Martial Space

Martial Space is a multi-species international union occupying much of Aylathiya near the galactic core. The region is named for the deity, Mars, a figure recognized as divine or holy in all three major religions and most of the minor religions. The most common faith, Martial Civil Religion, was official state doctrine until recently following mounting pressure to secularize. Today, the Greater Martial Consilium is meant to be religiously neutral, despite the spear iconography on its flag. The head of the Consilium, the Imperator, is the voice of Mars, and therefore the people who compose the deity—"Mars Martialis Spatio es, populo es, gensa es"—"Mars is Martial Space, its people, its nation."

Over the centuries, the role of the Imperator had been the subject of much debate. So intense was the debate that nations would take up arms, often when something could be gained from doing so of course. The Warring States Period, emerging as the Dominion of Astraeus collapsed, was replete with warfare. At the time, Mars was believed to embody the state—which state exactly was up to the outcome of warfare. These states were absolute monarchies, impossible to unify and impossible to develop.

The Wars of Unification, in which the Republic of Drusidia grew to dominate first Eos and then the dozen nearest stars, was a centuries-spanning process. At its height in 9721, the Republic controlled most of modern Martial Space. The Republic's voracious conquest was fueled entirely by nascent reindustrialization in its core of Enyo. To this day, the city of Enyo is the wealthiest in Martial Space and the capital of the Consilium. The Republic could simply outproduce, outgun, and outnumber any of its neighbors.

The last war of unification ended right as the War of the Ancients began. The ancient superpower, the Commonwealth of Post-Sedruan States launched a religious crusade against the Republic. Its rusted factories roared to life as per government decree. The resulting war involved every major power in Aylathiya and was ultimately a republic victory. Drusidian generals and politicians rushed to divide the newly acquired lands, threatening the relatively centralized Republic. They demanded political power in the Consilium, the legislature of the Republic.

Jezebel's War, fought first by Archon Jezebel Torrent-Drusus and then by Imperatrix Jezebel, erupted to suppress the growing calls for reform. Not only new territories but the disgruntled countryside aristocracy, remnants of the Dominion of Astraeus, fought for political power. Jezebel's death left a power vacuum in Enyo. Imperatrix Wren, then General Wren Zandria, organized an emergency conference with provincial governors. An impromptu vote over radio wave cemented the creation of the Greater Martial Consilium. The rank of each "allod," essentially a state in the Consilium, was intensely argued over in the years-long session of the Consilium.

In the end, the Consilium was a check on the power on the executive, headed by the "Imperator" who represented all people of Mars, meaning all people represented in the Consilium. The Republic of Drusidia became the central government of a sprawling nation and its various former colonies and provinces became checks on the power of the central government.

History

Government

See Aurora Commission, Imperator, Greater Martial Consilium

The government of Martial Space has three branches—The Aurora Commission, the Imperator, and the Greater Martial Consilium. All sovereignty is said to derive from the people, from Mars, and therefore from the Consilium and Imperator. The Consilium represents the people in a practical sense and the Imperator in a spiritual sense. The Aurora Commission is the large bureaucratic apparatus in charge of taxation, public works, and most of the military.

The Imperator, like the Archon of the Republic, has unlimited power save for limitations laid out in the Edict of Decency. The Consilium, through the Aurora Commission, controls taxation, the treasury, and Martial Space's large military, the Ruby Spear. The Imperator commands the much smaller Ruby Shield, essentially an independent military from the capital city, although even the capital is not the sole domain of the Imperator. A group of margraves, elected officials despite their title, rule the capital in a hybrid executive-legislative council with the Imperator.