Holy Empire of Ionia

The Holy Empire of Ionia (アイオニア聖皇国, Aionia Sei Kōkoku) is a nation in Genso Suikoden Tsumugareshi Hyakunen no Toki. It is the primary setting of the game.

Information
The Holy Empire of Ionia is a military state that was originally established in order to fight off the attacks of the Teras Pharma and protect the land throughout the centennial monsters. Although the nation was founded entirely for this express purpose, most of the empire's citizens are unaware of the nation's history or the existence of the Teras Pharma itself.

From around the Holy Imperial year 200, towns such as Martylion and Schradt had declared independence. The nation is currently ruled (Holy Imperial year 300) by the Holy Emperor Renefarious XIII.

The Empire seeks to unify the continent as a means to combat the Teras Pharma both physically and by bringing nations under the influence of the barrier. This has led to Ionia being regarded as holding a self-righteous streak. They are also not above subterfuge and brute force to enforce their vision: they actively work to hide proof of independent states and old texts reveal that villages have been destroyed because of Ionia's hardline attitude.

Gradually, the Ionian mandate to protect the people from the Teras Pharma was corrupted into a mission to maintain the order of the world, which included the existence of the Teras Pharma itself. Fearful of the possibility of the True Era Tree being activated and thus destroying the creature, this led to work by the House of Wisdom to cultivate the Teras Pharma so as to ensure its continued existence. This plot was only known to a very select few. In the Holy Imperial Year 280, this would lead to an incident where a security breach led the Teras Pharma to attack Martylion. In order to ensure this information would not spread, the city of Martylion was razed to the ground.

Government and Military
Its capital is the Holy City of Thaksis and at the center of the city lies the magnificent Yggdrasilian Palace. Four great families help administer the Empire; the Lugam family has traditionally served as Prime Minister, the Zaphir family has traditionally led the Imperial guards, the Liuis family have produced many prominent archers, while the Lances house has been a prestigious house of nobility in the Empire.

The Ionian army is divided into four units, known as the Steel Branches. The first Branch, led by Damdin commands the impressive Floating Fortress of Torgia. The 2nd Branch protects the area southwest of the capital and is led by Quinelia Liuis. The 3rd Branch, in charge of the north, is commanded by Dilom Lances. The fourth branch protects the east, but its exact composition is unknown.

The government itself is supported by a group known as the Mountain Roots, under the command of the Lugam Prime Minister. This bureaucracy is supported covertly by secret intelligence agents known as Grubs.