Council of Imperial Governors

The Imperial standard.

To maintain a firm grip over its extensive— though still quite small, by the standards of the greater Orion Spur – colonial holdings, the Empire of Dominia has maintained a Council of Imperial Governors since 2385. Originally established when the annexation of the former territory of the Confederated States of Fisanduh to the Empire greatly increased the administrative complexity of the young Empire, it was initially intended to create a unified command structure under the watchful eye of the Emperor that bridged gaps between the military governments in Fisanduh and the civilian governments spanning the rest of Moroz. In the intervening decades, the Council of Imperial Governors has grown increasingly more complicated as the Empire has become an interstellar power in its own right.

The modern Council consists of the governor, or viceroy, of every planet administered by the Empire with the exception of Fisanduh and the Imperial capital planet of Moroz. Fisanduh contributes both its civilian and military governor, while Moroz has no representative due to being administered on a planetary scale by the Emperor himself. The primary purpose of the Council remains to ensure that the wider Empire beyond Moroz is functioning properly while remaining loyal to the Emperor, and it meets twice per Morozian month to ensure this. While the council and its members answer to the Chief Commissioner for Colonial Affairs in their day-to-day operations, the Council answers directly to the Emperor himself during their bimonthly meetings, and he is well-known for the intense interest in colonial affairs in recent years. But the Emperor is an increasingly old and infirm man, and most meetings during the past few years have had another member of the royal family attending: Crown Princess Priscilla Keeser, the heir-apparent to the Empire’s throne.

What the crown princess intends to do with the Council of Governors and the colonial holdings of the Empire of Dominia when she inevitably ascends to the throne following her father’s passing into the realm of the Goddess remains to be seen. Change under a new ruler is inevitable, but to what extent she will go in her changes remains known only to the crown princess herself and the all-knowing Goddess.

The Governors

Imperial Territory of Fisanduh

Imperial-occupied Fisanduh is an unusual place for governorship. Nominally, it is the only place where the governor of an Imperial territory is elected by its citizens— a concession offered by the Emperor himself in an attempt to quiet rebellions in the province— but, as with much of Fisanduh, the situation on the ground is much murkier, with the Imperial Army arguably controlling the entire province despite the Emperor’s concessions.

What does it mean to be the sole elected governor in an absolute monarchy, where none else with the same power has even the shadow of an electorate to answer to? For Territorial Prime Minister Elard Tarlev, current head of Imperial-occupied Fisanduh, to be Fisanduh’s elected leader is to exist in an endless quagmire from which there is no obvious release. Born in Outer Fisanduh in 2404, well after the end of the War of Moroz, Tarlev made a career for himself in the vestigial remains of the Confederated States’ bureaucracy that the Empire now used to rule over the province, where he proved himself a talented, if unremarkable, administrator that steadily rose through the bureaucratic ranks. A realist, Tarlev has long been supportive of the Empire’s occupation of Fisanduh— a position that has won him few allies in Inner Fisanduh— for practical reasons: without the Empire, Outer Fisanduh would never be able to recover from the scars of war.

His support of Imperial investment in Fisanduh allowed him to carry enough votes to win a campaign for Territorial PM, which he has held since 2452. His position in Fisanduh is not an enviable one: the resistance groups view him as a Quisling loyal to the Empire, Morozian settlers constantly make more demands of his administration, and the Imperial Army operates with near impunity despite his administration’s protests. Tarlev has been largely adrift in this sea for over a decade, desperately in search of some solution to the myriad problems facing Outer Fisanduh. He, and many in his government, believe that there may be no solution until the Emperor abdicates, a date that Tarlev, now nearly sixty, hopes that he will remain for.

Imperial Army Mandate of Fisanduh

While Fisanduh is de jure ruled by Tarlev’s and his civilian government, the de facto reality is that the Imperial Army is often the region’s true power. Its highest-ranking officer in Outer Fisanduh is Governor-General Theresia Sophie von Schulthais-Aichhalden, a longtime affiliate of House Strelitz. Regarded by the High Lord General of His Majesty's Imperial Army as a natural choice to lead the Imperial Army in Fisanduh, the Governor-General’s entire life has been in uniform. Born to a military family in 2422, Theresia was raised on stories of heroism during the War of Moroz and has since served across the Empire’s colonial territories, where she has gained a reputation as an aggressive commander eager to force insurgents into open engagements. The peculiarities of Fisanduh’s situation are a challenge to be overcome rather than a status quo to be endured, an attitude which has brought her and the Imperial Army into conflict with Tarlev’s civilian administration and gendarmerie.

Despite the objections of Tarlev’s civilian government, von Schulthais-Aichhalden’s forces operate more or less independently of the local government’s oversight in their crusade against the region’s guerillas, and instead, they answer to the Emperor and the Imperial Army’s central command. While her assignment is hardly an easy one, the Governor-General firmly believes that the Goddess led her to it for a reason. To her, to even consider the possibility of failure, or that a more diplomatic approach may be needed, is to waver in her unshakable faith in the Goddess and the Emperor— and that, she cannot endure.

Imperial Mandate of Zhurong

To those familiar with the Empire and the internal politics of its great houses, particularly in regards to its navy, it should come as no surprise that House Zhao was granted the governorship of the industrial heartland where the Empire’s mighty navy is forged: Zhurong. The task of managing Zhurong’s rich mineral veins and many orbital shipyards has been given to one of House Zhao’s most qualified: Admiral-Governor Lanying Zhao, a twenty-year veteran of His Imperial Majesty’s Fleet and member of the prestigious Order of the Golden Albatros. Many speculate that Lanying was awarded Zhurong’s governorship due to her experience and longstanding friendship with Grand Admiral Huiling Zhao, a fellow member of the Order and current leader of His Imperial Majesty’s Fleet.

Born on Moroz in 2418 to a family who has served in His Imperial Majesty’s Fleet for as long as such an institution has existed, Lanying was always destined to serve the throne and the Goddess in the void between worlds. Following her education in House Zhao’s naval academies, she entered His Imperial Majesty’s Fleet and began a career of distinction, fighting in many of the Empire’s early conquests surrounding Moroz proper and rising through the ranks rapidly due to a keen mind well-suited for logistics on a grand scale. Along the way, of course, she would encounter and befriend Huiling Zhao, the future Grand Admiral, a massive boon for any flag officer’s career. This long and venerable career of service means that, compared to many of her counterparts, Lanying’s tenure as governor began fairly recently by only formally starting in mid 2460, when the governorship was handed over from her predecessor (also a member of House Zhao) to herself.

This relative lack of experience has often troubled the naval officer’s attempts to command her new “ship,” though she has gained enough experience over four years with her current station to achieve some level of mastery with it. But despite the challenge she has overcome to master this position, she cannot help but find herself bored of it after scarcely four years of service. Despite her widespread reputation as a master of logistics, the Admiral has ever been a woman most at home— most comfortable, perhaps, on the field of battle, and feels herself chafing under the crown of governorship. How long she will serve as governor for the Emperor and Empire— more importantly, her longtime friend— remains to be seen. For now, Lanying remains the ever-steadfast custodian of the Empire’s industrial core world and its stations.

Imperial Mandate of Alterim Obrirava

The riches of Alterim Obrirava — primarily its Helium-3 reserves — demand close attention and a responsible custodianship in order to ensure that His Majesty’s Fleet always stands ready to fight and to conquer. Thus it is only fitting that the Emperor in his wisdom granted House Caladius the position of governor for the Empire’s primary refinery, even at the objections of House Zhao. Governor Alphonse Caladius has walked a difficult balancing act between House Caladius and House Zhao since his appointment by the Consul-Elector of his House in 2455. Alphonse was, to the higher-ranking members of the meritocratic House Caladius, an ideal candidate for the job: he had experience in the Helium-3 industry, was known as a tough negotiator, and was also willing to defer to the ever-present spectre of the Holy Tribunal that calls House Caladius its home.

In his years as governor Alphonse has done an admirable job of balancing the interests of Houses Zhao and Caladius until very recently. With the phoron crisis deepening across the civilised Spur, the demand for Alterim Obrirava’s primary export has increased dramatically. The selling of Helium-3 by local companies, which are often owned in part by House Caladius, has brought the planet immense wealth over the past year. Yet the prosperity brought to his planet by its entry into the interstellar market has brought his rulership under more intense scrutiny from House Zhao, which looks poorly upon the selling of Alterim Obrirava’s Helium-3 — which the Zhaos view as vital to continued naval operations — to non-Dominian powers. Attempts by the governor to limit exports have in turn brought the ire of local businesses and his superiors in House Zhao, both of which benefit from the further selling of Helium-3 and stand to lose from pro-Zhao restrictions on the export of gasses. To many outside observers Alphonse seems to many to be a man trapped in an unwinnable situation, despite his reputation for tough negotiations. Only time will tell if his negotiations with both Houses will see him through or if his governorship will be ended by them.

Tribunalist Mandate of Alterim Balteulis

From the day she was born it was clear that the Goddess, in Her boundless wisdom, had special plans for Governor Victoire Caladius, the long-serving ruler of the holiest planet in the Empire: Alterim Balteulis. In contrast to House Caladius’ other governing responsibility – Alterium Obrirava – Victoire’s duties scarcely involve material concerns such as economics or resource extraction, instead focusing upon issues closer to the Goddess and Her divinity: managing pilgrims, balancing the relationship between humans and the unathi minority, and ensuring that the Holy Tribunal’s local structures remain aligned with the will of the Goddess and the Emperor alike. To the Emperor the final of these three concerns has always been the most pressing, as the clergy of Alterim Balteulis is more powerful than any other planetary branch of the Moroz Holy Tribunal. House Caladius – particularly its more conservative branch – viewed Victoire, herself a longstanding resident of Alterim Balteulis and a member of the clergy, to be the perfect candidate and somebody easily capable of ensuring the Empire’s will would be felt in the temples and convents of the planet.

Born in 2395 on Alterim Balteulis itself to a family with close connections to the Holy Tribunal, Victoire has served both throne and altar faithfully for her entire life – including nearly twenty years as governor of her birth planet. In these two decades as governor – one of the longest continuous terms of service for any governor in the Empire – the planet has seen untold millions of pilgrims come and go, and the establishment of one of the Empire’s largest unathi populations thanks to its well-suited climate. She has, much to the pleasure of the Emperor, navigated the political climate of the planet’s clergy quite well, equally balancing their concerns against those of the Emperor and always – above all other concerns – ensuring that the powerful clergy of the planet remain loyal to both the Emperor and the Goddess. While her governorship will never bring her the immense profits or battlefield accolades that some of her counterparts seek, she is nevertheless content. To Victorie the most fulfilling thing in one’s life is to serve the Goddess in all that one does, and serve Her she shall – no matter what challenges present themselves.

Imperial Mandate of Novi Jadran

The task of ruling the Empire’s model colony, Novi Jadran, has long been regarded as something best suited for the local nobles of the planet. Those that become governors elsewhere – such as those belonging to Houses Zhao or Strelitz – are often more inclined to seek fame elsewhere, away from a planet that has been a loyal subject of Moroz for nigh on five decades that only suffers from intractable-yet-inglorious problems such as land distribution and electrical infrastructure. Pleasant to visit, but to rule? To most Primaries, never. Not so to Governor-Marchioness Anastazija Glavan, a retired Imperial Army officer from a venerable Jadranic noble family.

Born shortly after Novi Jadran joined the Empire, into the wealth and privilege that comes with a noble pedigree, the young Anastazija spent much of her childhood in an estate on the outskirts of Nova Rijeka – the planetary capital – as she was trained in the art of war in order to represent House Glavan in the Imperial Army. She served with distinction as the Empire – bolstered by its fleet and its plentiful Helium-3 reserves – steadily marched outwards from Moroz, bringing more and more systems and worlds under the watchful eyes of both the Emperor and the Goddess as they did so. But all adventures must one day come to an end, and Colonel Glavan’s was no different. An injury to her leg sustained in 2454 left her unable to lead from the front as she once had, and she was certainly destined for an early retirement and a pension due to her maiming. Yet fate – or perhaps the Goddess – saw fit to bless her with fortune: the commander of her army – a man of House Strelitz – knew that the then-governor of Novi Jadran, Anastazija’s home, intended to retire. As a decorated Imperial Army veteran and a local noble, his former Colonel was the perfect fit for the position. His recommendation was accepted, and the newly-minted Marchioness Glavan was granted the position of Governor of Novi Jadran in 2455.

Unfortunately for the Marchioness, the following nine years have been nothing but dreadful. A life in the military has left her well-prepared for the battlefield, but ill-adjusted for the ballrooms and general pomp-and-circumstance of Novi Jadran’s nobility and their associated celebrations. Her inability to control her local nobles – often at the expense of her common subjects – has left her increasingly unpopular amongst many groups. She is disliked by the common folk of Novi Jadran for her inability to grant them even basic succors seen throughout the rest of the Empire, her fellow Jadranic nobles view her as boorish and crude, and rumors have it that even Crown Princess Priscilla Keeser – heir apparent to the throne – plans to have her sacked.

The flag of the Empire's frontier regions. Its colors symbolically represent Houses Caladius, Zhao, and Strelitz in addition to the Empire itself.

Her most dangerous opponent, according to many, is an unlikely figure: a commoner of Novi Jadran by the name of Edvard Posavac, a member of the Royal Diplomatic Corps and associate of the crown princess. Mister Posavac, as he is known across Novi Jadran, is everything that the Marchioness is not: he is a commoner, a native of the model colony, and has never served in the Imperial military. Where she is Marchioness due to her birth and the whims of nobility, Posavac draws his power from another source: his charisma, which he has honed to work with both his fellow Jadranic citizens of the Empire and the foreign nobles that often visit it. Even Crown Princess Priscilla is known to be a friendly acquaintance of Mister Posavac, a fact that has given the Marchioness many sleepless nights in the governor’s mansion. As she lies besieged on all sides, perhaps it shall be the infamous charisma of Posavac that strikes the killing blow. And maybe, if the rhetoric of the crown princess is to be believed, he may have his chance to secure the governorship.

Imperial Viceroyality of Sun Reach

The challenge of governing Imperial Frontier’s vital Helium-3 producing world of Sun Reach is a task, in the eyes of the Emperor, that is best-suited to House Strelitz and their longstanding martial tradition. Viceroy-General Hermann Gaufrid-Meinrad Strelitz, High Lord General Strelitz’s hand-picked choice to rule over the military mandate that rules the recently-conquered planet, is the current military ruler of the planet and has like his counterpart in Fisanduh, the Governor-General’s entire life has been spent in uniform. Born in 2390, the Governor-General’s career spans everything from the mountains of Fisanduh during the Fisanduh Freedom Front’s insurgency to the invasions of many “uncivilized” frontier worlds similar to his current station. Above all else, he has a reputation for harshness and is utterly unwilling to tolerate dissent from the, “frontier savages and rural bandits” which serve as a persistent issue for loyalist Sun Reachers and Morozian expatriates on the planet. The Viceroy-General has little pity, let alone mercy, for the dissidents and deserters which make up Sun Reach’s, “bandit problem,” and those captured by Imperial Army forces are most commonly executed — generally by hanging, as Gaufrid-Meinrad views a firing squad as too dignified of a death for them.

The Viceroy-General’s rule of Sun Reach over the past three years has been, unlike his military governments on more recently-occupied worlds, a delicate and sometimes awkward balancing act for Gaufrid-Meinrad, who much prefers war councils to political ones. Rather than simply sweeping aside the existing administration and replacing it with a Strelitz-dominated military government he must contend with 40 years of colonial rule by the Empire and balance the interests of many interest groups, some more irritating than others to the Viceroy-General. The great houses — Strelitz, Caladius, Zhao, and Volvalaad — all have their own interests on the planet he must pay heed to whether they be Volvalaad researchers studying the biosphere of Sun Reach, Caladius missionaries or merchants, his fellow Strelitz officers, or the Fleet officers of House Zhao. Irritatingly the groups do not stop there, as Sun Reach is covered by innumerable small villages and towns run by their own mayors who assist in the governing of the planet and Zavodskoi Interstellar has recently begun orbital work around the planet in an effort to revitalize its neglected shipbuilding industry. The native Sun Reacher loyalists form a significant power bloc in the planet’s government and, through a series of treaties and their own loyalty, are both too inconvenient and too loyal to be replaced by House Strelitz officers. Too make matters even worse, his troops, most drawn from Novi Jadran, are unused to the hot temperatures of Sun Reach and terribly prone to heatstroke and other maladies. The Viceroy-General is at least able to rely upon the aid of the Imperial Flying Corps Strategic Bomber Command – Viceroyality of Sun Reach (ISBC-VSR, or SBC-SR), which is vital to his continued operations on the planet.

The Viceroy-General, famous for his monocle and thin mustache, is so prone to fits of anger in his position that his adjutant is rumored to carry a case of spare monocles in the event he — as he is known — relieves his rage by throwing his monocle at the nearest wall.