Deltarian Politics

Overview
Deltaria is an absolute monarchy, with the the Czár presiding over the highest official seat of authority. However, in reality all national law is dictated solely by the Okhranka ; and at times, the Czár seems to be nothing more than a figurehead and hostage of the internal politics of his secret police. Most legislative and executive decisions are devolved to the local nobles, wth each family maintaining a military wing, or Huskarle to defend their holdings and maintain civil order. Despite being vastly outnumbered, the Okhranka maintain a balance of power over the five noble families, by keeping a vested involvement in all law enforcement throughout the nation, constantly collating intelligence on every noble or lawmaker in the Empire, and ensuring that their assassins are capable of striking down any of them at any time.

The Czár
The Deltarian Czár is the highest authority of Deltaria, a hereditary ruler chosen from the closest, and eldest male descendent of the Lineykovská Dynastia. The position of Czár grants unlimited authority over every protectorate and colony of the Deltarian Empire, and limited authority in the tributary nations. The Czár is protected, and to a large extent controlled by his personal bodyguard and secret police, the Okhranka. Due to the waning power of the Lineykovs, there is a strong possibility that a member of a rival Dynasty could be installed by the Okhranka when Sebastian I dies or abdicates, which could cause a restructuring of power across Deltarian politics.

Czárist Advisory Council
The Czárist Court is a small group of the Czár's most favoured and valued advisors, chosen directly by the Czár himself from the ranks of the larger coucil, the Czárist Rada. The highest position in the Council is the Dvorný Radca, who maintains close ties with the Czár and councils him on a range of issues, while others provide specialised knowledge and advice on subjects ranging from foreign affairs and land management to religious and cultural duties.



The Okhranka
The Okhranka represent the Crown's militant wing. The Okhranka have jurisdiction over the entire Deltarian Empire, and are responsible for protecting the Czár, forming and maintaining a national military, and keeping surveillance over all nobles within the Empire, maintaining loyalty to the Czár by any means necessary. The Okhranka are pariahs within Deltarian society, feared and reviled by serfs, freemen, nobles and clergymen alike. Their reign of terror has cast what is known as The Long Shadow over the Empire ; a deep-seated belief that the Okhranka are omnipresent and omniescent, observing everything and hiding everywhere, palpable even to foreign visitors in the nation. While the power of the Okhranka is far less than the Long Shadow suggests, the belief has made their job much easier.

The Okhranka is excempt from many of the regulations nobles and freemen merchants find themselves bound by, and are able to freely recruit women and racial minorities. All forms of religion, however, are utterly banned within the Okhranka, and members are forbidden from attending worship services and may be retired from the Ohranka if suspected of harbouring illegal religious beliefs. Okhranka recruits are taken from a very young age, often from orphanages, and those who aren't are orphaned by their recruiters. Okhranka members are also barred from marraige, parenthood, or establishing emotionally meaningful relationships with other human beings. The only love or sense of duty allowed to them is for the Czár.

The Church
The Terran Catholic Church has retained a large measure of power in Deltaria even after being denegrated to a lower position by the Czárist reforms, holding administrative power over a small section of Darali known as the Holy Lands, receiving a huge amount of revenue from tax-free tithings, and maintaining their own private army of Huskarle. The bulk of the Church's power, however, lies in the hearts and minds of the millions of Deltarians who see Boh as one of their only escapes from the misery of everyday Deltarian life.

Despite holding enough influence over the common folk to potentially overthrow Deltarian society, the officials of the Church have been sated by the luxuries piled apon them by the Czár and cowed by the constant presence of his Ohkranka rooting out malcontents, and preach subservience to the State above all else.



The Pápež
The office of Pápež is the highest position within the Church, and Pápež is considered an infallible ambassador of God. While most decisions are delegated to Kardináls and Arcibiskups, the Pápež is legally authorised to control every aspect of legislature within the Holy Lands, and acts as both a Vojvoda of the Holy Lands as well as having authority over all churces and clergies within the Empire. The authority of the Pápež can only be legally challenged by the Czár himself, although the public ratifications of such an act makes it a very seldom occurance. However, like anywhere else in Deltaria, legitimised authority is second only to the presence of the Okhranka, which take up residence throughout the Vatikan and the Holy Lands ; like everybody else, the Pápež lives under the Long Shadow.

The Holy Lands
While the Deltarian Vatikan technically comprises of the entire Holy Lands, an area which includes the city of Dolinka, the towns of Pradubice, Unicov and Kolin, and their surrounding hinterlands, the word is generally used to mean the bureaucratic headquarters of the Terran Catholic Church, a stately palace in the heart of Dolinka. In contrast to the rest of Deltaria, the Holy Lands are vibrant and rich with luxuries and extravagance second only to the castle of the Czár.

The economic output of the Holy Lands, however, is utterly negligable ; the entire region supporting on the enormous tithes offered to the Vatikan. A small standing army has been raised from the local populace, but concerns itself with domestic police work only, as no noble would be foolish enough to lay claim to the Vatikan.



The Legion
The Czár's Palace in Cachtice is filled at any one time with an entity known as The Legion, an order of nobles, who are charged with the responsibility of acting as the legislative body, of ensuring the decrees passed by the Czár are duly recorded and distributed amongst the lower nobles, and act as administrators for the national affairs of the nation. All legislative action falls under their jurisdiction, and they are closely monitored by the Okhranka. Although there are several noble orders currently active within the nation, ever since the founding of Czárist Deltaria the order charged with such a responsibility has been the Legiunea Sfantului Gheorghe, the Legion of Saint George, a sacred and ancient order first created to defend the Crown and the Christian lands against enemies, particularly the muslims of Majatra.

Nobility
The noble families in Deltaria are entrusted with the administration of the Deltarian Empire, usually headed by a Vojvoda or Vel'kovojvoda to delegate responsibility and rule over the lesser nobles.

The Deltarian titles of nobility mirror those of former aristocratic states, with the notable exclusion of the viscount. Grand Dukes are generally given power over groups of Duchys, whilst a Marquess or Machioness will preside over a large city. Counts have holdings over large to medium sized towns, while Barons take responsibility over smaller towns and villages. Knights generally control sizable plantations or factories.

Major Families
Lineykovská Dynastia

The Lineykovská Dynastia are the current noble line of Deltaria. Spurning the sparsity of the Deltarian landscape, they relinquished thier lands in favour of taking control of the Nova Vel'kyvojvodstvo, Barovia and Vojnový Pokrik. After a communist insurgence, the details of which are unclear, the Lineykovs were permitted to leave unmolested and offered land in the unstable Protectorate of Kafuristan, greatly damaging their national holdings, pride, and reputation. As evidenced by the communist upsurge, their rule is marked by vice, corruption and debauchery in the upper echelons, with little attention paid to the goings-on of the people under their rule.

Cesnegyovská Dynastia

The Cesngenis are notably stricter than other major families, with the exception of the Mojmírs. Controlling both the Holy Lands and the Kafuristani Vojvodstvo of Keletia, they place a much larger emphasis on forced conversion to the Church, and have instituted a policy known as the Holy Inquisition within Kafuristan. Holding unparalleled influence over the Vatikan, they boast Pius III, the Supreme Pontiff of the Terran Catholic Church as a member of their own family. Although they have a huge amount of monetary capital, most of this is expended in maintaining their vast network of churches and clergymen throughout the Deltarian Empire.

Premyslovská Dynastia

The Premyslovská Dynastia is the noble family who rule and maintain the Vojvodstvo of Alazinder. Although they are by no means the wealthiest, or the most popular, prestigious or powerful of the dynasties, they do excert the greatest amount of influence over the Czár, with Oldrich Premysl being an old and dear friend of Sebastian I and holding the coveted title of Dvorný Radca. While Vojvoda Oldrich of Alazinder is the official Dynastic patriarch, his duties in Cachtice take up so much of his time that day-to-day leadership is often shared between the Vojvodkyna of Alazinder, and the Markíz Spytihne of Melnik.



Mojmírovská Dynastia

The Mojmírovská Dynastia is the noble family who rule and maintain the Vojvodstvo of Darali. They are the most militarily powerful of the five Deltarian Dynasties, and recruit heavily into their Huskarle, often at the expense of their economic and infrastructural growth. They are heavily represented in the Czárist Council, promoting the most educated nobles among them as advisors to the Czár, partially due to strong intermarraige with the Premyslovská. In Deltarian history, they invested heavily in the Totalitarian movement, Totalitárna Strana Deltársko, and little has changed in their ideologies since then. Their rule is marked by harsh punishments, invasive micromanagement of the lives of the common people, and heavy conscription rates.

Antonescuovská Dynastia

The Antonescuovská Dynastia is the noble family who rule and maintain the Vojvodstvo of Ushalande. They are by far the richest of the Dynasties, led by a shrewd Vojvoda with a gift for finance and economics. The Antonescuovská Dynastia declined to send representation to the Czárist Council, but are heavily represented in the noble order "Legiunea Sfantului Gheorghe", the Legion of Saint George, which currently makes up the Czárist Rada in its entireity. Antonescuovská rule is marked by a strong emphasis on Ushalandan economic development and international trade, and Ushalandan peasants are remarkably better fed and clothed than their southern and eastern counterparts.

Eroberenovská Dynastia

The Eroberenovská Dynastia is the noble family who rule and maintain the Vojvodstvo of Doron Akigo. The Eroberens have a long history in Deltaria, reaching back to the Republican era, where they fought bitterly against the defunct Deltarsk Kommunistiske Parti. They took an active role in the new racially-based seperatist manifestation of the communist party, however, with large parts of their family quickly rising to leadership roles due to anti-Slavic rhetoric and nepotistic hiring practices. Their promises of an independent Doron Akigan democracy made them folk heroes in their native land, before they accepted a knighthood and betrayed every ideal they ever stood for. The rural populace of Doron Akigo, which makes up a large percentage, still hold the Eroberens in high esteem. Nádašdyovská Dynastia

The Nádašdyovská Dynastia is the noble family who rule and maintain the Vojvodstvo of Dissuwa. They are the most prestigious of the five families, having helped rule the Dynastická Oligarchia Deltársko for decades, and married heavily into the legendary and now extict Bátoriovská Dynastia. From the Republican era onwards they heavily guided the political evolution of the nation, with strong influences in the Deltarsk Kommunistiske Parti, Totalitárna Strana Deltársko and the Nacistická Strana Deltársko. Now, however, their power has waned substantially with the extinction of the Bátoriovská line, and they barely cling to their power in Dissuwa. Nádašdyovská rule is marked by civil unrests, poor economic yields, and a growing crisis concerning the lack of noble heirs.

Minor Families
Milványovská Dynastia

The Milványs are a minor Daralian Dynasty, heavily interbred with the Cesnegis, and charged with administration of the Pabeus Vojvodstvo of Kafuristan. In Dynastic times they made a brief foray into Deltarian politics, attempting to install their candidate as Absolver. They are governed over by their Patriarch, Vojvoda Samo Milvány.

Halilyovská Dynastia

The Halilys were a wealthy and privleged Kafuristani family before the Deltarian overthrow, and elected to work alongside the Deltarian occupation in other to maintain their lifestyle. Regarded as traitors by Kafuristani people, and reviled as subhuman by the Deltarians, they nevertheless attempt to balance survival and greed with philanthropy for the Kafuristani commoners in Tordary, who are the best-treated in all of Kafuristan.

Ali-Fasilovská Dynastia

The Ali-Fasils were another prominent Kafuristani family offered a place in Deltarian nobility, to administrate over the holding of Kuchifey. Pariahs from both Kafuristani and Deltarian society, and abhorred by the Halilys, they take solace only in power and material greed, running their administrative section into the ground and mistreating their subjects with brutality exceeding even that of the Cesnegis and their Holy Inquisition.