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Terophan ([ˈtɛrəˌfæ:n]; High Secote:, Tirfacko; Rashimic: , Ṭirṗyīn, [tsərpfiːŋ]), formally the Great and Universal Terophatic Empire (High Secote: , Tirfackoe Vladykastvo Vel' i Mirskoe; Rashimic: , Mbĕlṭkū ġdoul u-myīr Ṭirṗyīn, [mvʲəwtˈxuː ɡzoyw əmʲiːr tʃərpfiːŋ]), is a state located in south-eastern Joriscia. Clockwise from north to south, it is bordered by Azophin (via the Trans-Tormetian Condominia), Seter, Lacre, Kethpor, Lefdim, and Dekoral. Proclaimed in 1701 with the Great Imperial Restoration, Terophan claims to be the resurrection of the Tirfatsevid Empire, and rightful successor the universal throne of the Secote Empire itself. Since the 1920s, Terophan has been ruled by a dynamic and strongly authoritarian imperial regime under the absolute personal power of the Terophatic Emperor and supported by pervasive state control of society.

Physical geography


The metropole of the Terophatic empire is a state covering some 385,000 square kilometres in Outer Joriscia, largely centred on the historic region of Axiov. To the west and south it faces the Erequan Ocean. In the north-east, the empire encompasses the greater part of the Varudine mountains, extending across the south of the range into the Lacrean lowland. To the southwest, the border with Dekoral is delimited by the line drawn by the Ovgim, the southern tip of the Varudines, and the upper Sigril. Three great rivers of the empire&mdash;the Erek, the Novun and the Shiatis&mdash;flow into the Erequan. The Erek, originating in the northern Varudines, flows towards the Terophatic coast, before turning northwest and joining with the Norigor, which then delineates most of the short northwestern border with Azophin. The Novun and the Shiatis originate in the west Varudine foothills, and between them they delineate the traditional political heartland of Terophan, including the cities of Axopol and Nardash. The Novun, which splits in its upper reaches into the West and East Novun, is the larger of the two.

These rivers water the fertile tropical lowland of Terophan, home historically to an ancient jungle which has been supplanted by the development of civilization. The Varudine foothills in the country's centre play host to the expansive cultivation of rice, while the mineral-rich mountains themselves are rockier and less densely populated, though the range's outer slopes are forested and home to a wide range of wildlife. The Ruby Pass in the southeastern Varudines, which opens onto the upper Sigril, forms a bottleneck in the east, and holds together Terophan's Lacrean possessions to its west&mdash;though for strategic importance it now competes with the bare stretch of the Dekorai border between the Ovgim and the southern mountains. Overall, the climate of Terophan may be described in common with southeast Joriscia as warm, coastal and tropical, well-suited to sedentary habitation.

Prehistory
Archaeological evidence of human habitation dates back to at least 1.3 million years in the past, though discoveries in Terophan's neighbours suggest even earlier inhabitation. With the transition to sedentary living from the 12th millennium BCE, initial settlement was concentrated towards the country's coast, on the edges of the thick rainforest which historically dominated the Terophatic interior. This area, with its fertile lowlands, was host to the development of agricultural life. By the 5th millennium, the Mardos Culture, was flourishing on a segment of the western coast, leaving behind various tools, ceramics and other traces of inhabitation for archaeological posterity. Though in its heyday relatively large in extent, the Mardos Culture fragmented and declined, and in its place had arisen by the early first millennium BCE an influx of migrants who were to become the ancestors of the Old Axiovy.

Axiovy kingdoms and Chotaria
The kingdoms of the Old Axiovy developed over a long period of time, arising originally from trading communities that had become established by the middle of the first millennium BCE. Large and ever more elaborate tombs indicate the development of a nobility and the rise of the first kings. With social sophistication came the expansion of settled territory, and the nascent kingdoms pushed steadily further into the rainforests of the interior, displacing their scattered native inhabitants. This process meant that Axiovy kings, whose rule was originally restricted to particular large cities, were able to carve out large fiefdoms for themselves inland. The Axiovy also became increasingly integrated into the regional trade networks, profiting on their production of spices and expensive textiles. This situation continued to develop for a thousand years.

The Axiovy ascendancy came to an end with the occupation of the region by the Chotarian Empire in the 8th century CE. The various kingdoms were subjugated and then assimilated into the expanding and technologically superior empire. The Chotarians tamed an even greater portion of the forests of the interior, constructing an efficient logistical network to link the large empire together and carefully controlling regional trade. However, the Chotarians were forced to deal with repeated Axiovy revolts, and the situation came to a head in the 10th century, as the empire began to crumble and disintegrate, with a protracted war waged by league of Axiovy lords on the empire, supported by Chotarian nobles.

The Yassan Plague spelt the end not only for Chotarian rule, but for the Axiovy civilisation as a whole. The Axiovy were one of the worst hit, and the ravages of the plague combined with the breakdown of the supply infrastructure caused the deaths of a vast proportion of the local population. In the devastation and extreme uncertainty which followed, migration to the north became common, and it was there that the Axiovy would be able to stay most lastingly. Most of the formerly settled area of modern Terophan was reduced to a depopulated wasteland, and what remained fell under the control of petty warlords and prophetic cults. It was in this desolate landscape that the Secotes would soon arrive.

Secote rule until the Tirfatsevids
The expanding Secote Empire engulfed the region of modern Terophan in the 1060s, conquering both the Axiovy and the scattered remnants of Chotarian civilisation with ease. For a short but pivotal period, a single empire stretched across the entire breadth of the continent, and an influx of cultural and material trade exploded into the fringes of Joriscia. The High Secote administrators established their language as the language of bureaucracy and government, and brought with them the twin faiths of Cairony and, especially, Siriash. A radical demographic change also began to take shape: the nomad invasion had the effect of further reducing the indigenous population of the region, already devastated by the tribulations of the previous century, and into this vacuum began to arrive the Rasheem, moving in from the north-west, taming the land and reoccupying the deserted towns.

The Secote Empire began to collapse in the 12th century, unable to sustain its enormous size, and with its disintegration, the avenues of exchange between west and east began also to diminish. A separate Joriscian identity began to reassert itself. Like much of the rest of the empire, however, the region of Terophan fell pray to the machinations of warlords eager to share in the spoils of the empire, and it was not until the end of the 13th century that order was successfully restored. At that time, the steppe warlord Tirfats began his campaign of unification, and with his incisive mind he found it possible to reunite many of the Secote tribes and factions in the east. Tirfats's domain became the Tirfatsevid Empire, a dominion which at its height controlled most of the eastern portion of the Secote realm.

After Tirfats's death, the empire passed to a succession of weaker rulers who presided over the loss of most of the expanse conquered by Tirfats. By the time that Ostromir the Great acceded to the throne in 1331, it comprised a region encompassing what today is southern Azophin and northern Terophan. Ostromir set about consolidating and centralising the realm, settling the remnants of the nomadic Secote nobles, and establishing a permanent capital at Axopol. Ostromir's thirty-one-year reign was subsequently&mdash;and remains&mdash;viewed as a golden age, idealised as a stable and harmonious Secote–Rasheem state. This utopian image of the content Tirfatsevid state ruled by its wise emperor, Ostromir, immortalised by its place as the setting in many works of classical literature, was to have a powerful, resounding influence in the future history of what would become Terophan.

Ostromir's death provoked an age of acrimony, however, as the disputed succession caused his brother Mstislav and his son Dragodar to fight a bitter civil war. After a stalemate in the fighting, a number of attempts at accords were made, dividing the realm in various ways between them and creating northern and southern empires, foreshadowing the later division of Azophin and Terophan. These accords failed to put a halt to the fighting, which dragged out well past the deaths of the initial claimants, inaugurating the era of the War of Two Crowns. This war would last for 121 years to come, a length of time far in excess of that of the Tirfatsevid "golden age"&mdash;but though the discontentments of this war would pave the way to the rise of Neritsovids, it was that golden age which would be most enduringly remembered.

Major tectonic changes were under way even in this period of apparent stagnation, however, and chief among these was the rise of the new and dangerously popular faith of Vaestism. Fired by their stunning victory at the Battle of the Holy Storm and capitalising on the religious uncertainty which had come to prevail all across Outer Joriscia, Vaestic missionaries spread the faith across the land. Though initially all but ignored by the Tirfatsevid elite, involved as they were in their complex struggles, the steady conversion of increasingly powerful circles of the nobility was to prove a portent of was to come.

Great Neritsia, provincial Axiov and the Pan-Zaavic League
The division and bitterness of the War of Two Crowns were resolved, in the end, by the rise of a new force, radically inimical to the Tirfatsevid dynasty and bringing with it the new popular faith of Vaestism. By 1483, both branches were overthrown by Nerits, a skilled general and administrator who in that year proclaimed his new Empire, and instituted Vaestism as the religion of state. The Great Neritsovid Empire, or Great Neritsia, was to become at its height an unparalleled force in Joriscia. Nerits shifted the centre of gravity of his new state to the north, ultimately to the city that became Neritsograd. The southern region of Axiov, constituting much of modern Terophan, was left at the periphery. The trade which flourished on the coasts fostered the autonomy of the coastal cities, however, the mightiest of which was the old capital of Axopol, and these cities were to become, over time, the Pan-Zaavic League. Initially a simple league of trade interests, this League was soon a principal part of Neritsovid politics, and the centre, indeed, of much of Neritsia's affluence.

Over the 16th century, these cities, scattered across what is now the Terophatic and south Azophine littoral, grew in importance. They took the lead in financing colonial enterprises, and grew increasingly wealthy on their unregulated trade both among themselves, and with foreign powers. The dependence of nobles and even the crown on their continued financial support won them considerable privileges, making them by the close of the century a virtual state within a state, a loose federation which operated almost entirely independently of the will of the imperial crown. Yet the mutual interdependency, the cities upon the defensive might of the crown, and the crown upon the wealth of the cities, did not prevent jealousy on both sides, and the crown increasingly desired access to the cities' coffers. In the interior, the class of local Rasheem gentry known as the Serim rose to prominence, and their struggle for power combined with mercantile interests to encourage the dramatic growth of the overseas territory owned by one branch or another of the Neritsovid state. This rapid growth produced instability, and the 16th century was not without civil strife.

Growing tensions between the League and the imperial government at Neritsograd came to a head in 1611, however, when the League cities rebelled against a new tax levied by the emperor, aiming to preserve their "liberties established for perpetuity". In their pact in Sation that year, they posed a direct challenge to the emperor's authority, stating in unambiguous terms that he had shown himself to have forfeited his election through Knowledge. The equally ill-tempered imperial response provoked one of the most catastrophic Neritsovid civil wars yet, the War of the Pact of Osan. This war pit the merchant cities&mdash;by now colonial city-states&mdash;of the Pan-Zaavic League against the imperial government, and raged across both the metropolitan and overseas dominions of the Neritsovid Empire. Ultimately, however, the power of the imperial state proved too great for the League to withstand. The Eternal Treaty of Nardash which concluded the war dissolved the Pan-Zaavic League for good, and imposed punitive terms on the recalcitrant cities, replacing their autonomous governments with imperial overseers and exacting considerable wealth from their treasuries. As an added humiliation, the isle of Sharis, long a bastion of the League, was ceded to Agamar.

Yet despite this apparent victory, the emperor's reliance on foreign mercenaries and the deep-seated tensions which had been brought so bitterly into the foreground had irrevocably damaged the authority of the Neritsovid emperor. The process of breakdown had begun in earnest. The emasculated Zaavic cities resented their imperial yoke, and in secret, desperate conspiracies were hatched among the Axiovite merchants, each aiming to strike a judicious death blow against the Empire and gloriously resurrect the League. Anonymous pamphlets viscerally attacked the imperial government, and back-room pacts were struck between urban exiles and the representatives foreign powers. It would not be for another forty years, however, that any of these plans could amount to anything more than misguided fantasy&mdash;though not for lack of trying. The unrest centred in coastal Axiov simmered relentlessly, and it boiled over once more in 1664 as the plots of the last half-century were at last consummated, and the Vechetsky Conspiracy took shape.

The Vechetsky house, a distinguished family of merchants with noble roots, lay at the nexus of a sprawling conspiracy involving Scholars, foreign diplomats, regional administrators and counsellors of the state at every level. When the conspiracy bore fruit, the first move was made not by the conspirators, but by the imperial state, which had watched the plot grow, spurred by the machinations of foreign representatives. In 1664, imperial soldiers arrested many of the conspirators, some known and some merely suspected&mdash;some, indeed, entirely innocent&mdash;and in quick response, revolt broke out. The ghost of the Pan-Zaavic League returned to haunt the Emperor as the coastal cities yielded themselves one after the other to the rebellion which sought, as its ultimate end, to break the power of the Neritsovid throne once and for all. The atmosphere of rebellion was not confined to these cities, however, and it soon spilled over into the interior of Axiov as peasants and petty gentry rose up against the Neritsovid house. It was only through a direct appeal to the arms of Agamar that the revolt was finally quashed, and many of the conspirators took the opportunity to flee into exile, stirring trouble abroad. Though once more victorious for the time being, the Neritsovid state had been dealt its death blow, and scarcely another forty years of decay and increasingly incompetent rule would pass before another attempt was made&mdash;and this time, it was to prove far more successful.

Restoration
On 14 Sation 1700, the enterprising and sharp-minded noble Spytihnev Rozoevsky issued a proclamation delineating his supposed descent from the House of Tirfats, and propounding his right to the throne of all Secotes. Rozoevsky was neither delusional nor naive, for though he could claim only the most tenuous certifiable links to the long-extinct line of direct Tirfatsevid descent, the manoeuvres of his career had gained him powerful allies, and he had struck upon the time of the Neritsovids' greatest weakness. The imperial succession was in dispute after the death of Ctibor, and the authority and legitimacy of the throne itself had never been weaker. Buoyed by his own unique charisma and incisive tactical mind, Rozoevsky won victory after shining victory, defeating even an army which outnumbered him three to one at the Battle of Kibish Field. In the summer of 1701, he felt secure enough to march to Axopol at the head of a great procession, and establish himself there as the first Terophatic Emperor, Spytihnev I Tirfats. With this act, modern Terophan was born, and for some time it seemed that not only Axiov, but the whole of the Neritsovid inheritance would be given to him, and thence, perhaps, Joriscia.

The private letters of Spytihnev that have come to light, indeed, reveal his intention: it was none other than to re-establish the universal throne of the Secote Empire. Troubles in the north-west of Neritsia and factional strife at the Neritsovid court allowed Spytihnev to indulge this fantasy as the obstacles before him folded one after the other. Inevitably, however, it was not to last, and Spytihnev's southern power base soon clashed against an increasingly consolidated northern federation, held together by Vladimir Inevsky. The formation of Azophin from this fragmentary rubble of the Neritsovid Empire proved a decisive end to Spytihnev's progress, and though he maintained his pretensions of universal dominion, Spytihnev was eventually forced to settle for the country which now became Terophan. Though territorially confined, however, Spytihnev's unique personality allowed him to achieve a massively centralised domain which contrasted sharply with the loose regionalism of the north. Spytihnev ruled his conquests with the iron fist of the usurper, consciously in imitation, perhaps, of Nerits, his great predecessor in statecraft.

After Spytihnev's death in 1718, he was succeeded by his son Spytihnev II, and he in turn by Spytihnev III in 1745. While Spytihnev II followed a broad policy of retrenchment, consolidating the realm acquired by his father and overseeing the operation of the empire's constitution, Spytihnev III was faced with an altogether more urgent issue. In 1761, Inevsky, who had succeeded in bringing Azophin under his stable control, attacked Terophan with the aim of restoring the southern territories. This proved a step too far for Inevsky: Spytihnev, who operated a famously extensive network of spies, had heard of the plan with ample time to prepare, and meted out a quick and total defeat on the invading forces near the border. The scale of the defeat was enough to send the northern empire spinning into revolt and civil breakdown, and Inevsky soon sued for peace. On top of the prestige he acquired, Spytihnev annexed a swathe of territory to the north, and forced the independence of Annabah, which became a practical vassal of the Terophatic state.

Soon, however, the third Spytihnev had other problems with which to contend. In 1767, his wife and only son died in quick succession. Poisoning was suspected, and the Emperor began a series of bloody reprisals, executing or banishing many of Terophan's leading nobles, courtiers and Scholars, even directing the terror against his own family. Spytihnev spent the rest of his reign in a deepening depression, vanishing for months to one or the other of the imperial estates. Finally, for unclear reasons, he recalled his estranged nephew Krasimir ("the Unloved") from banishment in 1773, and retired permanently to a retreat at Var-Minderi. Krasimir took over at Axopol, arrogating to himself the practical powers of the Emperor, and deepened the reign of terror, purging his opponents while lavishly rewarding his friends, many of them generals of the army. In 1779, Spytihnev died, and the imperial succession passed unchallenged to Krasimir. He was able to rule for only six more years before his death in 1785, stabbed by a friend who had become fearful of his own position. The throne passed to another of his uncles, previously passed over for the succession, who now became Krasimir II.

Radiance Terophan
Terophan's long 19th century, which lasted roughly from the accession of Krasimir II in 1785 to the start of the regency of Vsevolod the Great in 1911, was a period of great contradictions. Terophatic society was challenged and assaulted by the tectonic shifts which characterised the Radiance, and became embroiled in a bitter struggle for power between the great powers which played out at increasing speed across the world. The death of Krasimir the Unloved drew to a close the post-Restoration era of consolidation. The preceding eight decades had left the new state an influential actor on the Joriscian stage, and already a significant colonial power. It now turned its energies to the direct pursuit of grand strategy within and without the Joriscian continent, beginning with the reign of Krasimir II (1785–1809)&mdash;a pursuit which would consume the attention and resources of the state, and ultimately increase its dependency on a noble class increasingly jealous of the power of the autocratic emperor just as the ideas of the Radiance took root in Terophite society.

Krasimir II was deeply involved in continental affairs, and aimed to push Terophatic influence along three major axes: north-eastward, through the Azophine east and towards the Zemayan lowlands; eastward, towards Agamar; and north-westward, into the Azophine heartland. He pursued an almost continuous series of campaigns along each of these lines, but in marked contrast to the triumphalist warfare of his predecessors, the younger Krasimir's wars were a cascade of small-scale battles, backed up by a manipulative diplomacy. It was under Krasimir II that the Terophatic diplomatic service, the Standard Chancellery, was to begin its rise to influence. Under the short reign of his eldest son, Miroslav, this policy was kept largely intact.

It was under Miroslav's brother, Spytihnev the Arbitrator (r. 1816–40), that 19th-century Terophatic policy was brought together in its most refined form. Spytihnev placed great emphasis on the work of the Standard Chancellery, and maintained an extensive network of spies and diplomats. Spytihnev was an energetic ruler, and pursued an aggressively expansionist policy, aiming to grow the power and influence of the Terophatic state as far as possible. It was not on Azophin that Spytihnev focused, however, but rather on expansion towards the east, in the direction of Agamar. His policy extended also to the colonial holdings, where significant acquisitions were made. In the field of domestic policy, Spytihnev was an active ruler, acquiring his title through his renown for keeping fairness and meticulousness in his conduct of judicial affairs.

Spytihnev's able rule masked, however, the contradictions which had grown in Terophite society. After his death in 1840, the next rulers saw the breakdown of imperial authority, thinly disguised by the engrossed and single-minded pursuit of foreign policy aims and the initiation of constant military campaigns to keep the nobility united under imperial leadership. Two classes of nobles existed: on the one hand, there existed the traditional nobles, the descendants of the Secote military leaders; on the other were the Serim who, as in Azophin, exerted considerable influence as a rural gentry. While the former had come to resent the overbearing monarchical pretensions of prestige and authority, the latter were those upon whom the state increasingly relied for finance and support, and felt that they were justified in demanding further political power.

The rise of the Radiance industrial class, encouraged by a lack of state interest in domestic affairs, also contributed to the hidden crisis of the imperial state. Though the rural nobility remained wealthy, it was increasingly these industrialists who controlled not only the necessary means for the pursuit of war, but also much of the wealth in Terophan. Their exclusion from high politics aggravated social tensions, and these would be most clearly demonstrated in the reign of Ratibor (1879–1911/9), whose failures in interordinate politics and unsuccessful attempts to limit the demands of the nobles in the first few years of his reign led the Axopolitan government into a spiral of decline. It would only revive after the death of Ratibor and the end of the Radiance era as such&mdash;which would see at last the institutionalisation of the ideas born in that time, and the subsequent resurgence of the imperial throne.

Second Restoration and the Long War
The declining power of the imperial centre had reached a nadir under Ratibor's reign, and his progressive mental breakdown in the first decades of the new century seemed all too apt an ending to the period of decay over which he had presided. Under the regency of his heir Vsevolod, who was soon to be enthroned in 1919 as Vsevolod I, however, a dramatic turnabout took place in the direction of Terophatic politics, which would save it from the fate of its disintegrated northern neighbour. Vsevolod matured under the influence of the ideas which had emanated from Zemay in the preceding century, and rejecting the detached and rarefied atmosphere of the traditional Court, he chose to surround himself with the counsel of members of the dynamic, ascendant industrial middle class. Principal among these was the industrialist scion Horshahl shelYetsim, whom Vsevolod elevated into the Chancellorship as the Ban Yetsimov.

Yetsimov was by no means atypical, however, since Vsevolod exploited the traditional, though rarely used, powers of the crown to revoke, grant and reshape nobility as he saw fit. Such an unprecedented resurgence of imperial power was enabled precisely by Vsevolod's appeal to the middle class: he recognized, the first of the Terophatic sovereigns to do so, the emptiness of the power of the traditional nobility in the face of the ever more powerful forces of industrial enterprise, and allying himself with those forces he was able to sweep away the vestiges of an obsolescent system in a manner unparalleled in its drama and abruptness. This stream of reform soon became a flood, as Vsevolod elevated increasing numbers of the middle class into the nobility, and embarked, with the aid of Yetsimov's close advice, on a programme which was to elevate the dignity and power of the imperial office to an autocratic height never before seen in history.

This 'Programme of Imperial Salvation' was not long after its implementation termed the Second Restoration, perceived equal in importance even to the original Restoration that had established the Terophatic throne. The machinery of government which Vsevolod unravelled swept away traditional privileges and loyalties under an avalanche of powerful, innovative institutions. Imperial power was enforced by a new, centralised and lethally efficient system of authority underpinned by the new Office of the Private Imperial Chancellery, the so-called "Shakleem" who continue to operate to this day in their function as executors of justice and maintainers of the public order.

In foreign relations, however, the tensions that had been building in Joriscia boiled over in the spring of 1929, commencing the protracted and tedious conflicts which would become known as the Long War. The intervention of the Long War served more than anything to boost the power of the imperial government, providing a pretext for the rapid consolidation of society under the shield of an all-encompassing State. The cost of the military manoeuvres of the war forced increasing powers to be accorded to the government in its control over the public purse, and the mechanisms needed for the collection of heavy taxes allowed government power to creep forward. During the war, however, a serious challenge arose to this process of centralisation and consolidation: the Robulite Insurrection. The local rebellions of workers stirred by the Vaestic Robulite heresy required the constant attention of the State, and though never posing an existential danger, they, continuously harmed the efficacy of the war effort.

Though the Robulites posed a perennial problem throughout most of the war, the invention of nuclear weapons at the start of the 1950s heralded a sea change in the nature of the conflict. On 14 Conservene 1957, the northern city of Reonir was annihilated under the fire of the Azophine nuclear-armed Emperor's Tear artillery. Immediately the Terophatic government retaliated. The ageing Ban Yetsimov, still firmly in power, ordered both a nuclear response and a full-powered thrust into Azophine territory. The death of Yetsimov the next year, however, exhausted from the pressures of forty years of government, and the unprecedented levels of destruction being wrought, caused this devastating retaliation to be terminated. In the autumn of 1958 Terophan found itself one of the key underwriters at the Congress ending the war&mdash;and one of the key components of the system it created. Domestically, the destruction of Reonir provided a pretext for a further consolidation of government power, and the Robulites all but disappeared in the surge of national and imperial feeling which followed, carefully encouraged by government propaganda.

Contemporary Terophan
With the implosion of the Azophine and Agamari governments, the Long War left Terophan in a hegemonic position in the south of Outer Joriscia, and for some time Vsevolod could with some justification be called the single most powerful person in the world, in view of his greatly enhanced autocratic power. The Silver Mountain Decree effectively dictated the terms of the peace with Azophin, and Terophan held significant power at the Congress of Kethpor that determined the final settlement to the war. Terophan made significant territorial gains in Serania and Joriscia, incorporating Trans-Tormetia as a joint territory and arrogating a number of states to its Banner. The Sea of Flames had exacted a great price, however, and Terophan was severely hit by the agricultural crisis that followed in the years without summers. Seeking to ease the widespread unemployment and housing shortages that resulted from the end of the war, Vsevolod implemented the Purity Reconstruction in 1960, a programme of major engineering projects designed to revive the country. Vsevolod had been destabilized by the Sea of Flames and the death of Yetsimov, however, and these projects were accompanied by harsh emergency laws and sweeping purges of the state apparatus. Among the projects of the Purity Reconstruction was the Terophatic lunar programme, which attained a great success when it landed the first man on the moon in 1970.

Vsevolod himself died on 10 Conservene 1970, shortly after the lunar programme's success. Outside expectations of a significant destabilization of the empire proved unfounded, and aside from the Var Sakoov Incident there was little disturbance when his son Spytihnev VII ascended the throne, formally acclaimed and elected on 1 Petrial 1971. By the 1970s, Terophatic power in Joriscia was in relative decline as Agamar and Azophin reconsolidated, and instability soon returned to the region's interordinate relations. The effective failure in 1976 of the Union of Aleon, which had aimed to restore the status of Dekoral as an integral part of Terophan, was emblematic of the times, and the changed international climate culminated in the Constellation Crisis of the late 1970s. Spytihnev himself was less proactive than his father, focusing on religious policy while leaving other fields to his officials.

Finance and economy
The official currency of Terophan is the Terophatic vlod, which replaced the golden vlod in 1929. The vlod is regulated by the Imperial Chamber of Treasure, which functions as the imperial fisc. Since its institution, the value of the Terophatic vlod depends on imperial fiat. In general, the Terophatic government aims not to overly regulate the economy, with much of the revenue required for its social programmes being derived from exploitation of colonial resources. A variety of sources of revenue contribute to the treasury, with the three most important being: The economy of Terophan is heavily industrialised, though with the steady overshadowing of domestic production by colonial resources much of the manufacturing power of the empire has moved to its colonies and overseas interests. A variety of metals and metal ores are mined from the Varudine mountains, particularly the iron which is to be found there in abundance. Agriculture also is a significant aspect of the home economy, with tropical rice cultivation taking a dominant role.
 * The so-called "tally tax", a flat tax rate applied on the income of all Terophatic subjects without reference to class.
 * The scholarly dues, money and goods which are paid to Vaestic mokyklos and a portion of which is thence passed to the Banner's central treasury. Since the Emperor is also Standard-Bearer, these are effectively given to the imperial government.
 * The merchant tax, levied on merchant transactions.

Government
The government of Terophan is founded on the rescapitan rule of the Terophatic Emperor, whose name must be appended to every political decision. The Emperor is held to have paramount Knowledge, functioning also as Standard-Bearer, and is therefore infallible&mdash;to the extent that his decisions cannot be questioned by others. The Emperor symbolically represents the Terophite nation, acts as its ultimate authority in all matters, and is its sole and overriding sovereign. The legacy of Spytihnev the Great and the Great Imperial Restoration from which the Terophatic state was born also claims symbolically for the Emperor a universal jurisdiction over the entirety of mankind, hearkening to the era of the Secote Empire. There is no textual constitution to speak of, with the government codified by various fiat decrees issued by Emperors, the most important being those issued by Spytihnev I, Spytihnev the Arbitrator, and Vsevolod the Great.

Since Vsevolod's centralising reforms, the Emperor has been elected via the unique process of Debates and Universal Acclamation. At the death of the Emperor, an Imperial Congress is convened, composed of over a thousand notables from the entire banner-state, and the typical Debates on the selection of the Terophatic Standard-Bearer take place in the presence of the entire Congress. The Congress is then expected to unanimously agree to "acclaim universally" the designated heir of the emperor, and in choreographed manner they repeatedly demand in unison for the Debates to select the ostensible heir, who is presented in person. The Scholars are then expected to cede to the corporate Knowledge of Terophatic society, and the Scholars and Congress proclaim the new emperor together. This joint, symbolic procedure makes it practically very difficult for the imperial line of succession to fall into disarray as it did historically.

The Emperor is advised on a day-to-day basis by his sprawling Court and, at the highest level, by the secretive Council of Eight Chancellors. This latter body is almost never to be seen in public, and its activities are concealed entirely to outsiders, but it is generally assumed that it is the source of most executive action, hiding behind the overbearing image of the Emperor. Each Chancellor commands a private Chancellery, with the precise division of responsibilities shifting rapidly with the fluctuations of the Council's politics. While the Terophatic diplomatic apparatus, for instance, reports in theory directly to the Emperor, many of its instructions are known to come from one or the other Chancellor. The Court encompasses a complex array of institutions and positions, extending far beyond a simple accompaniment of the Imperial House Tirfats. Court officials play a key role in Terophatic politics, and engage in a constant and famously underhanded competition for power and prestige. Appointments to and within the Court are made by imperial fiat, but this often resolves to the will of one or another of the Emperor's chancellors or advisers. These petty struggles often spill over into the wider context of Terophite public life, typically because of the use of external honours, of land and of wealth for bargaining.

Beyond this closed world, the local administration of Terophan is relatively efficient, functioning on the basis of an entente between the Vaestic Argan and the grand middle class. Scholars play the main role, and the Vocation Scholar of the local mokykla is recognised leader of the local administration. He is typically advised by certain of his Acolytes and by an Imperial Commission, a group of local notables authorised by imperial fiat to give advice to the responsible Scholar and to consider ambiguous matters. Certain of the larger cities, however, have their own institutional administrations, such as the Scholar Council in Nardash and the various Monition Boards established by Spytihnev the Arbitrator. These local governments are responsible to Imperial Overseers, who are appointed by the Emperor to watch over the administration of imperial provinces as a whole.

Behind these structures there lies, however, the omnipresent power of the Shakleem, formally known as the Office of the Private Imperial Chancellery. The Shakleem, the name meaning "Dark Ones", function as a secret police, suppressing subversion in the population as a whole and removing problematic individuals who endanger the security of the imperial state. As the nominal private chancellery of the Emperor himself, they act as the direct will of the Emperor, and are responsible to no other authority. The principal role of the Shakleem is not to suppress debate among the wealthy middle class and the promoted nobility&mdash;as it is hardly ever directed against imperial institutions themselves&mdash;but to suppress any and all self-organised political activity among the working classes. It is believed by the imperial elite that the working masses must be directed by the paternal hand of the imperial state towards the constant regimentation and acquisition of Knowledge in everyday life, as they are not intelligent enough to attain it of their own accord.

Politics
Terophatic politics operates on a number of different levels, and varying interests are reflected in each. At the top level lies the Imperial Court, which, due to its proximity to the Emperor, is regarded as the most directly important arena of political conflict. The politics of the Imperial Court is strongly personality-oriented, but court factions generally seem to emerge surrounding important questions of state policy, and the granting of court positions to particular figures is seen as an indicator of their faction's standing in the political world. The Court's influence can be overstated, however: only a select few positions have direct access to the Emperor, much less to his attention. It is for these positions that leaders in Court politics vie. Traditional analyses have identified foreign policy as the typical question of Court politics, with labels such as "Zemayan Faction" and "Northern Faction" being especially common, though such analyses have increasingly fallen out of favour.

The Eight Chancellors are similarly close to the Emperor, but are less prone to the vagaries of political competition. Chancellors are often in office for life, or at least until the death of the reigning Emperor, and while swaps do occur, they are relatively rare. Unlike Court positions, the use of the Chancelleries for personal political gain is rare, and even the possibility is all but neutralised by the structure of the Chancelleries themselves. Rather than incorporating specific agencies, as a western Ministry, the Chancellors apportion the different government agencies on a temporary basis between the Chancelleries, often rotating responsibilities to prevent the consolidation of power by any one Chancellor. For this reason, while elevation to the Chancellorship is an immense personal and factional triumph, it is difficult to analyse the politics of the Council with any degree of accuracy.

Politics, broadly understood, is the exclusive activity of the rich Terophatic middle class, and is generally expressed in Vaestic terms. A number of movements exist in this sense, most prominently the Sage Precepts, and these comprise the closest thing to a legal opposition in the empire, pressing for the implementation of a novel policy programme. The debates of influential Scholars are highly important, and their outcomes are often reflected in imperial policy. However, sustained criticism of the government itself has&mdash;particularly in the wake of the Robulite Insurrection&mdash;been severely curtailed by the activity of the Shekleem.

The councils of advisers surrounding local Vocation Scholars are the main centres of everyday politics, representing a broad cross-section of the meaningful interests in local communities. Scholars pressing ideological programmes are typically tempered by the presence at their sides of more practical men&mdash;wealthy businessmen and landowners who have an important stake in government as a whole.

Nobility
The Terophatic nobility is understood to derive its status from the consent of the Emperor, and is not hereditary. This has enabled it to develop as an institution facilitating the reward of merit and good service to the imperial government, and while there are a considerable number of old noble families who transmit their titles in a hereditary fashion de facto, these titles have become essentially meaningless since the Second Restoration. A variety of noble titles exist in Terophan, each with different levels of prestige and responsibility. The granting of a title is necessary for entry into the national level of government, and the Emperor reserves too the right to revoke a title at any time.

Foreign policy
Terophan is considered a great power, and is typically present at all major inter-state congresses. In Joriscia, Terophan has focused on the eastward expansion of its influence, with the perennial objective being access to the Gulf of Joriscia, and control over the human and physical resources of the Joriscian lowlands. This has brought it particularly into conflict with Agamar, with which Terophan has waged a complex game of strategic manoeuvres across the intermediary states, primarily Lacre, and Lefdim. It has also maintained considerable economic interests in the steppe, where it has aimed to uphold a stake in the unfolding multilateral struggle over the area's vast resources. Beyond Joriscia, however, Terophan is also active and influential on a global scale, maintaining a powerful presence in the east and strong corporate interests in Lestria.

One of the most geographically immediate concerns for Terophan is its relationship with Azophin, to which it is both ideologically and geopolitically opposed. Terophan and Azophin are jointly responsible for the administration of the Trans-Tormetian Condominia, which are part of the sovereign territory of both nations, but the recent strengthening of Azophin has further poisoned relations between the two powers, and effective, coordinated government in the Condominia has to a large extent broken down. To counter Azophine growth, Terophan has forged deepened ties with Zemay, but this has not prevented trilateral conflicts between the three powers over the nexus region encompassing Seter and Littoria. Combined with this, Terophan has sought to encircle Azophin in a strategic triangulation through pursuing influence over Anabbah and Khabbat.

Terophan has also maintained cross-continental ties, and has developed a working relationship with Siurskeyti in order to counterbalance the influence of other Messenian states both in the steppe and in colonies abroad. Enhanced contact between Terophan and Messenian powers on the issue of the steppe has been continually obstructed by Azophin, however.

Disputes
Terophan is engaged in a long-running dispute with its south-eastern neighbour, Dekoral. Having split from Terophan in the Malarat Affair, under the 1976 Union of Aleon&mdash;a reconciliation stipulated as a goal in the Kethpor Accords&mdash;Dekoral was reincorporated into the Terophatic Banner as the Kingdom of East Dekoral, and Terophan opened all-power negotiations for the reintegration of Dekoral into the empire itself. These negotiations proved abortive, however, and Dekoral has pursued a divergent interpretation of the Union, using this title only ceremonially in the Banner and maintaining "Dekoral Empire" for diplomatic purposes. The ruler of Dekoral is thus styled "King and Emperor", since he is held to be a king as subject of the Terophatic Emperor but an emperor as sovereign in his own land. This dispute has continued to roll on for the past several decades, and has been symbolised by a steady and various stream of diplomatic incidents, such as the refusal of Dekoralean Elector Scholars and the King and Emperor himself to attend the Debates electing Vsevolod II, taking the step of sending a single scholar as ambassador to indicate formal consent. With Dekoral a powerful colonial state in its own right and with considerable interordinate interests hindering any attempt at true reunion, this dispute looks set to continue for the foreseeable future.

Military
The Terophatic military is divided into four principal branches: the Terophatic Imperial Army, the Terophatic Imperial Navy, the Imperial Airfleet of the Terophatic Empire, and the space and orbital Imperial Storm Command. The Army is also responsible for the Holy Thousands which keep order in the Empire's overseas territory. A wide-ranging policy of conscription operates in Terophan, and a large standing army is viewed as essential for its security as a great power. The Terophatic military has been involved in numerous interordinate conflicts and crises since the establishment of the Kethpor System.

Ethnology
Most of the modern population of Terophan is of Rasheem type. Small portions of the nobility and, notably, the Imperial House Tirfats, draw direct descent from the Secotes, and their appearance is maintained to preserve the symbolic tradition of Secote rule. The importance of this fact is shown in the Great Spytihnev's notorious, albeit apocryphal, declaration: "The most desirable traits of an Emperor&mdash;pale skin and a Secote appearance". The Emperor's appearance, maintained carefully through adroit marriage policies, symbolises the unity of Secote and Rasheem in the Terophatic nation. This unity exists on a physical level too, however&mdash;much of the population can claim descent from the intermarriage of Secote and Rasheem, and little even of the old nobility has maintained Spytihnev's vaunted "Secote appearance". The popular and, for most purposes, official language of Terophan is Rashimic, with the Terophatic Rashimic Standard being the accepted and taught form. High Secote functions in a very limited role as the ritual language of high government.

Largely, the population of Terophan is properly speaking Terophite, subscribing to the distinct cultural identity of the Terophatic imperial state. This identity exists in tension with the Neritsovid culture from which it grew, appealing to the distinct identity of provincial Axiov and to the Tirfatsevid Empire, but contingent in many ways on the legacy of Neritsia itself. A number of regional groupings exist within this group, but its identity is carefully regulated by the state in the civil fashion. An ambiguous exception to this is the Aduriko, who principally inhabit the Varudines and their foothills. The Aduriko have remained determinedly detached in their cultural practices, following a distinct Vaestic custom and speaking the Adur language. They remain equally, however, a peripheral element, and have despite their distinctions been perennially supportive of the Terophatic state. Terophites subscribe to other broadly eastern cultural characteristics such as the chewing of farak.

Religion
The sole religion of Terophan is Vaestism, a faith zealously enforced by the imperial state. The Terophatic Banner is led by the Emperor as Standard-Bearer, a position reinforced by ritualised Debates which take place after the monarch's accession to the throne. The exercise of institutional authority by Vaestic Scholars lends a sharp political importance to philosophical disputation. Though the established Vaestic order has been challenged by the intermittent emergence of heretical sects, most prominently in modern history the menace of Robulitism, on account of these disturbances there has been an increasing emphasis placed on doctrinal unity.

The established Banner-Shrine of the Terophatic Banner is the Sacred Seat of Nardash, which traces its history to the time of the Prophet and is renowned and respected in Joriscia as one of the foremost of the great southern mokyklos, particularly in its teaching of the exact sciences. The High Mokykla of Axopol and the Study-Hall of the Bibliography, both located in the capital, are also eminent institutions of learning, the latter producing some of the most authoritative Scholar-Judges in Terophan. As expected in a Vaestic state, the mokyklos function as the sole official vehicles of education in Terophan, and all Terophites are expected to receive thorough religious and scientific tuition. Due to the far-reaching authority and responsibility of Scholars in Terophan, there is hardly a shortage of aspirant Scholars, and a great part of the Terophite populace chooses to undergo further Vaestic training, becoming Acolytes or Adepts.

Terophan has emerged as a principal centre of the Sage Precepts movement, which has become dominant in many of the country's mokyklos. Imperial orthodoxy has taken an ambiguous stance towards the movement, however, and it remains to be seen whether it will make inroads into formal government policy. Many Scholars follow the school of Outward-directed Knowledge, placing particular emphasis on the understanding of the physical sciences and cosmology, and these have tended to be inimical to the followers of the Sage Precepts. It is impossible to doubt that the Terophatic government understands the necessity of sponsorship of Outward-directed Knowledge for the vitality of its scientific establishment.

Art, science and literature
Over the three centuries of its existence, Terophan has acquired a considerable literary corpus which has spurred the development of Terophane verse. Terophan has been broadly influenced by the currents of Outer Joriscian literature as a whole, including the classical characters of the Pochizinia. Music has also reflected the regional developments in the Vaestic sphere.

Philosophical debate has been a traditionally important pastime in the Terophatic cities, dating to the Pan-Zaavic League. Historically, members of the population would throng to hear and support Adepts and Scholars in public debates. After the Restoration, it became increasingly common for imperial agents to be planted in the audience, instructing them as to which party to support, such that the debates often became state-sponsored humiliations. This tradition has developed into a peculiar form of theatre, where actors memorise the records of popular debates of the past and re-enact them dramatically. These re-enactments have in the present day vastly overshadowed the popularity of debates between Scholars themselves, which are usually now confined to the rarefied circles of the mokyklos. Often the audience will join in the rubbishing and debasement of discredited philosophers of the past, and the enacted debates themselves are rarely of a high intellectual calibre, usually containing liberal quantities of character assassination and populist rhetoric, often in the form of Terophane verse.

Terophan has also seen, through imperial sponsorship and growth of the school of Outward-directed Knowledge, a flourishing tradition in the natural sciences. The late 18th-century chemist Shettopane, Ša̭hlṭĕfāl šelḘhsṭan, is justly famous, responsible for a number of important breakthroughs. More recently, Terophite scientists have been instrumental in the study and investigation of sub-atomic and quantum physics.