02 - Iron Kingdoms W.. - Captain Spud Is Amazing

108.1.141.197
bureaucracy and are staffed with clerks, lesser nobles,
and appointed experts, and the prime minister
coordinates their efforts. In past decades the position
of prime minister also served as the chief liaison
between the king and the Council of Nobles.
The eleven ministries are as follows listed loosely
in order of descending importance and prestige:
Ministry of the Treasury, Ministry of Taxation, Ministry
of Internal Security, Ministry of Trade and Commerce,
Ministry of Defense of the Realm, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Ministry of Law and Records, Ministry of
Roads, Rivers, and Sewage, Ministry of Architecture,
Mining, and Quarries, Ministry of Standards and
Measures, and Ministry of Arts and Letters.
Although some of the old ministers were
executed and replaced, their offices continue much
as before. Archduke Glabryn has remained in the
prime minister’s seat serving as chief liaison now to
his Khadoran superiors of the High Kommand. The
greatest change is that the Ministries of Internal
Security and Defense of the Realm, now impotent and
obsolete, have been relegated to local law enforcement
and aid with the investigation of resistance groups.
Archduke Glabryn hopes to gain the title of
Great Prince of the entire region when it becomes
a Khadoran territory. It remains to be seen if he can
arrange this lofty goal before he outlives his usefulness.
Meanwhile he supervises the other ministers in seeing
to Khador’s needs and supplying them with food, coal,
blasting powder, and other necessary industries.
All western nobles who retained their titles
cooperate through coercion and intimidation.
Khadoran agents and military garrisons remain in
all cities and large towns to ensure their continual
cooperation and to look for signs of resistance. East
of the Black River, nobles have retained their titles
and still believe themselves free although they are well
aware, some of them even petrified, that an invasion
could come at any time. In fact, some of the more
frightened nobles have already sent word of their
capitulation to Merywyn.
Major Duchies of Llael
Seven major duchies have governed Llael. Each
of these is subdivided into numerous lesser duchies,
the borders of which shifted based on political battles
in the Council of Nobles. The Khadoran occupation
has thrown these regions into an uncertain state, and
it is likely they could soon change. Many Khadorans
favor making Llael a new volozk. Others would prefer
to leave the duchies in place but install a high-ranking
noble to supervise the region. Some opportunist
Khadoran nobles and kayazy have already journeyed
east to help oversee certain towns and hope to make
these posts permanent. Time will tell if Khador’s
borders formally expand or not.
Khador considers Llael a conquered state, but
they have not actually occupied lands east of the Black
River aside from Merywyn and its surroundings. A
single major eastern duchy and parts of two others
remain unoccupied due to stretched Khadoran supply
lines more than anything else. Khadoran overseers
remain confident, however, that they will subjugate
these remaining lands when reinforcements and
supplies permit.
Esmynya (occupied)
The poorest duchy of Llael and generally
considered the least prestigious, it includes the tragic
ruins of Riversmet and several paltry mines near the
river along with farming communities south to the
Hardway Falls on the Black River. The invasion hit
this region hard and it has not recovered. After the
destruction of Riversmet, the Khadorans consider
locals here entirely cowed and subjugated. Very few
troops remain here aside from a few handpicked
soldiers.
Resources: Consumer crops, industrial metals,
grazing land
Industry: None
Ancestral Ruler: Lord Stagio Lymos, Archduke of
Esmynya (killed at the battle of Riversmet)
Occupation Ruler: Kovnik Corinna Yurikevna
Lyngblad (partially occupied)
Lyngblad is a small but important duchy in
northern Llael mostly consisting of Leryn, its nearby
surroundings, and a number of farming and logging
villages, mountain towns, and a stretch of farmland
south and east of the city. Lyngblad is noted for its
alchemical resources and houses the headquarters
World Guide 245