Imperial Law

The Imperial Law is a set of rules that govern every aspect of life within the Minthras Imperium. They are very extensive, it takes decades for most scholars to master all its intricacies. The execution of Imperial Law is overseen by the the Imperial Magitratus within the Minthras Imperium.

Compared to the laws of the neighboring feudal realms (e.g. Rubia) the Imperium is much more progressive on many matters: citizens are granted equal rights regardless of race, birth or religion (although the wealthy and influential can always find a way to get ahead). Free movement is allowed within the empire, serfdom is abolished. Land owners and nobles are granted a few privileges, most of them are meaningless relics of a bygone era (e.g. right to duel).

Under the Imperial Law citizens are free to follow any god of the Pantheon of Life (this includes all non-evil deities). The worship of non-divine beings (e.g. dragons) is forbidden and harshly punished.

Despite its generally progressive spirit, the Imperial Law codifies a few practices that are generally considered immoral or barbarous outside the Imperium. Most prominent of these is slavery which is an important part of the empire's economy. In general there are 3 ways a free man/woman can become a slave: To avoid potential slave revolts the Imperial Law includes two clauses to give hope: "every child is born free" (children of slaves are not slaves) and "no elder slaves" (all slaves are set free on their 60th birthday). Because of these laws the Imperium can only maintain its slave population via continuous conquest.
 * 1) Members of the Imperial Army may take any adults from newly conquered lands as their slaves (usually sold later for a tidy profit). The only way to avoid this (apart from fleeing or hiding) is to have at least one member of a family join the Crimson Tide.
 * 2) The Courts of Law may choose to punish a citizen of the Imperium by making him/her a slave to the local government. This often involves hard labor, but it usually lasts only for a fixed term.
 * 3) A citizen may voluntarily become the slave of another for a fixed term, usually in order to repay a debt. This is called indentured servitude and has an extensive set of rules on how these servants are to be treated.