Arch Heralds

The Arch Heralds are a group of six advisors to Empress Yiamae of the Holy Empire who also lead the six Capitals of the Holy Empire. One of them is the First Herald who is in theory considered primus inter pares, and leads conversation when they meet. But in reality, he holds a vastly superior proportion of authority than the other Arch Heralds, who are also not equal in political authority because of the resources that each city produces. The Empress can completely ignore their advice, or choose to defer most decisions to them - such depends on her, and them. Either way, their power in the Holy Empire is great.

While many Arch Heralds in the past have been human, no First Herald has ever been human, and the current six are all Aasimar. The reason for this is that it is believed by worshippers of Sarenrae that the Aasimar have a closer affinity to their Lady, and as such can better relay her commandments.

First Herald Uriel
Uriel is the oldest of the Arch Heralds, indeed much older than the Empress herself, and is considered wise and hardworking. With a young Empress, it is the First Herald who truly rules, as he retains the most influence over her, as her mentor and protector during the early years of her rule. As she learns and becomes more independent, the First Herald's hold over her is diminished, but for the time being he can get his way most of the time.

Uriel lives in the Healing Quarter in Dawnrise, at the Grand Solar Temple.

Responsibilities

 * Running Dawnrise's day-to-day political and religious business;
 * Acting as personal advisor to the Empress;
 * Liasing with the other Arch Heralds on their distribution requirements, and running the country's infrastructure;
 * Appointing diplomats to other nations and liasing with their own diplomats.
 * Acting as chairman when the Arch Heralds meet.

Arch Herald Emeli
Emeli's city, Hallow's Well is run by an elected council of noblemen and Church Fathers and Mothers, but they still ultimately answer to her. Emeli, however, believes in the sanctity of ruling oneself, so she mostly only carries out her duties as the head of church in the city, rather than head of state as well. Even so, the church's strength in Hallow's Well has diminished over the years, so her own power has also diminished.

It was Emeli who thought of the idea of the Freedom Pacts, and convinced the free city of Greypeak to take one, but she didn't partcularly want to take credit for it - in fact she attributed it to a minor diplomat who serves under her, by the name of Rael Travishdann, resulting in his promotion and assignment to the Rested Coast Confederacy's diplomat seat.

Responsibilities

 * Running the day-to-day business of the church in Hallow's Well;
 * Oversight of the city's political process.
 * Liasing with the First Herald about the city's logistical requirements - of which there tend to be few.

Arch Herald Praetan
Praeten is the proud master of Duskhold, and holds the chairman's seat on meetings between the city's many unions. Though he has the final say in all things, Praetan must play a careful political game so as to keep the factories, smithies and refineries running. His reputation as a hard worker and caring overseer helps him with this job, as his decisions are often considered fair, or otherwise his motives assumed good.

Praetan's relationship with the Half Orcs is strong - he regularly meets with their leaders, and has a steady stream of freshly mined and extremely pure ores coming in from across the Valtarok Mountains. As a result, Praetan wields a significant amount of power compared to other Arch Heralds such as Emeli, but it is not his way to abuse this authority. Also, unlike other Arch Heralds, Praetan largely stays out of church business, except for demanding that anyone who has forsaken Sarenrae's name must be given the opportunity to redeem themselves. Many of the Half Orcs he does trade with are not worshippers of Sarenrae, and that does not bother him.

Responsibilities

 * Acting as chairman at regular union meetings where city-wide policy is decided and issues dealt with.
 * Ensuring that the Half Orcs continue to supply the precious ores at such low prices.
 * Liasing with the First Herald about the city's logistical requirements - mostly food acquisition.

Arch Herald Beesuul
Beesuul believes in devolved power, and as such defers much of his responsibilities to the Church Mothers and Fathers. Some call him lazy, others relaxed. Either way, as a result of his loose-handed rule the people of Parantum seem to be happy, able to exercise their own political wishes in their own towns or communities. Beesuul spends most of his time enjoying the fruits of the labour of his people, and regularly holds feasts in their honour.

He has what some might call an unhealthy curiosity in Elven artifacts from the nearby abandoned Elven tree-city, Ilaviatha, and spends some time at Darkelm examining their finds and sometimes even venturing out into the ruins himself. He also spends a significant amount of time with the wizards at Marintosh's Spire, learning and teaching.

Responsibilities

 * Running the artifact reclaimation project at Darkelm.
 * Representing the wishes of the many communities in Parantum and the surrounding towns to the First Herald.
 * Liasing with the First Herald about the city's logistical requirements - or more often other city's requirements.

Arch Herald Vralta
Vralta is a hot-headed zealot, who treats pretty much everyone with disdain, as he believes their faith is lacking. The only ones he truly respects are the First Herald, the Empress herself, and their Lady Sarenrae. As such, the people of Daylight's Keep are not treated particularly well. Food for the citizens of Daylight's Keep is often considered a low priority, behind acquisition of new armaments and supplies for the sizeable military presence there. Though it is not near anywhere that needs defending from particularly, the bulk of the Holy Empire's military is stationed at Daylight's Keep, kept in a constant state of preparedness.

Vralta is an able commander and powerful warrior, second only within the Holy Empire to First Herald Uriel. He considers anyone whose faith wavers even for a moment to be scum, and such lack of faith is punished swiftly and brutally by his supporters.

Responsibilities

 * Appointment of ministers to run the day-to-day business of Daylight's Keep.
 * Oversight of the Holy Empire's military training.
 * Supreme command of the Holy Empire's armies.
 * Liasing with the First Herald about the city's logistical requirements - supplies and armaments for the soldiers.

Arch Herald Fowrith
Fowrith was appointed Arch Herald of Goltarm by the current Empress, the only Arch Herald as such, and replaced a human who had widespread support of the region's nobility in the Month of the Sun, 485FZ. Though her intentions are good, and she is largely competent, she struggles to control said nobles because of a general air of distrust and the somewhat messy dismissal of her predecessor. She is devout and advocates Sarenrae's teachings, which causes a certain amount of friction with the large proportion of citizens who worship other deities.

Acting as both head of state and head of church, Fowrith has a lot on her plate, but she is determined to pull in the reins of her region and take charge. Not helping is the political friction being fired up by the Kingdom of Nerthelm, as it forced the First Herald to garrison a large number of troops there, provoking many of the nobles to fear some sort of inquisition and become even more cagey.

Responsibilities

 * Running the day-to-day business of the church in Goltarm.
 * (In theory) Running the day-to-day political business in Goltarm.
 * Supreme Admiral of the Holy Empire's navy.
 * Liasing with the First Herald about the city's logistical requirements - chiefly food and supplies for the garrison.