Rykern

Rykern, also the Realm Core, is a special administrative region in southwestern Izeryk. It constitutes the capital region of Izeryk, including the federal capital of Rykhov, the Izertelt Valley, and outlying foothills of the Elektiband. Modern Rykern was the origin point of the ancestral Izertelt Queendom, the monarchy that conquered the remainder of the subcontinent and united it under the Union of Izeryk.

Rykern is centrally administered by the Director of Core Affairs under the Archsecretariat, although the capital city of Rykhov is instead led by a Lord-Mayor appointed directly by the Empress. In addition to the Rykhov Metropolitan Area, the division is split into six executive counties acting as its rural subdivisions. However, ceremonially Rykern is also divided into five principalities, which act as non-executive holdings granted to members of the monarch's immediate family. Unlike counties and the metropolitan area which govern and cover the entirety of Rykern, ceremonially principalities have fluid borders derived from major natural or historical landmarks and depending on the size of the sitting monarch's family. Although lacking executive power from their holding, the Princesses and Princes of Rykern are the highest ranking members of the Nobiliat class under the Empress herself. As such, they are act as the ceremonially Colonels-in-Chief for all Duchal Army regiments raised within their principalities. This contrasts with other areas of Rykern where the Empress acts as the Colonel-in-Chief. In this way, in terms of military tradition, the non-executive principalities of Rykern are equivalent to the executive principalities and duchies elsewhere in Izeryk as their rulers also act as Colonels-in-Chief for their divisions' regiments.