The Council of Five

The Council of Five is the main governing body beneath the Emperor of the Ilavene Imperium. They work alongside the Masters of the Realm to ensure that the Realm is governed smoothly and wisely, and to their benefit.

Council of Five
The Council of Five is the highest group within the Imperium, barring the Imperial Family. They are not selected or appointed, as the Masters of teh Realms are by the Emperor. The Council of Five is organised as the Five rulers of the Imperium. They rule over the five Provinces - the Central Provinces, Northern Provinces, Eastern Provinces, Southern Provinces and Western Provinces.

The Overlord of the Central Provinces is significant. As Morgond is within the heart of the Imperium, and as such within the Central Provinces, they are traditionally taken by the Emperor as his personal demense. This means that the Emperor must be responsible for the direct managing of the Central provinces, much more so than would be expected. However, it grants the boon of thousands of soldiers being readily available in times of war.

If the Emperor chooses to not rule the Central Provinces himself, and instead assohns it to someone else, then teh bearer has teh distinguished title of Imperial Protector of the Central Provinces.

The five memebrs of the Council are as follows:

The Overlord of the Northern Provinces.

The Overlord of the Eastern Provinces.

The Overlrod of the Southern Provinces

The Overlord of the Western Provinces

The Imperial Protector of the Central Provinces

Should the Emperor choose to rule the Central Provinces, then he is bestowed the title of Protector of the Central Provinces.

The Overlords are the overall rulers of their specific Provinces, and they see that the Emperor’s wishes are enforced. However, becoming an Overlord of a Province gives the holder an extreme measure of power, enough that they could pose a threat to the Imperial Family. Before the Year of the Bleeding Realm; where over one-hundred-thousand-and-thirty-thousand men died in a war that ultimately changed nothing, and then at least twice that died in the famine that followed, the position of Overlord was normally granted to members of the Imperial Family. However, this proved a problem multiple times, when the succession was contested and force of arms won over the will of the previous Emperor.

The solution was to hand the titles out to trusted advisors and allies, yet even old friends can often become enemies when dreams take the place of good sense and loyalty.

The Council of Five oversee the Realm with the aid of the Masters. They meet bi-annually to give reports to the Emperor and to plan what they should do for the rest of the year and for the coming. They also confirm, change or dismiss plans for longer terms, such as five years, decades and half-centuries plans. These are normally for much larger tasks and changes to the Realm.