Izeryk

The Izeryk, officially known as The Union of the Izeryk (Izersprek: De Unjon—Izeryk), is a country in western Avinia, lying shortly off the coast of the north-western Avinian mainland. Izeryk includes the entirety of the Izeryker subcontinent—consisting of one large island and many smaller islands—and is completely surrounded by the Aegiric Ocean. The country consists of the realm core (Rykern), seven principalities (Prinsryk), and five duchies (Hartokryk) covering an area of 2,774,080 km2 (1,071,080 square miles) and containing about 281 million people.

Izeryk is an elective constitutional monarchy governed by a mixture of canon law and civil law. The monarch, Empress Anika II, was elected to the throne by a joint congress of Izeryk's noble peers and Apostolic clergy in 2007 from a list of eligible heirs provided by the royal family. Before ascending to the crown, Anika II served as the Princess of Buitenvoud—the head of state of Izeryk's southwesternmost subdivision. As a federation of 13 lesser monarchies ruled by six different noble families, Izeryk's subdivisions have significant autonomy over specific policy areas and family and regional political maneuvering plays a large part in national governance. With the exception of Rykern—which is ruled by the monarch of Izeryk—each subdivision has its own devolved governance. Principalities are ruled at-large by princesses or princes of the Izeryk royal family who earn their posts via a hereditary process and rule with the consent of a council of their subordinate dukes, counts, and viscounts. Duchies meanwhile are typically smaller in area and are ruled by independent noble families. They are more diverse in their governance when compared to principalities, with some being hereditary (with various succession systems) and others being elective. All duchies, including those subordinate to principalities, and the principalities themselves send an ambassador to the Congress of Nobles to represent the ruling noble class around the country.

Politics and government
Izeryker government from the county- to federal-level broadly consists of four classes of governance with unequal and overlapping powers and responsibilities. These are the Nobiliat, Secretariat, Judiciat, and the Martiat.

The Nobiliat is essentially Izeryk's executive branch, consisting of the royal family and lower nobility, who lead the other classes. Entry into the Nobiliat is typically hereditary, although in some jurisdictions membership can be conferred unto a member of the untitled gentry who has served as a regimental commander in the Duchal Armies or purchased a warrant and eligible land title within their home jurisdiction. The provinces in which this is a valid means of ascending to the Nobiliat are multi-level elective monarchies, with ascent being a prerequisite to being registered on as an eligible candidate. Thus, nobles who lack titles in elective duchies are largely equivalent to the gentry of hereditary provinces.

The Secretariat meanwhile is the bureacracy of Izeryk, responsible for providing advice to members of the Nobiliat; executing the intent of the Nobiliat by drafting decrees, regulations, and memos; and directly implementing policy. At the lowest levels, municipal bureacrats directly execute the policies drafted by the municipal Secretariat and approved by the Lord-Mayor. In some municipalities, a Mayor-Secretary (part of the Secretariat appointed by the local bureacracy) acts in parallel to a Lord-Mayor (part of the Nobiliat, usually owning a significant amount of land in their city or commanding a consensus among the gentry or possessing a mandate to lead from a superior member). In this case, the Mayor-Secretary usually acts as a city-manager while the Lord-Mayor leads the jurisdiction and sets the tone of governance. Meanwhile, at the highest levels, federal Secretaries lead the offices which manage Izeryk's affairs, implements federal policy, and advises the monarch on matters relevent to their field. For example, the Secretary on War and Crisis leads the Secretariat responsible for military affairs and disaster response.

The Judiciat is the court system.

The Martiat encompasses the military officer class, and in some ways mixes the responsibilities and stature of the Nobiliat and Secretariat while remaining subordinate to both. Due to its role in instilling nationalist and civic values into the populace via universal conscription, the Martiat is particularly important in the maintenance of Izeryker traditions, loyalty to the state, and adherence to the state religion among commoners in a way that the other classes are not.

Military
The Izeryk Realm Guard acts as the armed forces of Izeryk, consisting of the Duchal Armies, Territorial Army, Realm Armada, and Aero Guards. There are significant intersections between the military, aristocratic power dynamics, factionalism, and state-enforced values in Izeryk. Its largest service branch, the Duchal Armies, is a manifestation of the collective power of Izeryk's princes and dukes, being composed of individual Princely or Duchal Armies which are mustered by and report to this level of lower noble. Although in times of war they legally may be placed under the centralized command of the Empress's military bureaucracy—which controls the Territorial Army, Realm Armada and Aero Guards in peacetime as well—this is rarely done due to the amount of political capital required to compel lower nobles to comply. During the extreme case of the Acaltic Expeditions (1880-1902), Empress Ingel II used the Territorial Army (composed primarily of colonial nationals) to depose the Duchess of Arensloz for refusing to transfer control of the Duchal Army of Arensloz to federal control for an overseas colonial deployment. However, during most overseas conflicts, the federal monarch typically opts to not federalize the Duchal Armies to avoid domestic confrontations. The maintenance of the Duchal Armies is considered to be a political check against federal overreach, particularly among smaller duchy governments representing ethnoreligious minorities outside of Izeryker royal family. At the same time, the distribution of Duchal Armies (based roughly on population of the duchies and principalities) has historically placed the bulk of Izeryk's military power in the hands of the Izeryk royal family, preventing all succession attempts initiated by a lower noble.

Over time, this system has led to the Duchal Armies degradation as a full-spectrum land army, with its expeditionary capabilities being largely taken over by the Territorial Army and the Realm Armada's Expeditionary Brigade. After the Reconstitution Decree of 1973, the Duchal Armies' primary roles were outlined as "guarding against and repelling invasion of the home islands, maintaining order during times of strife, guarding the lives of the monarchs [and] maintaining the moral and civic values of the Izeryker people." By the same token, the intersection between the Duchal Armies and the aristocracy has reinforced the Empress's role as the commander-in-chief of Izeryk's military operations abroad and the defense of its aerospace, due to its expeditionary land warfare services, navy, and strategic air defense command reporting directly to Empress and her Secretariat on War and Crisis.