The 5th Cohort/2nd Legion of Heavy Infantry of the Nordic Empire of Skyrim were given orders from the Crown Minister of War to take up positions around the Pale Pass during the 3rd Great War. The 800 strong unit made up of highly trained heavy infantrymen were meant as a vanguard. They were rushed forward to the Pass as the rest of the Army of Whiterun was still being massed. The Cohort, under the command of Colonel Maxen von Heldenhower took up positions and dug in for defense. The elves of the 3rd Thalmor Alliance marched forth unto the breach. The elven vanguard was alone, 20,000 soldiers strong. The Nords lasted for four days before they began to feel the effects of superior forces. Just as they were about to collapse, the Army of Whiterun, in in of itself a subunit of Army Group White, came to the rescue, two days later, the rest of Army Group White would rendezvous including the Army of the Pale and the Army of Falkreath.
The contemporary monarch, Anastasia V, appointed Haber Ostankino as Crown Commissioner to the Isles of Sun. The Isles were being transferred to the Nordic Empire of Skyrim after their victory over the Alusions. Haber's brothers, Johann and Georges, were senior military and treasury officials respectfully. It was discovered that Georges Ostankino committed treason after he was caught selling financial information to the Altmer. Treason was almost exclusively dealt with by the death penalty, but his brothers influence stayed the headsman's axe and instead he was transferred to the Lubishyencka Prison on the island of Heran. Helmuth Brandt was the prison's Warden-General. Johann Ostankino was promoted to the rank of Field Marshal and given command of Army Group Hjaal. Haber Ostankino was made the Imperial Ambassador to Cyrodiil. Once the War of the Five Thistles started, Army Group Hjaal was the first army group to be ordered into the field. While the Nordic forces were tenacious and victorious, an unfortunate surprise attack left many of the command staff officers injured and Field Marshal Johann Ostankino dead. Command of the army group was given to Colonel General Carl Heinz temporarily. Johann's son, Xavier Ostankino, was than a Vice Lieutenant in the Army of Haafingar. Haber Ostankino was promoted to Imperial Chief of the Northern Station, but quickly promoted again to State Secretary for Plenipotentiary Affairs.
Under the reign of Fritz I, Xavier Ostankino had been promoted to the rank of General der Heavy Infantry commanding the 1st Legion of Heavy Infantry, Army of Falkreath. Haber Ostankino had passed away and his son, Pavel Ostankino was the Director-General of the Imperial Storm Guard. Georges Ostankino's son, Stepan Ostankino had a lot of trouble after his father was imprisoned. He finally got control of his life and was the Chief of the Imperial Revenue Service. The Ostankinos were making waves in the government. With members in the treasury, justice, and military posts, they had high influence. Pavel Ostankino became aware of a secret Imperial Archive Vault and tried to investigate it further. Fritz I did not enjoy one of his own 'minister's' snooping around where they shouldn't. He ordered Storm-Colonel Leigitz, commander of the Assault Force of the ISG to assassinate their own boss, the Director-General. They succeeded and came up with a cover story. Cousins Xavier and Stepan became suspicious and dug further themselves. Fritz I decided he had to tell them the truth about Stepan's father, Georges Ostankino. Fritz I held a private audience with only himself, Xavier, Stepan, and Boris, Pavel's son, Ostankino. He explained that Georges had uncovered a secret operation within the government and had threatened to take it to the public. Boris Ostankino immediately resigned his commission in the navy and disappeared never to be seen by anyone for the rest of his life. His sister, Pavel's daughter, Sofie Ostankino inherited her father's estate.
The new monarch, Heinz II, decided to give Pavel Ostankino the Medal of the Imperial Star posthumously. All the lines of the Ostankinos died out except for the line from Haber Ostankino. His descendent, Damir Ostankino would bring about a wave through the Empire by revolutionizing the workflow of production. Following in his ancestor's path, Damir went into the Foreign Office. He would become the Crown Commissioner for the Isles of Sun, the very position that Haber Ostankino once held. Damir would then become the Crown Commissioner for Bruma. Later, he would become the Governor-General of the Nordic Channel Islands. Further in his career, he became the Lord Deputy of Solstheim. He held this position for only a few weeks however as the Lord Lieutenant passed away suddenly. He was immediately given the position of Lord Lieutenant and appointed his first Minister-President of Solstheim. After serving for only two years in this position, he was ordered to return to the capital and assume the posts of State Secretary and Second Lord of Plenipotentiary Affairs. He was only 50 years of age when he pasted his four-year mark on serving in these positions. Heinz II's First Lord of Plenipotentiary Affairs retired and left a vacuum. Heinz II and his close advisors narrowed the field down to Damir Ostankino and Wolff von Hegland. Very quickly, Heinz II signed Damir Ostankino's commission scroll and ordered the Lord High Chancellor to affix the state seal. As with all commission scrolls of Great Officers of State, it was taken to the Imperial Archive Vault and entrusted with the Arch Curator.
Damir would soon be one of Heinz II's closest advisors. He also built a friendship with the High King and started advising on issues past foreign affairs. While he got on the High King's good graces, he accumulated more power, and power breeds contempt for that power. By the time he was 70, he had many, many enemies. When he was 73, while walking back to his manor from the Blue Palace, he was set upon by assassins. While he was old and was used to the foreign office, he always carried a blade and knew how to use it. He killed two of the four assassins, severely injured a third, but finally died from the fourth. Damir Ostankino was given a state funeral and the High King ordered all that were associated with the assassination to be round up and brought be for him.
Pyter Messmer, a Commandant General, commanded the XVII Corps, attached to the Army of Eastmarch. During the War of Sanjin's Betrayal, Messmer and the XVII was assigned to defend the eastern pass along the Dragon Tail Mountains. The 35,000-man strong corps was more than enough to defend a pass. The Dark Elves came with an invading army of over 100,000. In the ensuing Battle of the Pass, Messmer repeatedly pushed the elves back and back. After the 2 ½ month battle, the Nordic corps had been reduced to the size of only 12,000 men. The elves were just about to break through the beleaguered nords when the rest of the Army of Eastmarch marched forth and filled the gap. Field Marshal Anyon Grigori, Lord-Protector of the Eastern March and commander of Army Group White, personally recommended to the High King that Pyter Messmer be immediately promoted to Colonel General or even Field Marshal. Anyon Grigori later died in battle less than six months later. Pyter Messmer was already a Colonel General but due to the war, officers were being lost at greater rates and Pyter Messmer was promoted to Field Marshal and made commander of Army Group White, later, he was transferred and given command of the Crown Lands Expeditionary Force. Shortly before the war ended in favor of the nords, he was given the additional honor of being made Field Marshal-in-Chief of the Forces. He would continue in this capacity and later hold the position of Chief of Staff of the Imperial General Staff serving under Generalissimo Kayla Vann in her capacity as Chief of the Imperial General Staff. Vann would soon retire, and the High King promoted and appointed Pyter Messmer to Generalissimo and Chief of the Imperial General Staff. Messmer would also later hold the position of Crown Minister of War concurrently during another war. He had already set his retirement date and the High King decided to reward him for his service by making him Generalissimo-in-Chief of the Forces, the highest rank in the Nordic Army, second only to the Sovereign's Lord General-in-Chief of the Forces and Grand Marshal of the Imperial Armies.
Ludwig Bach von Eison, was a servant of the Crown for many years of his life. He started out and stayed in the Office of the State for his career. Slowly pulling himself up, he was soon appointed the Chief of the Imperial Civil Service. As knowledge of his skills and advice, he was soon chosen as the new Minister for Administrative Affairs. Slowly, he climbed the rungs of the political ladder to achieve success. Again, he was moved to the equal, yet more influential, position of First Secretary of the State, coordinating all affairs between the Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Great Officers of State, and the bureaucracy. He was further promoted by the High King for his service to Second Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers. Lucky for him, the First Deputy Chairman passed away suddenly and a position opened up for Bach. He served in his capacity as First Deputy Chairman for some years, he accumulated more years in this position than he had in any other before it. Finally, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, effectively the head of government, resigned. The High King and his private advisors narrowed down the field to a son of a lord, Lord Johann Sift, and Ludwig Bach von Eison. Both candidates made their case before the High King. Eison focused on his accomplishments and skills, while Sift focused on more ceremonial subjects of the office. Recognizing the difference, the High King immediately appointed Ludwig Bach von Eison as Chairman of the Council of Ministers. After serving for 8 years, he was given the additional position of Lord President of the Imperial Crown Council. He was soon made the Earl of Cuuldgard. He effectively became the second-most powerful man in the entire Empire shadowed only by the High King himself. Due to his immense power, the High King ordered a small group from the Kaiserliche Schutztruppe, Imperial Protection Force, of the Imperial Storm Guard to have a detachment serve as the bodyguard for Earl Ludwig Bach von Eison.
The Imperial Storm Guard was founded as an elite, special forces, homeland defense force, separate from both the military and the Imperial Sovereign Guards with its own separate rank structure. The Storm Guard was made up of five major 'forces.' One of which was given authority over a geographic region while the other four were more specialized in their authority. The first and the largest was the 'Patrol Force,' this was the only one that had a geographic area of authority. The force was split up by Hold with each detachment led by a Storm-Colonel. Their responsibility was being the elite forces that were called in by the local Hold Guards. Second, was the 'Assault Force,' this group was specialized in attacking, taking over, and other such offensive operations such as storming a terrorist stronghold or bandit stronghold. Third, was the 'Security Force,' this group was concerned with the protection of government centers, buildings, and even some individuals. Fourth, was the 'Observation & Search Force,' responsible for intelligence gathering and other, more stealth operations. Lastly, was the Kaiserliche Schutztruppe, or Imperial Protection Force. They were considered the most elite of the five 'Forces,' and recruited from the other four. Their primary responsibility was to reinforce, and in some cases take over, the responsibilities of the Imperial Sovereign Guards.
The Imperial Sovereign Guards were made up of two separate regiments, each responsible for the security of the Sovereign. The first, more ceremonial, was the Imperial Household Guard. Their job was to give more of a ceremonial guard, they were however, fully trained and elite soldiers of the Nordic Army, ready for any threat to the Sovereign. The other was the Imperial Dragon Guard. Their primary concern was for the actual protection of the Sovereign him/herself.
In the 5th Era, the Blue Palace, the primary residence and workplace of the Nordic Sovereign for a 1000 years, was renamed to the Grand Sovereign Palace. The High Queen gave the responsibility of the changes to the First Lord of the Treasury and the Crown Minister of Finance. There became an internal battle between the Imperial Crown Council and the Council of State. While both chosen by the Sovereign, the Imperial Crown Assembly of the Nordic Empire of Skyrim had more say over the Council of State. The High Queen, tired of the encroachment of democratic tides, immediately dissolved the State Assembly and ordered the entire Council of State to be fired, while it existed as a body, no one was a member. The power that was broken between the two, was returned to the Imperial Crown Council. Then, the Jarls of Skyrim called upon the Council of Plutarchs, the only body in the Empire able to overturn the decision of the Sovereign. The Council convened in the Hall of Jorrvaskr in the city of Whiterun. After discussing the subject for some time, they decided that although it wasn't the most politically best option, Lania IV had acted well within her powers to dissolve Her Majesty's Imperial Crown Assembly. When she finally called for a new Assembly, both the Lord High Speaker and the Speaker of the People's Chamber requested an audience with the High Queen. They requested that the Assembly gain more authority over the Council of Ministers. The High Queen responded by stating that there was no actual Council left and that if they pushed her, she would immediately declare Assembly prorogued. The Speakers immediately dropped the topic and for the rest of their careers refused to hear any mention of it within either of their respective body's.
After a war with the Altmer of the Summerset Isles, the Nordic Empire acquired the Beland Islands. To assist in the transfer of control, the High King, on advice from the Chairman of the Council and the Crown Minister of Foreign Affairs, appointed Thorgrind Haverrmaak as the first Crown Commissioner of the Beland Islands. As was his responsibility, he appointed the former governor of the island to the post of Resident-Administrator. Haverrmaak was the only one to serve as Crown Commissioner as the Belands were soon made official Crown Lands. For ease of use, the High King kept Haverrmaak and he became the Belands first Governor-General and appointed the same person to the post of Premier of the Crown Lands of the Beland Islands. After only about eight years, the High King made the Beland Islands official Imperial Lands and appointed Haverrmaak to be the first Lord Lieutenant of the islands where he once again chose the same person to act as Minister-President.
As Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Ragnar Bjorn, ordered Kjal Mana, the Crown Minister of Finance to close off all ports to any ships registered to the Crown Lands of Atmora. After extreme backlash, he immediately reversed the order. When questioned by the High King on why he would do such an act, he stated that Atmorans could not be trusted, the High King at once relieved Bjorn from his post as Chairman of the Council of Ministers. Meanwhile, the High King established the Imperial Bank of Skyrim as the official bank of the empire, one that was partially owned by the state. The Imperial Bank was run by a Board of Governors and led by the Executive Director, chosen from the Board, who in turn, were chosen and appointed by the Sovereign. Pieter Sarsgard, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the IBS had a meeting with the bank's Executive Director and the State Secretary for Treasury Affairs. What was discussed is unknown to the full extent however it did go along the lines of funding a rebellion on the Diamond Islands. An informant in the bank reported to the Sovereign of the treason that was taking place and it was dealt with immediately. Word was sent to Barren Schuffer, the Crown Commissioner of the Diamond Islands.
The Sovereign of the empire created by imperial decree, the Imperial Council of Financial Affairs. It was made up of the Sovereign, the First Lord of the Treasury, the Crown Minister of Finance, the State Secretary for Treasury Affairs, Chairman of the IBS, the Executive Director of the IBS, the Minister of the Budget, and the Lord Treasurer of Skyrim. Similarly, they also established the Imperial Defense Council. The IDC was made up of the Sovereign, the Lord High Admiral, Lord Constable, the First Lord of the Imperial Admiralty Board, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, the Crown Minister of War, the Crown Minister of Naval Affairs, the Lord High Chancellor, and the Crown Minister of Justice. The Sovereign would appoint one of the members, typically the Lord Constable or the Lord High Admiral, to the position of Supreme War Commissioner. It is important to note that this position is not a promotion, rather a simple title to have a ladder for the hierarchy. The last and most important was the Imperial Security Council. This was different than the Defense Council as this was for the whole country not just the military. It was made up of the Sovereign, the Supreme War Commissioner if there was one, the Lord Constable and the Crown Minister of War, the Lord High Admiral and Crown Minister of Naval Affairs, the First Lord of the Treasury and Crown Minister of Finance, the First Lord of Plenipotentiary Affairs and Crown Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Crown Minister of Agricultural Affairs.
A portion of the Board of Governors of the IBS offered financial support to Grand Prince Lief Kesholl if he were to try to overthrow his cousin and assume the throne for himself. The Chairman of the Board found out and immediately reported to the Sovereign of the treachery. After they had been dealt with, the Sovereign turned his attention to other matters. Most interesting to him was the foundation of the Nordic Trading Company. Similar to the IBS, it was only partially owned by the state and it was also run by a Sovereign-appointed board. The Board of Directors led by the Director-General whom reported to the Sovereign. The Board chose the Governor-President whom led the day-to-day operations of the company. Explorers under contract of the Nordic Trading Company discovered the land of Ioglad. Governor-President Hiemgad appointed Johann Schmitz as the first Chief Executive of the Presidency of Ioglad, the reigning Company-appointed government. Johann Schmitz served for eight years as Chief Executive when he was made a member of the Board of Directors by the High Queen. He was later elected to the position of Director-General of the Nordic Trading Company. The Director-General of the NTC, the Chairman of the IBS, and other business leaders went to the Grand Sovereign Palace and requested that the High King establish a public stock exchange center in Skyrim. The King relented and established the Whiterun Public Stock Exchange. Johann Schmitz was planning on stepping down to go into retirement when the High King requested that he serve as the first Minister of Public Stocks, a position recently made to oversee the growth of the WPSE under the umbrella of the Office of the Treasury. Schmitz accepted and was sworn in.
Mattias Titus was an officer in the Imperial Navy serving as the Fleet Commander. Holding the rank of Admiral General-in-Chief of the Sea, he was a well-respected and well-experienced member of the navy. After the War of the Five Rings started, he ramped up the training and patrols of all the fleets at sea. He continually requested a frontline command. The First Lord of the Imperial Admiralty Board and the Crown Minister of Naval Affairs both denied his request multiple times. After Vice Admiral Harrod Alexander, commander of the South Sea of Ghosts Fleet, failed to secure the Barren Straits and was removed to an onshore command, he finally got his wish and was given command to take the Barren Straits away from the Cyrodillians. He successfully took them after an all-day battle. In the ensuing months, he continually took advantage of the enemy's weaknesses, they couldn't even find a worthy commander to go up against him in a fight. He was quickly promoted to Fleet Admiral and given command of the Western Sea's Battle Fleet. He destroyed his enemy's capacity to wage serious war on the sea when he struck the very center of the ship building and naval command at the city of Anvil. He was quickly transferred back to Naval Headquarters to become the acting Second Lord of the Imperial Admiralty Board. Harrod Alexander's brother, Rudolf Alexander, was an officer in the Imperial Navy as well and quite a good one at that too. Holding the rank of Counter Admiral, he commanded the II Flotilla of the South Sea's Battle Fleet. After organizing and commanding the successful Operation Blasco, he was awarded the honorific "von" and was promoted to Vice Admiral. Later, Vice Admiral Rudolf Alexander von Oldenburg was ordered by Second Lord of the Imperial Admiralty Board to escort the Imperial Representatives to the Beland Islands, the location of the peace settlements. When they arrived, the Minister-President of the Beland Islands, a man who was vocal over his disapproval of the Nordic Empire, demanded that they leave the islands immediately or they would be attacked. Admiral Alexander made it clear that they too were a part of the Nordic Empire and this would be close to treason. The Minister-President did not relent and that very night marched on Imperial House, the residence of the Lord Lieutenant, and set it ablaze. The High King, on behalf of the Imperial Admiralty Board, ordered the uprising to be put down and ordered Alexander to do it. After putting it down using his vessels and his marines, he was made the first Military Governor of the Beland Occupation Zone.
Hagar Kimb, a veteran in the Foreign Office, was chosen to serve as the High King's Special Representative to the Ooraag Negotiations. The land of Ooraag was under the authority of the Nordic Trading Company. The political friction came from the fact that while the NTC had a royal charter to operate independently in Ioglad, they received no such charter for Ooraag. Kimb spoke with the Chief Executive of the Presidency of Ooraag and the Governor-President of the NTC. To put it simply, he told them that unless the Nordic Trading Company relinquished control of Ooraag, than the Sovereign, with support from the State Council, would revoke both the NTC's charter over Ioglad, but also dissolve the entire Board of Governors of the company as well. He made it clear that these were not negotiations but a demand that should be met with the highest form of respect. Kimb gave them one day to decide what they would do. The next day, Roland Fray, Chief Executive of the Presidency of Ooraag, officially stepped down from his position, and all company assets in Ooraag were either removed or forfeit. The position of State Secretary for Ooraag was created in the Colonial Office. Roland Fray, now out of a job, was recognized for his administrative skill and was offered to serve as the first Crown Commissioner for Ooraag. He accepted and soon after appointed his first Resident-Administrator. Thorgrind Haverrmaak, now serving as the first State Secretary for Ooraag, stepped down and went into retirement after his expansive career in the Foreign and Colonial Offices. Fray was chosen to replace him as State Secretary for Ooraag. In turn, he recommended to the Sovereign, as State Secretary, who should be the new Crown Commissioner. As with all change in governments, until a Resident-Administrator or Crown Commissioner was chosen, the Commander-in-Chief, Ooraag, assumed acting powers to run the land, from the State Secretary, until the new government was chosen. The Commander-in-Chief, Ooraag, Major General Claiborne Fargo, served in the capacity as Acting Crown Commissioner of Ooraag for longer than any other person in an acting capacity in the history of the Empire. He was finally relieved from his acting position after Helmuth Marth was appointed to the position of Crown Commissioner. Right after, the Nordic-Telmand War went under way. Fargo was the highest-ranking military officer in the area. He signal-handedly fought back the invading Telmanders with only the 7th Infantry Division and the local militia forces at hand. After, he was promoted to Colonel General, passing over the rank of Commandant General.
The people of Ioglad attempted a rebellion against the ruling Nordic Trading Company. Tired of their corrupt and over-stretched ruling, the Sovereign finally revoked their charter granting them control of Ioglad. High Queen Lania IV formally appointed the last Chief Executive of the Presidency of Ioglad, to be the first Crown Commissioner of Ioglad, subordinate to the State Secretary for Ioglad. After only a brief period, Sinmar Hjalk, the Crown Commissioner, was further elevated to the position of Viceroy and Governor-General of Ioglad.
Lania IV, along with the IAB Committee on Arms and Logistics, commissioned two new vessels to be built for the Imperial Navy. They were the Supreme Sovereign and the Lord Imperial. The Sovereign would serve as the personal vessel and flagship of the High King or Queen. The Imperial would serve as the flagship of the Lord High Admiral. After some discussion, it was decided it would serve instead as the flagship for the First Lord of the Imperial Admiralty Board. After discussions that it may cause unwanted political and military tension in the future, the High Queen decided to commission a third vessel for the Lord High Admiral, the Lord of the Sea. All three of the vessels were decided to be a part of the Imperial Grand Home Fleet, under the direct command of the First Lord of the Admiralty.
Nordic Ooraag had been demanding their independence from the empire for some time. While there were numerous advantages to keeping Ooraag, it was also very expensive to defend and administer as it was farther than even Ioglad. After some negotiations, the High Queen formally recognized the new state of the Republic of Ooraag. The concessions that were demanded by the nords were fair treatment to any Nordic citizens whom decided to stay in Ooraag, the Ooraags had to recognize and support the continuation of an Imperial Naval Station on Ooraag and ensure its safety to their best extent, and finally, they were required to sell a maximum of 20% of all Ooraag Clemenite ore to the empire. After the Mani Kilui, the Chairman of the Provisional Executive Authority, had a meeting with the rest of the provision authority, they signed the deal and the Republic of Ooraag was officially independent from the Nordic Empire. Mani Kilui was elected the first State President of the Republic of Ooraag.
The state of the empire was worsening. The Kesvick-Hollënberg dynasty had ruled Skyrim since it was discovered. Under the reign of Heinz III, many lords in the eastern part of Skyrim began rebelling, unlike previous rebellions though, many in the government sympathized with them. Theobald Jaken von Ipson, the Earl of Plavon, was chosen from among the treasonous lords as their leader. So began the 2nd Civil War. On one side, you had the forces still loyal to the High King, all of the colonies and predominately the western part of the empire. On the other hand, you had the forces loyal to the lords and to the Earl of Plavon. It was a long war and one that was not always certain, but eventually, the forces loyal to the High King finally found victory and during the Battle of South Eastmarch, the Duke of Roonwulf, Generalissimo and Chief of the Imperial General Staff, the top commander of the High King's forces defeated and slew the Earl of Plavon in single combat. All territories that had pledged loyalty to the rebellion were occupied except for The Rift as it became common knowledge that it was coerced and forced into doing it. The High King, not wanting to subjugate his own people moved for a policy of reconciliation. Ten years after the war had ended, the last occupied holds were emptied of imperial troops and finally recognized as fully-fledged holds within Skyrim. While the Imperial forces had won the war, the Crown would change forever as it was demanded that the Sovereign finally hand over power and act in tandem with a representative government. The Sovereign and the Crown would remain and do not doubt that it would still very powerful, but there were some subjects that had to refer to the government. The Sovereign could still prorogue and choose his own ministers, but he had to choose the Chairman of the Council of Ministers from the Imperial Crown Assembly. The Sovereign made it clear to all though that the Crown was and would continue to be the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Armed Forces and to further this, the positions of Chief of the Imperial General Staff and First Lord of the Imperial Admiralty Board would report directly to the Sovereign and not to the Crown Ministers of War and Naval Affairs, respectfully. This set up lasted only 14 more years until during the reign of Anastasia VI, the people, fed up with the corruptibility of the Crown Assembly, chose to give all previously demanded power back to the Sovereign to wield.
When the civil war first broke out, with the loss of their biggest asset, Ioglad, and the attention of the empire focused on the war, the Nordic Trading Company's Board of Directors, against the wishes of the Governor-President declared the Company bankrupt and the Director-General signed the last piece of Company that handed over any more assets it had to the empire. The members of the Board went their separate ways. The Governor-President never forgave the Board for its apparent betrayal to the empire, he was a non-Nord. After the war had ended however, Heinz III started a commission that put money into a royal trust that would be used to bring back the NTC. During the reign of Anastasia VI, past members came back and used the money to purchase nearly 20% of all trading routes used by the empire becoming the largest single owner by company of trading routes. The Board of Directors was reestablished, however, the Sovereign laid down by Imperial Decree that due to its past, the Director-General of the NTC was to give a monthly report to the Sovereign on any and all proceedings of the company, no matter how small the matter was. Further, in its first existence, the Board really only appointed the Governor-President and then laid back and got rich, now, they were required to put more effort into both the company and overseeing the Governor-President, who during the first existence, had a remarkable amount of independence. The land of Tamriel had not been sitting back and watching the Nords, they had their own problems too. The Imperial Bank of Skyrim had lent out so many loans to neighboring countries that the Bank become extremely wealthy. At one point due to the amount of revenue and interest it was receiving, a member of the Board of Governors was paid a minimum of 2,000,000 Septims a year. The Chairman of the Bank and the Executive Director was reportedly paid nearly 6,000,000 Septims a year. The Whiterun Public Stock Exchange was also expanding to include companies outside of the empire. Interestingly enough, the Nordic Trading Company was the largest company to exist that was not registered with the WPSE, thereby making to unable to be invested in by anyone who wanted. As a partially state-owned company, 30% of all yearly revenue accrued by the NTC was to go directly to the Imperial Coffers, 0.5% of which went into the Sovereign's personal pocket. The IBS, while still partially state-owned had much more as they were only required to give 8% of yearly revenue to the government, the leadership was still chosen by the Sovereign, however.
The domestic situation in Skyrim had stabled. However, a still very large problem existed, that was the capital. Traditionally, the capital of Skyrim was just wherever the High King was from. Due to this fact though, the city of Solitude in western Skyrim had been the capital for over a thousand years. This had finally sent many of the other holds reeling as Haafingar was considered much more pomp then the rest of Skyrim. After receiving so much criticism, the High King finally called a Moot. All the Jarls of Skyrim met and pleaded their case to the Sovereign over the fact that there needed to be a new capital, independent of any hold. It was decided that a parcel of land, set between The Pale, Whiterun, and Hjaalmarch was chosen. The land was to be named the Imperial Capital District. In the many holds, the Jarls chose someone to serve as the hold's steward. Similar to Crown Commissioners and Governor-Generals. The Sovereign would be considered the ICD's 'Jarl' and would appoint a Baron-Administrator to serve as the city's chief executive, in charge of the day-to-day operations of the city. Igor Hjalk was chosen by the Sovereign to serve as the first Baron-Administrator of the Imperial Capital District. With none of the Imperial offices that made it so rich and popular around anymore, the hold of Haafingar reverted back to the same social status as the other holds. The confusion arose on what to do with the Grand Sovereign Palace. It was, by Imperial Decree, the primary residence and workplace of the Sovereign. To amend the agreement, the Sovereign decided that they would stay in Solitude, but leave the majority of the government offices to the newly established Imperial Capital District. This caused confusion and it was a bureaucratic nightmare. After only a year-and-a-half, the Sovereign once again called a Moot to fix the situation. After concessions, it was finally decided to revert back to the original situation as using Solitude as the capital city. The Imperial Capital District was still an unanswered question. It was decided that it would not change, and it would still house some of the lesser-important offices, or maybe, some of the most important ones? No one actually knew. It was renamed to the Imperial District and the post of Baron-Administrator carried over.
After his mother passed into Sovngarde, Friedrich XXIV Wilhelm was crowned High King of the Nordic Empire of Skyrim. It was under him that the Empire would see its greatest expanse. Under his Sovereignty, the empire stretched all across the northern part of Tamriel as well as many overseas' colonies. Because of the large expanse, the High King formed by Imperial Decree, the Council of Commissioners, a group that contained all the Crown Commissioners of the empire and the Sovereign. While the Crown Commissioners usually went through their respective State Secretary's and the Crown Minister of the Colonies, this new Council allowed the Crown Commissioners to speak to the Sovereign one-on-one. Due to their expansive empire, the Crown Minister of the Colonies quickly became an important office in the Council of State. The office went from overseeing the executive rule of the colonies, it quickly evolved into everything including trade within and throughout the colonies. It eventually reached the importance of the Crown Minister of Foreign Affairs.
With the resurgence of the Nordic Trading Company, they discovered a new land again, this time, they named it 'King Ottokar's Land', in honor of the first High King of the Empire, Valdimar I Ottokar. Like all previous lands, they established a presidency to exercise executive rule and the Governor-President of the Company appointed Igor Hjalk, now out of a job, to be the first Chief Executive of the Presidency of King Ottokar's Land. The Director-General and the Board at large requested that the High King grant them a royal charter to operate in the land. Recognizing their effort to act in a respectful and legal manner, Friedrich XXIV Wilhelm granted the to operate over the land with a royal charter. The Nordic Trading Company went through a major rehaul top-to-bottom. The Board of Directors and the Director-General were left alone, but the position of Governor-President was abolished and replaced with the office of the President of the Nordic Trading Company. Further, the positions that ruled over the Company's colonies were changed from Chief Executives to Governors. Igor Hjalk was therefore sworn in as the first Governor of the Presidency of King Ottokar's Land. They further discovered the massive island of Tugrousia. The island of Tugrousia was discovered to be the single largest landmass in the world and the Company quickly sought a royal charter to operate in the newly discovered land. Owing to the fact that they could revert the decision at any time, the High King granted them the charter to operate over the newly discovered land. The whole operation was kept secret so no other company or country would try to take it before they company had dug in and acquired royal charter. Like always, a presidency was established on the land to govern it and Johann Schwartz was chosen by the Board and the President to act as the island's first Governor of the Presidency of Fort Wilhelm. It was a very large and largely unexplored land, so the presidency was headquartered in the largest of the numerous company forts that dotted the landscape. The Cyrodiil Empire, tired of not getting any new land, landed on the island, and without provocation, attacked many of the settlements and forts, trying to take over the island, the only two forts to hang on were Fort Wilhelm and Fort Schmitz, the last open port controlled by the NTC. The Governor trapped in Fort Wilhelm appealed to the Board of Directors for assistance. They in turn, went to the Sovereign and begged him to lend Imperial support to push back the Cyrodiilians. He had two options; he had just signed a peace treaty with the Cyrodiilians and did not want to start more conflict, on the other hand, if they took the island, the Empire would be robbed of great riches. He finally ordered the Crown Lands Expeditionary Force, under the command of Colonel General Heimdall Hankred, to make way to Tugrousia. When they landed, the learned that Fort Wilhelm fell, but Fort Schmitz had held on. The Governor had perished in the fighting over Fort Wilhelm and the most-senior company person on the island was Chief Agent Lief François. General Hankred immediately marched on the Cyrodiilians and pushed them back. After another year-and-a-half, they had pushed the Cyrodiilians off the island and the company appointed Lief François to succeed Schwartz as the next Governor of the Presidency of Fort Wilhelm.
By Imperial Decree, Helena VII, High Queen of the Empire, declared that Ulbricht Stormblade, 32nd Graf of Stormblade, her personal seneschal along with his post of Lord Constable. He also served as her Lord Captain General for her coronation. During the reign of Helena VII, there came to be a group known popularly as the "Group of Three." They were three people who Helena VII trusted and advised her throughout her Sovereignty. They were; Dominic Rahb, the Lord Chief Justice of the Empire, Sera Motte, the Lord President of the Imperial Crown Council and Lord Plenipotentiary, and finally, Ulbricht Stormblade, the Lord Constable and personal seneschal to the Sovereign. There was an additional person who was considered an unofficial member due to that fact that he wasn't even in Skyrim most of the time. Sir Gerhard Bet, Baron of South Pale, Lord Lieutenant of Beschensdale. When the Ruashitch Scandal occurred, Robert der Ruashitch, the President of the Court of High Appeals for Skyrim, was found that he had whisked away dozens of people to prisons and to executions who were later found to be innocent. Helena VII immediately made the Imperial Commission for the Judiciary, its members? None other than the "Group of (now) Four." Baron Bet was recalled to Skyrim and left control in the hands of the Lord Deputy. Helena appointed Sera Motte as chair of the commission and ordered it to investigate and prosecute Ruashitch. Dominic Rahb requested that the Sovereign remove him from the commission due to the fact that if they did prosecute him, it would go to his court and it would be a conflict of interests. The High Queen relented and allowed him to resign from the commission. After nearly a month of compiling evidence, the commission, given the Power of Justice by Imperial Decree, declared that President of the Court of High Appeals to be sent to the Imperial Supreme Crown Court due to the massive amount of evidence found during the investigation. Members of the Imperial Storm Guard's Security Force escorted him to the Crown Court in Solitude for his trial. The trial lasted only three days in which the first two were of hearing the evidence and the defense. The last day, the vote was held. The Master of the Rolls indicated that of the 13 members of the ISCC, 11 Lord Justices, 1 Vice-Chancellor Justice, and the Lord Chief Justice, 10 found Ruashitch guilty and he was sentenced to 45 years in prison. His barristers attempted to get him a pardon from the High Queen, but she refused stating that no person shall receive from me a pardon whom betrayed my trust. He was sent to the Lubishyencka Prison on the Island of Heran. As with all trials by the Imperial Supreme Crown Court, only the numbers were released to the public, the way each judge voted was kept secret, however, many believe that Rahb, the Lord Chief Justice did vote against Ruashitch.
Lord Frederick Willem von Pluck, Imperial Ambassador to Morrowind, began negotiations for the purchase of an island from the Dunmer. After a couple of meetings with the Dunmer Triumvirate, they decided that the Nordic Empire of Skyrim would purchase from the Dunmer the Island of Glassbroke for 25 Million Septims. In addition, Skyrim would pay another 5 Million Septims over the next 5 years. The Dunmer reserved the right to; one, resettle, without refund of Septims, the island at any time for the next 10 years, and two, failure of payment past one year would forfeit the island back to Morrowind. Lord Pluck and the other Nordic representatives declared this unacceptable. Their counter proposal went along the lines of 20 Million Septims for the island, no interest, the Dunmer reserved the right to claim the island as forfeit if failure of payment went past one year. The Dunmer read and accepted the terms. Lord Pluck would later be appointed Imperial Chief of the Central Station and Imperial Ambassador to Cyrodiil, a position that while technically equal to all other ambassadorships, was considered the most prestigious. He would be the Imperial representative that Fritz II chose to send to the Congress of Tamriel. The Congress was organized so the major powers could settle some differences. The main subject on the table for the nords was the wish that any and all Nordic ruins, artifacts, runes, and any other things were to be given, examined, or otherwise shown to the Nordic Empire of Skyrim without prejudice or malice. Lord Pluck signed the treaty on behalf of the Empire. For his expansive service to the Empire and to the Office of Foreign Affairs, he was appointed State Secretary for Foreign Affairs and was made a new peerage from the Sovereign, he was now Lord Frederick Willem von Pluck, 1st Earl of Glassbroke. His son, Albrecht Frederick von Pluck, 2nd Earl of Glassbroke made a career in the often-joint operations of the Colonial and Ioglad Offices. He was appointed the Viceroy and Governor-General of Ioglad and himself appointed the Premier of Ioglad. The Crown Assembly of Ioglad attempted to brute-force their way into power by passing several bills to limit the power of the Governor-General. The Earl Glassbroke immediately vetoed the bills, and even though it wasn't required, explained why he did. Citing the fact that first, the Viceroy and Governor-General was not a position that was responsible to the Crown Assembly of Ioglad and two, it was the personal representative of the Sovereign in Ioglad; essentially, in legal terms, he was pretty much a Vice Sovereign and therefore was not dependent on the approval of the people, but rather only to the Sovereign. He made it clear that any more attempts would be considered treason against the Crown and would be dealt with aggressively. Ioglad had long been a bastion of loyalty for many years. They had started to experiment more, however. Two weeks after the failed attempt at usurpation, a small, marginalized band of radicals, led by two of the opposition leaders from the Ioglad Assembly, stormed the Governor's House and attempted to storm Die Zitadelle, the primary fortress and arsenal in Ioglad. The Earl Glassbroke was taken hostage by the rebels and as per protocol, Commander-in-Chief, Ioglad, assumed acting powers and immediately declared martial law. An ultimatum was given to the Imperial troops, either leave and the Governor-General would be released or continue to wage an unjust war and he would be killed. After receiving news of the rebels, Fritz III ordered Commandant General Koonz to set upon the rebels without delay. In reality, the Governor-General had already been killed by the rebels. After several months of struggle, the Imperial forces came out victorious and with new evidence that the Kingdom of the Summerset Isles had paid and supplied the rebels. The Earl Glassbroke died with no offspring and the title was passed to his nephew, Ludwig Bass von Pluck, 3rd Earl of Glassbroke.
Due to the scandalous nature of the rebellion, Fritz III immediately ordered the Crown Lands Expeditionary Force to muster and the Western Sea Battle Fleet to prepare for war. Although unrequired, the High King busted into the Imperial Crown Assembly and requested that they support him in declaring war against the Altmer. The Lord High Speaker organized and helped pass a resolution in support. The Speaker of the People's Court helped pass a resolution in support. To bolster the numbers, the High King established by Imperial Decree the organization of the new paramilitary body known as the Fremdenlegion (FL) or the Foreign Legion. a semi-independent body of the Imperial Army, it differed in the fact that only non-citizen, non-nords could join. Those whom joined the FL could gain Imperial citizenship if they served for either 7 years or by receiving a medium to critical injury on the field of battle in the service of the Empire. People all over Tamriel flocked to join the FL and serve. Recognizing the massive amounts of cadets, the High King changed the rule from medium to critical wounds to simply having critical wounds. The FL was a Corps sized organization that was semi-independent in that members could not be ordered by non-Foreign Legion soldiers and vice-a-versa, unless otherwise stated by the Sovereign, and were led by a Commandant General whom reported to the Chief of the Imperial General Staff and the Crown Minister of War alone. When joining the Foreign Legion, no questions were asked about your past nor were you expected to share. People ranged from those just looking for adventure to criminals trying to escape. They were given training and were considered to be the advanced shock troopers of the Imperial Army. The respect given surprised many in the Legion as Skyrim was unique in its acceptance of different cultures and peoples, rare among other nations. In military parades for example, they were among the last to march, not THE last, which was a sign of elite status. However, do to their non-citizenship status, if any were found to be spies or any other type of espionage, they were dealt with on a far more severe process. This alone made many would be spies report themselves to avoid more severe punishments down the road. The only nords that were allowed to join the Foreign Legion were those who had either royal blood, i.e. related to the Sovereign, or criminals who were specifically stripped of their citizenship for their punishment. The Legion was a very eye-opening experience for many, especially Bretons, Argonians, or others as Skyrim was a very unique place that was very marshal. It was socially acceptable to want to go into fields other than military however it was fully expected to be able to defend one's self. It was said that a single, poor Nordic farmer could single-handedly fight four non-nords at the same time. This is the reason that made the nords such a powerful ally or enemy. When joining the military, they would already enter with some degree of knowledge of warfare. No other place on Tamriel came close to this ability.
The High King was searching for a viable replacement for his personal representative for the island of Ioglad. He narrowed his choices down to a couple; Wilhelm Langbehn, Julius Paul von Riehl, or Bertold Paulsen. Langbehn and Riehl were members of the Crown Assembly and Paulsen was a former army officer whom acted as the 3rd Military Governor of the Beland Occupation Zone. The Sovereign was also looking to reestablish Beland as Imperial Lands. The High King appointed Wilhelm Langbehn to the post of Viceroy and Governor-General of Ioglad and appointed Julius Paul von Riehl as the Lieutenant Governor-in-Chief of Ioglad. Bertold Paulsen was appointed the newly established position of Crown Commissioner for the Beland Islands.
In 732 of the 5th Era, the 4th Great War occurred. On one side, you had the Nordic Empire, the Kingdom of High Rock, the Kingdom of Hammerfell, and the Triumvirate of Morrowind. On the opposite side you had the Kingdom of the Summerset Isles, the Kingdom of Valenwood, and finally the puppet Kingdoms and Empires of Elsweyr and Cyrodiil, respectively. The Altmer and their allies had a total of nearly 5 million soldiers, and it continued to grow. The Nords and their allies had just about the same, not counting the Nordic Crown Lands Expeditionary Force or the Fremdenlegion. The Nords and company had a war council in Windhelm to decide the general direction of the war. It was decided that a "Allied War Commission" would be established which would decide the overall direction of the war. The Nords and Redguards would be given slightly more power due to their larger commitment. High King Friedrich XXV Wilhelm appointed Field Marshal-in-Chief of the Forces Willem Alexander von Cannack, Lord-Protector of the Central March, to the post of Chairman of the Allied War Commission who reported to the Chief of the Imperial General Staff and Crown Minister of War. The AWC decided that Cyrodiil was a puppet state to the Altmer and if they could be liberated than they could join the war effort or at the very least, not be considered a threat. After some more planning, the Bretons and Redguards would assume "active defense positions" in the west in case of invasion from the Altmer or Bosmer. The Dunmer and Nords would march south and cripple the war effort of Altmer-led Cyrodiil. At the Battle of Westgate, marine and army forces from the Summerset Isles landed on the beach outside of Westgate and assaulted Breton positions. After an all-day affair, they finally pushed the Bretons back, but sustained high casualties. Throughout the next week, combined Breton and Redguard forces were able to push Altmer and Bosmer forces from Hammerfell. In Cyrodiil, Army Group White, commanded by Field Marshal Walther von Wolfram, had found success after pushing back the Altmer-bolstered Northern Army of Cyrodiil, dislodging them from their fortifications around Bruma; the Cyrodiilians had marched on Bruma and taken the Nordic territory from them in the early stages of the war. Army Group Karth was disbanded and absorbed by Army Group Hjaal and to replace it, Army Group Treva was organized. AG Treva was ordered to maintain garrison in Skyrim while AG White and Hjaal were on deployment. Throughout the war, troops would be rotated throughout to keep them fresh and rejuvenated, a luxury that the other side or even their allies had. In the winter of 733 5th Era, the war came to halt due to a quick, yet powerful winter. During this winter, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff died unexpectedly. The High King wanted to appoint FM Cannack to the position but also recognized his importance in the position he held. It was decided that he would hold both positions simultaneously. He was promoted to Generalissimo to further settle the organization structure. As the war progressed, Cyrodiil and Elsweyr were both liberated and Valenwood was facing major economic and food struggles. The allies also faced a problem due to both the Dunmer and Bretons pulling out of the war. After the Nordic-Redguard forces pushed on Valenwood they finally pulled out of the war. The Altmer, unable to continue the war by themselves sued for peace and the 4th Great War ended. Of the total 4.6 million Nords who fought, just under a million perished. The Fremdenlegion, although elite, faced great casualties as it acted as shock troopers for Skyrim. The Chief of the Imperial General Staff was promoted to Generalissimo-in-Chief of the Forces in recognition for his services and the High King created a peerage for him and his final title for the war hero went as such: Generalissimo-in-Chief of the Forces Lord Willem Alexander von Cannack, 1st Earl of Bruma. Upon his retirement from the army, he was given the fairly laid-back position of Lord Lieutenant of Solstheim.
In the Imperial Crown Council, the new king appointed his wife, Queen Consort Velma, to the position of Lord Constable, the ceremonial head of the Imperial Army. Friedrich XXVI Wilhelm established the Justiciars Office, headed by the Chief Justiciar and Seneschal of Skyrim. The deputy of the Chief Justiciar was assisted by the Lord Justice-General, who really ran the day-to-day operations of the office. Lord Justice-General Arthur Fitzalan, 2nd Viscount of Derby, went to the High King and told him that many Justice-Generals, the heads of the respective colony and territory religious affairs, that many people were intimidated into stopping their worship. Friedrich XXVI Wilhelm, being very religious, immediately signed into effect the next Imperial Decree: Treuer Schutz, or "Faithful Protection." This empowered the Lord Justice-General and his deputies to use any and all methods to protect the worship of any who wanted. Recognizing that it could be abused, the Council of State and the Imperial Crown Council went to the High King and begged him to repeal the decree. He at first refused, but after the entirety of both councils threatened to resign over protest, obviously not the Chief Justiciar, he finally relented, and the respective offices again regained control of their own affairs.
Josef Adolfson was a soldier who served in the army during the 4th Great War. After, he went into politics by way of the Imperial Crown Assembly. Rising through the bureaucratic mess, he was chosen by Heinz IV to serve as the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. He did not have the full support from the Assembly but was chosen anyway. Adolfson was a maniac whom wanted power more than anything. He knew though that no matter how popular he'd become; he wouldn't be near to the Sovereign. After serving for only 2 years, he went to Heinz IV and tried to convince him to appoint him to the position of Lord President and in addition, to sign a decree giving him independence from the Assembly for four years. Hans Günther, Lord High Chamberlain and First Private Secretary to the Sovereign, argued vehemently against the idea. Heinz IV, suspecting his craziness, ordered the Observation & Search Force of the Imperial Storm Guard to find incriminating evidence about Adolfson. They found it and it was hand-delivered to Heinz IV by the Director-General of the ISG himself. In the middle of a State Council meeting in the Grand Sovereign Palace, the High King questioned Adolfson about it in front of everyone. After catching him, he attempted to assassinate the High King by sending in his own paramilitary force, they were quickly put down by the Kaiserliche Schutztruppe and the Imperial Household Guards. He was seized and quickly sent off to the Solitude dungeons. The High King immediately summoned the Lord Chief Justice, the Crown Minister of Justice & Lord High Chancellor, and the Imperial Army's Commanding Engineer. The engineer had been under orders to build a new top-secret bunker-prison complex in the abandoned Imperial District. He asked the Lord High Chancellor and the engineer on the feasibility of sending him there. He told the Lord Chief Justice to ensure his guiltiness in court or he'd find himself alongside him in prison. The Lord Chief Justice along with the rest of the Imperial Supreme Crown Court unanimously pronounced him guilty and declared that the sentencing was up to the Sovereign. He was immediately sent to the secret prison.
For hundreds of years, the Sovereign had two councils assist them; the Imperial Crown Council, the older and more ceremonial, and the Council of State, the newer and more practical. The Imperial Crown Council was made up of the following offices:
Lord President of the Council, ceremonial head of government
First Lord of Plenipotentiary Affairs, ceremonial head of foreign affairs
First Lord of the Treasury, ceremonial head of finance
Lord High Chancellor, ceremonial head of justice
Lord Privy Seal, holder of the personal Sovereign seal
Lord High Admiral, ceremonial head of the navy
Lord Constable, ceremonial head of the army
The Council of State was the more practical of the two and was the one which the Assembly had some say in. The Council was made up of the following:
Chairman of the Council of Ministers
Crown Minister of Foreign Affairs
Crown Minister of Finance
Crown Minister of Justice
Crown Minister of War
Crown Minister of Naval Affairs
Crown Minister of Agriculture Affairs
Crown Minister of the Colonies
Crown Minister of Ioglad
The Imperial Crown Assembly passed a resolution requesting the Sovereign formally abolish the Imperial Crown Council and recognize the State Council as the only Imperial Council. The Sovereign had a meeting with the leaders of the Imperial Crown Assembly, and they discussed the following. The Sovereign would sign the following resolution; the Imperial Crown Council would lose any remaining power to affect government, unless in an emergency, the Assembly could not meet, and they would assume control, the position of Chairman of the Council of Ministers would be abolished and replaced with a different office. The Sovereign replaced it with the Office of the Chancellor of the Empire, or Imperial Chancellor for short. The Crown Minister of Justice was typically dual hatted as the Vice Chancellor. All the parties agreed and Hans Henri, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers was formally recognized as the last while he was being sworn in as the first Chancellor of the Empire. The Imperial Crown Assembly formally recognized the Sovereign as Kaiser von Tamriel, or Emperor of Tamriel. The Sovereign's new title was "High King/Queen and Emperor/Empress of Skyrim and the Nordic Empire.
Lania V formally declared the Imperial Crown Council abolished and renamed the Council of Ministers of the State to the Imperial Council. All the ancient positions of the Crown Council, that derived their power from the Sovereign, were reabsorbed by the Sovereign. Hans Glüther was named the new Imperial Chancellor by Lania V. Glüther, a staunch monarchist, whom controlled the majority in the Imperial Assembly, called for the immediate reform in that gave the last vestiges of power from the Assembly deputies and gave it back to the Sovereign, citing the fact that all institutions in the Empire were from the Sovereign's power anyway, it shouldn't even have it in the first place he argued. Meanwhile, Lania V signed into law a decree that would give the Warden-General and Governor of Lubishyencka Prison and Heran, after some scandalous escape attempts, the power to order the sinking or destruction of any person or persons whom he found suspect within the island and a 10 mile radius around Heran, further, it would give him the option to order the immediate execution of any inmate after 3 attempted escapes, even if death were not part of their sentencing.
Under the reign of Friedrich XXVIII Wilhelm, the Custodians of the Black Cloth, a secret order that was tasked with the overall protection of Tamriel and the Black Cloth, a conceptual idea that basically went along the lines of being the soul of mankind. Knight Commander Horgan von Plebb, the second highest ranking officer in the order, led a small team of the most elite knights of the order to repel an attack by the Falmer at the ancient city of Saarthal. It housed many of the most prized Nordic artifacts. Saarthal was besieged by the Falmer for many days until the Knights of the Black Cloth were able to drive them back, all this occurring without anyone in Skyrim, except for the Sovereign as Supreme Governor of the order.
Dovahkiin Keep, a woodland retreat in the forests between Whiterun, The Rift, and Eastmarch. It was property of the Clan Stormblade however it had been under an extended lease by the Crown for many years. After some time, the Keeper of the Crown Purse traveled to Castle Gonduin, the seat of the Clan Stormblade. The Keeper tried to purchase the keep from the Clan repeatedly. The Clan Stormblade, often cited as the most loyal family in Skyrim and some argue the original power of the Sovereign, refused to allow the sale of the keep to the Sovereign. Friedrich XXVIII Wilhelm loved the country retreat, but the Graf and the rest of the Clan would not budge. The Stormblades were among the most popular people in Skyrim. Citing the fact that it was basic clan rights, they would not sell. After the Sovereign. Pushed, they cited the keep as the final home and resting place of the mighty Dovahkiin hero of old. The Sovereign continued to push. Lord Bronn Stormblade von Riverwood, 37th Graf of Stormblade, drew the line in the sand. He delivered a proclamation to the Sovereign. Any further attempt to purchase the lands or take them would be met with extreme force. The country was in shock. The Stormblades were historically the backbone of the Sovereignty. Friedrich XXVIII Wilhelm was given advice by the Arch Curator; his history lesson illuminated the problem he was causing. The High King immediately sent a formal apology to the Clan. He did however seek to sign a new lease for the continued use of Dovahkiin Keep.
While undergoing naval operations, the Lord Imperial was hit by some floating ice. As with all Nordic ships this wouldn't usually cause any problems. Yet everyone on board was found dead. After the Arch Mage of the College of Winterhold was called to investigate, he deduced that it was a piece of dark magic and immediately sent the College's Paladin-Protectors to seek out the magic and destroy it forever. Meanwhile, the High King, payed out of personal purse, the construction of the new Lord Imperial. The Lord of the Sea and the Supreme Sovereign were both ordered to high alert to avoid any and all ice that may be floating in the water. The Lord of the Sea was also hit, and the same thing occurred. Not wanting the same thing to happen to the last of the Super Capital ships, the Supreme Sovereign was called back to port to await the riddance of the dark magic. The Paladin-Protectors were bolstered by the College-trained Imperial army unit: Legion Dermagie, or Legion of Magic. The magic was eventually rooted out and the Imperial Navy was once again allowed to set sail upon the high seas of the Sea of Ghosts. In addition to the three existing Super-Capital ships, the High King ordered the commissioning of another two; the Kesvick-Hollënberg and the Anastasia the Great. Another subclass of capital ships was commissioned, and the four new vessels were in order of construction; the Stormblade, the Dovahkiin, the Atmora, and the High Hrothgar. The following were the largest and best vessels in the Imperial Navy:
Supreme Sovereign
Lord Imperial
Lord of the Sea
Kesvick-Hollënberg
Anastasia the Great
Stormblade
Dovahkiin
Atmora
High Hrothgar
Ysgramor
These were considered to be the best the Imperial Navy had to offer, there were hundreds of ships in the navy, however.
Friedrich XXIX Wilhelm appointed Robert du Murray as the next Chairman of the Imperial Bank of Skyrim. The empire was going through a small recession and the High King did not want it to go any further. The IBS was one of the biggest affecters of the Septim. Murray served as the chairman for a number of years, successfully bring the recession to a quick end. For his success, he was created Lord Robert du Murray, 1st Baron of Murray. Lord Murray would continue to serve as the chairman of the IBS up until a couple years before his death. He even served as the acting Executive Director of the IBS when no suitable individual came along. His son, Heinrich du Murray, served in the Imperial Nordic Army in the officer's corps. He entered active service as a Vice Lieutenant and served through many conflicts and skirmishes. He eventually reached the rank of Commandant General and was the commander of the II Corps, Army of Falkreath. When his father passed away, he inherited his father's barony and was created Lord Heinrich du Murray, 2nd Baron of Murray. He was eventually promoted to Colonel General and was given command of the Army of Falkreath, a position that was usually dual-hatted with Lord-Protector of the Southern March. Before he retired, his full title by the officials was Colonel General, Lord Heinrich du Murray, 2nd Baron of Murray, Lord-Protector of the Southern March and Commander of the Army of Falkreath. His nephew, Willem du Murray was a lifelong servant of the Crown under the judicial system. After obtaining a Barrister's Commission, he was appointed as a Judge on the Imperial Magistrate Court of Western Skyrim. A fluke happened when after only a month, the Chief Judge died from an illness while hiking. He was appointed to serve as the Chief Judge of the Court. A position opened up on the Imperial Court of High Appeals for Skyrim and he was chosen based exclusively off of nepotism. However, unlike most, he did very well on the court and made a name for himself, eventually becoming the Deputy President and finally the President of the Court of High Appeals. He served in this capacity for a number of years when his uncle passed away and he inherited the newly created title of Lord Willem du Murray, 1st Viscount of Murray. Another position opened up on the Imperial Supreme Crown Court and he was chosen to serve a Lord Justice on the court. He heard many cases as a Lord Justice. When the Vice-Chancellor Justice retired, although he had not served the longest, many recognized his leadership skills and was chosen to serve as the next Vice-Chancellor Justice. Due to the near-political position of Lord Chief Justice of the Empire, the Vice-Chancellor Justice was often seen as the unofficial head of the court. The Lord Chief Justice was chosen not only for their leadership and experience, but for their ability to advice, as the Lord Chief Justice would often advice the Sovereign on a whole plethora of issues. After the Lord Chief Justice retired, the Sovereign did not pick a new one to replace him for about two months. His advisors finally told the Sovereign that if he did not make the choice, the Imperial Crown Assembly would try to. He finally appointed Lord Murray to the position of Lord Chief Justice of the Empire. Halfway through his service, he was created a new title from the viscount, Lord Chief Justice of the Empire, Lord Willem du Murray, 1st Earl of Murray.
Maximilian Maximoff served as the Chief of Affairs for the Imperial Embassy in Cyrodiil, the Chief of Affairs being the second to the Imperial Ambassador. The local embassy office of the Imperial Bureau of Investigation intercepted a message being transported from the capital of Cyrodiil to the commander of the Northern Army, Cyrodiil's army closest to the border with Skyrim. The IBI found that the Cyrodiilians were making plans to conduct a surprise attack into the Hold of Falkreath by way of the Pale Pass. The Imperial Ambassador immediately sent a runner under diplomatic sanctioned guard to the border of Skyrim and report directly to the High King about the issues taking place. The next day, the Imperial Ambassador was found mysteriously dead in his office. Maximilian Maximoff immediately took charge in his capacity as Chief of Affairs. His daughter, Sara Maximoff, was serving as a Colonel in the Imperial Army, commanding the 1st Legion of Heavy Infantry, Army of the Rift. Torygg VIII Valdimar received the report and immediately ordered Army Group White to full battle-readiness. Further, he ordered the Army of the Rift, normally under Army Group Treva, to support and bolster AG White. They were unfortunately too late, and the Cyrodiilian Northern Army crashed through the Imperial Storm Guard's border crossing in the Pale Pass and marched on Falkreath. Army Group White was stationed much further to the west in the Hold and therefore was unable to reach the Hold's capital in time. The Jarl of Falkreath ordered the Hold's Guard to muster to the capital. The commander of the Army of the Rift was Colonel General Reinhard Heinrich. The army was ordered to take defensive positions around the capital until the rest of the Army Group could arrive and relief them. General Heinrich took up good defensive positions around the southern and western edges of the capital. He, along with the Jarl, ordered all non-essential citizens to either grab a shovel or a sword and prepare for the defense. The next day around noon, the vanguard of the Northern Army was spotted marching down the road. The 100,000 strong Army of the Rift was more than enough to hold out against the enemy forces, it was the amount of food they had that was concerning. They could not last an extended siege. If Army Group White could not breakthrough to assist them, Falkreath would fall. And as usual, children were ferried away by the elderly, as with Nordic culture, both the men and women stayed to fight or help the army in any way they could. It was Colonel Maximoff's legion that held the very center of the Nordic battle lines, as was usual for heavy infantry. In the first day of battle, the Cyrodiils launched a two-pronged offensive; one straight into the center of the Nordic line and one that would march around and attack from the north. Maximoff's legion and others held off the advance for many hours. The units stationed to the west were ordered to move out and lead a counterattack against the maneuvering enemy. The legion to the left of Maximoff's, the only non-heavy in the center, was eventually pushed back, forcing the others to as well to fill the breach. The Cyrodiils, believing they had the upper hand, rushed forth unto the breach in an attempt to capitalize on their small victory. When they tried, the Nordic berserker legions charged the charging Cyrodiilians and wiped out a large portion of the attacking force, with their other force still not breaking through, they pulled back for the day and stopped the fighting. The Nords reorganized their defenses and pulled back to account for the day's losses, which numbered around 2,500. The Legions of Light Cavalry, the cavalry had largely been kept away from the fighting, were ordered to conduct scouting operations and hit-and-run attacks on everything from supply stores, to transports and everything in between. The Berserker Legions had sustained most of the casualties and were ordered to sit out the next day unless absolutely necessary. In their place, the Legions of Heavy Cavalry were ordered to be the reserve units. The next day, the scouts reported that the Cyrodiilians were on the march again, this time, they brought with them almost their entire force, theoretically to brute force their way through the center of the line, while their cavalry kept the Nords flanks busy. The Light Cavalry units were ordered to attack the enemy from their rear. Again, the 1st Legion of Heavy Infantry were stationed along the very center of the front. The legion, numbering only around 4,500 troops, were stationed at the very epicenter of the Cyrodiilians attack. When they came, they came like a wave, smashing into the impenetrable shield wall like water upon rock. Time and time again, they marched forth, trying to breach the lines, and time and time again, the troops of the 1st Legion would push them back. After 3 hours though, they had been reduced to only 2,000 troops and were being reinforced by the Hold's Guards. The enemy once again ordered a withdrawal from the field of battle. For their service, they were offered to sit out the next day of battle, when Colonel Maximoff asked her soldiers, they all vehemently opposed the idea and said they would stay where they are. The next day, and once again, the enemy marched on the center. The legion would not give in though and held them until just after noon when Army Group White was seen marching to their relief. The enemy was pursued back to the border, battered and demoralized. The 1st Legion of Heavy Infantry was personally recognized for their extraordinary effort and was given the illustrious Battle Star medal. Colonel Sara Maximoff was promoted to the rank of General der Heavy Infantry and was created General der Heavy Infantry, Lady Sara Maximoff, 1st Viscount of Southreath, named after the now famous battle that she took part in.
Lady Maximoff would go on to serve for many more years, eventually rising to the rank of Field Marshal-in-Chief of the Forces and position of Chief of Staff of the Imperial General Staff. For her remarkable service, the new High Queen, on her coronation, created and installed her as Field Marshal-in-Chief of the Forces, Lady Sara Maximoff, 1st Earl of Southreath, Chief of Staff of the Imperial General Staff.
Helmuth Vulkanhower had served Yennefer IV for many faithful years. Specifically, serving as the Imperial Chancellor. He had overseen the conclusion of the Cyrodiilian-Nordic War and skillfully brought peace and prosperity back to the empire. The relationship between Sovereign and servant grew and they had a happy and harmonious link. This all blew up in the Vulkanhower Scandal. Lord Vulkanhower, unhappy with the amount of power that the High Queen gave him, went to the Crown Assembly without her knowledge nor consent, and requested that the Assembly pass a resolution giving more bureaucratic power to the office of Chancellor of the Empire. The Assembly, believing that the High Queen knew as well, happily went along with the request. It was when the Lord High Speaker and Speaker of the People's Chamber went to the Grand Sovereign Palace to have her sign it did she find out. And she was furious. She immediately signed a decree no longer recognizing Vulkanhower as the Imperial Chancellor and ordered the arrest of Vulkanhower. The problem lie in the fact that he boarded himself up with his Assembly supporters in the Assembly building. This was a problem because although the Sovereign was supreme and could prorogue the Assembly at any time, a special caveat stated that the Sovereign could not, nor others on their behalf, enter the Assembly without the verbal consent of both the Lord High Speaker and the Speaker of the People's Chamber. The Lord High Speaker gave assent however the People's Speaker was among those whom supported Vulkanhower. This led to a standstill. The Council of Lords was the primary supporter of the Sovereign while the People's Chamber was the primary supporter of Vulkanhower. The Arch Curator did find a way around it. When the Assembly was first formed, the Sovereign gave power to the lords and they in turn, gave it to the people. Due to this, the Council of Lords could retroactively vote to abolish the People's Chamber to forgo their special status. In an emergency meeting in a wing of the Grand Sovereign Palace, the Council of Lords voted overwhelmingly to abolish the People's Chamber. With their special status removed through completely legal means, units of the Army of Haafingar stormed the Assembly and killed or captured all the traitors. Vulkanhower was captured and 3 days later, was executed for High Treason as was the Speaker of the People's Chamber. Markus Alexis, the Crown Minister of Justice and the Vice Chancellor, was chosen to succeed Vulkanhower as Imperial Chancellor. The Council of Lords again voted to reestablish the People's Chamber.
Under Markus Alexis's stewardship, the office transformed from the Chancellor of the Empire to the Arch-Chancellor. Under him, the position grew with even more power. Yennefer IV established by Imperial Decree the office of Prince-Primate of the Empire. By decree, the Prince-Primate was inherently the High Priest of the Solitude Cathedral. This, by proxy, made the High Priest the most-senior religious leader of the Nordic religion. In addition, the Prince-Primate was now dual hatted as the Grand Master of the Great Cross of Talos and Zenithar. Yennefer IV made the Prince-Primate a member of the Council of State, the only member that even the Arch-Chancellor could not order around, as they were considered equal. Bardo Claus was the first person appointed His Serene Grace the Prince-Primate of the Empire and High Priest of Solitude. During the first State Council meeting with the Prince-Primate, Bardo Claus asserted the power of the position when a member of the council, specifically the Crown Minister of Finance, sat in his seat before the Sovereign. Yennefer usually did not care about such matters, but the Prince-Primate emphatically ordered the minister to stand until the Sovereign too her seat. After this meeting, the Prince-Primate spoke with the Sovereign alone and encouraged them to never sit during a meeting thereby making everyone stand. This way, the ministers would have to pay attention and would not get lazy while in the middle of a meeting. Yennefer was amused by this and agreed to a certain extent, but even the Prince-Primate had to agree that this wouldn't work when there was an extra long meeting. Although the power was wide, the same decree that made the position also set that the Prince-Primate could not be a part of any other council including the Security or Defense Councils.
When the 2nd Congress of Tamriel was called, the High Queen-Empress decided to send the Foreign Minister to the Congress taking place in the Imperial City of Cyrodiil. Just before the delegation set off, the Prince-Primate told the Foreign Minister that Yennefer IV gave him special clearance to come along. As the Foreign Minister was in no position to argue, he relented. The thing was, the Prince-Primate did not even request to go along. When the delegation was received in the Imperial City, the Prince-Primate started to immediately act in an arrogant and spending all the delegation's stipend. The Foreign Minister started to begin to be suspicious of the behavior and sent a secret message to the Arch-Chancellor asking whether or not the Prince-Primate had even asked to go along with the delegation. When he received the message, Alexis went to the High Queen and asked her the same question. The High Queen made it very clear that she had not and sent a squad of Kaiserliche Schutztruppe to personally escort the Prince-Primate back to Skyrim. When they reached the Imperial City, they were refused access. Instead of escalating the situation, they handed a sealed message to the guards requesting to give it to the Foreign Minister and in no case to give it to the Prince-Primate. The message was delivered, and the Foreign Minister knew what to do. He immediately requested that the KS squad was let into the City. They let them in and in a rather public area, they arrested him while drunk. The Prince-Primate went on and on about how the Arch-Chancellor could not do this to them. He began to sober up immediately when he was told that they were sent by the High Queen. When they arrived in Solitude, he was transferred to the custody of the Imperial Sovereign Guards. Being brought before the High Queen, he started to go on about his rights given by the gods. The High Queen sat silently as he went off. After he finished, she calmly reminded him that she could remove him from both the Primatecy and as High Priest. For his incompetence, he was removed as Prince-Primate and as well as High Priest of Solitude. He was demoted to Priest and sent to a small temple in the far reaches of Winterhold. The 2nd Congress of Tamriel was delayed until the Nords had worked out their problems. The Foreign Minister went back to leading the delegation.
Arch-Chancellor Markus Alexis became sick and required extended bedrest. Unable to fulfill the position of Arch-Chancellor, he signed a State Decree temporarily transferring power to the Vice-Chancellor and Crown Minister of Justice, Wilhelmina Margrethe. Margrethe chaired the next four State Council meetings in Alexis's place. After a while, Alexis made a recovery and once again assumed the powers of the Arch-Chancellor. Very soon however his health turned on him and he died suddenly in Solitude. He had returned for only two weeks. Wilhelmina Margrethe was sworn in as the new Arch-Chancellor. This move by Yennefer IV was very unpopular with many in the Crown Assembly. When demanded why, they said there was no feasible way that she could command the confidence of the Assembly, Yennefer IV again reminded them that all positions including the Assembly derived their power from the Sovereign and nothing else. For the first six months, she served as the Arch-Chancellor and Crown Minister of Justice until a replacement was chosen by the High Queen. At another State Council meeting, the Crown Minister of the Colonies expressed the shear amount of work that they had. They requested that many of the responsibilities it had over many colonies were given their own Ministry such as the example with Ioglad. The Crown Minister's plea was eventually turned down. During one particular meeting, the High Queen could not attend so she sent her son His Imperial Highness, Arch Duke Oskar Wilhelm to serve as her Lord Commissioner. It was expected that he take over more and more of her responsibilities. Over the course of the years, she eventually resigned from public eyes and appointed her son as President of the Regency Council of the Empire, basically exercising political power, but still not having the full ceremonial power as well such as proroguing the Crown Assembly.
Yennefer IV slowly started to show her age and diverted more and more powers to her son. Eventually the only power she had retained is the natural law of being able to revoke the Regency at any time for any reason, in any physical or mental state. She soon died, being one of the longest serving Sovereigns in history. Her son would inherit the throne as Oskar V Wilhelm, after serving as the President of the Regency Council for many years. He appointed his daughter, Anastasia as the Lord President and Lord Constable, positions that were now ceremonial, as well as serving as Crown Minister of Naval Affairs as she had a great interest in the navy. She had served in the navy on board the Hjaal when her father was still only the Crown Prince and President of the Regency Council. Oskar V Wilhelm paid a great deal of interest in the affairs of his colonies. He had thought it high time that the Crown Lands of Ioglad were incorporated as fully-fledged Imperial Lands. He signed an Imperial Decree abolishing the Crown Lands of Ioglad and established the Imperial Lands of Ioglad; replacing the Viceroy and Governor-General with a Lord Lieutenant. Oskar V Wilhelm established the position of Crown Minister of State Affairs, a position that was on the State Council with all the duties and privileges yet did not have an office under it, similar to a Minister without Portfolio. He appointed his brother, Grand Prince Henrik Kesholl as the Crown Minister of State Affairs. In case of any emergency, he signed a Decree making his daughter the President of the Regency Council if it came into effect and appointed Grand Prince Henrick and Grand Princess Lisa as members of the Regency Council. As always, the Lord Chief Justice was a default member of the Council. It was perfect timing too as only six months after, Oskar V Wilhelm passed out on the throne and fell unconscious thereby automatically invoking the Regency Council; despite common belief, the Council was not a collective executive, rather, it simply advised the President of the Regency Council and had the power to overturn a President's decision with an absolute majority. Unless otherwise noted, the only power the Sovereign keeps is the natural law of retaining the right to revoke the authority of the Regency Council. As such, Arch Duchess Anastasia assumed the position of President of the Regency Council and immediately accepted the resignation of the Arch-Chancellor and the State Council as was convention. She than did a complete turnaround when she reappointed all the members to the previous positions.
Arch Duchess Anastasia served as President of the Regency Council for almost a complete year. The High King was still Sovereign but was in a coma. The Crown Assembly made an attempt the subvert Anastasia's authority, as such, she attempted to prorogue the Assembly. The Lord Chief Justice and Grand Princess Lisa were both in favor of a more liberal handling of state affairs. The Regency Council tried to overturn her decision but Grand Prince Henrick agreed with Anastasia. Grand Princess Lisa ordered the assassination of her brother, the Grand Prince. Even though everyone knew it was her, as he was gone, they could now overturn the decision of her niece. The Regency Crisis would almost tear the Empire in half. On one hand, the Council had the majority to overturn Anastasia, on the other, they had done so illegally and as such there was no basis in reality. Just when the issue began to boil over as supporters of both sides met at the Grand Sovereign palace, Oskar V Wilhelm awoke from his coma and as he entered the chamber, everyone went silent. He immediately revoked the Regency Council and assumed powers again, temporarily pushing the issue back. He ordered the arrest of the Grand Princess and the Lord Chief Justice. The Lord Chief Justice was demoted to a common judge and was sent to be the Chief Judge for the Imperial Magistrate Court of Northern Solstheim. Grand Princess Lisa had her royal privileges revoked and she was considered no more than a rich noble rather than a member of the royal family. Oskar V Wilhelm made sure to make it only her so any children she had could still be considered a part of the royal line. Oskar V Wilhelm would again fall sick four months later, this time he died, however. As such, the now experienced Anastasia was crowned as Anastasia VIII, High Queen and Empress of Skyrim and the Nordic Empire.
Skyrim under the Regency Council became different. No longer did the attitude of the belief in a supreme sovereign give them comfort. The Crown Assembly, with the support of many of the general public demanded new measures similar to the ones introduced long ago. While the High King kept many powers, the position of Arch-Chancellor was to be a member of the Crown Assembly. The Council of Lords made sure to make it that the High King could still demand the resignation of the Arch-Chancellor and the prorogation of the Assembly. Willem Alexander von Georges held a majority in the Assembly and as such, Anastasia VIII appointed him as her Arch-Chancellor. When some members of Georges faction were beginning to demand more power, the High Queen warned Georges to get his people under control or she would declare Assembly prorogued. Georges, while experienced, was feeble and ordered his people to keep silent or he'd expel them from his faction. Michel Gustav, the Executive Secretary of the Imperial People's Party, reminded Georges that he could not remove anyone and only the Executive Secretary, on the advice of the Board of Supervisors, could remove someone from the faction. As more and more pressure began building on Georges, he suffered a panic attack. High Queen and Empress Anastasia VIII asked him for his resignation which he happily agreed to. In his place, until Anastasia VIII picked a new one, Vice Chancellor and Crown Minister of Justice Hagar Peck served as the acting chair of the State Council. After two weeks, Anastasia VIII chose Michel Gustav as the new Arch-Chancellor. He kept his position as Executive Secretary of his faction which gave him even more power over the Assembly. When a particular bill was facing some trouble, Arch-Chancellor Michel Gustav tried to convince the High Queen to prorogue it so new elections could be held. This way, he thought, that the High Queen would have to reappoint him to lead the government. Little did most people remember that while the Arch-Chancellor had to be from the Assembly, the rest of the Council didn't, further, the position of Arch-Chancellor in in of itself was one that assisted the Sovereign and the High Queen could just chair the Council if she didn't have an Arch-Chancellor or if she didn't want to appoint one.
Anastasia VIII promoted Colonel General Karl Augustus von Steinmeier to the rank of Field Marshal and gave him command of Army Group White, the most distinguished of the three Army Groups. It was just in time for the Supreme War, a conflict so terrible, there wasn't a war after for almost two hundred years. So massive were the casualties that many nations could even wage war after, the Nordic Empire being one of only two that could. By the time the war came about, the standing army alone for the Nordic Empire was 2.7 million men and women. When war was declared, the initial draft boosted the forces to nearly 13 million. As such, Army Groups were just not big enough and many of the Field Marshals were again promoted to Generalissimos to lead newly created Fronts, such as the Northern Front, Rift-Bruma Front, and others. To accommodate, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff was made Generalissimo-in-Chief of the Forces. In what is known as the Battle of the Ring, the Nordic Reach-Daggerfall Front which was made up of nearly 1.9 million soldiers smashed against the Breton-Cyrodiilian defenses around the city of Daggerfall. They faced against a combined force of almost 2.1 million soldiers. The "Ring" being a portion of the national road in High Rock. After a nearly 3-month long battle, the Nords came out successful but sustained massive casualties. What made the Nords so great in war was their organization skills. Where most went for a total war, the Nords knew when to attack and when not to attack as well as supply lines and the home front as well. The citizens knew how to store food to last so while other armies of other nations could no longer fight, the Nords could keep going due to their inherent advantages in war.
Walter Albrecht von Frankenn was elected to the Crown Assembly from Whiterun Hold. He was a registered member of the Imperial People's Party. The IPP was, along with the Imperial Social Party, the ruling party of the Assembly for quite some time. Instead of trying to advance in national politics like others, he focused on the party. He was elected by the party members to the five-member Board of Supervisors. The IPP was led by the Board of Supervisors and Chairman who acted as a sort of legislative/oversight group, the Executive Secretary was chosen by the Chairman with support of the Board to act as a sort of executive officer for the party. Walter Albrecht von Frankenn served as a member for two-and-a-half years until he was chosen to serve as the Deputy Chairman of the IPP. On advice of the Arch-Chancellor who was the spokesperson of the IPP recommended the Sovereign to appoint him as Minister of Administrative Affairs and Chief of the Imperial Civil Service. After four years, Frankenn was elected to the position of Chairman of the Imperial People's Party. Of the other four members, only one was a part of a rival internal faction thereby making him almost absolute. As the leader of a major party, he came in contact with the Sovereign on many occasions. As his influence spread, he was appointed to the position of Vice Chancellor, without any other ministerial post. To remove competition, he moved the Arch-Chancellor as spokesperson to the position of Executive Secretary; due to a prier law, the Executive Secretaries of parties could not hold the Arch-Chancellorship at the same time. His attempt to become the Arch-Chancellor was stopped when the Crown Assembly, with the assent of the Sovereign, passed the 9th Reform Act thereby banning party leadership from any governmental leader position. He had tried to resist but even he could not stop how his members voted. He resigned from his position of Chairman but retained his position on the Board of Supervisors. He let others run the party for almost five years when he was suddenly voted out as a member of the Board. Fed up with the Assembly, he applied for a job in the private sector. He got a job as the Comptroller of the Imperial Bank of Skyrim serving under the Executive Director. He served for ten years until the IPP suddenly wanted him to serve as Chairman. He was elected in Haafingar Hold and was almost immediately voted to replace Torren Jack as Chairman of the IPP.
Under Frankenn's leadership, he appointed Otto Gangl to the position of spokesperson of the IPP. When the government coalition between the Imperial Labor Party and the Imperial Worker's Party fell a part, Friedrich XXX Wilhelm appointed Gangl as Arch-Chancellor. The Sovereign needed someone to fill the position of Lord Lieutenant of Solstheim. Friedrich XXX Wilhelm requested Frankenn serve as Lord Lieutenant. On one hand, if he remained in the party, he'd remain at the top and as a leader. If he left, he could control the politics of a territory and receive a barony at a minimum. He chose to leave the Assembly and accept the position of Lord Lieutenant of Solstheim; he soon appointed his first Minister-President of the local Solstheim Assembly. His son, Frank-Walter von Frankenn, soon ran for election in his father's old post. He won the election and followed his father's steps to the party leadership. Like his father, he was soon elected to the Board of Supervisors. Instead of going for the Chairmanship, he attempted, and succeeded, in gaining the position of Comptroller-General of the Imperial People's Party, the second-highest executive position behind the Executive Secretary. He served in this position for quite some time, nearly a decade, surviving two different surprise elections. After he had built up his reputation, he tried to make a move for the spokesperson' ship, the position that was a party's choice to serve as Arch-Chancellor if they were chosen. He had just won the spokesperson' ship when he received news of his father's death. He inherited his father's barony and was created newly as Lord Frank-Walter von Frankenn, 2nd Baron of Frankenn. In better news, the Imperial Social Party, whom held the Arch-Chancellorship, was removed and Friedrich XXX Wilhelm chose him to serve as his new Arch-Chancellor. He served for over a decade, more than most Arch-Chancellors. When most people left the post, they were usually given a barony, as he already had one, the Sovereign made him; Lord Frank-Walter von Frankenn, 1st Viscount of Frankenn.
Karl von Steinmeier, grandson of the war leader, went into religion and eventually rose to become the Vicar of Solitude, Vicar was the second-ranking member in a region. He expected to serve this position for some time when suddenly, the High Priest and Prince-Primate died. The High King had already become acquainted with him and immediately promoted him to High Priest of Solitude and Prince-Primate of the Empire. As Prince-Primate, he had regular meetings with the High King and often helped him with his prayers. Karl's cousin, grandnephew of the war leader, Hennrick von Steinmeier followed in his footsteps but joined the Imperial Navy instead. Rising through the ranks until he reached the position of Counter Admiral, and appointed commander of all shore installations in Skyrim. He was elevated to Vice Admiral and appointed Deputy Chair of the IAB Committee on Warfare Innovation and Tactics. He served for about three years when he was transferred to take command of the 3rd Flotilla Group of the Sea of Ghosts Battle Fleets. Steinmeier was elevated to Admiral General and appointed Chair of the same committee he sat on. Soon though, he was appointed Fleet Commander, technically, the highest-ranking flag officer. As with the position, he was made Admiral General-in-Chief of the Sea. For his vast efforts to improve the training of the navy, he was again elevated to Fleet Admiral, becoming the fastest rising officer in the navy. He was made the Second Lord of the Imperial Admiralty Board, making him the second-highest ranking naval officer. It was discussed by the High King, Crown Minister of Naval Affairs, and Arch-Chancellor if it would be wise to make him the next State Secretary for Naval Affairs or First Lord of the Imperial Admiralty Board. As being State Secretary was technically lower than the Second Lord, it was deemed inappropriate to make him that, so he was made to succeed Jacob Joachim as First Lord of the Imperial Admiralty Board; he was now the highest-ranking naval officer in the navy, answerable only to the Crown Minister of Naval Affairs and the High King. He was promoted to Grand Admiral. He was planning on retiring but the High King wanted him the serve as his next Crown Minister of Naval Affairs. He first turned down the offer, but after he was made recognized by the High King as Grand Admiral-in-Chief of the Sea and High Admiral of the Sea, the highest rank that someone can achieve and the highest ceremonial rank, he finally accepted the position as Crown Minister of Naval Affairs. Hennrick von Steinmeier and his cousin, Karl remained in contact for many years. After serving for four years, he finally retired and left for a country home; Karl von Steinmeier served as Prince-Primate until his death and the High King was present at his private burial.
Hyppolite Carabine was a high-ranking member of the legendary, near-mythic Imperial Dragon Guards. Holding the rank of Captain-in-Chief of the Forces. He commanded the Crown Company of the Guard legion. During a week when the Crown Company was assigned to the Grand Sovereign Palace; he was working the security office when he was called by a couple guards to a break in. The scene was extremely obvious that someone broke in, but they didn't see anyone. Captain Carabine immediately ordered the Palace on high alert, granted the Household Guards permission to use weapons, and ordered the residential wing to lock down. He personally led B Troop consisting of 30 soldiers to the Sovereign's room. At the present, a company of Dragon Guards numbering 141 in total as well as 20 Household Guards were present at the Palace. The Sovereign put word out to summon the Kaiserliche Schutztruppe at once. All of sudden, a body flew through the closed door to the bedroom. It was a dead Guardsman and a figure stepped forth right after, clad in black and red garments, the Guards knew immediately from their training that it was none other than a member of the Dark Brotherhood; highly trained assassins. The assassin managed to cut through many of the soldiers until Carabine faced him one-on-one. After an extended sword fight, he finally slew the assassin. For their efforts, the Sovereign gave every single member that died that night a state funeral. Carabine was promoted to Major and was given command of the 1st Cohort, one of the two cohorts that made up the legion-sized Guard unit. Major Hyppolite Carabine would remain a favorite of the Sovereign and would eventually rise to become the Sovereign's Sergeant-at-Arms and the Colonel-in-Chief of the Imperial Dragon Guards. After serving in the Sovereign's Guards for nearly thirty years and foiling many more assassination attempts, he retired. For his immense service, Friedrich XXX Wilhelm made him Lord Hyppolite Carabine, 1st Baron of Carabine. In recognition of their service, Friedrich XXX Wilhelm commissioned the naval ship the Sovereign's Own, commonly mistaken as referring to the navy but actually referring to the Dragon Guards and Household Guards. It was later found that a disgruntled member of the Crown Assembly had hired the assassin; the member was swiftly kicked out of the Imperial Worker's Party and tried for treason, being found guilty by the Imperial Supreme Crown Court, he was executed by decapitation. As with all those executed, he chose whether it to be public or private, he chose a private location.
It was expected that the Sovereign would choose the Arch-Chancellor based on which party controlled the Assembly. When the Imperial Conservative Party lost control of the Assembly, the IPP expected that the High King would choose one of them for the position. The IPP was blindsided when the Sovereign kept the same Arch-Chancellor. The Sovereign reminded them that while the Arch-Chancellor had to be from the Assembly, it didn't have to be the ruling party, further, it was laid down that the Arch-Chancellor answered not to the Assembly and the party, but rather the Sovereign and the Sovereign alone. Unexpectedly, High King Friedrich XXX Wilhelm passed away, within only a matter of hours after falling ill. His daughter, Runa IV was crowned by the Prince-Primate as High Queen and Empress of Skyrim and the Nordic Empire. The IPP attempted to force a bill through the Assembly requiring the Arch-Chancellor to be from the ruling party. While it met with much resistance in the Assembly, it passed both chambers. It was brought before the High Queen by the Lord High Speaker and the People's Speaker for assent. Runa IV refused to give royal assent. As such, it had to be introduced into the Assembly again. The Sovereign requested an audience with the Assembly. Both Speakers gave consent to the Sovereign. She marched through the Assembly and proclaimed that she was prepared to prorogue the Assembly time and time again, no matter how many times, if they made any further attempts at passing this bill and any other that curtailed the power of the Sovereign. To further make her point, she ordered the Kaiserliche Schutztruppe to surround the Assembly building to further intimidate the members. They were given strict orders to never harm any member, but the members didn't know that. When the IPP introduced the bill a third time out of defiance, the Empress immediately ordered Assembly prorogued and any one whom defied the order to be round up by the KS sent to the dungeons to await trial in the Imperial Supreme Crown Court. Of the 20 or so people who were rounded up, the ISCC found 14 to be innocent and ordered their release. The court found another three of some minor crimes and ordered their duly sentencing. The last three were found to be guilty of refusing an order to prorogue and therefore, treason. Two were sentenced to prison in the Lubishyencka Prison complex on Heran and the last was sentenced to death by the headsman's axe. He chose a private sentencing. Of the two sent to Heran, one tried to escape multiple times and as such, by the powers given to him by the Sovereign years before, the Warden-General ordered the prisoner in question to be executed. She was killed by strangulation.
Runa IV's second Arch-Chancellor was a man named Bartholomew Linz. Along with the Crown Minister of Justice, he started to institute many reforms to the criminal system, all welcomed by the High Queen. For many members of the Imperial Conservative Party, the traditional supporters of the Sovereign, this was too much and the party issued a statement condemning the new measures. The State Council was met to see what they could do about the situation. The High Queen decided that it was useless to fret over such actions as they were her ministers, not the Assembly's. As Linz's government took ever more radical positions over crime and other issues, more and more parties joined the ICP. The IPP, ILP, and the ISP all joined together in opposition of the government. Even some members in Linz's own party, the Imperial Liberal-Centre Party began to show displeasure at some of the measures taken. During a biweekly State Council meeting, the High Queen requested to talk to the Arch-Chancellor alone at the end of the meeting. After all the affairs of state were taken care off, the High Queen spoke with her Arch-Chancellor. She asked the Arch-Chancellor to continue serving even if his party backed out on him. He responded by saying he appreciated her support, but the only way he would continue to serve if his party lost the election is if the High Queen ordered him to, if not, he would step down. The next month the elections were held. The ILCP lost many seats in the election. No one had a majority, requiring the IPP and the ICP to form a coalition government. As the larger party, the ICP offered their candidate, Otto von Adalrich as the Arch-Chancellor. High Queen Runa IV appointed Otto von Adalrich as Arch-Chancellor. She appointed Jurgen von Ingram as the Vice Chancellor and Crown Minister of Foreign Affairs. She appointed Pieter Drexel as her Crown Minister of Justice
During a raid of a bandit camp, the ISG's Assault Force came upon some documents leading to a possible assassination attempt. The Director-General of the Imperial Storm Guard personally handed the documents over to Pieter Drexel. At the State Council meeting the next day, Drexel revealed what the Director-General had given him. The most concerning issue was the possible connection with a foreign government. The Elsweyr government was highly suspect. The Sovereign along with Ingram had a private meeting with the Khajiit ambassador. The ambassador told the Sovereign and the Foreign Minister that the government back home had been acting strange. On the way back to the Khajiit Legation, he was murdered by his own guards. The Sovereign was about to order the legation to be breached by the ISG when the Khajiit Chief of Affairs reminded the High Queen that it was considered international soil and could lead to war. The Sovereign did nothing but laugh at him and had the Nordic-Khajiit treaty revoked, thereby removing the special status of the legation. To avoid an all-out war, the Sovereign ordered members of the Assault Force to breach the legation and arrest any and all Khajiit. On orders from Runa IV, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff ordered Bear Company of the 10th Cohort of the Army of Haafingar to set up a perimeter around the legation to keep the peace. Arch-Chancellor Adalrich opposed the hostile actions of the ISG. He publicly denounced the High Queen. Runa IV rescinded his commission and Ingram became Acting Arch-Chancellor this upset the Imperial Conservative Party and they also denounced the firing of the Arch-Chancellor. The IPP joined their coalition in expressing their anger. The next day, fed up with the radical Assembly, Runa IV declared Assembly prorogued. As such, until a new Assembly formed, the State Council assumed all legislative functions.
It had been nearly two months since the prorogation of the Assembly, and the High Queen had still not recognized a new one. Many saw this as a thinly veiled attempt at keeping power within the State Council where the Sovereign had much more control. The High Queen had made Ingram the Arch-Chancellor officially and appointed Hans Muller as the new Crown Minister of Foreign Affairs. With Jurgen von Ingram as the head of government, Skyrim saw a rapid turn towards a more reactionary and conservative government. It even attempted to repeal a six-hundred-year-old law giving citizenship to those with only one Nordic parent. Runa IV began to see the way her council had changed the direction of the country. She ordered Jurgen von Ingram to cease all actions. He did as ordered and further, offered up his resignation. She was actually thinking about it when she decided to let him continue as Arch-Chancellor. Hans Muller chose Franz-Axel von Augustus to serve as the Imperial Ambassador to Cyrodiil. He served as a very good ambassador but was later given the job of State Secretary for Foreign Affairs. A rising star within the Foreign Office, he was a popular member of the bureaucracy. He was eventually chosen to serve as the Crown Minister of Foreign Affairs. Augustus served in this position for Runa IV under two different Arch-Chancellors. When Valdimar VI Ottokar assumed the crown from his mother, he wanted Augustus to serve as his Arch-Chancellor. The problem was that he was not a member of the Assembly. The High King got around this by making him Lord Franz-Axel von Augustus, 1st Graf of Augustus. As an automatic member of the Council of Lords, he was now technically a member of the Assembly. The next day, Valdimar VI Ottokar appointed Lord Augustus as his first Arch-Chancellor. Hans Muller was moved to the position of Crown Minister of State Affairs, still valuing his advice. Jurgen von Ingram was demoted and given the position of Crown Minister of Finance. The High King appointed his Chief of the IGS to concurrently serve as the Crown Minister of War and the same for the First Lord of the Imperial Admiralty Board and Crown Minister of Naval Affairs. Otto von Adalrich, once again back in the public spotlight, was appointed Crown Minister of Justice. Emma Grangl was appointed Crown Minister of Agricultural Affairs and Vice Chancellor. The Office of Ioglad was finally absorbed by the Colonial Office; Lukas Tybalt was kept as Crown Minister of the Colonies.
After a small famine hit Skyrim, Emma Grangl was too busy to fulfill both positions so upon her request, Valdimar VI Ottokar instead made Hans Muller the Vice Chancellor along with his other duties. On a diplomatic mission to the 3rd Congress of Tamriel, the Arch-Chancellor, Lord Franz-Axel von Augustus was killed in a carriage accident. While foul play was considered, investigations from both the Cyrodiilians and the ISG came to the conclusion that it was nothing more than an unfortunate accident. The Crown Minister of Foreign Affairs led the rest of the mission. As such, Hans Muller became acting Arch-Chancellor. Upon the Sovereign's request, the People's Chamber introduced a bill allowing Hans Muller to serve as Arch-Chancellor even though he wasn't a member of the Assembly. The bill very narrowly passed through the People's Chamber when it was taken to the Council of Lords. As with most bills, the Council of Lords voted alongside the opinion of the Sovereign. The bill passed through the Assembly and was taken to the Sovereign for assent. Once given, Hans Muller was chosen to serve as Arch-Chancellor permanently. Although the Imperial Nordic Navy had used up its annual budget, interest from the High King allowed the construction, paid for by his own fortune, of a new warship, the Grand Sovereign. Originally intended to replace the aging Supreme Sovereign, it was decided the Supreme Sovereign would instead be given, in trust, to the post of Lord High Admiral, the ceremonial head of the navy. The following year, the warships Nordic Rush and Skyrim's Pride were commissioned into the fleet. Arch-Chancellor Hans Muller personally broke the bottle of mead on the newly finished Nordic Rush. Fleet Admiral Georges Merrick was serving as the Imperial Nordic Navy's Fleet Commander, technically the highest-ranking field officer in the navy. He was giving High King Valdimar VI Ottokar a tour of the newly constructed Imperial Navy Drydocks and Repair Yard at Dawnstar or more commonly called, Naval Yard, Dawnstar. It was the biggest naval yard in the Empire even surpassing that of the Solitude naval yards.
The Crown Minister of Justice requested an urgent meeting with the Sovereign. When they got together, the minister informed the High King that Warden-General and Governor of Lubishyencka Prison and Heran Michel Georges was killed in an inmate riot. They had taken control of the prison and had hostages. The High King did not care. He ordered the flotilla guarding the island, led by Counter Admiral Joachim Jakob, to immediately begin bombarding the island and its fortifications. The prisoners, surprised by the action taken, tried to man the rest of the batteries. A complement of Nordic Marines led by Chief Officer of the Line Hennrick Gables, stormed the prison and started to take prisoners. When they encountered heavy resistance, they received ordered directly from the Sovereign himself to take no quarter. An all-out slaughter ensued. After the action, Hennrick Gables was promoted to Commander in the Nordic Marines. Otto von Adalrich was removed by the High King and was replaced with a Nordic barrister and veteran, Frank-Walter von Steinbeck as Crown Minister of Justice. He served as Crown Minister of Justice for the rest of the Muller State Council.
To avoid confusion, there were different levels in the government. There were three High Officers of State; Prince-Primate, Lord Chief Justice, and Lord High Chamberlain. These positions were answerable to the Sovereign alone and even the Arch-Chancellor could not order them, the Lord High Chamberlain was often the Private Secretary to the Sovereign. The next was the Great Offices of State, not to be confused with the Great Officers of State. The Great Offices were the Arch-Chancellor and the Crown Ministers. The Great Officers of State were the now ceremonial positions like Lord Constable or Lord President and so forth. After the Crown Ministers, there was ordinary Ministers. Ministers served under Crown Ministers such as the Minister of the Imperial Civil Service who served under the Arch-Chancellor or the Minister of the Budget who served under the Crown Minister of Finance. Beneath Ministers were State Secretaries who were often considered the real power in a Crown Ministry as they often held their positions longer than Ministers or Crown Ministers. Only High Officers of State and Great Offices of State could report to the Sovereign directly without requiring an invitation or some other type of communication. An exception were officers in the Imperial Armed Forces whom held the rank of 4 Crowns or higher (Colonel General/Admiral General) and any personal guards such as the Imperial Household Guards as well as the obvious Office of the Sovereign (Private Secretary to the Sovereign). On a different note, when a Sovereign appointed a Regency Council, they had some rights. No matter what, the one, natural right was the right to renounce the Regency at any point. Other than that, the Sovereign stated which right s they held onto in their Regency Declaration.
Frank-Walter von Steinbeck made a name for himself within the State Council as he would often go to the Sovereign alone and speak to him, which, while completely legal, was quite unusual. Some of his colleagues believed he was just trying to win favor with the High King, a recently released diary of Wilhelm Plum, Private Secretary of the Sovereign, showed the he did nothing but give more information and briefing that he thought others within the Council would be bored by. Whatever he did, he won more favor with the High King. After Hans Muller had surpassed his ninth year as Arch-Chancellor, he requested the Sovereign to accept his resignation so he could retire with his wife. The Sovereign accepted on the condition that he remain until a new Arch-Chancellor could be chosen. He agreed. In another of their private meetings, the High King asked Steinbeck to run for the Assembly so he could become a member. Steinbeck did as he was requested and won a seat from The Reach delegation. After establishing himself as outspoken supporter of the Sovereign, he was invited to join the Imperial Conservative Party. He denied graciously but explained he wanted to remain an independent. When Valdimar VI Ottokar accepted Muller's resignation, he immediately chose Steinbeck as his new Arch-Chancellor. While they possessed no power to stop him, the many leaders of the Assembly's parties vocally opposed such move. Even the Chairmen of the various parties, whom often remained silent, behind the 'limelight', joined together in opposition. The Imperial Labor and Imperial Liberal-Centre Parties had a coalition majority in the Assembly and the People's Chamber passed a resolution requesting the High King to reconsider his choice for Arch-Chancellor as Frank-Walter von Steinbeck wasn't even a part of any registered party. The High King accepted the resolution and stopped Steinbeck from taking the office, having Vice Chancellor Johannes Jakob serve as acting chair of the State Council. The High King told the Assembly that unless new candidates were given to him for review by the end of the next day, he would choose Steinbeck to fulfill the duties of Arch-Chancellor and any powers that accompanied it. When the time came, no candidates had been chosen among the highly volatile Assembly and Frank-Walter von Steinbeck was sworn in by the Sovereign as his new Arch-Chancellor.
While the Lord High Speaker was the head of the majority-independent Council of Lords, the Speaker of the People's Chamber was nothing more than a presiding officer with the head of the Chamber being the President of the People's Chamber, often chosen by the ruling party or coalition majority and sometimes even a party's Executive Secretary. During the later years of Valdimar VI Ottokar's rule, the Assembly was more and more divided, and bills and resolutions almost never got through to the Council of Lords, the Steinbeck Resolution being an exception. When nothing else worked, the Executive Secretaries of the Parties asked the President of the People's Chamber to introduce a resolution asking the Sovereign to prorogue the Assembly. It passed and was taken to the Sovereign by the Speakers. After giving assent, Assembly was prorogued, the first time in history where the Assembly itself asked to be prorogued and not forced by the Sovereign. It allowed new elections to be held. Unfortunately, Frank-Walter von Steinbeck lost his seat in the new elections. When the newly formed Assembly gathered, both Speakers gave consent to allow the Sovereign to enter. Immediately, he graciously requested that the Assembly pass a resolution allowing Steinbeck to continue as Arch-Chancellor as Hans Muller once did. He left and allowed the Assembly to do its job. When he returned to the Grand Sovereign Palace, he fell sick and appointed his son, the Crown Prince, as President of the Regency Council, retaining the natural right to renounce the Regency. When the resolution passed the Assembly and was taken to the Palace, Grand Duke Wilhelm, President of the Regency Council, gave Imperial and Royal Assent. The High King wasted away for the next month, his son picking up more and more responsibilities. Normally, State Council meetings were held every Morndas and Fredas, each three days apart. During a Regency Council, the Grand Duke had to attend and deal with those meetings as well as almost daily Regency Council meetings. After appointing him, his father appointed the Prince-Primate and the Crown Minister of Finance, Jurgen von Ingram, as always, the Lord Chief Justice held a permanent position on the Council.
After Valdimar VI Ottokar died and his son succeeded him as Wilhelm IV, the President of the People's Chamber introduced a bill that, upon the next dissolution of the Assembly, change the name from the People's Chamber, to the Imperial Diet. It passed through the Assembly with ease but hit a road bump in the Council of Lords. The liberal faction, the Council of Lords was technically independent, argued that it would destroy the last bastion of liberal belief and thinking. Eventually though, on the urges of High King Wilhelm IV, they passed it. He gave assent. He held a meeting with the President of the People's Chamber and the various Executive Secretaries asking them if they would prefer he just call the Assembly prorogued now. After a quick meeting, the Executive Secretaries and the President agreed. Wilhelm IV declared Assembly prorogued. When the new Assembly gathered, the lower chamber was no longer the People's Chamber but the Imperial Diet. They soon elected their President of the Imperial Diet. Further constitutional changes included a greater number of seats within the Imperial Diet. Of the 40,000,000 citizens of Skyrim and the Nordic Empire, every 50,000 people was represented by 1 member in the Assembly, instead of a set number based on Hold or Imperial Land; Crown Lands and territories did not have representation in the Assembly, but Imperial Lands under a Lord Lieutenant did along with the Holds. The Council of Lords was left unchanged where the number was never constant as anyone who was given a peerage by the Sovereign held a position in the Council of Lords. As such, the Assembly needed a much larger meeting place then just the Imperial Legislative Palace. A new building was constructed within the Imperial Capital District and dubbed the Imperial Assembly Palace. The Imperial Diet had 800 members and the Council of Lords held around 300 Lords and Ladies.
As an afterthought, the Council of Lords passed a bill that, upon the Sovereign's prerogative, the Council of Lords would change in that it would be renamed to the House of Lords and that instead of every peerage-holding citizen being an automatic member, only those who held hereditary peerages would be automatic members, unless of course otherwise stated by the Sovereign (in that if a person was given a non-hereditary peerage, they could still be made a member of the House of Lords by the Sovereign), a 'grandfather' clause allowed any members of the current chamber whom held a non-hereditary peerage to continue to serve in the chamber, just barring any new ones from coming in. Like its counterpart, it met with resistance in the other chamber when some in the Imperial Diet cited that a smaller House of Lords would allow them to make it easier to oppose bills. Despite the opposition, the bill passed and was given assent by Wilhelm IV. As the clause was in effect, no one was kicked out but if they had been, the House of Lords would have been reduced to around only 120 members. The House of Lords introduced and passed a second bill that required the House of Lords to have a minimum of 95 permanent members; if the number dropped below that, no bills or resolutions could be passed until the number rose and further, even bills and resolutions that already passed, awaiting assent from the Sovereign were barred from being signed. The Imperial Diet passed a similar bill requiring a minimum of 375 members, half-of-whom had to be from a Hold. It passed the House of Lords and was given assent by the Sovereign. In case of something happening, the Sovereign could still rule by Imperial Decree but that could only get someone so far.
The Imperial Diet had many 'in-house' rules. Rules that were passed by the body but only effect the body. The President of the Imperial Diet had to be an independent, unaffiliated with any party and if there were no independents, the President of the Imperial Diet had to be a member of the smallest party. The President of the Imperial Diet was assisted by a number of Vice Presidents, one from each party in the Imperial Diet; if the President was a member of the smallest party as stated above, then that party would not appoint a Vice President. The President and his Vice Presidents formed the Presidency Council. This council elected the Speaker of the Imperial Diet. The Speaker was responsible for being the chief presiding officer of the body. If previously registered with a party, they were required to resign from their party and expected to remain impartial within the body. The Speaker held the right to call on a member to speak, no member could speak unless recognized by the Speaker. Even the President had to be recognized to speak however, unlike anyone else even the Vice Presidents, the Speaker was required to recognize the President. The Speaker reserved the right to call on the Imperial Diet's Sergeant-at-Arms to escort any member out of the chamber for any reason at any time, although normally only for poor behavior. Lastly, along with the Lord High Speaker, the Speaker of the Imperial Diet represented the body in all external affairs, most importantly whenever a bill requires assent and is taken to the Sovereign. In turn, the President of the Imperial Diet represents the body in all internal affairs. they are the head of the body; they primarily organizes bills and resolutions as well as meeting between parties, parties may not meet together without the President in attendance. Further, if, for whatever reason, the body unites in single purpose against a Speaker's decision or reasoning, the President represents the body when in conversation with the Speaker. The President holds his position for a 5-year term, with a 3-term limit. The Speaker may hold the position until they lose a vote of no confidence. No matter what, all new elections within the body are held no matter how long someone had been in there, whenever Assembly is prorogued, all elections within the body are held again, indiscriminate of terms. Typically, the election of Speaker is held as soon as possible as they are the only one permitted to report to the Sovereign with the President election right after that. One of the biggest body rules is that party leadership may not hold any office in government simultaneously or hold any office within the body simultaneously. Party leadership is considered the Chairman, the Board of Supervisors, the Executive Secretary, and the executive staff (Comptroller, Whip, so on…). Lastly, no party or member may remove another party member from the Assembly for not voting along the party's opinion. The party may remove the person from the party or no longer support them in elections. To expel a member of the Assembly, only the President can introduce an expelling resolution and it must be passed by the normal 2/3. If a member is expelled, they are barred from becoming a member again for one election cycle, after, they may again run for reelection.
The House of Lords was different as they only had one position, the Lord High Speaker. The House of Lords is, by law, independent of any party. Factions do, of course, arise though. The Lord Speaker is elected by a general election within the body. The Lord Speaker has the similar power of calling on the House of Lords Sergeant-at-Arms to remove any member for any reason from that days' sitting. A major difference to the Imperial Diet is that the House of Lords may not expel one of their own, as all member are seen as having a Sovereign right to be there. However, legislation may be introduced by the Lord Speaker and passed, censoring any member, this does not remove their right to vote but stops them from speaking during sessions. As they have automatic appointment from their peerages, whenever Assembly is prorogued, only the Imperial Diet is really effected in any way. An odd caveat allows the House of Lords to abolish the lower chamber, but the House of Lords may only vote on it if the Sovereign requests that they do. This is the only instance where the legislature cannot vote on something without the Sovereign's permission. This right came about when the Sovereign first allowed an Assembly to gather. The Sovereign first gave power to his lords to assemble, and they, in turn, voted to create the People's Chamber. They never got rid of it and to this day, the House of Lords retain the right to abolish the Imperial Diet, again, only on the request of the Sovereign. As many people who hold peerages actually have other jobs, whether that being an officer in the Imperial Armed Forces or some other job, the quorum in the House of Lords is 70 members. While the body requires a minimum of 95 members, they cannot even consider bills if there are less then 70 in a session. The Imperial Diet's quorum is 325 members, same rules apply.