A Small but powerful force in the world of Celestria is the Karthan Empire. Named after their Capital, the great city of Karth. The Karthan empire is a grand republic headed by an Empire who commands the military and ostensibly leads the Senate.

Karth idolizes its military and structures its society heavily on the honor of military service. Children dream of joining the legions and taking part in heroic battles. Old men sit in taverns and tell of their time waging war.

The Imperial Hierarchy

At the center of the Karthan government is the Senate which debates and votes on all laws that are made on behalf of the people of Karth. It is said (mainly by those of Karth itself) that there is no place more free than Karth, and no people so blessed as those who call themselves Citizens of the great empire.

The Senate speaks with 11 voices (not including the Emperor). These voices propose laws and actions to further the glorious purpose of the Empire, bringing issues to the floor to be debated and voted upon. These voices are officials brought to power through two sections of society.

First are the noble houses. Six noble houses remain of the old families that helped forge the early days of Karths history and each house is entitled to name a single member to sit in session and speak as voice at the Senate. There were once thirteen houses but many have fallen in the centuries of Karths existence.

The other place from which the Senates voice comes are the Guilds. All Guilds within Karth must be registered, must have at least ten members, and must pay their yearly dues. Among all the guilds of Karth each may put forth a name to be considered for voice, and each Guild in good standing may cast votes on those names. There are Five seats within the senate that may be elected from the Guilds. These seats grant the Guilds from which the Voice is elected a great deal of power within the Empire, as such they are highly sought after.

Smaller Guilds have little chance of seeing a candidate elected, but still their vote counts in the naming and as such the larger guilds often seek to curry favor of the smaller Guilds to gain their votes.

Six from noble houses, and five from guilds make up the voices that speak for the senate. Each voice may speak one vote on any and all issues. Above them sits the Emperor, who himself may speak with three votes. The emperor acts as a sort of balancing mechanism within the Senate, a means of shifting the flow of the Empire where debate sometimes become locked.

The Imperial Military

At the head of the Legions of Karth sits the emperor. Though he cannot unilaterally take the Empire to war, he otherwise has complete control of the Legions ranks, and their orders.

The military is made up multiple legions. Each legion is headed by a Legate, who commands three to five cohorts. Each cohort in turn is lead by a prefect, prefects command multiple Ranks of 100 each lead by a Centari. Squads are further broken down into squads of 10.

Ruling the Empire

Though the senate governs the people, and the Emperor leads the military that in itself is not enough to effectively rule over the empire smoothly. To handle local matters more smoothly the Empire is divided into large Provinces. Each province is ruled by an Archon

Though the Emperor chooses who to promote within the military up to the Rank of Legate, the senate may than vote from the pool of Legates to be taken beyond the military structure and given Rule as Archon over a province. Archons then themselves take with them a number of their Prefects to become tribunes ruling over smaller sections of their land.

So, while the Emperor does not have direct control over the ruling of the lands, he does have have control over who gains the rank of Legate. Thus no one can become an Archon against the favor of the Emperor. This creates a delicate balance of power between the Senate and the Empire in the ruling of the lands. Often concessions must be made when the senate favors someone the Emperor does not, and vice versa. Pawns are moved on the board in exchange for favors.

Further more it is from the Archons that the Emperor rises. Each year, upon the first of that Year, the Emperor stands before the Senate and names an order of succession from the those that currently hold the title of Archon. Should the Emperor die it is the first of the Archons named that the imperial throne passes to. However the new emperor may not then name their own list of successors until the the first of the new year. Each new emperor must live out the remainder of the year before they are then able to influence the selection of Emperor themselves. Should they die before that time the previous Emperors order of succession remains.