Look down, young God. See you Creation? Now look there, direct thine eye by mine hand. See you that spreading? That swelling? That creeping? That stain of color? That encroaching, building, devouring creature of life and shape and shadows, a cyst of Men upon our favored Creation?
That is called the Empire.
For four-thousand years of Men, the Empire has ground on, blazing outward into the lands of other forms of Men and other beings, taking, stealing, fighting, tricking, living. The Men of the Empire have forged an fortress of humanity, an unstoppable force unlike any other form of Man, as normal mortals in individual, but together, a godlike power.
From their central Assor Sea, their capitol city of Assor-Hu, where sits their Emperor, one of our number, an outcast God, the Imperials have gone forth and conquered the largest kingdom on Creation, from the frozen tundras of Iceheart Province to the steaming jungles of Vasseme Prefecture, from the soaring mountains of Eagle's Wing Province to the verdant marshes of Blue Coast Prefecture.
Learn what you can, young god, for the time comes quickly when these Men will rival Gods, when they will build weapons of potency and terror, when they will build fortresses of impassable virtue, when they will build creatures of their own, when they will build towers of flame to the sky to battle us for supremacy over Creation, and in preparation for this day, we must observe. Learn well, young God, for Men are quick builders.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Empire is a setting that I would like the flesh out, and the basic theory is that there is an incredibly massive Empire (called the Empire), ruled by an outcast God, that is constantly expanding, and taking in new territory at its edges. The Gods, who dwell in the skies above Creation, see this civilization as a threat, because it is so potent that eventually it may rival them for rule over the Cosmos. Therefore, Gods (and their counterparts in Creation, the Spirits) take an active part in the world, preparing their strength for the day when the Empire comes to challenge them.
At the Empire's edges, there are constantly-running Border Wars, through which the Imperials battle against Barbarians (i.e., any Man who isn't an Imperial). A very large part of the Empire's fantastic resources and manpower are funneled to fighting these wars and expanding the Empire. Imperials are not sure quite why they want to expand, but in the mind of ever Imperial is the need to expand their nation. This is much due to the genetic tampering of the Emperor, a god outcast from Heaven, who has ingrained this into their culture.
The Empire's expansion has been halted only on two fronts: The Western Mountains, and the Eastern Sea. The Western Mountains are higher even than the Himalayas, and were a defensive rampart raised by Spirits (terrestrial Gods) in the ancient war against the Emperor. The Duerga, enigmatic metal beings, dwell in hidden holds within these peaks, holding an uneasy truce with the Empire. The Duerga know that it is only the Mountains that stop the Men of the Empire from attempting to destroy them.
In the East, there is a vast ocean, which the Imperials call the Sea, which is trackless, spanning all the way to the Edge of the World, where the Gods can descend from Heaven. There are many islands in the Sea, the stepping stones of the Gods, havens to pirates, Barbarian kingdoms, tribes of monsters and demons, and the homesof Spirits and other beings.
Also within and without the Empire dwell tribes and groups of Urwhor, created long ago by none know who, serving manifold masters.
