Government Bodies and Foreign Lands:

In Everwealth, governance is rarely straightforward and never without cost. The kingdom's ruling institutions, monarchs, governors, councils, and guild-backed officials, do not operate as unified entities but as competing layers of control, each with its own agenda, region of influence, and unspoken limitations. Cities like Opulence are micromanaged by aristocratic bureaucracies backed by gold and paranoia, while places like Bordersword and Stargaze answer directly to military command structures with little regard for civilian autonomy. In between are hundreds of settlements that manage themselves by custom, compromise, or necessity. Lawmakers and lawbreakers often share the same dinner tables. Some cities are governed as extensions of the Crown; others, especially those rebuilt after The Great Schism, are ruled by coalitions of merchants, warrior orders, or religious orders who have filled the void left by a fractured monarchy. In truth, most governance in Everwealth is reactive rather than idealistic, designed not to uplift but to endure. Beyond the kingdom's ever-shifting borders lie foreign powers whose ideologies and governance pose both threat and opportunity. The fractured but formidable states of Kibonoji, the untamed southern reaches of Kathar, and the myth-wrapped realms of The Otherworld all exert cultural and military pressure on Everwealth’s dominion. Some maintain cold alliances sealed in coin or trade, others bristle with ancient grievances. Most foreign governments operate on alien terms, be it through tribal elder councils, divine theocracies, or warlord-driven syndicates. These external systems often infiltrate Everwealth through factions, smugglers, or ideologues, challenging the legitimacy and stability of the Crown’s control. To navigate governance in Everwealth is to walk a line between internal compromise and external consequence, where diplomacy is a game played with blades sheathed just beneath the velvet.