Emperor
The history of Kytheria spans ten thousand years, and in those millennia many empires have risen and fallen. The Emperor of Balleron is unique among emperors however, for no human emperor before him has surpassed the human lifespan so spectacularly nor had as strong a claim to divinity as he. The Emperor's word may as well be law; though the empire retains its senate, the senators are keenly aware of what personal misfortune could befall them if they anger the Emperor, so most work clandestinely if they're not content to kowtow.
Balleron began as a Republic, but in a time of civil unrest the Emperor's tutor seized power in an attempt to rein in the chaos sweeping the nation. The Emperor himself fought valiantly in the civil war, and sided with the new tyrant who sought to restore order and peace even after his own order of mages turned against him. The Emperor had started then as a promising mage and general, but deposed his tutor when the tyrant sought to make ruling the nascent empire about his own glorification. The Emperor doesn't seek power or riches or recognition for the benefit of his own ego; he seeks these things because he believes that no one else is responsible enough to wield them effectively.
The Emperor not only makes most decisions about laws and their execution (his suggestions to key senators are never ignored), he also commands the entire military of the empire through generals carefully vetted for loyalty. Though he nominates co-consuls as a nod to the old republican system, these seconds-in-command invariably die of old age or in the line of duty before they'll ever see the throne for themselves. This doesn't bother most, as loyalty is key; the Emperor will entertain dissenting opinions, but does not abide them in his direct representatives.
The Emperor is also head of the Empire's religious apparatus. Balleron has long favored the Seven Gods faith, though the Emperor has taken to positioning himself as the first, who prior to was a more ambiguous figure. Early cries of blasphemy were discreetly silenced, and now the Emperor is the focus of prayers and devotions from an entire Empire who believe that he is indeed a god manifested in flesh. That his most devout can call upon his power is testament to this, though the other six gods have faded from the religious life of the Empire, and older cults of ancestors or animism are almost completely ignored.
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