Grand Imperium (CivClassic 2.0)

The Grand Imperium is a nation located in the eastern regions of the -,- quadrant, between Bloom in the south, Coventhia in the west, and Tel Aviv (formerly Lexington) in the north-east. The Grand Imperium occupies a desolate snowy plateau surrounded by steep sea-cliffs. The founder and current leader of the nation is Emperor Attoprak and its capital is Capitum. Other notable settlements include Altton, Amsterdam and Asturious.

Government
The Grand Imperium is an absolute monarchy, led by Emperor Attoprak since the nation’s inception in November 2019. The Emperor is the supreme authority of the Grand Imperium: the ultimate policy-maker, ultimate judge, ultimate military leader, and general figurehead of the nation.

The government of the Grand Imperium is simply known as the Imperium, serving as advisors and agents of the Emperor with little policy-making authority of their own. The Imperium is led by the Chamberlain (the Emperor’s personal assistant), and the Leader of the Honour Council (who chairs meetings with Ministers). The current Chamberlain is WorldSculptor and the current Leader of the Honour Council is Stuin.

Beneath them are seven Ministers of the Imperium: the Ministers for Production, Economy, Construction, Culture and Tourism, Recruitment, Diplomacy, and Defence.

The power of the Emperor is enshrined within the Constitution of the Grand Imperium, an all-encompassing document providing rules on citizenship, civil duties, laws, trials, construction and levies. The Constitution prizes concision, simplicity and order, and leaves the Emperor with the power of final interpretation.

Additionally, the Grand Imperium is divided into Provinces. Each Province is governed by a Lord, who oversees the development of that region in the Emperor's name. The Grand Imperium currently has four Provinces:

Geography
The Grand Imperium occupied one of the last and largest expanses of unclaimed land on the map, a desolate island plateau of snowy highlands and forbidding sea-cliffs located in the eastern -,- quadrant. The Grand Imperium’s territory is divided into two peninsulae: the southern peninsula, pierced with an inland sea, is home to Capitum, whereas the northern peninsula is occupied by Altton. The Grand Imperium is located between the powers of Bloom, Coventhia, and Tel Aviv. Although the Grand Imperium station is under construction, the Grand Imperium currently has provisional rail links with Bloom and Frostrock. Relations between the Grand Imperium and other nations are generally cordial, though the Grand Imperium so far has no formal alliances with any nations.

History
The Grand Imperium has a short but successful history. Established in November 2019, the Grand Imperium went through a long period of planning and recruitment before joining CivClassic in late November 2019. The first construction project, excavation of the station hall, took just a few days, and preparation began for building.

Emperor Attoprak’s leadership was soon tested by the separatist NADA Terrorist Organisation led by Nadvach, who, when confronted about a griefing incident, attacked their Emperor and were pearled and exiled as a result. The griefer’s base has been preserved as a museum.

Shortly afterwards, the nations of the -,- region and beyond suffered a huge attack, with the cities of Rome and Frostrock badly griefed and several innocent players pearled. The conflict became known as the War of The Coalition. The Grand Imperium, still in its infancy, kept a low profile during the attacks and did not formally join the OK Bomber Coalition to oppose the griefers. After the power of the griefers was broken during the Battle of Lusitania, Emperor Attoprak offered assistance to several affected nations, accepting our first Bastions from Slusshi, President of Bloom as nations across the server stepped up security efforts in the aftermath.

January 2020 saw an explosion of aboveground construction and city planning. Emperor Attoprak also made a number of informal visits to other nations on the server, including Bloom, Coventhia, Tel Aviv, Mt. Augusta, Yoahtl, and the Commonwealth. Ambitious construction projects continue, with new buildings added daily.

At the end of January, several new builds were completed, including the Factory, Post Office, Imperial Shrine, and Prestige Apartments in rapid succession. On February 1st, Emperor Attoprak announced the claiming of a small section of land to the west of the cities of Varkonia and Atlantis - due to the barren nature of the Grand Imperium homeland, farming land was urgently needed. On February 5th, construction started on the Ministry of Production, the first of the seven Ministry buildings. During February, the Grand Imperium's land claims expanded to include a small area of land east of the original mesa, around the Medi Sea, which came to be known as Isi Province, the Grand Imperium's third Province. These lands, currently unclaimed, were originally the property of the defunct nation of Highrock. The new claim included the abandoned and lightly griefed town of Amsterdam, which the Grand Imperium restored, adding an Imperial Shrine, inn, embassy, library, post office, station and housing for workers. Original builds were kept as a museum, with some information about daily life in Highrock.

In March, established nations bestowed the Imperium with more land: on the 9th, the Republic of Bloom granted more land to the Grand Imperium to aid infrastructure development, and on the 29th Coventhia transferred ownership of a mushroom island exclave. In keeping with the Grand Imperium's mission of preserving history, existing buildings were preserved as monuments to peace and friendship in the -,-. These were integrated into the Grand Imperium as Tutela Province.

Culture
The flag of the Grand Imperium is a black, cyan and white tricolour representing the three domains of the world: the black of the deep earth, the blue-green of sea and meadow, and the white sky of our snowy homeland. It also represents the three classes of our Empire: its citizens, government and Emperor.

The coat of arms of the Grand Imperium represents its history and culture: the lion is the heraldic animal of the Grand Imperium, the crown represents the authority of the Emperor, the flag represents the nation, and the yellow and white flag represents the Great Eksen Empire, the predecessor to the Grand Imperium on the Allimore server. The compass rose in the centre is also a symbol of the Great Eksen Empire, which predates, and is unrelated to, the extremely similar emblem of the NATO alliance.

Grand Imperium architecture is austere, elegant and distinctive. Its tall grey buildings make use of many columns, spires, domes and pointed pediments.

The preservation of lore and history is extremely important to the Grand Imperium, with events carefully recorded ingame and on its national Subreddit, Wiki, Minehut server, and Discord channel. Players can also stay up to date with current events by using the Official Gazette on Discord, a frequently-updated account of Grand Imperium affairs for new or less-active players. The Grand Imperium also collects books and relics from other nations, and Grand Imperium citizens often do some writing of their own.

Grand Imperium citizens are patriotic, with Imperial Cult buildings adorned with the national flag and the statue of the Emperor commonplace in Imperium territories. Provincial settlements generally also have an Imperium House, which serves as an embassy and official residence for the Emperor on His visits. Stelae bearing the Emperor's quotations can also be found in every corner of the nation. Citizens also use the patriotic phrase ‘Vivat Imperium!’ when meeting or leaving another citizen.