily, the Emperor can call on the best engineers in the Known
Worlds to address this problem, and even recover land from
4
uniting the world’s two royal families. He established the
Market Authority and was responsible for promoting the
planet as the cultural center of human space, using his re-
sources to attract men and women of learning and the arts.
Aside from creating a major commercial center, Viscount
Psellus desired to usher in a golden age of letters and sci-
ences, and so established several universities. He needn’t
have worried, for if history teaches us anything, it is that
the arts follow money.
The Market Authority soon spread its power across
human space until most of the nobility were in debt to it.
This gradually lead to the mercantile interests pushing for a
Second Republic (3500?-4000), to standardize the trading
routes and establish a stable universal currency. A revival
of democratic ideas, spreading from old Urth and Istakhr,
helped spread the message, along with new technologies.
New Mecca became the capital of the Republic, and the popu-
lation expanded.
The Greater Senate and the Second Republican Palace,
whose ruins dot the Sevian Hills outside the Imperial City,
oversaw the greatest concentration of power and wealth
humanity had ever seen. However, the misuse of technol-
ogy and the corruption of the later Republican ministers and
presidents led to its downfall. When a barbarian incursion
from what is now Vuldrok space landed in 4000, the Ten
Great Houses used this as an excuse to land troops, ostensi-
I
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F
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the sea in some areas. As a general rule of thumb, the nobles
prefer the uplands, while the sections closer to the water are
often crowded with serfs and freemen eking out a living.
Let us now explore.
Aldaia
A continent largely Orthodox in outlook, Aldaia is cov-
ered in thick fogs but is still surprisingly cool and pleasant.
Although it is home to House Cameton, the Li Halan and
Imperial authorities also have some holdings here. It is most
famous for the Horace Library, founded by St. Horace, dis-
ciple of our beloved Prophet Zebulon, and also the Imperial
Eye Central Command. I spent my time here on the estates
of Earl Hikado Li Halan, in the mountainous region. A so-
phisticated man, the earl and I engaged in sword practice
and long talks on military history, a subject that fascinated
him. “I hate military books with bad maps,” he said, an
assessment with which I agreed. Hikado is descended from
a branch of the Li Halan that converted before Prince
Cardano. “Indeed, we were once considered the black sheep
of the Li Halan,” he said. “It turns out, we were two centu-
ries ahead of the rest of my illustrious clan.”
Recently, a great reptilian sea monster began disrupt-
ing shipping on the Obsidian Ocean, and parties are being
recruited to hunt the serpent down. The monster, captured
on vid, is an immense reptilian beast, larger then any wit-
nessed on the world. Some say it is part of the fading suns
phenomenon, which twists and ruins nature. Many recruits
have signed on to hunt it, and Aldaia is known for its mar-
tial arts and imperial recruitment grounds. One ship, the
Athena
, sent out to find the monster, was found destroyed.
Any young warriors seeking adventure should flock here
immediately to hunt Mardraco, as the people of Aldaia have
named the beast.
Ghast
A largely desert continent where physical conditions
changed so rapidly during the fading suns phenomenon that
much of the wildlife did not have time to adapt. Many of the
plants and animals died out over the last thousand years.
Homesick people from desert planets often find dwellings
here near the coast; the interior is much too harsh.
I made a hasty visit in the company of fellow Questing
Knight, Lady Sharifah al-Malik, who confirmed that yes,
Ghast reminded her of her desert homeland, and that yes,
she was sick of deserts. We managed to find some enter-
tainment in gambling at an “unofficial” casino. I longed to
see the Tepest Desert, rumored to possess pre-Adamite Gar-
goyles. “It has roving bands of the Changed,” Lady Sarifah
told me. “If you prefer their company to mine, you can go,
but if you prefer some culture, I recommend you remain at
my side.” I did so. Incidentally, the Emperor has brought
Byzantium
Secundus
Sun
Diadem
(Imperial Fleet)
Byzantium Secundus 1.46 AU
Cumulus
(Merchant League)
Jumpgate
41.351 AU
Urban Region
Space Station
Temperature Zones
Arctic
Subarctic
V
V
Moliach Ocean
New Novgorad
(Novgorad Shipyards)
S
Temperate
V
V
Caspian Ocean
Harmony
V
S
Ur Gargoyle
Ghast
Obsidian
Ocean
Subtropical
Gabler Ocean
S
Port Gabler
GALATEA
Obsidian
Ocean
Veridian
Tropical
Old Istanbul
Veridian University
V
C
S
V
V
V
Imperial Eye Central Command
The Veldt
V
Gasperah
S
V
V
Tropical
Manx Shipyards
Tamerlain
Aldaia
S
Port Vrago
(Li Halan/
Cameton
Contested)
Borachio Ocean
Triest
Shipyards
V
Horace Library
Unrest
V
Subtropical
Vistaka Ocean
Port Sapphire
(House Cameton)
Tamerlain
Institute
Ice
Sk
Toxic Zone
Volcanic Zone
Naiad Ocean
Naiad Ocean
Temperate
V
Vau Embassy
(Restricted)
Vladimir Temple
Subarctic
Arctic
Site of Interest
City (10,000,000 or less)
City (20,000,000 or less)
Capitol - Known Worlds (67,000,000)
Tarsus
Tarsus
0
miles
1,000
miles
2,000
miles
3,000
miles
C Cathedral
Sk Skyport (Note: Skyports exist
in all cities of
10,000,000 or more.)
S Spaceport
Mountain Range
Jungle
Grasslands
2nd REPUB
LI
C MAGRAIL
Active
Inactive
Proprietary Line
Under Construction
5
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