 Following the ascent of Pierpaelo Cavaza - a devotee of the Church of Ryback (an organization dedicated to removing "humanocentric" damage from the universe) - to the throne shortly after the Dagger Years, the empire embraced the tenets of the church into law.The move had triggered a short civil war that Cavaza had won proving that he was just as ruthless as his ancestors.Now the empire is led by his followers, religious eco-freaks who seek to impose their belief on how nature should be handled.