You didn't miss it, it's really not explained at all in Hands. I have
not read all the books and there is probably a more thorough
explanation somewhere, but my rough understanding is that the empire
was magically complex and multi-dimensional. The Fall constituted the
collapse of a lot of the associated magic that did a whole lot of
things, including imposing the taboos on the royal family, and pinning
the assorted dimensions more closely together so that passage between
them was easier. It did a whole lot of other stuff specific to
empire-building that is revealed over time as the magic slowly fades
away. There's a bunch of interesting speculation by various characters
about why it all collapsed when it did -- Artorin thinks it may have
been his fault because of something specific he did (or didn't do,
rather) but my read is that there was something much bigger and more
long-lasting that went sour in the magical construction. There's this
whole thing about schooled magic versus wild magic which you should
pay attention to whenever it comes up, because it underpins a lot of
how this universe works. (Where the capitol city "fell" from in a more
literal sense is less clear to me). So at the start of Hands he
remains emperor of an empire that doesn't exist anymore, but some of
the magic remains, enough to impose some of the taboos, and the
cultural worship of him remains. And -- rather by accident, not by
intention -- he was appointed Lord Magus of the paticular dimension
where the capitol city ended up, meaning both head-of-state and also
the person in charge of great magical works. (I'm talking around a big
thing that you will likely figure out in the course of Hands -- unlike
Cliopher, who willfully does not figure it out -- but I don't want to
spoil it if you haven't yet. Don't go to the AO3, the tags will spoil
you).
There are some books you should read after Hands but before Feet for
reasons I won't spoil for you. I think she has a reading order on her
site, though personally I'm not actually interested in every nook and
cranny of this world, I just want to follow a handful of particular
storylines. LMK if you want pointers.
no subject
You didn't miss it, it's really not explained at all in Hands. I have not read all the books and there is probably a more thorough explanation somewhere, but my rough understanding is that the empire was magically complex and multi-dimensional. The Fall constituted the collapse of a lot of the associated magic that did a whole lot of things, including imposing the taboos on the royal family, and pinning the assorted dimensions more closely together so that passage between them was easier. It did a whole lot of other stuff specific to empire-building that is revealed over time as the magic slowly fades away. There's a bunch of interesting speculation by various characters about why it all collapsed when it did -- Artorin thinks it may have been his fault because of something specific he did (or didn't do, rather) but my read is that there was something much bigger and more long-lasting that went sour in the magical construction. There's this whole thing about schooled magic versus wild magic which you should pay attention to whenever it comes up, because it underpins a lot of how this universe works. (Where the capitol city "fell" from in a more literal sense is less clear to me). So at the start of Hands he remains emperor of an empire that doesn't exist anymore, but some of the magic remains, enough to impose some of the taboos, and the cultural worship of him remains. And -- rather by accident, not by intention -- he was appointed Lord Magus of the paticular dimension where the capitol city ended up, meaning both head-of-state and also the person in charge of great magical works. (I'm talking around a big thing that you will likely figure out in the course of Hands -- unlike Cliopher, who willfully does not figure it out -- but I don't want to spoil it if you haven't yet. Don't go to the AO3, the tags will spoil you).
There are some books you should read after Hands but before Feet for reasons I won't spoil for you. I think she has a reading order on her site, though personally I'm not actually interested in every nook and cranny of this world, I just want to follow a handful of particular storylines. LMK if you want pointers.