Sollan Empire

Caste System

The Imperial culture is divided into four main castes: palatine, patrician, plutocrat, and plebeian. The palatines represent the Imperial aristocracy, and are descended from the humans who resisted the Mericanii. Genetically enhanced, they may live for several centuries. Alongside the patricians, they are collectively known as the nobiles. Patricians are drawn from plebeian or plutocrat stock, elevated through genetic augmentation bestowed by the palatine caste as a reward for loyal service.

The plebeians comprise the vast peasantry of the Empire, descended from unaltered human settlers carried aboard the oldest colony ships, and are expressly forbidden to employ high technology. Plutocrats, by contrast, are wealthy plebeians who have been able to purchase genetic augmentations for themselves, thereby attaining a status effectively equivalent to that of the patricians.^[2]

Religion

Holy Terran Chantry

The Holy Terran Chantry is the state religion of the Empire. It teaches of the icona—spirits or gods embodying an ideal, virtue, or natural law. Among these, the Four Cardinals—Justice, Fortitude, Prudence, and Temperance—are venerated above all others. Central to its morality are the Twelve Abominations, the most grievous sins defined in the Chantry’s Index. Those who are found guilty of such transgressions are stripped of all legal privileges. Apart from being a purely religious body, the Chantry also functions as the judicial arm of the state, especially where the use of forbidden technology is involved.^[2]

The highest ecclesiastic office of the Chantry is Synarch, whose most important function is the coronation of new Emperors. The Synarch also presides over the Synod—the ruling body of the Chantry.^[2] Furthermore, the Chantry maintains a catalog of punishments—monetary, corporal, and capital—which are enforced by its judicial branch, called the Inquisition.^[2][5]

Museum Catholic Church

The Museum Catholic Church is an adorator cult centered on the planet Caritas, believed to have existed since the Golden Age of Earth and protected on reservations by Imperial decree.^[2] Their symbol is a cross.^[6]

Cid Arthurianism

Cid Arthurianism is a syncretic religion founded late in the fourth millennium ISD as an offshoot of Buddhism, recognizing the British King Arthur as a Buddha, emphasizing chivalric virtue as a means of pursuing enlightenment.^[8] They have not been recognized by the Chantry, and thus, have not been granted adorator status.^[9]

Other Religions

There exist several other religions and cults in the Sollan Empire, of which only some are granted adorator status and thus tolerated by the Terran Chantry.^[2] Among these are the Orthodox Hindus and Buddhists, the Seekers, the Cinarians, and the Jaddian Zoroastrians.^[7][12]

Languages

Galstani (Galactic Standard)

Galstani, also called Galactic Standard, is the common language of the Sollan Empire.^[2] It is descended from Classical English, and many scholars have dedicated their careers to unraveling its evolution. It bears heavy Hindi and Franco-Germanic influences, with aspects of Bengali and Urdu.^[10] The script is written in block letters.^[11]

Classical English

Also called the King's English, Classical English is the language used by the early Imperial settlers on Avalon, still used by Imperial scholiasts.^[10] Classical English was also used by the ancient Mericanii.^[2]

Sports and Entertainment

The Colosso

The Colosso is the great sporting event of the Empire.^[29] It comprises a series of events held in a coliseum involving professional gladiators, slave myrmidons, animals, races, and more.^[2]

Imperial Family

The Empire has been ruled by the the Aventine house ever since the reign of the first Emperor, William Windsor. As of the rule of Emperor William XXIII, the royal line numbers two hundred and fifty-one monarchs, going back some seventeen millennia.^[13] During the majority of this time, House Avent has—in the royal line—married only itself, relying on the ministrations of the High College to prevent mutation.^[14]

Rules of Succession

The heir to the Solar Throne is traditionally selected by the ruling Emperor in their will.^[15] Often, the throne is inherited by one of the Emperor's oldest children, though sometimes a younger child is favored.^[16] The will is then read and executed by the Imperial Council, who, along with the Chantry, have some power to resist the Emperor's choice if they disapprove of it.^[17][18]

Known Emperors

Laws

Great Charters

Ratified in ISD 1443, the Great Charters is an ancient collection of legal codes imposed on the Empire by a coalition of the houses palatine.^[24] Its purpose is to maintain a balance between the palatine houses and the Emperor.^[2] Among many other things, the Charters regulate duelling, conscription, the use of atomic weapons, and who is allowed to bear children.^{[25][26][27][28]}

Writ of the Chantry

The Writ is the Chantry’s legal and moral code. Among other things, it regulates the use and trade of all complex machinery. Though certain electronic devices are permitted, unlawful actions include building a private datasphere, harboring foreign technicians, trading forbidden technologies with the Extrasolarians, or purchasing too many uranium enrichment crawlers without Chantry permission.^[30][31] It is enforced by the Inquisition and the Index.^[2]

Index of Law

The Index of Law, more commonly called just the Index, is the Chantry's catalog of punishements, enforced by the Inquisition. For executions, common methods include the firing squad, hanging, and beheading. Beheading, however, is reserved for members of the palatine caste. These formal executions are performed by Chantry cathars using the White Sword—a ceramic greatsword made of polished zircon.^[2][33] Other punishments include lashing and pillory.^[5]

The Index's most grievous sins are the Twelve Abominations, where legal priviliges are stripped and the guilty will be executed without trial. Known abominations include:

• consortation, conversing with or having similar contact with artificial intelligence, even unknowingly,
• duplication, the copying of an individual's genetics, likeness, personality, or memories through cloning or related practices,
• possession, where an individual or computer system is under the control of an artificial intelligence,
• profanation, the combination of human flesh with machine implants or prostheses, especially where the modifications transcend ordinary human function.^[32]

Slavery

In the Empire, it is common for palatine houses to own slaves. Often, slaves are felons, marked for their crimes with tattoos or slit nostrils.^[34] These criminals are often forced into fighting in the Colosso as fodder for the professional gladiators or wild animals, and are called myrmidons. At other times, slaves are homunculi, and are bred for specific tasks, such as sexual pleasure, manual labour, or fighting. Lastly, xenobites are also often enslaved, such as the Umandh, and are used for trading or in the Colosso. Slaves are overseen and traded by douleters.

Foreign Relations

Principalities of Jadd

Durantine Republic

Lothrian Commonwealth

Command Structure

Equipment

Training

Footnotes

References