Imperial Household (Shireroth)

The Imperial Household, sometimes referred to as the Imperial Household Agency (IHA) is a ministry of the Imperial Republic of Shireroth, charged with the organization and administration of the Imperial Court and Estates. It is headed by the Chamberlain, officially called Imperial Minister and Chamberlain of the Imperial Household.

Created on 18.I.1639 by Kaiser Hjalmar in Imperial Decree 791, it was originally modelled upon Vanic courts. Radically reformed along Cedrist principles by Kaiser Dominus in Imperial Decree 829, the Imperial Household Agency achieved its current form in 1664 AN by Kaiser Ayreon IV in Imperial Decree 1077.

In the aftermath the Kalirion Fracture and the return of the Imperial Family to Shirekeep in 1675 AN, the Imperial Mother and Chamberlain of the Imperial Household, Isidora Octavius-Teleni, quietly implemented a series of reforms to consolidate the Imperial Household Agency's functions, re-establish a pipeline of recruitment for the Dirâsat-an-Nûr, and several other ritual and behavioral norms, such as requiring that pages be castrated as part of their induction, be assigned new names that would purge them of previous regional or ethnic attachments, etc.

Between 1675 and 1685 AN, the Imperial Household Agency saw a rapid changeover in its staffing; this process saw older Adepts assigned as bureaucrats in the duchies, newly-created imperial corporations, and the Imperial Forces. This extension and propagation of Senior Adepts beyond the Imperial Household Agency helped both to infuse the outer reaches of the imperial government with highly-trained functionaries, as well as to ensure that the aforementioned changes could fully penetrate the Imperial Household Agency. Several Imperial Pages were also placed into the worker colonies on the basis of their connection to Jaap van Pijpervale's treachery, especially within the White Hall, which was demolished and discontinued as a dormitory hall of the Dirâsat-an-Nûr. Those seniormost adepts who remained as pages within the Imperial Household Agency proper did so on the basis of conforming to the newly-prescribed requirements.

Imperial Pages

Ranks

Rank is indicated by the color and decoration of a long tunic. Only Adepts are permitted to wear black and gold, the colors of the House of Ayreon-Kalirion. All pages wear a soft black brimless cap, except when awarded an alternative.

• Candidate: Age 11, arriving soon after their birthday. Dressed in white tunics. Reside in the Outer Dormitory adjacent to the Dirâsat-an-Nûr. Candidacy lasts for one year, at the end of which the top candidates are inducted and billeted. Failed candidates are reassigned for training in other imperial services.

• Novice: Age 12 to 15. Billeted in the Yellow Hall. Dressed in white tunics with yellow trim. Watches are divided between training in the Dirâsat-an-Nûr and junior services for the Agency or the Inner Keep. At the end of this period, novices are subjected to a broad range of examinations related to court duties and bureaucratic functions. The senior halls will then bid for the highest-qualified novices. Novices who are not selected may remain billeted in the Yellow Hall for another year, in order to improve their qualifications. Novices who fail to receive a billet for the senior halls are dismissed from the Imperial Pages and reassigned for training in other imperial services.

• Qualified: Age 15 to 20. Billeted in the Green, Black, and Red Halls. Dressed in white tunics with gold trim, belted with a sash corresponding to their hall. Watches are divided between advanced training in the Dirâsat-an-Nûr and senior services for the Agency or the Inner Keep. Punishment and reward is levied collectively; minor actions are conducted internally according to one's quire and administered internally by the hall leadership, major actions affect the entire hall and are administered by the Dean of the Dirâsat-an-Nûr.

• Adept: Age 20+. Fully-qualified pages. Dressed in black tunics with gold trim and brocade. Initially, they will continue to be billeted at the Dirâsat-an-Nûr and supplement their hall's leadership, but will quickly be assigned a new billet and assignment in one of the many arms of the Imperial Household Agency. Those who present exceptional skill at disciplining and training will be assigned to teach at the Dirâsat-an-Nûr.
  • Senior Adept: adept page who has been elevated into authority over other adept pages to manage and coordinate their duties. Dressed in the usual black tunic, with status indicated by a crimson fez.
  • Hypate: seniormost adept page who has been elevated into authority over other senior adepts and to act as the leader of some office or chapter. Dressed in the usual black tunic and fez, as well as a golden rope cincture.

Court Behavior

While serving at court, Imperial Pages remain in perpetual prostration, rather than the usual expectation to bow to the appropriate degree then stand. The only exception is when a page is actively performing a ritual duty.

Novices prostrate to the sixth degree, while Qualifieds prostrate to the fifth degree. Adepts prostrate in a modified form of the fifth degree, in which one sits in a knelt position with the head lowered.

At court, Imperial Pages are to be unacknowledged, except by Senior Adepts who coordinate movements through subtle taps of the foot and hand gestures. While participating in a ritual function, pages are exempt from performing prostrations to anyone, so as to avoid disruption to the ritual. Importantly, perpetual silence must be maintained.

Organisation

• Imperial Household Agency
  • Chamberlain of the Imperial Household
    • Office of the Chamberlain
      • Office of Standards and Etiquette
      • Office of Works
      • Office of Grounds
      • Office of Cuisine
      • Office of Transportation
    • Palatial Managers (5)
      • Manager of the Outer Keep
      • Manager of the Inner Keep
      • Manager of the Palace of Anandja I
      • Manager of the Palace of Raynor XII
      • Manager of Montran
    • Master of Pages
      • Outer Dormitory
      • Yellow Hall
      • Green Hall
      • Black Hall
      • Red Hall
    • Master of Endowments
      • Imperial Endowments (x)
    • Dean of the Dirâsat-an-Nûr
  • Chamber of Petitions and Pleas
  • Chamber of the Crypteia
    • Department 1 (Signals and Administration)
    • Department 2 (Conflict Resolution)
    • Department 3 (Intransigent Cases)
    • Department 4 (Information Collection - Military)
    • Department 5 (Information Collection - Civil Service)
    • Department 6 (Information Collection - Industrialists)
    • Department 7 (Information Collection - Internal)
    • Department 8 (Information Collection - Low Value Persons)
    • Department 9 (Esoteric Concerns)
  • Court Historian and Notary of Raynor's Keep
    • Tower of Bureaucratic Despair

List of Chamberlains

Lady Yumi Zotrasdóttir as Stallari	1639–1642
Vacant	1642–1645
Lady Nostalgia, Countess of Amarr	1645–1647
Lord Zakyyr Moonoak	1647
Lady Altea Lomax	1647–1648
Prince Hallbjörn Haraldsson	1648–1649
Empress Li Naomiai	1649–1650
Pentheros Aldin Ayreon-Kalirion	1650–1651
Lady Soraya Octavius-Parini	1651–1654
Pleroma Solutions (in commission)	1654–1657
Lady Soraya Octavius-Parini	1657–1667
Lady Isidora Octavius-Teleni	1667–1702
Lady Evgeniya Sotnikova, Countess of Schwinn	1702–1723
Lady Dina Niit n Taag, Countess of Highpass	1723-present