New Rubarth Empire

The New Rubarth Empire is one of the two major First-Rate Superstates of the Milky Way Galaxy, known to be more progressive than the older Greater-Terran Confederation from which it arose, its power and influence is only matched in Human Space by the Confederation and the Big Two.

Gloriana Woden's Cat Clixie is of a breed originating from the New Rubarth Empire.

Ves Larkinson's Supreme Grade Laser Weapon, the Amastindera is a copy of a work created by a famed craftsman from the New Rubarth Empire.

The biggest problem with the Rubarthan Imperial Household was that there were just too many damned princes. Though the Rubarthans themselves never kept an accurate count of how many sons and daughters the Star Emperor had fathered, it was definitely at least 2000 and most likely double as much.

The Star Emperor was over three centuries old and still maintained his virility according to many sources. He famously started a harem immediately upon ascending to the throne and immediately produced a lot of descendants.

By the time the 1000th child was born, the eager man finally slowed down, but never entirely stopped. Several children were born every year, though not everyone learned about them. Some princes lived their entire lives in obscurity, content to stay out of the nasty snake pit of imperial politics.

Due to the high status of the Star Emperor and his bloodline, pretty much all of the power of the New Rubarth Empire fell into the hands of his lineage.

The Rubarthan princes ran every major function. The older and more ambitious princes also held rich territories in the powerful first-rate superstate.

Competition was extremely fierce among the Rubarthan princes and there were tales that they even went to war against each other.

Of course, no matter how much the Rubarthan princes competed against each other, they showed absolute deference to their father. They also made sure to maintain a united front against the Terrans and the Big Two.

Prince Casevir, otherwise known as the Impresario Prince the 5733rd Prince of the Rubarthan Imperial Household.

Prince Havilaik The Brownstone Prince the 1365th prince of the Rubarthan Imperial Household he is called that way because he has always been a fairly low-key guy who focused most of his life on building up a business empire. Unlike his many other siblings, he never competed for territory in the New Rubarth Empire. Instead, he became friendly with most of them as he focused on mining exotics and selling them to customers who need them. He's a big mining nerd. He is gathering dwarves in the Red Ocean.

The first hundred or so princes and princesses were widely regarded as the contenders to the throne. Their high ranks, their powerful fiefs and the many years they spent in building up their support networks granted them real power. The next thousand imperial offspring were seen as dark horses more or less. Their fiefs were less wealthy and powerful so they could not attract the same amount of support as their oldest imperial siblings.

The Rubarthans had always grown up under a central authority. Their entire empire was set up in a way that not only encouraged every citizen to accept the authority of the Star Emperor, but derive pride from the fact they were governed by such a powerful leader. Of course, the New Rubarth Empire was too large and expansive to be ruled by just a single leader, so most of the actual governance fell onto his many offspring. The thousands of princes and princesses all had an opportunity to assume greater responsibility and be in charge of the many arms of the state. This model of governance also spread to the Rubarthan Pact, which the Imperial Household treated as a backyard of sorts at a time. Even though the Rubarthan Pact was separated from the Milky Way Galaxy by hundreds of thousands of light-years, the connectivity offered by the greater beyonder gates and the galactic net reduced these problems into speed bumps. The authority of the Star Emperor still shone brightly on the colonies. It was a pity that the Great Severing produced a figurative and literal schism in this model. The Rubarthans who resided in the Red Ocean suddenly got cut off from the Milky Way Galaxy.

Even though the Rubarthans still possessed a few special channels that enabled the Star Emperor to remain in contact with his subjects in the displaced dwarf galaxy, many people already figured out that the new situation couldn't last. The Imperial Household was not short on princes, so many of them scrambled to build their own powerbase in order to compete for greater rights and privileges. Not all of the 150 or so Rubarthan princes set their sights on the newly constructed throne.