The Imperial Family is the extended court of Kade family members, both Imperial and non-Imperial Kades who gravitate around the center of power, the Emperor of Regalia. Each Court member has their own agenda, likes and dislikes, and may join or publicly oppose a Noble Faction in the Assembly for their policies. Generally speaking, Several Kades are mascots (or leading members) of Court Factions, while others have no overt loyalty, but may still be interacted with in Progressions and bestow benefits indirectly to those they favor. House Kade has many more members than are visible here, but these are the only active actors at Court or in some way relevant to Court life. Many other Princes and Princesses not mentioned are minors.
The Emperor
The Emperor is the titular and divine ruler of all of the Regalian Empire. The Imperial seat is currently decided on elective basis, though the Emperor has chosen to keep his choice a secret.
Name
Description
Emperor Alexander the First
Emperor Alexander is a man of portly presence that has been Emperor for nine years now, with a single year interruption while Cedromar was Emperor. Emperor Alexander's reign is seen as one of competence yet opulence, intellectual ambition yet military decline, and enlightened centrism, yet a degradation of the power of the clergy. Emperor Alexander is generally looked upon favorably by the people, who believe he genuinely adores the people much like his predecessor Justinian II, but unlike Justinian II, Alexander has very little actual power and rules mostly as Emperor by consent than Decree, careful not to annoy or disgruntle the Nobility too much. Emperor Alexander enjoys the position of the sagely mediator, choosing never to lean to heavily into one ideology or the other, and remaining as a mentor of sorts with wise words of encouragements for those who break through to the inner courts. Emperor Alexander is completely above Court Faction politics, though the Court Factions whispering into his ears and showcasing him their favorites, does eventually get through to him, resulting in him granting favorable Court appointments to those favored by Factions.
The Princes and Princesses
The Princes and Princesses are those eligible to pass the Imperial Throne through their progeny, and are referred to as Your Imperial Highness. By Imperial Law, all Princes and Princesses are numbered, with 1st being the first in line to the succession, and further numbers being further removed from the throne. These numbers are merely for display nowadays however, as the Empire is now elective and thus the Emperor chooses a new heir to take the throne upon his death, as divined by the Everwatcher, who decided that it needed to choose its next Vessel instead of letting fate determine the heir. Women cannot become Empress of Regalia, however they can pass the right to inherit through to any male descendants they may have. It is important to note that while many of the Princes and Princesses seem competent, this is only a fraction of the actual Princeroyals, many of whom are considered mere leeches on the Imperial Administration. House Kade has over 300 living members due to their prolific offspring policies, many of whom are not worth mentioning because they have no value to politics or society.
Name
Description
Prince Reynaud
Relation: Prince Reynaud is the oldest son of Emperor Alexander, aged 37 though looking exceptionally young. He is married to his cousin Florence Ivrae de Sange, and has issue. She is the older brother of the twins Frederick and Raymond Kade, and older brother to a larger number of underage children of Alexander from several marriages.
History: Prince Reynaud was born destined to inherit the patriarchal position of House Kade as first born of the first born of last generation. As his father became Emperor during the Kade Settlement following Justinian II's death, it was expected of him to become Crown Prince. As the Empire passed into an Elective Monarchy however, and his father favored other relatives for the Crown, Prince Reynaud became more desperate to hold onto the crown that was promised, and started collecting favor from the high culture courts across the Empire.
Supporters: Prince Reynaud enjoys wide support among the Ithanian and Lusits Courts, and has extensive connections in the wealthy Ithanian, Leutz and Dressolini Nobility and Aristocracy in the Archipelago. He is in turn strongly opposed by the religious conservatives and non-Ithanian elements of the Regalian military.
Ideology: Prince Reynaud is a Progressive in terms of ideology, but with heavy aristocratic leanings. He is considered the Status Quo candidate, though his extreme spending is a problem even for the wealthy Imperial Court. That being said, he has been accused of ideological inconsistency, on account of betraying personal principles for long term political gain.
Occult: Prince Reynaud is not Occult, but has strong pro-Occult leanings due to his many Ithanian and Nelfin contacts. He also maintains a squadron of personal Court-Mages for his protection. That being said, due to his strongly egotistical nature, despite being Pro-Occult, he is known to use the Occult as a means to an end and cannon fodder.
Company: Prince Reynaud is often seen accompanied by the Ithanian Ambassador, as well as her (and his own) ladies in waiting. There are rumors of his infidelity with the Ambassador, but nothing is proven. He has a wife and children, however is rarely seen near them at Court.
Achievements: Reynaud is a coddled first born with little to no achievements despite his uncanny ability to always worm his way to power. It is well understood that due to his connections, no other Princeroyal can quite fund-raise like he can, and he has the considerable backing of the Ithanian Sovereign Court also, which can be seen as an achievement.
Favored: Prince Reynaud currently favors Fabienne du Poncaire, Florian du Poncaire,
Prince Frederick
Relation: Prince Frederick is the second born son of the Emperor, younger brother to Reynaud, and older twin to Raymond. Prince Frederick was born Ailor, but became an Urlan. Prince Frederick is not married, and has no issue, though it is unclear whether this was by choice to dedicate his life to being a Viridian Knight, or by happenstance.
History: Prince Frederick was, following Kade policy) sent to the Viridian Order as second born of his generation, to protect the first born as a Knight. Because he spent most of his time training as a Viridian, not much is known about his youth and early adulthood. The most notable event in his life, was joining his younger twin Raymond on a campaign in Jorrhildr to recruit the Urlan to their cause, an event he achieved by accepting Symbiosis to try and impress the Urlan and gain their support. Afterwards, he joined Raymond on campaign in Ellador against the Death Isldar and helped the Life Isldar grind the Death Isldar to a ceasefire.
Supporters: Prince Frederick enjoys wide support among the officers and the rank and file of the Regalian Military, even if the various culturally diverse generals might be apathetic towards him. He also has wide support from the Viridian Order, as well as the Reliquary Order, as he exemplifies the perfect self-sacrificing Knight who does everything for duty and belief.
Ideology: Prince Frederick's ideology is hard to pin down, because he follows his father's wishes to the letter, and largely supports both of his brothers instead of his own ideals. It is however known that he believes Regalia would be better off with more military civil rulers, instead of civilian civil rulers. He supports replacing the bureaucracy and State Governor with military rule.
Occult: Prince Frederick is not Occult himself, and has no outwardly stated opinion about the Occult. He does however have a strong publicly stated opinion against the chaos of disobedience and deviancy. He has noted that this very much is not an anti-Occult stance, but it may end up being one through the implication of Occult status being a form of deviancy.
Company: Prince Frederick does not have a formal company of his own, rather he is usually the +1 of someone else at court. He frequently lingers around Raymond Kade as it is implied that he dislikes Reynaud, and failing his twin brother being around, his aunt Aliandre Kade is also frequently seen near him. It is said at Court that Frederick is brawn, while Raymond is the muscle, even if their ideologies clash, love of the Empire unites them.
Achievements: Prince Frederick is a very accomplished sword and shield fighter, who has only become more skilled and stronger since becoming an Urlan. Perhaps his most notable achievement was his declaration of Godhood by the Evintarian Unionists, as the God of Sacrifice, Training, and Obedience. The Silent Council however remains silent as to why they think he is a God, as opposed to just a strong Urlan. Additionally, he is credited for the military reforms of the recent years, which saw the outlawing of private armies and levies, reducing all of the Nobility's military forces to a pittance as the majority was inherited by the Regalian military as conscripts and professional tenpenny soldiers instead of peasant levies.
Favored: Prince Frederick currently favors Brunhilde von Moritz, Galinthios Diakos,
Prince Raymond
Relation: Prince Raymond is the third born son of the Emperor, younger brother to Reynaud, and younger fraternal twin brother to Frederick. Despite being the youngest, Raymond ends up looking the oldest, many claim because of the excessive amount of smiling aging his face. Prince Raymond is unmarried, and has been known to have both male and female flings, but is not currently engaged nor does he have issue.
History: Prince Raymond was always a bit of a black sheep in comparison to his older brothers because he had very strange progressive leanings in an autocratic family like House Kade. While in his earlier years he had almost outright anti-noble opinions, favoring the removal of all Nobles, he has since softened his stance, favoring a more bureaucracy centric style of Empire, where the nobility is not strictly hereditary but has to face exams and trials like Songaskian Nobles do. Raymond received a wide host of political and diplomatic education when it became obvious he was not cut out to become a Knight, and has mostly stayed in the background until he was able to galvanize more progressive support at court.
Supporters: Raymond enjoys the wide support from the bureaucracy and the Empire's scholars and intellectuals, as well as to a lesser degree the non-Ailor subject Races of the Empire like the Allar of Hadar because of his very pro-egalitarian attitudes towards all peoples of the Empire. Raymond by far and large has more enemies than allies at Court however, because of his moderate anti-Noble stances.
Ideology: Raymond supports a vast expansion of the bureaucracy, while making the peers and nobility a part of it, and ensuring their competence with enduring trials and examinations. Many nobles pretend they are the cream of the educated crop, but many of them have heads filled with useless information and mostly pretend their skill and knowledge on a whiteboard, without ever doing a meaningful job in their life, or so his belief goes. He believes the Nobility actively hold back the Empire by keeping it mentally trapped in the 3rd Century instead of modernizing. This does not mean he wants to outright disassemble Nobility, but at the very least severely diminish their influence and wealth.
Occult: Raymond is not Occult, though has a large entourage of Occult allies and friends, as to many, he is a beacon of a progressive future Empire that fully integrates the Occult. As of late, he has started heavily campaigning for a proactive inclusion of Marken into an accepted class of Occult, claiming that much of their inability to control themselves is a byproduct of their stigma, and that they can benefit the Empire.
Company: Raymond is, as mentioned, frequently surrounded by the Occult at Court, though he is also frequently seen flanked by Frederick who acts both as his guardian and muscle, as well as Princess Shelia Manon who is considered his greatest ally in pro-Occult rights within the Empire. Raymond is rarely at the Court, and of the Princes, tours the corners of the Empire the most to build support among the commoners.
Achievements: Raymond has almost no achievements to his name, save for a campaign that was so-so effective at not exactly destroying the Death Isldar, but grinding them to a halt and forcing a ceasefire with the Life Isldar. It is however said that his idea to induce the Urlan was nothing short of a master stroke, because the casualties among Regalian forces was extremely low in comparison to other campaigns, even for one that was a stalemate.
Favored: Prince Raymond currently favors Merowald Risberg, Clovis Boskovic,
Prince Dominic
Relation: Prince Dominic is the Emperor's second oldest brother, with Prince Thomas being the second). He is the older brother to the fraternal twins Cedromar and Amalia. Prince Dominic was intended to become a Viridian, but was too sickly at an early age to be induced in the order. Prince Dominic never married, and has never been seen to show any interest in romantic engagements, being widely known as an asexual.
History: Prince Dominic's history is largely unknown, or only ever framed through the history of his older brothers, because this has benefitted his line of work. Prince Dominic is the publicly facing element of the Black Order, the more clandestine Emperor-serving state police that the Empire largely denies exist, but everyone definitely knows exists. Prince Dominic is largely a great unknown.
Supporters: Prince Dominic's support network is unknown, though it is vaguely understood that he has a very good rapport with the Imperial Guard, who respect his input to the security of the Emperor, and has wide support in the foreign intelligence community of the Regalian Empire, feeding a constant stream of secret information to the highest offices in the Imperial Palace.
Ideology: Prince Dominic's ideology isn't so much an actual ideology as it is a fervent support of the individual, that being the Emperor. Dominic truly believes that Emperor Alexander is the one and only candidate for Emperorship, and that anyone standing in his way needs to be eliminated, while allowing his hands to be stained in the act so the Emperor's can remain clean with the love for his people. He is, as such, also known as someone who completely disregards external input, and has his own views about what is good for the Empire.
Occult: Prince Dominic is not an Occult, but he is known to have extensive contacts and work with the Occult, particularly the Court Mages of the Emperor. Prince Dominic frequently makes use of Occult means to empower and enable his spies to work better, so their information gathering projects bear more fruit.
Company: Prince Dominic has no company, because he prefers not being seen at all. Prince Dominic is very hard to reach, and often in fact does not show up unless someone appraised a different Princeroyal of the need to meet him, as he himself cannot be reached. He is deemed the reason why 9 out of 10 letters never arrive at court, because he does not want the other Princes to be bothered with "little matters".
Achievements: Prince Dominic has no listed achievements, mainly because the work he does is not publicly available to protect both himself and his contacts. This has led some to believe the possibility that he is in fact, critically incompetent, and has never contributed anything of particular value while slurping up a considerable portion of the Imperial budget.
Favored: Prince Dominic currently favors Howland von Moritz,
Prince Cedromar
Relation: Prince Cedromar is the third younger brother of the Emperor, has been Emperor himself for about a year until he abdicated in favor of Alexander again, and is the fraternal twin of Princess Amalia, and sibling of many other younger Kades. Prince Cedromar has four sons, Renly who is adult (and known to actually be a bastard of Cedromar's older brother Thomas raised by him), and toddlers Augustus, Jovian, and Valerian. Cedromar is a publicly known homosexual, who was married twice, but is currently single.
History: Prince Cedromar was largely forgotten by history because he was considered one of the least notable Kades who almost lived the life of an anti-Noble. Known to have terrible temper, inability to follow rules, and trouble with proper clothes and court etiquette, Cedromar became a Viridian, but resigned or was removed from the order after a few years, the details remain unclear. After this period he largely disappears from the historical narrative until his support for his older brother Thomas put him more into the public eye. Eventually it was revealed Cedromar was a Dragonblood or carried a Dragonsoul, depending on perspective, which set in motion a series of events that thrust him to the limelight.
Supporters: Prince Cedromar lacks general support at Court, in fact he is almost universally despised by the wider court factions. Cedromar represents a difficulty in Unionist theological rhetoric, and is himself recognized as a God in Dragon Worship, meaning everyone is perpetually frightful of him staging a Coup against the Emperor and taking over, despite his repeated claims that he would not. Cedromar is however fanatically supported by the lowest of the lowest soldiers, the levies and conscripts, who considered him the best soldier-Emperor they ever had.
Ideology: Prince Cedromar's ideology is extremely unclear, and often entirely contradictory. He makes next to no political proclamations, and often also refuses to sign any decrees sent out by the other Princes on principle. As such, he is the large unknown in the Imperial Court, because only his views pertaining to the rights of the Occult are known.
Occult: Prince Cedromar by nature of being a Dragon is Occult, as he is the nexus of Dragon Magic, bearing the soul of Regulus the Crown Dragon. He has an army of Crown Witches and other Archon at his beckoning call, the fact that makes many courtiers uncomfortable. He is generally opposed to the expansion of Occult presence across the Empire, but is also conciliatory with their existence. He represents a unique conversion faction at court which believes Magic can be cleansed to become more natural to the world.
Company: Cedromar has no company at court, especially not since the court influence of the Dragon Worshipers collapsed after the Matron retired to Anglia, and recent events which resulted in the loss of influence among them at court. Cedromar is rarely seen at court, only arriving when he feels like, and often being absent when others need him, speaking only cryptically when he is actually around.
Achievements: Cedromar's achievements begin with his Emperorship, which is known to have been very successful militarily, but a complete mess-up on the civilian side. as Emperor, Cedromar largely ignored his regal duties and handed off all control to his under crowns, who ended up using his absence to install a terror regime of reactionary politics. While eventually the status quo returned, Cedromar's reputation as a terrible administrator could not be undone. He was however very successful in the war department, installing a puppet ruler on the throne of the Songaskian Masaya, and leading the first successful foreign expedition to the Sihai lands, where he assisted in the destruction of many Akula. As Dragon he has been active on many battlefields since, providing critical support to the Regalian military, but in the last year or so he has become more and more distant and unwilling to help Regalia's wars.
Favored: Prince Cedromar currently favors Viggo Sorenvik, Rodrigo Peirgarten,
Princess Noor
Relation: Princess Noor is the highest ranked Princess in the Regalian Empire, the daughter of Thomas Kade who is the Emperor's oldest younger brother, thus making her the niece of the Emperor. Princess Noor is known as a somewhat rebellious Kade who refuses to live by courtly standards. Princess Noor is a known lover of the carnal delights in men, and seems entirely disinterested in arranged marriage.
History: Princess Noor's history is almost entirely unknown, because even before Imperial ascent, she disappeared quickly from the historical narrative. Later it was learned that she was moved out of her household because her father was incapable of raising his children and her mother died early to a Slizzar attack, she instead being raised by a small Dragon worshiping community in South Anglia.
Supporters: Princess Noor has no support network anywhere, but it is assumed that she enjoys some support among the old guard of the Dragon Worshipers in Anglia, because she is one of them. She is perhaps the only Kade publicly known to be a Dragon Worshiper, however with the absence of any major dragon aligned forces at Court, she is considered politically isolated.
Ideology: Princess Noor is a Laissez-faire Princess, meaning she is entirely indifferent to the government, until said government impedes on her individual liberties and wants and needs. She does whatever she likes, and it usually is not a problem, while wishing the same for others. It should not be mistaken for indifference to hierarchy protocols however, which she still insists on.
Occult: Princess Noor is not Occult herself, but she has been known to dabble in Occult materials for her forge, notably experimentation with Leystone and its soul-bearing and reading properties. She is frequently surrounded by Archon, though lacking purple eyes herself, is not one. There are rumors she is also intimately familiar with Marken at home in Anglia.
Company: Princess Noor is rarely if ever seen at court. When she is at court, she is usually in the background with her younger sister Juliana or her great aunt Shelia Manon. It is well known she finds most of the Princeroyals intolerable or not interesting enough to interact with and as such largely avoids being seen in the same room with them.
Achievements: Princess Noor has no personally recorded achievements, though her accomplished forging work is well recorded. Her wealthy family could afford good tutors and master smiths to teach her specific skills, so the items she produces tend to be of superior quality and highly prized among the Nobility given their rarity and the fact it was made by a Kade which gives it certain providence.
Favored: Princess Noor currently favors Wilvamair Arnyn, Markus Delmotte, Ren Maiyusa, Cadwyn Marth, Rowena Mailaan,
Princess Juliana
Relation: Princess Juliana is the younger sister of Princess Noor, the third child of Prince Thomas and the younger sister of Prince Duncan, thus making her the niece of the Emperor. Princess Juliana is very young still in her early 20's, but she is considered the Emperor's favorite who rarely leaves his side, and is a recently graduated Reliquary Knight of the Villiers. Princess Juliana is a known lesbian, though single.
History: Princess Juliana's history is largely dominated with her pious education as a Villiers Reliquary Knight. Immediately after graduating she was given a highly important and unique post, that of being the Emperor's personal reliquary who accompanies him on every task, a position that is unique and permitted begrudgingly by the Imperial Guard.
Supporters: Princess Juliana does not have any individual supporters. Rather, she is usually surrounded by the Imperial courtiers considered staunch royalists and the Emperor's personally supportive advisors and supporters. It is important to note that not everyone at the palace supports the Emperor, but Princess Juliana is counted as one of his most fervent supports, and him of her.
Ideology: Princess Juliana is seem more like an ideological copy or facsimile of the Emperor, with all of her opinions and dictations essentially styling themselves after his views. In many ways, people at court assume she is being groomed to succeed the Emperor, but is also a woman at the same time, so many await with bated breath to see how this religious impasse is solved.
Occult: Princess Juliana is not Occult, and has no real stated opinions on the Occult separate from the Emperor. It is generally assumed that she supports the Emperor's views on casting the Occult as some sort of pro-state force, so long as they obey and follow the dictations of the crown and limitations placed on their lifestyles for the good of the wider public.
Company: Princess Juliana is never seen at court without the Emperor somewhere nearby, or the other way around. Occasionally her older sister Noor is near her, or her older brother Duncan, who is largely too simple-minded and irrelevant to the wider Court. Juliana has taken the Emperor's disappearance very personal as a personal failing, and remains out in the world looking or him.
Achievements: Princess Juliana has no personal achievements. She is noted as a skilled sword fighter, but has not won any accolades and does not seem particularly exceptional with it. She is noted as intelligent, but otherwise entirely subject to the role the Emperor has chosen for her, and it is very hard to tell if she would have wanted something different.
Favored: Princess Juliana currently favors Eleanaire of Jophael,
Princess Amalia
Relation: Princess Amalia is the younger fraternal twin of Prince Cedromar, and the oldest younger sister of the Emperor, discounting his half sister Leah. Princess Amalia is morganatically married to the Duke Carl von Treppewitz of the Treppeweitz Duchy, and has several children by him. She is a devoted wife to a militarily gifted general, who is otherwise somewhat of a simpleton.
History: Princess Amalia's history is hard to pin down because she has made efforts to obscure it behind her childhood and marriage. Princess Amalia has a unique take on feminism, claiming that women should seize more power in the Empire but be careful so as to disrupt the external image of male superiority and preference, essentially controlling things behind the scenes. This has led her to be accused of perpetuating internalized misogyny.
Supporters: Princess Amalia's support network is immensely strong in Calemberg, where she is seen as their foremost political symbol at the Imperial Court. They praise her as the model woman, the model mother, and the model wife within Calemberg views of society, though many of them are unaware just how deep her manipulation of the Calemberg lords and Dukes goes, and how far her influence reaches beyond her station.
Ideology: Princess Amalia is a cornerstone conservative and status quo defender. She is not outright hostile or violent towards the Occult for example, but just prefers their collaring and limitations applied, while also being very pro-militarism, pro-warfare, and pro-disregard of the right of other nations to express some form of independence from the Regalian Empire.
Occult: As mentioned Princess Amalia is not strictly anti-Occult, but does see it as a stain on society that should be limited. She is fine letting the current Occult live and let live, but wants all magical tomes burned and magical schools closed to prevent further spreading. It goes without saying that she is not Occult herself, and has a particular distaste for Dragon-aligned things.
Company: Princess Amalia is rarely out of sight of her husband at court, and has her own ladies in waiting from the important Calemberg families, including the Calemberg Vierzehn. This makes her, absent of other notable Imperial women and the indifference of the other Princesses, the paramount female social influencer at court, and some say the reason why the Emperor was so conservative for a while.
Achievements: Princess Amalia's self-professed greatest achievement was bearing 7 children to the Duke von Treppewitz, all of whom have gone on to attain some level of success in the Regalian military. She is herself an example of Calemberg propaganda, and successfully yielded this image to expand her influence across the other families, holding secret sway to make or break their families with her public support or denunciations.
Favored: Princess Amalia currently favors Viviwynne Guentyr, Petra von Moritz, Howland von Moritz, Therese Braunschweiger
Prince Xander
Relation: Prince Xander is the youngest brother of the Emperor, somewhere in his early 20's, and a recently graduated Viridian Knight. As his training years and late teenage years happened in the middle of the Lo Crisis, when he was housed elsewhere, detachment from Viridian training has left him rather different and more debonair than all other Viridians, to their chagrin.
History: Prince Xander's history is mostly unmentionable, as he is the Emperor's 7th sibling and the youngest meaning he never drew much attention. Prince Xander is known as a people pleaser, and having somewhat of a weakness for pretty people of either sex, entertaining many of them in fairly wild parties at the old Kade Chancellery which was turned into a manor following the dissolution of the position.
Supporters: Prince Xander has no real supporters at court save for the other people pleaser and party chasers. The Emperor is extremely chaste and indifferent to personal pleasures, having closed the House of Paramours at the Palace to everyone save the Imperial Guard, and Prince Xander. He is generally seen as a loose cannon with potential issues arising from his relations in the future, as the named "Party Prince".
Ideology: Prince Xander has no stated political opinions or ideologies besides the one that permits him to have as much fun as possible with the fact that he is a prince. Many describe him as Reynaud sans the political tact, but this is not exactly true. Xander is considered far kinder, genuine, and likeable than Reynaud who mostly just uses people, Xander seems to genuinely want to be liked widely.
Occult: Prince Xander is not Occult, and seems generally well disposed to them. Some Mages are even present in his entourage, though only to entertain his guests or generally make their experiences more fun, which some have noted is a somewhat selfish use of Magic for personal pleasures over the larger power implications that Magic has.
Company: Prince Xander's company is often just low ranked nobles of the Court. While most people conspire and circle around the higher levels of court politics, Xander is the only one who actively endears himself with the low Barons and Counts at the Palace and pays any attention to them. This in turn has gathered him quite a pleasant party crowd from among them.
Achievements: Prince Xander has no active achievements aside from a long litany list of vandalisms at the Imperial Palace. Nothing ever quite as severe as Prince Henry's inferno, his vandalism often includes adding clothes to the otherwise artistically nude statues in the hall of heroes, adding clown make-up to the busts of past Emperors, and intentionally displacing Ekhein service records.
Favored: Xander currently does not have any favored persons in Regalia.
Princel Florance
Relation: Princel Florance is the youngest sibling of the Emperor, older than Xander but younger than Amalia and Cedromar. They are unmarried and without issue. They are however an absolute cat-fanatic, and have several cats running around the Imperial palace unimpeded, with the Viscount of all Cats called Tellius Kat, often shortened to "T.K", who has quite a temper with the Palace Ekheins.
History: Princel Florance does not have much of a notable history, as their mother died shortly after their birth and their father was too occupied with their 7 older siblings. Florance was mostly left to their own devices and developed a savant-like understanding of music and composition, mastering several instruments before becoming an adult, and playing frequently at Kade Estates.
Supporters: Princel Florance's supporters mostly stem from the lower nobility because they just seem so "normal". All the other Kade Siblings have something going on, have a big ego, are a God, are a Viridian, or a party animal, but Florance's biggest prizeworthy trait is that they remain eternally approachable and likeable, so long as anyone is able to see past the initial idiosyncrasies.
Ideology: Princel Florance has no publicly stated ideology, though in general seems to be an agent of the status quo, not much liking change. That being said, the status quo does not seem to be the "now", but rather, the time during which House Kade was not in control of the Palace, and Florance's life was made considerably more difficult as they were expected to follow a bunch of rules.
Occult: Princel Florance is not Occult, and while they have not outwardly stated any particular feeling or stance on the Occult, they are generally uncomfortable around them, save for one favorite being Valerie du Briërust (married to Leufred du Briërust), who is a Mage, and permitted into the Palace on account of Florance's clearance. Florance otherwise tries to avoid the Occult as much as possible, topic-wise, and physically.
Company: Princel Florance is always seen with at least one cat at court, if not multiple, and usually with T.K. Valerie du Briërust is also frequently seen in their company, and they usually hang out around the Emperor, who despite the age difference between the two, seems to get along quite well. This is especially so as the matter of music comes up, as the Emperor frequently listens to them.
Achievements: Princel's greatest achievement perhaps, is championing the return of Music to the Imperial Palace, as before their efforts, music was considered wasteful and distracting, and very "Morgannt-esque". Besides this, Florance lives a rather low-effort and low-publicity lifestyle, and does not take any effort to really be seen in the public, and achieves as such very little.
Favored: Florance currently does not have any favored persons in Regalia.
The Titular Princes and Princesses
The Titular Princes and Princesses are Imperial-Royal by relation to the Emperor, but cannot claim direct descent from the Imperial Vessel (who through blood, was Liliane Ivrae-Kade). As a result, they are Princes and Princesses by law, but are excluded from the inheritance line, therefor not having a title (such as 4th Princess). They still wield considerable power in the Kade Family itself and should not be considered any less important than the Princes and Princesses of Imperial Blood.
Name
Description
Princess Aliandre
Relation: Princess Aliandre is the second oldest yet living aunt of the Emperor who was morganatically married to a member of House Viraine. He is the mother of numerous mentioned Princes and Princesses on this page, but also has much more offspring, all of which have some relation to the court like Imperial Guard Godric and Goderoy, Viridian Knight William, and the intellectual Anton.
History: Princess Aliandre is mostly a mirage to history, as she appears to just be a normal house-wife, however this is a cleverly disguised military career. Aliandre is between the lines known to be House Kade's most gifted General, using her husband as a smokescreen, usually hiding behind a tapestry or her husband's chair to issue orders through him, and remain unseen. Why she does this is unknown.
Supporters: Princess Aliandre's support mostly come from the old guard, old nobility and the Ducal families. She is perhaps after the Emperor the single most influential member at Court with active participation in its politics. This has garnered her the reputation of being the Empire's most powerful woman, even if she seems very simple, austere, and uninvolved at first impressions.
Ideology: Princess Aliandre is a conservative, but she has shown to be quite flexible when it comes to working with progressives. In general, her highest cause is the strength and power of the Regalian Empire, fighting for its unity and cohesion. She has frequently been seen supporting the three oldest sons of the Emperor on their campaigns to ensure they would not face failure in the field.
Occult: Aliandre is staunchly against the Occult, she is obviously not Occult herself either. While Princess Amalia permits the Occult to exist within some capacity in society, Aliandre would much prefer to dump them all in Crookback and revoke their ability to participate in public life or occupations across the Empire, and particularly the military. She hates Mages in the military.
Company: Aliandre has little company at court because unlike Amalia, she prefers to not be publicly seen as holding any sway anywhere. Many first impressions of her simply cast her as the aging beauty that once had influence but has long since passed her zenith. Occasionally she can be seen in the company of Raymond or her younger sister Shelia Manon.
Achievements: Aliandre's list of accomplishments is perhaps the longest of any Kade, but it is entirely shrouded in mystery given her husband's portrayal of her work. It is impossible to distinguish her own achievements from her husband, who is otherwise seen as an extremely gifted general who has led numerous pivotal battles in the last 40 years to the Empire's benefit.
Favored: Princess Aliandre currently does not have any favored persons, she is understood to have extremely critical opinions and high standards that are near impossible to reach.
Princess Shelia Manon
Relation: Princess Shelia Manon is the younger sister of Aliandre, and thus an aunt to the Emperor. Shelia Manon was never married, but is known to have at least two bastards, one of which is Derrick Kade mentioned further below. Shelia Manon is quite old, but looks exceptionally young, not even half her age. She is also an avid collector of Magical artifacts and books, having a personal archive.
History: Princess Shelia Manon is largely ignored by history because her older siblings were all more relevant. Moriarty Kade became the Arch Chancellor, Maximillian Kade became a famed general with many Knight sons, while Aliandre had a secret military career. Shelia Manon never had a job, never married, and produced several bastards from different lovers which was considered far less acceptable in that time.
Supporters: Princess Shelia Manon has no real support at Court, instead she acts as a cornerstone supporter of the three oldest sons of the Emperor, though showing obvious preference to Raymond. In a way, she has acted as a guardian and stand-in mother to Raymond on more than one occasion, as Raymond was too young to know his mother, and attached strongly to Shelia Manon who also shaped his ideology.
Ideology: Princess Shelia Manon is an oddity in her generation in that she is the most progressive of the older generations, and in fact is even more progressive than most of the current generation Kades. Her and her grand nephew Raymond work together on nearly every progressive plot or plan that is hatched at the Imperial Court, and wherever he is achieving his goals, she is not far behind.
Occult: Princess Shelia Manon is not known to be Occult herself, but is a fervent supporter of Mages in particular among the Occult. She always argues for the rights of the Occult and attempts to steer interventions at court. Most Occult are never aware that they have friends at court, and this can be a fairly thankless job, as she still takes all the flak from the Kade-hate in Crookback, but does it anyway.
Company: Princess Shelia Manon is largely shunned at court because of her past engagements with Mages, but can occasionally be seen in the company of Raymond or Noor Kade, the other somewhat corner case progressives at Court. She is never seen in the same room as Princess Glorianna, as the two get into fierce cat fights whenever this does occur.
Achievements: Princess Shelia Manon's greatest achievement is the underground Mage railway, in which she assisted (criminally, and against her family's wishes) many Mages escape detection and capture by the Azure Order during its most repressive period by offering them safehouses and a way out of Regalia and into the sparsely populated countryside. She is credited for having saved hundreds if not thousands of Mages from certain death or insanity, or demonic possession.
Favored: Princess Shelia Manon currently favors Anathema,
Prince Justinian
Relation: Prince Justinian is the oldest son of Prince Maximillian Kade who himself died in an Ithanian riot some years back, who was the younger brother of the Emperor's father. This makes Justinian a direct cousin of the Emperor. Justinian was never married and has no issue, he took a vow of celibacy a long time ago to support both his faith and Knighthood.
History: Prince Justinian is the commander of the Monks of the Thousand Blade Monastery, a monastic order of Knights purely from Anglia which is exclusive to militarily retired Kades and Kade Loyalists, who act like hedge knights in support of House Kade exclusively. Justinian has had a long personal history of acting both as lay priest, and Knight in defense of Unionism and has seen many wars.
Supporters: Prince Justinian enjoys wide support from the so called faith militant arm of the Dogmatic Unionist community, as well as the wider self-professed pious ducal families and jingoists. His beliefs to declare all foreign nations as invalid and violate and disrespect their sovereignty makes him one of the least liked figured when concerning foreign diplomats.
Ideology: Prince Justinian is a cornerstone jingoist, who believe that foreign nations don't have a right to exist beyond being subject to Regalia, that all borders should be closed to immigration, and that Regalia should be considered in a state of perpetual war with all neighboring states. This obviously difficult position makes him the darling of the Bulwarkists, but keeps him away from politics otherwise.
Occult: Prince Justinian has a strong distaste for the Occult and supports to some degree extermination and to some degree forceful submission. His stances are not as severe as Glorianna's, preferring a no-second chances execution on any Occult violating any law, but also not as loose as Aliandre, preferring more strict rules and limitations on the Occult than just a military ban.
Company: Prince Justinian is rarely seen in company of anyone at the Imperial Court, mainly because he does not like a lot of people, and many people don't like him. He is one of the most crass and rude people at court, and is always quick to quote scriptures from the Creed for what he sees as disruptive or degenerative behavior or beliefs held by even members within his own family.
Achievements: Prince Justinian is in his late fifties, but still considered a healthy and robust brick of a man who can deal quite some damage despite his advanced age. He has been on the frontline in every single war Regalia has fought over the last 40 years alone, and he and Aliandre are always present on the same battlefield together, though on opposite ends.
Favored: Prince Justinian currently favors Mila Braunbecker, Joanna von Duerr,
Princess Glorianna
Relation: Princess Glorianna born Glorianna Dornton was the younger sister of Morgannan Kade, and originally intended to marry Norn Kade, however her older sister snatched that prize from her. She instead ended up marrying Norn's younger brother, meaning that sisters eventually also became inlaws. Glorianna had several sons and daughters as well as grandchildren who all befell unfortunate ends.
History: Glorianna's history on its own is not interesting, as she was always the less clever, less manipulative, and less tactful sister to Morgannan, who left behind a strong political memory. Glorianna's personal history however is extremely tragic, all 27 of her children and grandchildren were killed over the timespan of the last 40 years as a consequence of a mixture of the Occult, Vampires, Mages, Elven Wars, leaving her extremely bitter.
Supporters: Glorianna's supporters are very limited, purely to the extreme Unionist fanatics and the Lothar Knight Order, those who profess the need to exterminate all Occult because no Occult could possibly be a good thing for the Empire. They all deeply believe that the continued existence and freedom of the Occult will bring about the end of the Empire and as a result, an end to the world.
Ideology: Glorianna's ideology is firmly in the Dictat area, wishing death on all Occult. In many ways, Glorianna was once ideologically similar to Aliandre, and never had aggressive opinions on the Occult, but her family was all but exterminated by the Occult one way or another, leaving her extremely bitter and vengeful towards them, even while she is well into her nineties.
Occult: Glorianna is not Occult, and the rest of this section should come as no surprise. She frequently feuds with Princess Shelia Manon at court, the two polar opposites and by many referred to as the "North South Witches", because both do have somewhat of a reputation of coming across snide, crass, and snippy when upset at something or someone.
Company: Glorianna is rarely accompanied by Justinian at court, but is mostly just isolated. Her confessor Willem-Friso is occasionally seen near her, but it is well understood that his kind and gentle pious soul finds the rage in her heart difficult to bear. Glorianna is often dismissed as the crazy grand-aunt, but she still has some sway, and meets with Lothar Knights on occasion for purposes unknown.
Achievements: Glorianna's achievements are short, and perhaps her mis-achievements being much more considerable. The fact that her older sister seized her intended husband to be away from her was always a point of contention between them, and they never spoke for the near 60 years they were around each other in House Kade castles or gatherings. Supposedly, Glorianna never forgave Morgannan, who did not care.
Favored: Princess Glorianna currently favors Mila Braunbecker, Erwin Braunschweiger, Therese Braunchweiger, Riftan Vaedra
Prince Willem-Friso
Relation: Prince Willem-Friso is the second oldest son of Maximillian Kade, making him a younger brother to Justinian, and a nephew of the Emperor. In his late forties, Willem-Friso has technically taken a vow of celibacy, but he was known to break it one or two times, and there has been a rumor that he has a secret son living somewhere in a convent away from the public eye.
History: Prince Willem-Friso's personal history is very unremarkable. He was intended to train as a Reliquary Knight, but found that violence was not his strong suit, and felt more passionate about preaching, so he switched to a canonical study and eventually became a Celate, and then an Arch-Celate. He is one of the foremost religious figures of Anglia, and the Arch-Celate of the largest Celery in Aksenfoort.
Supporters: Prince Willem-Friso is supported by the so called silver song Dogmatic Unionist faithful, which is a faction within the Dogmatic Unionist community that favors diplomacy and kindness over the violence and warfare inflicted by Justinian's faith militant faction. In a way, Prince Willem-Friso and Justinian are of one mind on faith, but their application of it differ.
Ideology: Justinian has no strongly expressed ideology, but is generally seen as one of the most kind-hearted Unionist clergy alive. He and Constantine are generally considered the soft souls of the Palace, but Constantine is well known to be very clever and often just rusing kindness for appearances sake, while Willem-Friso is just very genuinely soft-spoken and well meaning.
Occult: Prince Willem-Friso is not Occult, and has generally reconciliatory opinions about the Occult. His strongest and latest pursuit at the Palace is preaching extreme caution, patience, and mercy when dealing with Vampires, believing fully in their unaccountability for their crimes due to the mind controlling nature of their condition, preaching for steady rehabilitation.
Company: Prince Justinian is usually flanked by Unionist clergy, because even though is the Arch Celate of Aksenfoort, his opinions and dictations on the faith are considered very wise and tempered, and many preachers come to him for good advice on their work out in the provinces. Prince Justinian is sometimes also accompanied by Justicars, because he usually handles all Imperial Justicar trials.
Achievements: Prince Justinian's achievements are short, if one considers living a pious and quiet life not much of an achievement. He is considered one of the least threatening persons at court, and this fact in and of itself has won him much praise and support from people who prefer more pacifist, charitable and kindness endearing agendas.
Favored: Prince William Friso currently favors Alexandra Petralias,
Prince Henry
Relation: Prince Henry is the youngest bastard son of Shelia-Manon, from a (as she described him) "brutish ogre of a man who made up for bad looks with the most endearing charm". He is also the younger fraternal twin of Princess Liara. There were ever whispers of his true father being the Duke Zastorzy of South Drixagh, but nothing was concretely proven. This makes Henry a cousin of the Emperor.
History: Prince Henry's history is somewhat wild, because as a child he became removed from his mother fairly early on, due to his mother being somewhat of a black sheep and the family demanding the children be raised elsewhere. Henry was raised in a small court in Kerulv in Drixagh, and adopted many Old-Gods leaning attitudes, while also being an Old-Gods-Unionist fusion worshiper himself.
Supporters: Prince Henry is a bit of a party animal at the Imperial Palace, and usually is more a +1 to Reynaud or Xander, though he seems to show a strong preference for Xander when he is around. Henry has some favor of the Old Gods faithful, as few as there are at court, though his less than traditional beliefs about Velheim culture and Old Gods usually means he ends up being a disappointment to them.
Ideology: Prince Henry has no over political goal, and seems mostly concerned with the continued survival and implied evolution of the Velheim Culture and Old Gods beliefs within the frame of the modern era. He believes that unless there is going to be change, the old ways will die out forcibly, and that the faith of Old Gods has remained stagnant in its interpretations for too long.
Occult: Prince Henry is not Occult himself, but frequently spends time around the Occult in and near Old Gods Temples and Helbolwen. He has a personal pet project of trying to have a Helbolwen built inside the Imperial Palace, but this is obviously resulting a in a lot of pushback from the Palace Staff. The Emperor has meanwhile only permitted him to build a Helbolwen for domestic animals in the Palace.
Company: Prince Henry frequently stays around Prince Reynaud, Xander, or his twin sister Liara when she does come back from Solleria where she was raised. He mostly avoids his mother, but nobody at court really knows why, assuming that it was some sort of holdover of his mother just allowing her bastard children to be taken from her side, or jealousy of Derrick who was raised by her.
Achievements: Prince Henry has no notable achievements, besides once managing to burn down nearly the entire kitchen gallery of the west wing of the Imperial Palace while trying to make Velheim waffles, ignoring the fact that he did not know how to cook, and also tried to do this at 3 Am at night when all the staff were not present to guide him in the act of not creating an inferno. He is, however, considered the most eligible bachelor at Court, flirting with both sexes, but never tying himself down with any, having the general (subjective) reputation of also being the most handsome male Kade alive.
Favored: Prince Henry currently favors Revna Vikström, Kaya Sorenvik, Tuija Vikström
Prince Constantine
Relation: Prince Constantine is the youngest son of Aliandre Kade, making him a younger brother to Justinian and nephew of the Emperor. Constantine is very much not everything that Justinian is, diplomatic, soft-spoken, kind-mannered, religiously flexible, and with a soft touch that is received well by the commoners and nobles alike that he speaks to with his soft silky voice.
History: Prince Constantine was a studious child, sent to the college of diplomats early on to learn the vast histories of the world and courtly protocols. Even at a near graduation age he was a successful aide de camp for the chief diplomat Tyllerande, and took over his position when Tyllerande retired some years later to become the Emperor's personal diplomat and emissary.
Supporters: Prince Constantine's support network is entirely unknown by his design. It is well understood that he has supporters at the Palace, but he takes steps to obscure them, and it is assumed that many of his supporters have plants inside all other factions, thus keeping him aware and appraised of all ongoing plots and schemes at the Imperial Palace.
Ideology: Prince Constantine is very much an enlightened centrist, but also someone who fanatically preaches about the importance of regal realism and pragmatism. He is absolutely the Kade to make cruel decisions for the benefit of many, and principle violating or immoral steps for the ethical benefit of the Crown and the Empire. He is however generally understood to be well meaning.
Occult: Prince Constantine is not Occult, though many have accused him in the past of being a Slizzar. Prince Constantine has always replied with the idea that "Slizzar might ever have been so fortunate to have my tutors, my family, and the legacy of my forefathers and betters to guide their ways", a not-subtle attack on Slizzar ethics as well as the ineffectiveness of many Slizzar in Regalia.
Company: Prince Constantine is everyone's company, and everyone is his company. He can effortlessly weave between Justinian's wroth, Glorianna's rage, Willem-Friso's piety, Noor's disdain, Xander's parties, and Francis's idiosyncrasies. There is no person who outwardly dislikes him, but he is also intensely disliked in secret, for the sheer social credit he has at court.
Achievements: Prince Constantine's personal achievements are usually muted in favor of crediting them to his co-conspirators or his mentors at any given time. The Crown Alliance is frequently cited as one which he helped establish, even if all credit formally goes to Tyllerande, its main architect and executor. Other achievements involve his success at convincing foreign courts.
Favored: Prince Constantine currently favors Sivrid Sorenvik
Prince Calric
Relation: Prince Calric is a Half-Eronidas child of Sanneliese Kade, who in turn was a younger sister of Aliandre Kade, thus making him the Emperor's cousin. Calric's mother died in childbirth bringing him into the world, and although it was said his inception was not a love-pairing, the family embraced him anyway and accepted to legalize him, as they always had with bastards.
History: Prince Calric was a bit of an odd ducky in the Kade household, as the Regalian Empire was very much not fond of Eronidas in the early to late 60's. He was often picked on and excluded. Eventually he would become a ring-fighter, and rose in ranks all the way up to an Imperial Gladiator. He has this title still to this day, though wears a mask as he goes to Old Town to fight in bloodsport for anonymity sake.
Supporters: Prince Calric is popular among the Urlan and Eronidas at court, because he shows particular favor to outsiders, but also because he is a fervent supporter of any type of arena fighting sport, with himself as participant. Prince Calric is not known to have any relation or issue, there is in fact the rumor that he fears inflicting the same loss of parentage that he suffered should he ever have children.
Ideology: Prince Calric is very indifferent to politics, but accidently ends up taking stances anyway. His biggest hot button topic issue is the matter of Occult in the arena. As Occult status and powers become more and more prolific in the criminal circuit, it should come as no surprise that it also becomes more prolific at use and cheating in the ring, that which he rages against.
Occult: Prince Calric is not Occult himself, but has taken negative stances against the Occult for the fact that Occult became mixed in with arena fights and cheating. Calric has by extension assumed that Magic in general is a form of cheating, and finds it a personal and physical weakness for others to rely on the pursuit of the Arcane, which flexes only their mind but never their bodies.
Company: Prince Calric is usually accompanied by various Imperial gladiators and trainers at the Imperial Palace, and the Imperial Guard also seem fairly fond of him. He is the only Prince who ever enters the Imperial Guard corridors of the Imperial Palace, and joins in with their after-work boxing matches and friendly spars in the lower catacombs of the Palace.
Achievements: Prince Calric's greatest achievements are winning prize after prize of Imperial duels at the palace arena, as well as a slew of regional championships in the provinces, as he has traveled the various regions participating in these bloodsports anonymously. As such, it is hard to track exactly how many he won, but his prize cabinet (room) is large, and very filled.
Favored: Prince Calric currently has no favored persons in Regalia.
Prince Bohemund
Relation: Prince Bohemund is a younger son of Maximillian Kade making him the a younger cousin of the Emperor. Prince Bohemund is a fairly eccentric Palace personality involved in the arts. He is an excellent artist himself, but also a very avid collector of art, and has the unofficial position of art curator of the Imperial Gallery. He is also a great fan of Telis Delerac paintings.
History: Prince Bohemund does not have an interesting history. In his early years it was discovered he had a talent for drawing and painting, and had some expensive tutors and teachers hired for him. His eccentric behavior however was difficult for the tutors, who found him unruly and unpredictable, and thus hard to work with or sit still to complete one piece, instead jumping between them.
Supporters: Prince Bohemund's supporters are the avant garde of the Imperial Palace, those watching the fashion trends and wanting to see the latest of the highly coveted artistic masterpieces that flow into the Palace. Prince Bohemund's latest pet project is updating many of the old dusty tapestries to new modern New World wallpapers, much to the chagrin of the old Ekheins.
Ideology: Prince Bohemund is absolutely a trust-fund baby, in the sense that he did very little work in comparison to the sheer amounts of money he spends. He buys any Delerac painting he comes across, and while in theory he could do art commissions to earn a living for himself, he spends most of his time running around the world to look at art instead of actually making it himself.
Occult: Prince Bohemund is not Occult himself, is generally protective and fond of Occult, but really hates the idea of Magical art. Any Mage who uses Magic to instantly generate art with a prompt he deeply despises as a sham artist, someone not willing to do the backbreaking work of learning art theory and history, and simply taking a shortcut for profit.
Company: Prince Bohemund is usually accompanied by a large troupe of artists, but notably, also just generally the prettiest people of the Palace. Bohemund's chief concern is making sure the palace is beautiful, and so his entourage often involves pretty people to wow the audience and passer-by's, but also to completement the beauty of the Palace's interior itself with the living element.
Achievements: Prince Bohemund's greatest achievement was the 13 piece Calendar of the Imperial Months, large paintings which he actually completed for once, showing complex displays of life at the Imperial Court. These paintings hang in the Town Hall Administrative office of New Town, being a small window into the every day life at court, and for many the only way to get an insight of what it is like on the inside.
Favored: Prince currently has no favored persons in Regalia.
Prince Derrick
Relation: Prince Derrick is Shelia-Manon's oldest bastard son, and the only one she was permitted to raise herself. His father was supposedly a one-off encounter with some Maquixtl warlord in Daendroc when this area was still accessible to Ailor before the Ranger Crisis. Derrick is half Maquixtl. He is not currently known to have any relations or issue.
History: Prince Derrick is an avid explorer, extravagant, collector, and know-it-all about things in the wider world. Where-as other Kades stayed close to Anglia and preferred to know only of Anglia, Derrick wanted to only know about the world beyond it, and stayed in Anglia very little. He has joined many exploratory journeys across the world, and visited most continents, even Jorrhildr.
Supporters: Prince Derrick does not have supporters at court, and he is mostly treated as an outcast, more-so than his mother. His outward looking attitude does not gather him much favor from the other Kades, and most people at palace find his debonair and worldly attitude off-putting, if not downright annoying, when most of his sentences stary with "well actually".
Ideology: Prince Derrick is a die-hard liberty loving laissez-faire practitioner. He does not want other people to impede his life's choices, and will in turn also not concern himself for the lives of others, even if this means showing charity and kindness to those in trouble. Derrick in general believes everyone cares way too much about random strangers, and they should all mind their own business first.
Occult: Prince Derrick is Occult. He was not born with magic, but learned Exist-based sorcery at a later point in time to master telekinesis, generally using magic to make his life easier by automating tasks. Derrick is generally favorable towards the Occult, though seems also somewhat indifferent about the plight of some Occult, believing that he has it good "so everyone else must too".
Company: Prince Derrick is rarely at court, but when he is, he can often be found around his mother, or the party people like Reynaud, Henry, and Xander. Henry, Xander, and he in fact make up the trio of trouble at the Palace, even though Derrick is almost as old as Xander and Henry's ages combined, he still looks very youthful and acts very youthful on account of his half-Elven-ness.
Achievements: Prince Derrick has no great personal achievements if one is to discount his world exploration. Very few people in Regalia ever leave the capital or their provincial home region. Fewer yet visit all the provinces in the Archipelago. Fewer yet visit all the Federal subjects. Fewer yet visit other nations. He has done all of this, and visited all foreign continents on top of that.
Favored: Prince Derrick currently favors Saren, Tuija Vikström
The Shadow Royals
The Shadow Royals are a less openly discussed aspect of the Imperial Family. The reason why the Regalian state doesn't just send in an army to crush every mutant in the Sewers, is because of them. The benediction that the Emperor has towards Crookback is genuine, but is also in part motivated to satisfy a part of his family that does not play by the rules. The Shadow Court is exactly that, a part of the Imperial Family that does not play by the rules and follows more in line with the original heritage of House Kade, being a criminal enterprise from Anglia. These members for whatever reason are rarely or never seen at the Imperial Palace, but still exert influence over it and hold sway one way or another, but unlike the beforementioned royals, more strictly pick sides with the denizens of the sewers and Crookback instead of the ones in Imperial Isle and New Town. While many law-adbiding citizens might look down on these few Princeroyals, they are still demanding of respect, and to some even more dangerous and unpredictable than the above.
Name
Description
Prince Eohric
Relation: Perhaps the most seen and obvious of the Shadow Royals, is Eohric, younger brother to the Emperor and his many siblings, but older than Xander and Florance. Eohric is unmarried and without issue. Eohric's Dragon Magic is quickly given away by his purple eyes, but anyone hoping that some of Cedromar's enlightened centrism rubbed off on him, is quick to be disappointed.
History: Eohric was always a difficult child in House Kade, and the exact circumstances of his acquiring Dragon Magic are very unclear, some of it being speculated as having been rogue Gray Witches. He also absolutely does not use his Dragon Magic for good and the preservation of life, but rather to start his own criminal enterprise, both enriching and empowering himself at the expense of others by use of Magic.
Supporters: Eohric is supposed by a faction that not many people would assume had any power at court, but actually do. While the harmless and mostly benign magic users who use magic to heal and do parlor tricks benefited from emancipation, so did the selfish ego-mages, Mages who use Magic as much as possible to subjugate the non-Magi population. Those are Eohric's supporters as they ply influence on the provinces.
Ideology: Eohric's ideology is entirely selfish. He has a very valid claim on the Imperial throne, though always remains very dubious with intentions of ever making a move on it. He believes that the world should function as per the right and will of the strongest, which he counts himself as one among, given his terrifyingly strong and competent control over Dragon Magic, turning something normally beneficial into something harmful.
Occult: Eohric himself is a Dragon Magic user, thus making him a Mage. It is unclear if he his a Gray Witch himself, but supposedly he was not born with Magic and acquired it at a later age. The exact circumstances of his Magical acquisition are unclear. It is however known that he hates organizations that rehabilitate or otherwise legally teach Mages to repress their selfish desires for Magic, and wants Mages to become powerful rulers.
Company: Eohric is, despite being part of the Shadow Court, very frequently seen at the Imperial Court. As part of the Imperial Bloodline, he is untouchable even by the Imperial Guard so long as he does not outwardly act against the Emperor, and as such he also gets away with a lot of criminal conduct across the Empire, racketeering and blackmailing Dukes into his support network that is hard to exactly pin down how large it is.
Achievements: Eohric supposedly fought one on one with Caan the Aelrrigan Mage-Knight who is commonly rumored to be the strongest Mage alive. Eohric did not exactly overpower him, being obviously the inferior Mage, but managed to outsmart Caan not once but twice, adding a high level of manipulative insight into his already impressive repertoire, as the Aelrrigans seemed incapable of apprehending him.
Favored: Eohric currently does not have anyone favored in Regalia.
Prince Leopold
Relation: Prince Leopold is one of the younger brothers of Prince Justinian, thus being one of Maximillian Kade's children, and a cousin of the Emperor. Prince Leopold remains unmarried and without issue, though is widely known at court to be a womanizer, and have a kind of a harem that he flippantly entertains for for personal enjoyment, and their espionage on others.
History: Prince Leopold perpetuated the habit of each Kade father to have at least one disappointing son who would turn into a black sheep of that side of the family. Maximillian who was gifted with good courtly conduct and respect and a gentleman-like approach saw nothing reflected in his wastrel son Leopold who spent more time sneaking into noble women's bedroom windows than studying for his examinations, thus fluking from school.
Supporters: Prince Leopold does not have supporters, outside of his "social" contacts that is. He is well acquainted with the various brothels and courtesan houses across the Regalian city, and as such has re-created a terrifyingly effective information network that rivals even that of his cousin Dominic, that more often than not is more effective at prying information from the aristocracy to sell to the criminals in Crookback.
Ideology: Prince Leopold's ideology can best be summarized as "to know things, is to be King". He is widely thought at court to be a Void Worshiper of the Thousand Eye God, though nobody ever acts against him, because his "black book" contains so many blackmail secrets that it could off half the political actors at court if he ever decided he wanted to take them down with him.
Occult: Prince Leopold is not known to be Occult, though in line with everyone just assuming he is a Void Worshiper, it is also assumed that he is well knowledgeable on Void Cult rituals. These rituals inherently do not require Magic, and so Leopold can avoid ever being detected while performing them. He does at least have the decency to keep them outside of the Imperial Palace. Or so it is hoped.
Company: Prince Leopold is company to everyone, and company to no-one. He walks around the court as if he is very popular, but generally speaking no-one wants to have him around. He can often be seen loitering around the other princes, trying to be chatty with them, while the other princes refuse to look at him or entertain his wild and exotic stories as anywhere half-truth.
Achievements: Prince Leopold's greatest achievement was dismantling the entire Von Bruynefelde family, who took a stance against House Kade inheriting the crown. Leopold opened his Black book in the middle of the van Bruynefelde home, and supposedly when all was said and done, he walked out completely clean, while leaving behind nearly the entire family slain in fratricide.
Favored: Leopold currently favors Nevaria Traeiirn,
Prince Ivar
Relation: Prince Ivar's parentage is very unclear because any Kade is unwilling to openly admit to being his parent. Supposedly he was born as a half-elf bastard to a very powerful female Kade (definitely not Shelia-Manon) who hid him for quite some time. He is not too distantly related to the Emperor, and that is why nobody ever pushes him out of the court, despite his murder-rampage of the Occult in Anglia.
History: Prince Ivar was once a fairly normal Half-Elf Kade, but a brief stint with Evintarian Unionism conversion left him obsessed with the concept of evolution. What started out as a fairly lanky and weak-framed young man, turned into a beastly Kathar after a Dread Rebirth, which itself made way for Red-scales and horns when he became a Red Hunter. Archon. His next intent, many do not dare speculate on.
Supporters: Prince Ivar enjoys a lot of support from the Evintarian Unionists because he is living exactly the life that many of them would like to live, but are too tepid to engage in. He looked at Dread Rebirth and Draconic Mutations, and accepted all of them wholesale, disregarding any of the social stigma and backlash he would receive. In part however, the Dragon Faithful of Caius also support him.
Ideology: Prince Ivar's ideology is dominated by the Horopadosi belief of self-evolution, that the body was born too weak in a cruel and harsh world, and that any means to make it stronger, bigger, faster, and smarter should be taken. This reaches near obsession-levels of dedication, while he tries to combine Evintarian Unionism with creationist principles of Dragon Worship.
Occult: Prince Ivar is Occult. It is presumed that he is a Cult of Reason Kathar, while also being a Red Hunter, meaning he is entirely Occult in the frame of Dragon Magic. He is fanatically opposed to all other forms of Dimenthist Occultism, as one would expect from a Red Hunter, though usually contains himself at court, declaring the Imperial Palace his "truce".
Company: Prince Ivar is the most isolated courtier. He is outright avoided by everyone at court, even the otherwise gregarious Leopold. He is however also rarely seen at Court, preferring instead to be out in the countryside or in the Provinces, where he nontheless remains decked out in Royal decrees and House Kade sigils to avoid being attacked by Lothar (though he has been).
Achievements: Prince Ivar has created a micro-cult of his own, leading what he calls the "Black Enders", recruiting Cult of Reason Kathar from the northern Sollerian Islands to turn them into Red Hunters. They then join him on the hunt for anything Occult, particularly in Anglia, which is why he is also fairly tolerated among Anglians, helping to cleanse these areas of Occult with extrajudicial killings.
Favored: Prince Ivar currently looks favorably on Ailred Druulvaar, Heishan,
Princel Tycho
Relation: Princel Tycho is a bastard child of Thomas Kade, making them a second removed relative from the Emperor. As Tycho is non-binary however, Tycho does not show up in the inheritance tree because the Creed does not account for the possibility of non-binary Royals. Tycho is a Vampire Brood, as Prince Thomas Kade claimed he did not know that the woman he was sleeping with, was a Vampire.
History: Princel Tycho's existence was repressed very early on due to the complications of a Brood in the family when rising to power in the Imperial seat. With that seat secure and the Shadow Court forming around Eohric however, Tycho became more comfortable in their public appearance, and started being seen, causing quite the stir at the Palace until everyone understood their history.
Supporters: Princel Tycho, perhaps surprisingly, is supported by Vampires. Not by Vampires who walk around Crookback in ragged dark clothes and hide with blades in the shadows, but the kind who infiltrate courts and blend with high society. Tycho is very well known among the Ithanian court Vampires, and is generally seen as a public mouth piece to keep the peace, and draw attention away from Court Vampires onto "Feral" Vampires.
Ideology: Princel Tycho does not have a publicly noted ideology, but is working near constantly to "make a better world for Broods like I, and to assuage the pressure on Vampires overall by seeking a cure for their mental condition, instead of their sanguine condition". This does not gather Tycho many supporters at court, and progress is mostly inch-by-inch, but focuses on finding a pathway to legality instead of repeat curing.
Occult: Princel Tycho, as stated, is a Vampire Brood. Though at this point, many people at court accuse them of being a Vampire outright, because of their always present red eyes, and the fact that Tycho still hasn't been killed/expelled from Court. The reality however is that just murdering a Kade never goes well, or leaves the rest of the family at peace, and so Tycho remains, protected by ancient tradition among the Kades.
Company: Princel Tycho is actively avoided at Court, but also lives in one of the more isolated wings in the back of the Palace, facing to the Imperial hunting grounds and away from the city. It is said that Tycho is not permitted to leave the Palace to prevent controversy outside, but Tycho also seems to be fine with this, rumored to be using Vampire messengers who enter the hunting grounds for a midnight meeting instead.
Achievements: Princel Tycho is widely rumored to be responsible for the loosening of laws concerning Broods. Broods do indeed still face persecution from the State, but they are no longer outright executed like they were in the 270's and before, so some modicum of social progress has been made. Princel Tycho continues to try and find ways to rid Vampires of their Void-God slavery.
Favored: Princel Tycho currently looks favorably on Florian du Poncaire,
Prince Badouin (Boudewijn)
Relation: Prince Badouin is the oldest son of Princess Fien, an often less mentioned younger sister to Aliandre, and an older sister to Shelia-Manon, thus making Badouin a cousin of the Emperor. Badouin was absolutely not born as an Asha, he spent most of his life as an Ailor in fact, but an unfortunate encounter with the Greed Arken left him cursed to live life in the body of an Asha instead.
History: Prince Badouin had an extremely prolific trade investment scheme that some say bordered on a racketeering business. He spread his work far and wide to rake in huge sums of money, but eventually had an unfortunate run-in with the Greed Arken. He attempted to outsmart the Greed Arken, but realized like so many would, that Arken Pacts rarely benefit the mortal, being instead cursed to live as an Asha.
Supporters: Prince Badouin is pitied by many Kades, but this level of pity works somewhat to his advantage in that it masks the criminal activities he still gets up to. He has long since embraced being an Asha, and even thrived using Asha biology to his advantage at advanced age. He has many supporters, none for the sake of his stances and identity, but because he buys support with bribes.
Ideology: Prince Badouin's ideology, is just money. Badouin is filthy rich, perhaps even richer than the Emperor himself who has to spare a lot of his gold income with the Imperial Family, while Badouin has his own private finance flow that is marred on all sides with Asha Corsair money and Anahera drug money. Badouin believes anything and everything can be bought and money buys all happiness.
Occult: Despite having once been chained in an Arken Pact, Badouin is actually not Occult currently. He went through extensive investigations to prove his identity when the curse happened, and they all came back negative, while also ascertaining his identity as certain. Badouin does not care for the Occult however, seeing them as just another group of people to extort for money on the way to becoming the richest person in the world.
Company: Badouin is often accompanied by loan sharks and other bankers, eager to get a spill of his next scheme for cash to get rich quick. His most recent ploy was financial speculation of turning a certain deceased criminal's golden corpse into non-fungible art, before rug-pulling all the investors and making off with the money when the scheme in speculative value collapsed.
Achievements: Badouin may be the richest person in Regalia, though it is very unclear, because most of his finances are hedged in shady banks and capital collections. Crookback itself was mostly built with his money and the Emperor's directions, though it is very unclear publicly why he chose to spend so much money on Crookback when it owes him nothing, and does not generate any money for him.
Favored: Badouin currently does not have anyone favored in Regalia.
Princess Leona
Relation: Princess Leona is one of Aliandre's youngest daughters, thus making her the Emperor's cousin. Despite her engaging in what is commonly perceived as a crime, her mother Aliandre is still proud of her, because she mends her considerable talent for command and public oration to fielding influence among the sewer dwellers. Princess Leona, is a fervent defender of Sewer Independence.
History: Princess Leona was a gifted naval captain for quite some time until the Chrysant War caused her to lose an eye. Without clear depth perception, her days as captain were over (though she retains a lot of naval tactical knowledge). To replace her obsession with the Regalian Navy, she suddenly heavily invested in the mysteries of the Regalian Sewers, eventually becoming its guarantor of independence and researcher.
Supporters: Princess Leona's supporters are those scholars restrained by moral, ethical, and legal boundaries, who simply want to ply their trade without interference from the clergy or the law. She is supported by those doing dangerous magical research, risky explorations and expeditions to dangerous places, and those who want to make a name with breakthroughs in experimental technology.
Ideology: Princess Leona's ideology is "everything goes", and finds the general idea of debating theory and application incredibly boring, preferring to speed up to the actual execution part. She considers the Regalian Sewers a goldmine of information, but one that is too often interfered with by surface dwellers to truly be studied and lived among, and so the Sewers are her new final frontier.
Occult: Princess Leona is extremely pro-Occult, so the point of even permitting more Occultism than Raymond. She frequently spends time among Vampires and Cahal and Geists, types of Occult who are better able to enter deep into the Sewers and bring her back information and first hand accounts of the lower levels. She supports wide legalization, with unconsented feeding becoming the only illegal part.
Company: Princess Leona is not seen at Court at all. She lives in the Sewers permanently, but still has enough sway and reputation to her name (as well as the support of her mother) that her presence in the sewers alone turns the highest forces of the law back, in fear of accidently murdering a Princeroyal down there, who is actively using her body essentially as a shield to protect the other Sewer dwellers.
Achievements: Much of the reason why Guards, Nobles, and Knights, are not permitted to enter the sewers is because of Princess Leona. Whatever her reasons, she considers the Sewers a truly independent anarchy zone that she has deigned to be the guarantor of, and so long as she lives and breathes at the Palace, the sewers remain a safe haven for all the things not accepted on the street.
Favored: Princess Leona currently does not have anyone favored in Regalia.
Non-Family Courtiers
The Imperial Family is usually surrounded by a whole host Non-Family Courtiers. These individuals possess some sort of function at the Imperial Court, and can also be interacted with through Progressions, and may occasionally also show up during Events. The vast majority of the Courtiers are just sychophants, but the few exceptional members are mentioned below, each with their own specialty.
Name
Description
Viscountess Milena Cadieux du Lierre
Lady Milena Cadieux du Lierre, Viscountess of Centre-Vixe, is a non-Family Courtier with particular skills that exists within the Imperial Court. Milena Cadieux du Lierre is the manager of the unofficial but highly esteemed Court d'Amour, which is a court-à-court that exists on a separate layer from the Imperial Court. She exists as the nexus for all relationship gossip, matchmaking and paramour-caroussing, though only at Court. As such, when anyone has an eye on a member of the Imperial Family or the Imperial Court, they always present to Milena Cadieux first, who appraises them, and informs them which members of Court might be interested in them if any at all. She also always acts as a discreet liaison between the members of court and their favorites outside of it. Milena frequently hovers around the court ladies, and particularly Shelia-Manon Kade.
Iron-Duke Ryker Lampero
Iron-Duke Ryker Lampero is the ruler of the formidable Vultarin Hegemony, a large stretch of Dukelands in the south of the Regalian Archipelago covering multiple Duchies and spheres of influence. Ryker is a wrothful beast of a man who is sometimes also referred to as the Imperial watchdog, because of his habit of threatening anyone who brings warfare to the Regalian Archipelago. He is chiefly the backer of what the Court calls the "Iron Peace", which bars the Nobility from attacking each other. The Iron-Duke himself is also a Silven, and has deep connections with the Occult and the Imperial Family, usually being a nexus for strong warriors who make a name as his champions and liberated Occult alike. The Iron-Duke frequently hovers around the Emperor at court as his unofficial speaking watchdog, as Imperial guards do not speak.
Ëssela-Neveï Vivana Avalleia
Vivana Fëallora Avalleia Bel Ant Avalla-Loseia, often shortened to just Vivana Avalleia, is the Ëssela-Neveïa (Mist Shield) of Solleria. This position grants her the representative of all the Myst Wardens of Solleria, a prestigious military unit across Solleria that exists beyond borders and operates independently from the Dukes. Additionally, she also has a micro-court of her own of Altalar specialists and historians, having both deep connections with some of the rulers in the resurgent Allorn Empire, and a vast wealth of information on Altalar history and customs. She frequently acts as Altalar liaison at court, or informant of Altalar special interests, usually stick somewhere in the background of ongoing events.
Lord Protector Parzival Ravenstad
Lord Protector Parzival Ravenstad is one of the few survivors of the Viridian destruction during the Deathling Crisis, and remained a staunch Knight even after the reforms. Lord Protector Parzival nominally rules the Lordship of Ravenstad, the titular city where his family hails from, however he is more commonly seen at Court. Much like the Lord-Protector Dietrich von Drachenburg, Parzival Ravenstad is in the unique position to universally liked and respected by all the Knightly Orders, and even beyond that in the Military. Lord Protector Parzival always has a finger dipped in each army, and knows well what the status of their morale and inner thoughts are. Lord Protector Parzival is frequently found among Prince Willem Friso Kade and Prince Justinian Kade. He also really likes Reindeer.
Grand Magistrate Dianne Black
Grand Magistrate Dianne Black is not formally Noble (though she is of noble lineage), but she has accrued immense financial wealth and trade connections through her marriage with Christopher Black. She eventually eclipsed his control over the Merchant Guilds of Narlas, and is now the go-to person for all things trade and mercantile in the Empire. It is said that there is not a trade deal she does not know about, and she has a deep and complex understanding of the economy of the Empire, while also being deeply aware of the opinions and resentment of the free traders of the Empire at large. Grand Magistrate Dianne Black usually hovers around Aliandre Kade, on account of having political similarities with the Hiltfrontists.
Bundeskanzler Ulrich Typhonus
BundesKanzler Ulrich Typhonus was once the Archduke of Calemberg, but has since taken a more subtle background role as Bundeskanzler, a position unique to the highly urbanized environment of Calemberg. The Bundeskanzler position afford Ulrich Typhonus far reach in the greater Calemberg area, having the ear of all the wealthy aristocrat families not only of his native Wirtem lands, but also beyond. Ulrich Typhonus is the poster-figure for "old money", nobles who grew up with wealth, and sustain the old court styles and habits. As such, Ulrich Typhonus has the ear of the non-Noble wealthy upper classes, and can fund-raise like no-one else for causes which he finds agreeable. Still, Ulrich is mostly a conservative (with some pragmatic sensibilities) and as such leans in the same direction and presence as Lord Protector Parzival Ravenstad.
Count Leufred du Briërust
Count Leufred du Briërust was once the Duke of Maraisburcke, but relinquished control over the region after the mostly purist population became hostile to him and his Mage wife, eventually settling in the Imperial Palace while retaining some property on the edges of Tirgunn in Osteiermark. Count Leufred is mostly avoided by most of the Palace attendants on account of being Occult, but still has freedom of movement around the Palace, hovering particularly around the Princes. While it is not stated out in the open, the general belief held by those who visit the Imperial Court, is that he acts as a liaison and the eyes and ears of the Dragon aligned. Count Leufred is also a very active detractor from anyone Magical who tries to infiltrate the court.
Mountain Duke Rodderick Howlester
Mountain Duke Rodderick Howlester remains an active member of the Imperial Court, particularly busying himself with matter of legality, and championing the Empire's moves away from a chaotic feudal everything-goes society to one administered by rule of law. The Mountain Duke has generally also been seen as a voice of Peer choice, arguing against State mandated changes being forced on the Nobles, and trying to give them as much leeway as possible to ignore decrees from the central authority of the Empire. As such, the Mountain Duke is diametrically opposed to Typhonus and Ravenstad at Court, remaining a voice for decentralism versus their centralist views. He frequently mingles with Cadieux du Lierre's company, and the Emperor's sons.
Arch-Consul Louis de Basteville
Arch-Consul Louis de Basteville remains an active member of the Imperial Court, particularly busying himself with foreign diplomacy, and acting as an Imperial liaison to advise others on how to approach foreign states and foreign rulers, particularly Ithania. The Arch-Consul is generally also seen as a Pro-Crown division member, who does believe in absolute Monarchy, but would see the Empire split up into different Imperial Mandates led by different Kades. Louis de Basteville does not spend particularly much time with anyone else at court, and seems to dislike practically everyone else. Louis however spends a lot of time with Prince Cedromar in private, especially when Cordenia brings Antonius around.
Lord Protector Dietrich von Drachenburg
Lord Protector Dietrich von Drachenburg remains an active member of the Imperial Court, particularly busying himself with the occupation of Master of the Keep, which is a kind of secretary to the Emperor who acts as the most reliable way to contact him directly without navigating the maze of intrigue at court. The Master of the Keep is also responsible for guiding the Ministers to their relevant authority and occupational expectations, and executing direct decrees from the Emperor without the intervention of the bureaucracy. Lord Protector Dietrich von Drachenburg is often seen with Parzival Ravenstad, and Ulrich Typhonus, as the "Troika of Imperialism", the three old guard who support the Emperor's absolute control (even if it is yet to materialize).
