Istarian Politicsand the Empire

[Melanth]

hi ^^ i'm currently working on a fanfiction story series, but have hit a bit of a block. I've been looking all over the forums and can hardly find any information regarding Istarian Politics, the nature of the Empire or how exactly the Gifted fit into it. So far most of the information i'm working with comes from the Timeline, but it is woefully short on current arrangements. So far from a combination of existing lore, gameplay and complete speculation I have:

All the Living Races have signed (in some cases, reluctantly) a non-aggression pact for the duration of the ongoing war against the Withered Aegis.

Most races, with the notable exception of the Dragons, have only a single political faction representing the majority mindset of their race. There seems to be little in the way of race-integral governments, though independant governments take precedence over loyalty to the Empire.

The Empire acts more as a coalition rather than an actual Empire (because the word 'empire' implies conquest and servitude- seemingly all races within the Empire have equal rites and presumably equal voting powers.) All the Living Races are members of this coalition, though not all interact with it readily. The Empire seems to be more a militaristic organisation rather than a political one. Conflicts between the Living Races are dealt with quickly and very harshly.

The Gifted act outside of the influence of any single racial government; though they seem to have an affinity for their 'home' race and its nation, they are not automatically bound by loyalty to it. Presumably the Gifted are better represented by the Empire as a nebulous military organisation; given free reign to travel amongst the lands as they would to better protect their borders, they would naturally be set apart from the rest of their home race by their abilities. Rather than specific races or cities, the Gifted collect into independant Guilds that are not bound to any particular 'official' organisation, but are theoretically sworn to defence of the Empire. Guilds act in a way similar to private military contractors (PMCs) except that they draw their pay from the vaults of the Empire.

Aside from this, i'm stumped. Could a Dev or anyone with more information add to or clarify this?

[LaughingOtter]

You should get the answers to some of your questions shortly, so I hesitate to answer anything with any great detail right at the moment.

What can be said is that all races are represented on the Imperial Council (Lunus and Helian are represented seperatly) and that each race has its own unique, traditional method of government. The Sslik, for example, rule by the concensus of the elders of all the tribes, who in turn speak the will of the adults of their tribes. The Dwarves are ruled by a hereditary monarchy, though the last king, Dralnok, vanished several decades ago, along with the hammer needed to confirm the next king.

Disputes between the races are resolved by the Council. Issues between members of the same race are generally resolved internally. The Empire is indeed not really an empire; most of the time, when people refer to "the Empire", they are referring to the bureaucracy that manages the operations and logistics of the war effort and the inter-racial alliance itself.

If you have specific questions, feel free to PM them to me and I'll do what I can to answer them. If the information is something that can be posted, I'll be happy to add it to this thread.