Kshetra

One people under the Chakravartin – that is the claim in Kshetra, a vast realm that encompasses most of Lanka, except that unity is illusory, existing only on a map.

In reality, the realms within Kshetra fight with each other as much as they do with outsiders. Central authority is only as strong as the capability of the one sitting on the throne, whether through alliances with powerful houses or through the military might and resources of his own state.

The peoples of Kshetra are as diverse as the land itself. Primitive tribes dwell in the foothills. Powerful warrior-states dot the ever-shifting frontiers. Rich, fertile lands, with vast agricultural fields and massive cities, dominate the central riverine plains. In the mountains, each valley boasts of its own kingdom.

But one constant remains unchanged throughout the empire: time doesn’t feel like it is moving.

Kshetra relies more on the salvaging, maintenance, and replication of ancient or borrowed technology rather than innovation. Education focuses on rote learning rather than inquiry. The unknown is feared and avoided with superstitious beliefs.

Even as virtue is preached by rulers and clerics, slavery is widespread, inequality rampant, and all sorts of vices are tolerated beyond the gaze of the common public.

The vast majority of Kshetra will live in the same village, partake in the same profession, and adhere to the same religion as their forefathers before them.

As a result, industry itself is stagnant, even as many of its elite military units remained feared by adversaries. The empire owes its continued existence to the technology of far forebears that it no longer understands and to the sheer immensity of the realm itself. For however decisive a war may be, there is always another province beyond the reach of the conqueror, another frontier waiting to rise against them.