The Magistracy

Magistrates are a special class of official who hold Imperial fiat to investigate and enforce laws upon the ministries, the judges, and even the Chosen. They are enforcers of the Empress’ will, meting out justice to the wicked and destroying the corrupt and the greedy.

Magistrates are beloved by the common folk, and generally despised by the Dynasty for meddling where they are not wanted. The Magistrates are appointed directly by the Empress herself, and their fiat is one of the broadest and oldest in the Realm.

Primarily, Magistrates focus on investigating impropriety among the highest circles of society. Their remit is to track down, prove, and wreak justice upon corrupt officials and those who abuse their fiat; to protect the citizenry from the predations of the powerful; and to ensure law and order prevails even on those whose duty is to enforce it.

History of the Magistracy

The Magistrates emerged early in the Realm’s history, when the Empress needed couriers and trusted officials to carry her word, with whom she knew that it would not be corrupted. As her ministries grew, the Empress repurposed her Magistrates into a sort of internal-affairs division, policing the government itself to keep it free from corruption.

Magisterial Authority

Magistrates are tasked with not only enforcing the law, but also seeing that those who enforce the law are doing so correctly. They patrol the whole Isle, checking in on judges, prefects, governors, and the blood-rite princes to ensure that the Empress’ will is carried out exactly as she wills it.

Magistrates are not subject to any authority but the Empress. They cannot be arrested except by another magistrate, and only the Empress has the authority to order their death. They are above all law but treason, and follow only the code that the Empress requires of them.

In the execution of their duties, Magistrates can commander any property, demand cooperation from any person, and pass judgement against any person shy of the Matriarchs themselves. Every word that they speak is a representation of the Empress, and every action represents the whole Realm.

Limitations on Magisterial Authority

Magistrates are forbidden from owning any property. Although they are usually well-equipped, their clothes, armor, and weapons are direct property of the Empress, surrendered to her when they took their oaths. Magistrates cannot own or use currency, and cannot hold land or permanent residence.

Magistrates cannot pass judgement upon the Empress’ Table, nor upon anyone in the Empress household. Magistrates must submit to regular reviews by the Empress and the other Magistrates, and the punishment for corruption is exection by the Empress’ own hand. Magistrates submit to a full review every five years in the Imperial City, and a partial review whenever the Empress demands.

Only the Empress may appoint a Magistrate.

Appointment

The Empress appoints Magistrates from those she views as most trustworthy and most likely to work for her and her alone. She occasionally appoints truly heroic Dynasts, such as the famous Ragara Benoru or Mnemon Korvu, but such appointments are far from the norm.

Instead, the Empress is known to choose the heretical, the ostracized, the rebellious, and the lightly criminal as her voice. She swoops in to save such figures from death or imprisonment, offering them a new life of freedom and vengeance on those who did them wrong, as long as they maintain absolute, unquestioning loyalty to her personally.

The best candidates for the Magistracy are those who have ended up at the outskirts of society for their pursuit of justice. The Empress tends her Magistrates carefully, selecting for detachment, sense of justice, and absolute loyalty. Magistrates are above and outside the politics of the Dynasty, a detached eye keeping watch on all affairs to ensure the smooth running of the Realm.

Magisterial Support

Each individual Magistrate is a powerful Dragon-Blooded cultivated by the Empress, and so has many duties and tasks they must see to. To assist them and to keep an eye on them, the Magistrates are always accompanied by a flock of support staff.

Scribes

Foremost among the support staff is the scribe, who records all judgements and official uses of power by the Magistrate and sends regular reports to the Empress. Scribes are also advocates for their Magistrate during reviews, against a critic appointed by the Empress to argue against the Magistrate’s judgements.

Archons

Archons are the mortal support staff of the Magistrate, brought along for their specific skill in an area of specialty. For example, a Magistrate with a brilliant deductive mind but poor swordsmanship might retain a skilled duelist as an archon bodyguard.

The Magistrate may conscript any mortal to service, as long as that mortal is not a member of a Great House or in the employ of a Great House or another Chosen. Archons follow the same regulations as the Magistrates, but cannot requisition under magisterial authority.

Archons are loyal to their Magistrate to the death – literally. When an active Magistrate dies, all of her archons are executed. This ensures their unquestioning commitment to the bodily safety of their Magistrate.

Heroic Figures

Peasants adore Magistrates, like they adore the Empress. To a peasant, the Empress is always a figure of benevolent authority, who swoops in to save them from the predations of their vile local lords. Never is this clearer to the peasantry than when a Magistrate arrives to pass judgement upon the prefect who burned down the village in retaliation for getting mud on her skirt.

Peasant literature is full to bursting with tales of heroic magistrates solving mysteries, or engaging in daring duels, or falling in love with their archons, or sneaking into manses to gather evidence on corrupt ministers. The law requires that a peasant surrender anything and everything to a Magistrate when requested – but Magistrates often find they do not need to request, because the locals are already competing for the honor of hosting a Magistrate and the lifetime of stories they will be able to tell about it.

Reputation

God, Magistrates are the worst, aren’t they? They’re always meddling around, sticking their noses into affairs where they don’t belong. I’ve been running a very safe and productive scheme here, gathering extra taxes from the rice farms to pay off the bandits to harass the Nellens wagons so my sister can kick out that awful Nellens Iron Wing from her position in the ministries. I haven’t hurt anyone! Those peasants don’t use money for anything anyway, they’re not missing it.

Then in comes this Magistrate, this fucking interloper, who starts asking all sorts of hard questions. “Why don’t these sheets balance,” she says, “why haven’t these forms been filed.” Normally I’d offer jade and favors, but no, she wasn’t interested. And then, wham! Next thing I know I’ve been dragged out of my bed into the square in the middle of the night, and the peasants are there to laugh at me! It was the most embarassing moment of my life.

Mother was very upset. She forced me to return home, leave my career behind and take shelter behind these walls like a dog. Unbelievable. I’ll get my vengeance on that Magistrate, mark my word!