The Alvyrnian Empire

Despite their success, Imperial Alvyrnia is a recent contender in world politics. Until two hundred years prior, the pointed men of Alvyrnia were wracked by petty wars, and split in two on their peninsula homeland. Their defenses came in the form of the sea surrounding them, and because of it, they were never successfully invaded. Eventually, however, the kingdoms united against external threat, and coalesced their nations into one by way of matrimony. Since that day, their royal family has reigned absolute, helped in no small measure by the reformation of their ancient religions into an **imperial cult of divinity**. However, he who claims to be a warrior must be able to swing a sword, and he who claims to be a god must be able to rule.

The Alvyrnian people are split into two groups- the pale northerners, known as **Cyleis**, who worship the moon goddess, and the dark southerners, known as the **Elideis**, who worship the sun god. They are youthful and proud, and perhaps they should be; for the past two centuries, their empire has slowly expanded to cover the known world, and all its peoples. Their army, the massive **Imperial Military**, is the largest and most organized single fighting force to ever have graced the continent. Their rule has brought forth new systems of law, from the territorial governorates to the provincial archduchies; and unprecedented heterogeneity within the bounds of a single state. Unlike the previous kingdoms, Alvyrnia uses who it needs, regardless of appearance or blood- and despite what the courts of the high nobility may have to say about it. The Empire is not static, however, and is wracked by individual political designs, bloody wars, and clandestine organizations. Should the reigning Emperor or Empress die, there are many hundreds more waiting in the line of succession.

### ***Social Status in the Empire***

The Empire is an incredibly diverse, heterogeneous society, and as such, there are few ranks of fixed privilege that transcend provincial boundaries. Each region of the Empire has different social strata; for example, the **Naziki** recognize only two, ruler and the ruled, while the **Karkovoi** have more than a dozen, most consisting of familial positions. In general, money is king if you’re a traveling noble; foreigners may not accept your titles, but they will accept your coin. However, there are a few official ranks that are given recognition all across the Empire. The first is that of the Imperial High Nobility. Any member of a noble family from the Alvyrnian peninsula is a member of this rank, and they are afforded their privileges across all territories. The second is that of the Imperial Bureaucracy, who are appointed by a series of officials that extend all the way up to the Imperial Monarch. Every province has bureaucrats, who oversee daily life, levying, and taxation in the Empire’s name. The highest rank attainable for a bureaucrat is that of Provincial Gouvernour; a position with varying responsibilities depending on the assigned province. Some Gouvernours are little more than attendants for the province’s reigning monarch, with little power of their own, while others rule their region in its entirety. The final strata given credence throughout the realm is that of the Imperial Military. Higher ranking command members have Imperial autonomy, and may do whatever they see fit in the name of the Empire; even stepping over a King or Gouvernour’s orders with leave from the reigning Imperial monarch.

### ***The Imperial High Council***

The Imperial monarch’s personal council is a highly variable institution, and has ranged from a mere three members to a clergy of half a hundred. Any member who accepts a seat on the council must travel to the capital, to sit in their seat. While the Imperial monarch has ultimate authority, the High Council can be given leave to make choices in their stead, and has the monarch’s ear on important policy changes or decisions. With such responsibilities and power, tremendous importance is placed on the appointment of suitable candidates to the council. Provincial monarchs, archdukes, gouvernours, and the Imperial high nobility regularly vie for the appointment, but there is no actual requirement of status or title to be inducted into the council. And yet, a man of lowly status on the council tends to attract envy from the ranks of the high nobility, and those who attract their ire rarely live for long.

The members of the High Council are second only to the monarch, and equal only to the leaders of the Imperial Military. Wherever they go, they will be treated with respect befitting them, and they are assigned **Knights of the Star** as bodyguards. However, with such important responsibilities, they rarely are given leave to travel outside the capital. And why would they want to? All the action, all the real action, is within the courts of the palace.

### ***Imperial Political Subsystems***

The Empire has numerous disparate political subsystems to rule their provinces. In practicality, no province is ruled the same way, but there are templates to follow.

* **Vassal Kingdoms**, petty or otherwise, are ruled near-autonomously by their monarchs, and the appointed provincial Gouvernour is little more than an attendant and taxation overseer, representing Imperial interests. Kingdoms were usually formed from provinces that submitted peacefully to Imperial rule. Their monarchs were allowed to keep their royal styles and their powers of law, and the provincial bureaucrats assigned there are little more than tax collectors.
* **Archduchies** have a dual system, where the provincial Gouvernour holds equal power to the Archduke or Archduchess, and reports directly to the Empire in matters of law, policy, and taxation. Many decisions from the Archduke and Archduchess must be ratified by the Imperial gouvernour to pass through into practice. Archduchies were mostly formed from defeated Kingdoms of Men; their kings stripped of power and royal styles, and forced to submit to Imperial co-rule.
* **Governorates** are entirely controlled the Imperially appointed Gouvernour, and are usually comprised of the most distant or strange lands, where Imperial rule might be unwelcome. In this system, the Gouvernour rules with an iron fist and absolute authority, and reports only to the reigning Imperial monarch.

### ***Provinces***

**The Triumvirate**- **Karkovoi** Kingdoms

**Lands of Blood**- **Yakmaki** Military Governorate

**Simmern**- **Men of the Forest** Archduchy

**Ernhalt**- **Men of the Forest** Archduchy

**Tressen**- **Men of the Mountains** Archduchy

**Idar-Morbach**- **Men of the Sea** Archduchy

**Leipa**- **Men of the Sea** Archduchy

**Olm, Wernbach, & Bressen**- **Men of the Sea** Petty Kingdoms

**Puknya**- **Nizky Karkovoi** Governorate

**Kandarid Beylik**- **Naziki** Governorate

**Duliyanid Beylik**- **Naziki** Governorate

**Edhuildeaghe**- Giant Petty Kingdoms