The Empire of Kureshtin

The Empire of Kureshtin

At a Glance

The Empire is the epitome of a once great power in decline. Decadent nobles caring nothing for the plight of border states left to fend for themselves; concerned only with devising their next pleasure. Evil and corruption is rife and its everyone for themselves with few exceptions. The city island is now populated only by those of noble family (Kalashan'kureshai, true bloods), though most true Kureshtins claim nobility and a second city now grows on the shores opposite. Yet the Empire can still put up a fierce fight if it believes it is about to loose another state to the growing menace of the Cabal. It still has some talented officers and skilled veterans who remember what it used to mean to be part of the Empire's military.
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Statistics

Towns

Kureshtin.     The Capital City. This is more like a citystate. The whole island is the capital Population 1 million.
                    true bloods only are permitted on the island
Kurai            The Bureaucratic capital. Population 1million

Population

The country of Kureshtin 14 million

Land

The country of Kureshtin is 650,000 sq miles, however the Empire is much larger. 

Wealth

The Empire of Kureshtin is extremely rich. After hundreds of years of imperial rule vast riches have been accumulated on the island of Kureshtin. All Kalashan'kureshai are extremely rich compared with non Kalashan'kureshai The wealth of the Empire is derived from its vassal states, and this covers most commodities. The major ones are Furs from Dunrawn, Arable goods from Gaia, Marine produce from Syra, Metal ore from Imikien

What Others Think

The Military

It is well known that the Empire has the largest armies on the continent and for this reason the army is feared. The forces that Kureshtin can field span all troop types, from lightly armed slingers to heavy cataphractii. Many of the Empires officers are useless fops, interested only in their own advancement. However there are a few that are highly competant 

Population

Most foreigners judge the population of Kureshtin by the actions of the Kalashan'kureshai. These actions brand the people of Kureshtin as decadent and immoral.

Government

The word of the Empress is law, and all Kureshtin law stems from this. However the day to day rule of the Empire is performed by hundreds of thousands faceless bureaucrats, all on the take. The main administative centre is the metropolis of Kurai 
What it is famoous for.

Points of Interest

People

Organisations

The Vitchak
An order of unholy knights
The Empress's Hand
The Empire's secret police. Feared as much as the Vitchak, but never seen.
The Imperial Tax Gatherers
The most despised group of people on the continent. The Gatherers will stop at nothing to ensure that all taxes are collected
The Djaekimaar
A cult of Ascetics that are proscribed by the Kureshtin government. A person of being a Djaekimaar is executed by torture

Places

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The Military

The Army

The Shis'lidar The Empress's bodyguards. This group is formed of  only Kalashan'kureshai warriors and they number several thousand. There is a minimum height requirement and all members must be physically attractive. Most are not the superlative fighters that they lead people to believe. They rely on their incredible reputation to do the fighting for them. However as usual in the Empire there are some that are the sort of men that the Shis'lidar used to be.
The Kainar Kureshai
The elite heavy cavalry unit. Completely bloodthirsty, they never take prisoners. The only unit known to have held against a charge is Kront's Wall in the Cabal
The standing army of Kureshtin numbers in excess of 1 million men when all the levies from the various vassel states are counted. The army drawn from the population of Kureshtin itself numbers some hundred thousand soldiers called F'Aleem. These are mixture of infantry, armed with spear and bow, and, heavy cataphractii. Despite the quality of the troops the current generals of the Kureshtin army are inbred fops who have achieved their positions through political manuvering. This manuvering has meant that some very skilled generals have been sent to the far flung outposts of the empire to become Tzanteg (Province commanders).

The Navy.

The Navy of Kureshtin is a disorganised mish-mash of various units which have been raised over several centuries. This means that it is an organisational nightmare with numerous different troop types and ship patterns. This degree of disorganisation is one of the major reasons why the campaign against the T'ivians has gone so badly. The newly designed Cabalian galleys with their free oarsmen and disciplined crews run rings around their Kureshtin equivalents.

Magical Forces

There is no organised magical force within the Kureshtin military. However mages have in the past been attached to military units with mixed results. One story, concerning a mage called Valerious Kilmoon, says that on the first day of an encounter with the Bear Tribe on the furthest northern border of the Empire the mage broke up an attack with several skillfully placed fireballs. On the second day the same mage caused the loss of over 200 Kureshtin soldiers when the same spell set of a massive rock slides. Kureshtin soldiers look upon mages in their ranks with displeasure.

Magic

All realms of magic are studied in Kureshtin. At the heart of  the Empire there are many people with the time and inclination to "try new experiences" through magic, so mages are normally welcome. However there is no  body like there is in the Cabal which acts as a centre of learning. Although in recent years some magic users have been exchanging ideas in attempt to counter the potential threat of the Ordo Magus Militaris.

The Law

There are two different grades of law within Kureshtin and its empire. There is the law for the Kalashan'kureshai and the law for those that aren't. If a Kalashan'kureshai says that a vaij (none blood) is guilty than that vaij will be found guilty no matter what the circumstances. Provided a Kalashan'kureshai does not commit a crime against another or the Empress then he will never be convicted.

The Judiciary

Effectively there is no judicial system within Kureshtin. Normally a nearby Kalashan'kureshai representative will take a hand in the matter and decide on the spot if any punishment is necessary and what that punishment should be.This instant "justice" means that vaij attempt to avoid involving any Kalashan'kureshai in their affairs. In the outer areas of the country and kingdom nominated vaij fulfill the same function.

The Militia

Militia varies in quality and composition across the Empire

The Thieves

The Assassins

Other Agencies

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The Government

The Nature of the Government

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Prominent Players

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Foreign Policy

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Trade

Imports

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Exports

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Natural Resources

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Currency

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Religion

A Deity

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Customs

As mentioned above the most interesting custom is that of bathing before every meal. Many Kaneel (Inns) will not serve a patron who obviously has not bathed. However all Kaneels provide bathiing facilities included in the price.

Scenarios