TerritoriesCurrently, the Empire of the Fallen Moon is the largest single state entity on Yucatбn in terms of territory, controlling provinces ranging from the populous heartlands of Southern Anadashi, across the thriving Soven Islands between the Nuvameri- and Finhir Sea, and even to hostile jungles of Sovamere in the east. Its size was surpassed in the past, especially by the horde empires of Tan-Mawhahe, but the Empire of the Falling Moon stands out for maintaining a stable rule over the past two-century, steadily expanding without overextending its reach.
Maintaining this stable momentum of territorial expansion is a major concern of the Terran Mandate's dealings with the Empire, especially for the Allied Powers of Pan-Europa.
Heartlands of Southern AnadashiThe Empire first arose from the union between the two high kingdoms of Tovus and Num. These two regions, lush and entwined with a multitude of seas and archipelagos, remain the beating heart of the expansive Empire of the Falling Moon. Located close to the equator between the inner Nuvamere and the outer Nahil- and Finhir Seas, the lands are lush and fertile, home to a great variety of flora and fauna, forming dense forests right up to the rugged coastlines.
Ancient cities line the endless coastlines of the Heartlands, having grown into veritable metropolises stretching far into the inland forests. Dense networks of channels, earthworks, and artificial lakes provide the foundations for agriculture, which stands in constant conflict with the encroaching woods. In the Heartlands of the Empire, the forest has been largely tamed. Though the ancient trees are still prominent enough to form an uninterrupted canopy in most of these lands, the underbrush and fauna have been shaped and selected by centuries of constant settlement.
Soven Island DominionsThe Soven Islands represent the Empire's first major expansion to the east, beginning with the conquest of the native Omahiri civilization. Firmly integrated into the empire, the Soven twin isles are home to some of the Empire's most ambitious projects, including massive planned cities and development projects, resettling tens of thousands to expand the old colonies. Road- and channel networks have been across the wild jungles and plains of the Soven isles, where the wilderness is much more prominent than in the heartlands.
The twin isles serve as an example for imperial advancement, incorporating often the newest technological and cultural achievements of the empire into new monuments being raised. In the dominions, these innovations often play a more central role than in the Heartlands, where older sites and traditions are preserved.
While none of the native nations of the twin isles still exist, the culture of the native peoples has become a part of the Dominion's identity, firmly setting it apart from the heartland.
Sovamere ColoniesUnlike the Heartlands and the Soven Isles, the western shores of Sovamere were never the home of a major Tassamari civilization. Instead, the imperial settlers found a strange and hostile world dominated by exotic flora and fauna sprouting from ruins dating back to the precursors. While the Sovamere colonies make up a sizable territory, their population and number of organized communities represent but a small fraction of the entire empire. Coastal cities thrive on the trade of rare and exotic goods produced from inland expeditions, but the Empire of the Falling Moon continues to struggle to gain a firm foothold beyond these bridgeheads.
Many of the larger territories belong to the Empire only by name, while in reality, it is under the control of wild nature and the disparate tribes and warbands living in the hostile jungle.
The most dangerous region of the empire's new world is the Black Heart in the north of Sovamere. This mixture of rainforest and marshland jungle has proven a deadly land, rife with unknown diseases, parasites, and strange phenomena inexplicable to the imperial pioneers. However, it is also the most contested region of the new continent, as both the Empire of the Falling Moon and the Ashen Colonies of the Inner World Seafarers harbor a great interest in the extensive ruins that dominate the inland of that region.
Imperial RuleThe Empire's successful conquest and lasting rule over so much of its respective known world have been attributed to its ability to adapt and integrate foreign peoples, their religions, and culture into its own. New territories of the empire are afforded some measure of sovereignty as provinces or vassal kingdoms under imperial rule, and their people are given the chance of gaining status and wealth as citizens of the Empire. This makes rebellion not only a difficult but also unattractive prospect, as the majority of the populous stands little to gain from such a war.
Measures to ensure the security of imperial rule are present in all aspects of its structure, from the raising of provincial troops for deployment far from their homeland, to the adoption of foreign deities into the Grand Dynasty of the Empire's pantheon.
However, the increased stability of imperial rule due to this compartmentalization comes at the cost of less centralized authority and less effective utilization of its assets. As the Empire of the Falling Moon expands, it is more and more challenged by maintaining the balance between affording colonial territories enough sovereignty to function, and enacting enough authority to ensure loyalty and benefits to the Empire as a whole.
Since the initiation of contact between the Empire of the Fallen Moon and the Terran Mandate, this has also become the greatest concern of Terran actions on the planet Yucatбn. While the Terran Mandate, especially the Allied Powers of Pan-Europa, seeks to aid in the Empire's rise to global dominance, this goal must be achieved without gravely destabilizing this state and plunging the planet into civil war.
Rulers augmented by the FleshThe Imperial rule is notably reinforced by the presence of Flesh in the bloodlines of the ruling dynasties. Centuries ago, individuals touched and augmented by the Flesh of the Lifeseeders emerged as leaders among their people and have since had a divine legitimization of their rule. Aside from providing a strong spiritual element to their authority, the powers manifested by the Flesh in these dynasties have been noted for being practically beneficial to the imperial rule as well. Longevity alone allows for the monarchs of the Empire to become some of the most skilled and experienced individuals of their people. At the same time, the extreme life-spans of flesh-induced Augments has led to a very different understanding of succession, with Emperors of the Falling Moon seldom ruling longer than two decades before being lawfully replaced.
Diplomacy and TradeHistorically, the city-states of Tovus and Num considered themselves the heart of the civilized world, dealing with surrounding cultures and nations as lesser peoples, if not outright barbarians. This position was first significantly challenged by the rise of the Empire of Nahil and its expeditions for conquest on Anadashi.
The contemporary Empire of the Falling Moon is surrounded by a multitude of other powers, particularly in the west. The relationships with these are ever-changing but largely fit into a larger framework of commerce and trade which has been established over centuries.
There remains a lingering rivalry between the Empires of the Falling Moon and Nahil, but in the last century, both powers had set their focus elsewhere. While skirmishes between the Cities of Nur and the New Amash Kingdom of the Nahil Empire continue to flare up once in a while, the two powers have settled for the current status quo.
The Southron Realms close to the imperial heartland were dangerous rivals to the High Kingdom of Tovus in the past. After the founding of the Empire, two major campaigns were led into the Southron Realms, resulting in the conquests of Mirve, Vanhir, and Talhir. However, the Empire was never successful in pushing further south, and rebellions overthrew the southern provinces in a few decades' time. Since then, relations have cooled off and eventually reached a more amicable status. Trade between the people of the South and those of the empire is lucrative, and certainly more favorable than any new attempt at conquest.
To the north, the Empire of the Falling Moon borders on the Heartland Chiefdoms and Nuvameri Merchant nations.
The relationship with the Heartland Chiefdoms has always been highly volatile, going back and forth between mutual attempts at conquest and lucrative trade over the centuries. Following centuries of close ties and periods of conquests, the Heartland Chiefdoms have shifted ever closer toward the Empire, adapting both culture and technology. However, several times they were equally united against the Falling Moon and led multiple campaigns coming close to capturing the heartlands of the Empire. In recent times, the relationship has deteriorated significantly, and the Empire maintains large forts and fortifications along its northern borders to the Chiefdoms.
The Empire always had dealings both with the Nuvameri Merchants and the Inner World Seafarers, who held supremacy over the Nuvameri Sea. They also provided access to trade with the powers of the far north and south. For the most part, their relationship with the Empire of the Falling Moon was mutually beneficial and reinforced by the shared enemies in raiders coming from the North. However, with the Empire's expansion to the east, tensions between it and the Inner World Seafarers have been rising. Now the Ashen Colonies and the imperial holdings on Sovamere have become the focal point of tension. Open conflict has already erupted in smaller skirmishes, where mercenary forces of the Seafarers clashed with the expeditions of the Falling Moon.
Contact with humanityAmong Tassamari scholars, contact with humanity has been likened to their civilization's earliest encounter with the First Empire of Nahil, an important event close to the Empire's founding that is still recorded in their written history. At the time, the imperial heartlands of Southern Anadashi were only a collection of city-states and small kingdoms, whose neighbors had been tribes and nomads for centuries. While legends of other powers had been known, the arrival of Nahil expeditions on the main-land marked the first direct contact between the city-states of Southern Anadashi and another power of equal technological prowess and organization. The following war was a catalyst for the unification of those city-states into what would eventually become the Empire of the Falling Moon.
While the contact with humanity is common knowledge among citizens of the Empire, few have a concrete understanding of the true distance from where humanity came and just how much more advanced its technology really is. A deeper understanding is held only by the imperial scholars and leaders, who have been dealing with human emissaries for close to fifteen years.
While early individuals were still prone to shock and disbelief when being taken to Terran facilities, by now most Tassamari encountering humans have undergone extensive training and education in the preparation of the occasion.
The emperor's stance towards humanity is somewhat unclear, as the highest leader of the Empire of the Falling Moon remains an enigmatic figure that has yet to be seen or met by any human. Diplomatic relations between the Empire and the Terran Mandate are handled through ambassadorial staff stationed both in the Empire's capital and on orbital installations of the Allied Powers of Pan-Europa and the Terran Mandate.
This contact is the first time in the lifetime of any Tassamari that the Empire had to negotiate from a position of weakness, a fact that is clearly recognized by its leadership. While multiple factions within the Empire exist, all taking on different positions towards humanity, a will to cooperate has been demonstrated by most of them.
Humanity's interests and approachThe Terran Mandate has yet to take an official stance towards the Tassamari as a whole and the Empire of the Falling Moon in particular. An evaluation of this is part of the Mothership Tutankhamun's mission to the planet Yucatбn. Up to this point, the interests of the Mandate largely align with those of the Allied Powers of Pan-Europa, who have developed by far the most detailed action plan regarding humanity's involvement in the development of this world.
The goal of the Allied Powers of Pan-Europa is clear: To elevate the Empire of the Falling Moon from a primitive local civilization to a valuable ally against the Confluence. The Allied Powers see in Yucatбn a world of great potential. When it comes to fully utilizing this potential, the native Tassamari could be either a substantial obstacle or a far greater asset if their population and resources could be fully mobilized.
To achieve this goal, human influence on Yucatбn must be such that it accelerates the growth and development of the Empire, without destabilizing it or turning it into a viable rival for the local Terran presence. This motive is the main reason for limiting the introduction of high technologies and direct interventions by the Terran Mandate, and the reason why it is most benefitial to stay on good terms with the imperial leadership.
An example of the type of intervention sanctioned by the Allied Powers is the most recent military campaign of the Empire of the Falling Moon against aggressions from the North: While the Allied Powers provided no forces to intervene in the campaign and kept the introduction of new technologies to a minimum, the Empire gained the extreme benefit of modern intelligence to carry out its counter-offensive. This type of aid by the Terrans for the Empire was entirely situational and limited the involvement of new technologies, while still achieving the desired goal of cementing imperial dominance.
CultureThe Empire of the Falling Moon is culturally rooted in the city-states of Southern Anadashi, a cradle of Tassamari civilization maintaining shared mythology for thousands of years prior to the rise of the Empire. To this day, the worship of the Great Dynasty and the associated folklore shape much of the cultural life throughout its territories.
For commoners, faith and culture are deeply intertwined, as spirits, demons, and deities are the most prominent actors in festivals, plays, and time spent outside of work and service. Consequently, household shrines are the center of most activities, including private feasts and games.
Festivities and theatre held at the central plaza of the city are the biggest cultural events in imperial life, marked by re-enactments of tales and legends involving the statues of gods and shamanic avatars of their champions. The same myths are often reflected in depictions all throughout imperial cities, from murals to banners to painted pottery.
Since the Faith of the Great Dynasty perceives deities and spirits as living alongside Tassamari at all times, communion with them in the form of texts, talismans, and symbols in everyday items is a constant throughout society. This is reflected especially in the ancestral cult, keeping the dead as part of every family in the form of small statuettes and keepsakes.
Detailed traditions vary greatly between different regions of the empire, especially in the outskirts and close to neighboring powers. This adaption and assimilation are one of the foundations of imperial rule.
Faith of the Great DynastyThe faith of the Empire revolves around a Great Dynasty of spirits who inhabit the world alongside the Tassamari. The dynasty is split into generations, marking spirits of different strengths and dedication.
Highest in the Tassamari pantheon are primordial nature spirits, embodiments of seasons, weather, sun, and moons. While these are the most powerful deities, they are also the fewest and most fickle, characterized as scarcely concerned with matters of mortals.
Next in the dynasty stands their children, still gods in their own right, but bound to the world and specific places in most cases imperial cities. These city deities are seen as protectors and patrons of their own people, certain crafts, and fortunes. While not masters over entire elements or aspects of the world, they are still powerful and considered much more trustworthy and predictable if appeased with proper ceremony and sacrifice.
Successive generations of the great dynasty follow the same pattern, with each encompassing mythically weaker, more worldly entities in greater number, who are more personally involved with the world and mortals.
The youngest, lowest generation of the great dynasty is then made up of the recently dead, family ancestors and such who watch over their living children and share a deeply personal connection.
Gods and spirits are depicted in many statues and worships, typically as humanoid beings with aspects and artifacts pertaining to their specialization or symbolism. Interactions with them range from individual prayer to empire-wide festivities and ceremonies.
The relationship between the mythical and mundane world is often seen as deeply entwined, and particularly the lower levels of the Great Dynasty are immersed in diverse folklore full of household remedies, local traditions, and familial bonds between Tassamari and spirits.
At the highest mundane level stands the Emperor of the Falling Moon, who is the Tassamari emissary between the mundane- and the spirit world. Annual ceremonies affirm his authority by symbolically having the Emperor or Empress interact with the king of the gods, patron of the imperial capital. Notably, the status of the Emperor is therefore not connected to deification.
Terran Mandate - original project by Martechi
https://www.deviantart.com/martechi/art/The-Empire-of-the-Falling-Moon-875850635
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Tried to draw them in the comic's style and fit them into the composition naturally - I think they look quite at home! I imagined this as a scene from before the events of the comic, when Novo was a tiny cub! 
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