An overview of some of the most powerful individuals in the empire.

The Phoenix Emperor of the Known Worlds

The Emperor wields immense amounts of power. He can appoint or depose members of his Council at will, he has unlimited power to declare war and sign treaties in the name of the Known Worlds, he is ultimately empowered to judge in all temporal cases within the Known Worlds, and he reserves the right to govern by edict if he so desires. In practice, he often takes care to heed the recommendations made by the Phoenix Court and to ensure that the Court supports his decrees, but there have been several instances when he has overruled them, and there are likely to be many more. In addition, Emperor Alexius has delegated great amounts of his authority to the members of his Council, and though he can rearrange his Council as he wishes to ensure that they obey him, he has not made any such precipitous moves since he came to power.

Lord High Imperial Chamberlain

The Lord High Imperial Chamberlain is Duke Marcus Darian the Loyal. In addition to acting as a right hand to the Emperor and Regent of the Known Worlds when the Emperor is in battle, indisposed or otherwise unable to fulfill his responsibilities, Duke Marcus is empowered to call and adjourn meetings of the Imperial Council, and to regulate audience with the Emperor. The Imperial Council is made up of the Lord High Imperial Chamberlain, the Lord High Imperial Chancellor, and the heads of the Imperial Administration, the Imperial Treasury, the Imperial Eye, the Imperial Archives, and the Imperial Legions. They meet both with and without the Emperor present, though it is more common for the Emperor to be present at their meetings.

The Lord High Imperial Chancellor

The Lord High Imperial Chancellor is Duke Frederick Adams the Wise. Apart from the Lord High Imperial Chamberlain, Duke Frederick is the only member of the Imperial Council not to administer a separate branch of the Empire. Duke Frederick coordinates all of the Empire’s foreign relations, supervising the ambassadors and legates of the Empire to the Church, the Royal Houses, the Merchant League, the Ur-Obun Umo’rin Federation and the Great Council of Ur-Ukar Allied Clans, the Great Warlord of the Vorox, the Vau Hegemony, the Kurga Caliphate, the Vuldrok Star-Nations, the Crown Prince of Iver, and all other foreign and vassal political entities. In his work, the Lord High Imperial Chancellor tends to work very closely with the Imperial Eye and, to a lesser extent, the Imperial Archives to assess diplomatic situations.