Gestahlian Empire

The Empire is a governmental organization in the game Final Fantasy VI. It is simply called "The Empire" but sometimes referred to as the Magitek Empire because it is notable for its use of Magitek.

Structure
The Empire has its headquarters in the city of Vector, and is an autocracy ruled by the sovereign Emperor Gestahl. At the dawn of the adventure, Gestahl had three generals working under him: Kefka Palazzo, Leo Christophe, and Celes Chere. Underneath them were the rank and file soldiers. The rank of a soldier could be given by the color of his uniform. A green uniform signified that the soldier was of a low rank, a brown uniform signified a middle rank, and a black uniform signified a high rank, and would often be assigned to lead a platoon of troops into battle. Green soldiers would often pick fights with civilians in the cities which they conquered, and they would only fight on foot. The brown soldiers could attack on foot or would pilot Magitek Armor. Kefka had developed a cyborg soldier that would not be seen outside Magitek Armor. These soldiers wore orange uniforms. Gestahl also had an elite squad of personal sentries that wore special uniforms. The Empire also maintains an air force, which consists of small propellered aircraft, although it is only encountered when the party tries to attack the Floating Continent.

Story


Not much is known about how the Empire formed, but it is known that they gained their power through the use of Magitek. This technology was developed by Cid Del Norte Marquez, the chief engineer of the Empire, after Gestahl led a band of troops into the Land of Espers and brought back numerous Espers to Vector, where Cid developed a technique for extracting the magic out of them. He tested this technology on Kefka, but the process was still in development and was very rudimentry. As a result, Kefka snapped into madness. Cid refined the process, and tested it on a young girl named Celes Chere, who did not turn mad as a result. After this, all soldiers were required to undergo the Magitek infusion. One notable exception was General Leo, whose proficiency with a sword and respect throughout the Empire, combined with his refusal to undergo the process gave him leeway. Cid also created Magitek Armor: large armored vehicles which, when piloted by a soldier, could release magical beams of energy and destroy many things.

The Empire then proceeded to conquer all of the continent which Vector was situated on. Most of the towns were taken very easily, but one notably horrible incident included the burning of the city of Maranda, which was conducted by none other than Celes herself. The men who lived in the occupied towns were taken away and drafted into the Imperial army.

Meanwhile, Gestahl was personally taking care of his secret weapon of mass destruction, a girl named Terra Branford who he abducted from the Esper world. Terra was half Esper and half human, and as such, could use magic naturally. Kefka decided to take advantage of her and put a Slave Crown on her head so he could directly control her actions. One of the first things Kefka made Terra do was to burn fifty of the Empire's most proficient soldiers. Later, he had Terra, accompanied by two soldiers named Vicks and Wedge, travel to the coal mining town of Narshe in the northern part of the world where a frozen Esper was recently dug up. During the investigation, Vicks and Wedge were killed and Terra was freed from Imperial control. As a result, Kefka began to hunt for Terra all over the world, but he could not find her.

Meanwhile, Imperial influence was growing in the northern regions of the world. A resistance movement, the Returners, had already sprouted up, and were lead by a man named Banon. However, many of the cities in the north were affected by the Imperial rise to power. Nikeah, a port city, suffered heavy losses due to the fact that any ship caught in Imperial waters would be searched rigorously, and security was very tight at Imperial ports such as Albrook. Many nations, such as Narshe, declared themselves officially neutral so they could avoid the conflict. Others, such as Doma, decided to fight the Empire. Eventually, though the Empire would wind up with interests in direct control of northern cities. The first to fall was South Figaro, which was invaded by an army presumably lead by Celes. However, when Celes began to hear rumors of an Imperial invasion of Narshe, a neutral state, she began to question the Empire. She was immediately jailed for treason, and Locke Cole was forced to rescue her.

At the same time, the Empire was planning an invasion of Doma. This army was presumably led by General Leo, but Kefka also participated in the raid. Instead of merely occupying Doma, it was completely destroyed. Leo was forced to return to Vector on a technicality, and Kefka was left in charge of camp. As a result, he decided to dump poison into the river that provided Doma's water supply, killing all the residents but Cyan Garamonde, who swore to personally get revenge on Kefka.

Later, Kefka tried to invade Narshe again in order to obtain Tritoch, but the attack was successfully repelled by the Returners. Later, a small group led by Locke snuck into Vector and stole all the imprisoned Espers. However, when doing this, Kefka discovered the secret of Magicite, and knew that it, not Magitek, was the key to controlling the world. He accused Cid of betrayal, and captured Celes. Cid decided to petition Gestahl to end the war.

After Vector was destroyed by Yura and an army of Espers, Gestahl appeared to have lost the will to fight, and Kefka appeared to be imprisoned. He hosted a banquet with the Returners in which he proposed peace. He asked Terra to be an ambassador to the Espers, and she complied. At this moment, most of the Imperial army was disbanded, and all Imperial possessions were liberated. However, Gestahl kept his true plans to himself and Kefka. They were plotting to lure the Espers out to a place where they were easily vulnerable, and they would then obtain enough Magicite to give them godlike powers. Their plan was a success, and the Floating Continent was created, atop which Kefka and Gestahl used the power of the Statues to opress the people of the world. However, Kefka eventually obtained the power to overthrow Gestahl and claim the world for himself. Most of the former Imperial soldiers died in the Apocolypse, and only one soldier remains in the World of Ruin.

Allusions to the Galactic Empire
The Empire contains many allusions to the Galactic Empire from the Star Wars universe.
 * In A New Hope, Grand Moff Tarkin uses the phrase "Rebel Scum." A common phrase that Imperial soldiers use to refer to the Returners is "Returner Scum," or "Scum!  You're Returners!"
 * The Imperial soldiers also tend to act like the Imperial Stormtroopers due to their perceived incompetance. When Locke rescues Celes, if he is dressed in an Imperial soldier's uniform, Celes asks him, "Aren't you a little short for an Imperial solder," an allusion to the same line given by Leia Organa to Luke Skywalker
 * Magitek Armor units are similar to All Terrain Scout Transports.
 * Setzer says that "The Empire has made me a rich man" before joining the Returners. This is an allusion to The Empire Strikes Back, in which Lando Calrissian makes a deal with the Galactic Empire, in which he presumably gets a lot of money.  Lando later joined the Rebel Alliance.
 * On the Floating Continent, Kefka and Gestahl are ruling the world in a manner similar to that of the Sith, in which a "Rule of Two" is established. It states that there must always be a master and an apprentice.  In this case, Gestahl is playing the role of the master, and Kefka is playing that of the apprentice.  The Sith belief also states that the apprentice will one day overthrow the master and become ruler himself, which was fulfilled when Kefka kills Gestahl.  It is the Sith doctrine that becomes official policy in the Galactic Empire.