Emperor Family (NPC corporation)

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The Emperor Family or the Holy Family of the Emperors (colloquially just "the Family") is a powerful political institution in the Amarr Empire. Despite the fact that the Family has no actual official functions in the workings of the Empire, its influence and political clout is far-reaching.

Despite its name, the Emperor Family is not a royal house and indeed not even a single family. When an emperor is crowned they officially leave their royal house and bring their closest family and allies with them to the imperial court. Foreswearing all ties to their old families, the members of each so-called Imperial Household are legally bound to forever serve the imperial throne - no matter who occupies it. This means that even when an emperor dies, their family and servants are not released from service but rather remain at the imperial court to serve the next emperor.

In this way, the Emperor Family is an important instrument of stability and consistency in the empire, preventing radical emperors from causing rapid change. Just as the Theology Council is a check on the emperor’s legislative powers, the Emperor Family is one of many checks on his executive authority.

Since members of the Emperor Family are legally removed from the line of succession in their previous families, newly-crowned emperors can make use of invitations to the Family as a way to prune the lines of their royal house and to secure allies. Since an invitation cannot be refused, it can be used to make sure that a favourite becomes Heir or that troublesome holders are removed in favour of their successors. Of course, such invitations inevitably cause resentment and are often cause for long-lasting animosity.

As many members of the Emperor Family are related to previous emperors, every emperor tends to be surrounded by blood relatives of the Heirs of the royal families. This of course means that an unpopular emperor has many potential enemies close-by, but also that an emperor has access to ways to curry favor with the various Heirs without being seen to bestow gifts on any particular house.

In theory, the Emperor Family is divided into political factions subtly supporting the agendas of the various royal houses, with each new Imperial Household finding allies in long-lost family members. In reality, most members of the Emperor Family are generations removed from their original bloodlines and have little more than token loyalty towards their original house.

Under Heideran VII

Due to Heideran’s exceedingly long life, most close allies of previous emperors died during his reign. Of course old Emperor Family bloodlines remained that could trace their heritage back to the royal houses, but over the course of Heideran’s long reign most of the Emperor Family was influenced by his politics.

The most notable event in the Emperor Family during Heideran’s reign was the Khanid Rebellion. Most of the Khanid faction within the Emperor Family were arrested or made to flee the court, but loyalties are not entirely clear-cut in the Emperor Family and several households with old ties to the Khanid royal family remain in service to the imperial court to this day.

When the previous Court Chamberlain died, Heideran appointed Dochuta Karsoth - an influential member of the kadorite camp in the Emperor Family. Not only that, but Karsoth had an extensive network of allies and contacts within the Family, the Civil Service, and the imperial ministries. This made Karsoth the ideal co-ruler for the aging Heideran.

As Heideran’s health declined, Karsoth effectively took over most of the running of the empire. With an office equivalent to the throne and the political power base to execute his will, Karsoth became the ruler of Amarr in all but name. In connection with his rise to power, the Emperor Family soared to new heights of influence.

Under Doriam II

When Doriam II was crowned, Emperor Family members held more than half of all top-level positions in the Civil Service, Trade Registry, Ministry of War, and Ministry of Internal Order. As the spider at the heart of the Emperor Family’s web, Chamberlain Karsoth had made himself integral to the running of the empire. In almost all respects, the chamberlain was more powerful than the newly-crowned emperor, and despite Doriam’s best efforts to dislodge him Karsoth continued to use the Emperor Family to extend his influence.

The relatively small household Doriam brought with him caused little change to the inner workings of the Emperor Family. Karsoth ensured they were ostracised from the rest of the Family and aside from attending to the emperor they had no real influence.

Under Dochuta Karsoth

During the Karsoth Interregnum, the Emperor Family continued to grow more powerful. Karsoth used them in every way possible to maintain good relations with the royal houses, and practically all offices in the imperial bureaucracy were staffed by members of the Family.

The effect of filling the executive branches of the empire with shrewd and power-hungry holders soon meant that every tier of the ministries and the Civil Service were rife with corruption.

Under Jamyl I

Due to the fact that the Emperor Family was a power base of Karsoth’s allies, Jamyl found little political resistance when she started quietly purging the Emperor Family’s ranks immediately after assuming the throne. With thousands of prominent Family members executed, thrown in jail, enslaved, exiled, or sworn to vows of silence, Jamyl and Chamberlain Haromi have systematically spent her years in power dismantling the power of the Emperor Family.

Despite reports that the Emperor Family was clean of Karsoth’s taint several years ago, the purges continue. Rumors suggest that Chamberlain Haromi’s ongoing investigations of the Emperor Family have more to do with rooting out critics of the empress than lingering loyalists of Dochuta Karsoth.

Whatever the cause is, the fact remains that the Emperor Family under Jamyl is a hollowed-out shell of its former self.

Administrative Departments

Though the Emperor Family has no official powers on its own, its position in Amarr politics and its duties to the throne has led to the establishment of several administrative departments within the Family.

Emperor Family Bureau

Whenever the emperor wishes to be appraised of an issue in the ministries, he can either turn to the Imperial Offices and wait for his enquiry to filter through dozens of managerial levels - or he can send someone directly to perform an inspection. This power of inspection has over the centuries grown into the Emperor Family Bureau, more commonly known as the Throne Inspectors.

As the inspectors are technically charged with their missions directly by imperial edict, it’s easy to think that all of their tasks are high-profile. In reality, most of the edicts the Emperor Family Bureau acts on are centuries old and the inspections are highly routine.

The extent of the duties and powers of the inspectors has varied with different emperors and the political climate between the throne and the Imperial Offices - the Imperial Chancellor and Court Chamberlain. At times of political struggles and administrative difficulties, the emperor can wield the inspectors as a tool to ensure the enforcement of his decrees and edicts. At times of peace and stability, inspections dwindle to basic routine checks.

A secondary function of the Emperor Family Bureau which many emperors have relied on are the regional reports its clerks compile. These digests are compilations of current events and concerns in the different parts of the empire, which are presented to the imperial court at the start of every day.

Emperor Family Academy

Due to their familiarity with the throne and the vast number of talented and influential individuals among their numbers, there has always been a high demand for members of the Emperor Family to assist in the education of young holders. Taking up education was for a long time an easily available fallback profession for imperial courtiers who had fallen out of favour. As the practice of taking on students grew more popular it was eventually decided to formalize the education that the Emperor Family offers.

Learning at the Emperor Family is not quite like studying at any of the imperial universities. Most Emperor Family students have already attended university - or come to the Family Academy after a few years at another school. In some rare cases, arrangements can even be made to allow a student to continue university studies while also studying at the Emperor Family Academy. Every student studies under a mentor from the Emperor Family. The students divide their time between assisting their mentor in their daily work and attending lectures taught by the Emperor Family’s dedicated teachers.

Emperor Family Treasury

Due to their isolation from the greater web of inheritance among holders in the empire, the estates of dead Emperor Family members often fall without legal heirs. In those cases, the wealth and assets fall into the care of the Emperor Family Treasury. With additional income from other operations like the Emperor Family Academy, the treasury is able to bankroll a significant portion of the Family’s operating costs. The remaining necessary funds are provided by the emperor.

The Emperor Family Treasury should not be confused with the Imperial Treasury, which is orders of magnitude larger and funds the operations of the entire empire. The Emperor Family Treasury exists solely to manage the assets of the Emperor Family, and even operates with the caveat that its funds cannot leave the Emperor Family.


See Also