The true head of the government and the final authority of the Republic is Empress Zin. She has ruled for a thousand years and shows no sign of stepping down in the future. The people consider her either a saint or a goddess, and a personality cult has arisen around her. Many in the Republic worship her, though few actually see her in modern times. She keeps largely to herself and allows the Imperial Senate to run the affairs of state. Much speculation about what she does behind closed doors abounds. In the eyes of her people, she can do no wrong.
In truth, Empress Zin is no saint. Indeed, she is a devil in disguise, so to speak. She is an outcast Erinyes, banished from the Nine Hells more than a thousand years ago for the crime of mercy. It was thought that she would perish in the war torn world of Ethwuld. However, she proved far more brilliant than her superiors thought possible, and forged for herself a great empire.
While the Empress may have been born in the fiery pits of the Hells, she is not truly evil. Instead, she sees her alignment with the humans of the Republic as a mutually beneficial agreement. In exchange for the power and prosperity she gave the people, she gained a nation to rule and an army to protect her. Many would lay down their lives to protect her, which agrees with her sense of self preservation. However, over the long centuries, she has, despite her best efforts, come to love the Republic she has built. In truth, she could never bare to leave it or see it destroyed.
Empress Zin rarely appears in public, and when she does, she is always disguised. She never shows her wings, which are hidden under a thick, obscuring cloak. Only her most trusted aides and members of her inner circle know of her true nature.
The Imperial Senate is the major law-making body of government. It handles the making of all new laws and its agents see to the enforcement of those laws. As far as the common man in the Republic is concerned, the Senate is the branch of government that has the greatest impact on their lives.
The Senate consists of two branches: the nobles' Parliament and the commoners' House. The Parliament is the stronger of the two branches, as it controls both the budget and the bulk of the armed forces. The Parliament is a ruling body with nine members, one from each of the noble houses. Though the Parliament, in theory, is much stronger and has more power than the House, in practice, this is not so. The nobles spend most of their time arguing and bickering over small issues and the slightest insults that they rarely get any real work done. Only when major issues or crisis come up do they really get anything done.
The commoners' House does most of the actual work when it comes to running the government. The House is a fifty member body of government (ten representatives from each of the major islands). Its members are elected by popular vote of the people. Most are commoners themselves, who serve five year terms. A representative can serve up to six terms before he or she becomes ineligible for re-election. Most of the day-to-day laws are passed by the House, and they are responsible for the collection of taxes. They keep the government moving along and prevent stagnation.
All of this works just as the Empress desires. She wants the Parliament to remain divided and at each others throats to prevent them from plotting against her. At the same time, by giving the people a vote in government, she gives the common people little reason for rebellion. In times of crisis, she merely takes charge of the situation and leads her people through it. To ensure that the policies that she wants are passed, the Empress has charmed many members of the House and over half of the Parliament. She uses her charms to prevent too much corruption from trickling into the Senate.
(Baatezu, lesser, Unique): AC -5 (gown of protection +4, Dex 17); MV 12, Fl 21 (C); hp 40; THAC0 13; #AT 1; Dmg d6+4 (dragonspear); SA spell use; SD immunities; MR 30%; SZ M (5' 8"); ML champion (16); AL LN (E); XP 7,000.
S 14, D 17, C 12, I 19, W 16, Ch 20.
Special Attacks: Charming gaze (any creature that Zin looks at must save vs. spell, at half level, are affected by a charm person spell). In addition, she has the abilities of detect invisibility (always active), invisibility, locate object, alter self, and produce flame. She has lost the abilities common to all baatezu as well as the ability to gate in others of her kind. To compensate, she has gained the abilities of a 16th level spellcaster (specialized in all of the elemental schools of magic).
Special Defenses: Like all baatezu, Zin takes no damage from fire, poison, or iron weapons. She only takes half damage from cold and gas attacks. Because of her magical items, Zin is also protected by a Globe on Invulnerability. Her high intelligence gives her immunity to all first level illusions.
Special Equipment: As befitting the ruler of a major nation, Empress Zin has collected a large number of magical items. Her "Crown Jewels" include the Sun Crown, the Golden Scepter, and the Orb of Lore. The Sun Crown is a golden crown engraved with hundreds of jewels. At the very front of the crown is a large diamond, as big as a halfling's fist. The Sun Crown provides powerful protections for whom wears it. The wearer of the crown is protected by a Globe of Invulnerability, and is protected against all fire damage. Once a day, it can emit at beam of light that will destroy all undead that it hits (no save). The beam has a reach of 100 yards and is 5' wide. The Golden Scepter is a bejeweled rod, about 3' long, with a massive, spherical red gemstone at the end of it. They type of gemstone is unknown but was probably bought from the pheon of the sun. It always glows with an inner, golden light. The Scepter is an excellent conductor of magic, and any spell cast through it has its effects doubled in strength (in terms of range, damage, and area of effect). The Scepter can easily act as a Ring of Spell Storing, with a capacity of 100 spell-levels.
The Orb of Lore is probably Empress Zin's most powerful magical item. The Orb, which appears as a crystal sphere about 6" in diameter, has the magical property to store knowledge. Thus, the Orb serves as her spell book, personal journal, and emergency library. Over the course of a thousand years, Empress Zin has put the entire knowledge of the Republic within the Orb, making it the largest repository of knowledge in the whole Republic.
Empress Zin's other magical items include: a decanter of endless water; a ring of elemental air command; a gown of protection +4; a magical mirror that connects to a network of similar mirrors to allow easy communication throughout the Republic; the Dragonspear (which allows her to command reptilian creatures, including dragons); and the Heart of the Sun (acts as an Amulet of Life Protection and a Ring of Regeneration).
Major Plots: Empress Zin intends to extend the power of her Republic throughout the entire Ribbon. Though the Republic has not expanded in recent centuries, the time is coming when more islands must be conquered to it to accommodate its growing population. Thus, officially, her primary goal is the growth and prosperity of the Republic.
The Empress does have a number of more "sinister" plots she is working on. Her prime goal is the breeding of several "monsters" to use as shock troops in her armies. These monsters, in her mind, will bolster the strength of her army and provide her with elite warriors as her Imperial Guard. Though she has no intentions of completely replacing her human regiments with monster ones, she does intend to add monster regiments to her army with loyal human commanders.
The most successful results of her breeding and training programs have been the troglodytes and the Valkars (a breed of half-human, half-dove harpies). The troglodytes are elite warriors, stronger and tougher than normal humans. Their loyalty is unquestioned, as the Empress has used her magic to charm any and all troglodytes that enter her service. So long as she holds the Dragonspear, they remain completely loyal. The troglodytes under her service are very intelligent for their kind and, through an intense program of propaganda, very loyal to the Republic. Though only a few brigades have been specially trained so far, most serve as elite guards for the Empress. At least four brigades serve as shock troops for the army, used to lead assaults and invasions on new islands.
The Valkar were bred from harpies. Other than being a species of women with bird-like lower bodies, they have virtually nothing in common with their ancestral harpies. The Valkar are fairly peaceful and noble. They retain the charm abilities of normal harpies, but can also cast spells as if they were 7th level druids. Many arm themselves with short swords and light crossbows.
Minor Plots: As Empress, Zin uses her powers to manipulate members of the Senate into passing laws of her design. She also has specially charmed agents scattered throughout the whole Republic, providing her with an invaluable information and spying network.
In recent years, she has become obsessed with the capture of one Aba Hawksguard, Lord Mayor of the city of Greywolf. She believes that with him at her side, her empire will rise to greatness. Their children, she believes, will be incredibly powerful and will ultimately shape the future of the entire sphere. She still does not know how to procure Aba, but has lost several agents in failed kidnapping attempts. Currently, she can ill-afford to loose any more agents, and her plans are on hold.
