Five hundred years ago, Rudolf von Goldenbaum united the disparate governments of humankind and established a mighty human empire, a tribute to his own greatness... more>> that stretched across the galaxy. Demanding loyalty and discipline, Rudolf created an order designed to long outlast his own rule; but all human works fade in time. Today, the decaying empire faces the threat of the Free Planets Alliance, and military leaders on both sides jockey for power in the face of a seemingly inevitable conflict. On the side of the empire, the young general Reinhard von Lohengramm sees war as opportunity, and the empire as soft clay ready for his own sculpting. On the side of the alliance, would-be historian Yang Wen-li would like nothing better than to live out his days in peace - but times of war have little use for men who waste their days studying the mistakes of the past. Circumstances will make heroes and villains of both these men, as they write new history one blood-splattered page at a time. <<less

Five hundred years ago, Rudolf von Goldenbaum united the disparate governments of humankind and established a mighty human empire, a tribute to his own greatness... more>> that stretched across the galaxy. Demanding loyalty and discipline, Rudolf created an order designed to long outlast his own rule; but all human works fade in time. Today, the decaying empire faces the threat of the Free Planets Alliance, and military leaders on both sides jockey for power in the face of a seemingly inevitable conflict. On the side of the empire, the young general Reinhard von Lohengramm sees war as opportunity, and the empire as soft clay ready for his own sculpting. On the side of the alliance, would-be historian Yang Wen-li would like nothing better than to live out his days in peace - but times of war have little use for men who waste their days studying the mistakes of the past. Circumstances will make heroes and villains of both these men, as they write new history one blood-splattered page at a time. <<less

The story is set in a near-future Earth, in the aftermath of a major disaster that shifts the planet's polar axis 90 degrees, situating the... more>> poles along the equatorial line and killing everyone on Earth. A moon-based colony avoids the disaster, and begins recolonizing the depopulated Earth by establishing seven cities in strategic locations. However, to ensure the loyalty of the Earth colony, the moon establishes an orbital defense system that destroys anything that flies 500 meters in the air. When an unknown virus kills everyone on the moon, humanity becomes trapped on Earth, where the political intrigues of the seven cities continue to play out. [ANN] <<less

The manga tells a fictional version of the story of historical Tang China diplomat Wang Xuance, centering on his diplomatic journey from Tang Dynasty China... more>> to the Empire of Harsha in India in the 7th century CE. When he comes upon a crumbling empire that is now hostile to him he escapes to Tibet and raises a confederation of Tang, Nepalese, and Tibetan soldiers to mount a raid on the Empire of Harsha. [ANN] <<less