Ashremalk Empire

An Empire that expands its reaches across countless worlds. An interworld Superpower ruling over the lives of over 2.3 Billion souls. Authoritarian and militant, their citizens believe in the superiority of the human race and enslave non-humans that fall under their rule for menial tasks and entertainment. They wage war constantly and have at their beck and call a wealth of magical knowledge; though technologically they remain in use of basic steel armor and weaponry. The skill of their officers in weaving magic alongside the sword is truly fearsome.

At the heart of their empire sits the Portal Hub City of Ashremalk, a fortress city of significant size. Because portals lay within the city limits, the city's design takes care to provide signficant defense against attack from within the city limits. There are also slave holding and trade facilities within the city limits. The most heavily fortified location is the Emperial Castle, built atop the mesa the city was built around.

Society
A warrior race of humans, their society revolves around the advancement of the strong or skilled, be it through magic or strength of arms... or a combination of both in the case of their Battle-Mages. The majority of their citizens, male or female, are enrolled into the military from as young as the age of 8. They are first evaluated for any affinity for magic. If they are found competent in magic, they are immediately sent to one of the various Sorceror Academies built on the core worlds, while the rest are evaluated for physical or skill affinities that may qualify them for specialized training, as well as for mental capacities that may define a good candidate for officer training, and are thusly assigned appropriately and are made to serve the Emperial Army until the age of 30 or until combat injuries force them out of duty. A soldier may continue service beyond 30 years of age if they so choose; typically as a training officer or advisor... or they may retire from the military to take up an alternate occupation. Sorceror's typically remain in service indefinitely, though many become teachers to younger generations or magical researchers or advisor's after the age of 40.

In the eyes of the Malkese, humans are the race destined to dominate all creation, human superiority being defined by their ability to work together to overcome greater challenges through the combination of strength, skill, cunning and their numbers to defeat individually faster or stronger opponents, and most other social races being inferior to humans in these. Their aptitude for magic is nothing to sneeze at either, and while they have on numerous occasions come across powerful wizards, the sheer number of their spellcasters have always overcome even the most destructive spells to be thrown at their armies.

Government
The Malkese are ruled over by the will of an Emperial Family. One Emperor or Emperess whose will is absolute that is voted for from among eligible Royalty by those same eligible Royalty. The one thing an Emperor or Emperess may not dictate is who their heir shall be. This has resulted in three distinct factions among the Malkese Royalty and a handful of unaffiliateds whom the three factions compete for the support of. Often, governor's of worlds or individual provinces from particularly large worlds are chosen from among royalty or particularly popular military commanders and champions. They are able to rule a territory as they see fit so long as it does not stand against the will of the Emperor/ess. Additionally, Generals actively engaged in military operations within a territory may supercede the authority of the local governor.

Genocide of even non-humans in Malkese held territories is not permitted on Governor Authority, requiring the order to come from a General engaged in military operations, or an order from the Emperor/ess. Additionally, some non-sentient creatures and plants are protected by Emperial Authority from over-harvesting as some may serve a crucial role in the greater Empire. By Emperial Edict, Silvergold Yews are to be secured for use of the construction of staves and tomes used by Elite Magisters and never for the use of personal furniture by governors or generals.

Weapons and Armor
The metallurgy of the Malkese went as far as steel before their own discovery of magic. It has advanced little since then because finely forged steel matched most enchanted metals and was simpler to produce. They are frequently refining the form of armor and currently have chainmail and overlapping plated armor in common use. They generally favor large square shields for the purpose of forming solid shieldwalls to provide near full protection for a formation against ranged attacks. Kite shields and bucklers are distributed to cavalry and scout units respectively. Personal weapons include various styles of sword that differ from unit to unit, standardized spears and daggers are distributed to each soldier within the empire.

Archer weapons are varied from world to world as a result of differing availability and quality of woods. As a result, standard archery groups capabilities varies widely from one world to the next. However, their elite archery units utilize a high quality compound bow that combines an animal horn from a world that was conquered in the early years of Malkese expansion and paired it with the strongest woods that can be found throughout the empire. The effective lethal range for these elite archers exceeds 700 yards and they go to great lengths to ensure none of these weapons falls into enemy hands. While recapturing the weapon is ideal, they have utilized powerful flame spells in the location where the weapon is suspected to have fallen in order to prevent it's capture and study.

The Magisters of the Malkese utilize robes designed to hide their presence as opposed to amplification of their casting ability, allowing them to cast from closer to the front lines and allowing greater precision against enemies of the Empire while minimizing risk to their own troops. Additionally, they utilized enchanted tomes of pages made from the pulp of ancient trees and bound in the bone of great magically inclined beasts found throughout the empire. The most powerful of these are those that utilized the bone and scale of Dragons and pages minted from the pulp of the few Silvergold Yew that they have discovered in their long history. To date, only 137 such tomes have been produced and are reserved for their most elite Magisters and Clerics. Silvergold Yews are also utilized in the construction of staves for these elite casters.

Their Battle Mages are known to wield powerful enchanted weapons of Aethersteel and armor composed of Gold-Silver alloys with gemstones placed strategically for maximum efficiency in projecting spells where the warrior may need it. The shields of the Battle Mages vary greatly as unlike the majority of the Malkese Equipment, is subject to customization rather than standardization.