The Empire of the Isles

The Empire of the Isles is the hegemonic power of the known world, encompassing the entirety of the Isles. Primarily, it consists of the Kingdoms of Gristin, Fathain, Dunlon, and Talmae, however no area of the Isles is truly not under some degree of its control.

Ruled by a hereditary Emperor or Empress, a legislative Parliament helps curb possible excesses of the monarch, and a large, aristocratic upper class dominates Imperial political affairs.

Territory
The Empire’s control extends across all of the eponymous Isles, namely the four largest ones, but the smaller islands are all part of various Imperial dependencies. Furthermore, a colony has been established in Panmania, although the great distance between the Empire and this colony has caused it to be run far more independently than anywhere in the Isles, and the colony could be considered more under the control of the Order of Everyman than the Empire itself.

History
(In progress...)

Government
Despite the Empire being a centralized power, each of the major Isles is still somewhat autonomous, and legally still a kingdom. The notable exception to this is Gristin, in which the Emperor or Empress of the Isles has always also been the kingdom’s monarch.

Below the Emperor of Empress is the Imperial Parliament, headed by the Prime Minister, on which the Imperial monarch is somewhat dependent to pursue his or her policies. Despite members of Parliament being nominally elected to their positions, it is truly an oligarchy, with membership limited to the aristocracy. Furthermore, various parliamentary “blocs” have formed, and important families control these to the end of having massive shares of influence and power.

Furthermore, each kingdom (except Gristin) has their own parliament, functioning essentially the same way as the Imperial one, just on a smaller scale. These are all as oligarchal as the Imperial Parliament, each containing their own blocs and influential families. The Dependencies, meanwhile, have the monarch of a kingdom as their official head of state - although control of said dependencies is almost always functionally done by an appointed Governor instead of the monarch themselves.

Military
The Imperial Navy, led by the Grand Admiral of the Fleet, is the Empire's military force. There is no separate ground force, instead soldiers being under naval command and stationed aboard ships and at ports. As the Empire’s authority ensures peace between the Isles, the Navy almost entirely serves to protect civilian ships from piracy, as well as being an obvious deterrent against any rebellion.

Among subjects of the Empire, the Navy is held in much prestige, with most families who can afford such buying commissions for male children, especially heirs. Those who cannot are still often connected to the military, but instead must enlist into less prestigious positions.

Religion
Church and State are firmly separated in the Empire, with governmental authorities wielding only secular powers and leaving matters of faith to the Order of Everyman. Despite this, the Way of Everyman is functionally a state religion, as the Order is the hegemonic (in fact, only) religious authority in the Empire, and Everymen are commonly found working as chaplains or advisors among the government.