The main difference between an empire and a monarchial state is … everything.
An empire is a collection of land under the rule of an Emperor and his family. A large part of his kingdom is also given to his nobles who swear their allegiance to him and his rule. Monarchial States work a little differently.
You see, the Plane of Existence is a huge piece of land. Too huge to be 'conquered' and 'ruled' by a single entity and that's why, empires, kingdoms and every other people of noble origin, people with land and power join to form a coalition.
This usually gives rise to a republic but since republics are known to be unstable strife with internal riots, bad economy and rising 'heroes', all surviving coalition elect the most powerful family or group in their coalition as the 'head' of the state. After developing for a good few thousand years, the republic becomes what one calls a Monarchial State.
One a side note, there is a slight chance that the republic might retain their republic status but that is both rare and difficult to sustain. One needs a powerful military, a powerful bureaucracy and a patriotic populace to form one.
Currently, there are 8 Monarchial State in Yesenia and 4 factions. These factions are Knight Faction, Beast Faction, Hell Faction, Witch Faction out of which, the Knight Faction is the most powerful with 3 Monarchial States which are Republic of Rurik, Nation of Ceonid and the State of Xerith.
Then comes the Witch Faction with 2 States, Veronican Witch Dynasty and the Coalition of Roses. They are followed by the Beast Faction consisting of the Empire of Cronus and the Elven Republic.
One should note that even though Empire of Cronus is called empire, it is actually consisting of tribes of various beastmen species each of which is as large as an empire. Elven Republic, like the Republic of Rurik are actual republics and follow a democratic setup and consists of demi-human settlements, different tribes of elves and dwarves.
One should also know that demi-humans are different than beastmen. Beastmen are species of ordinary monsters and spirit monsters who had obtained a humanoid structure through multiple evolutions and blessings from their respective gods.
They might look very similar to demi-humans but they are very different. They follow a close biology and skill tree of their species and would even include Insecta-kind, Marine-kind and many more. They might look humanoid but many of them are simply monsters and animals to their cores.
Demi-humans on the other hand are mixed race formed due to mating between beastmen with humans and other actual humanoid creatures like elves and dwarves. Orcs, goblins and Onis might fall in the Elven Republic but are often considered as monsters in the human territories because of their crazy reproductive rates.
Usually, mixed breeds and demi-humans are looked down upon but in reality, they are quite powerful because all demi-humans are capable of unlocking both human/elven/dwarven skill tree or beastmen skill tree.
Lastly, there is the Hell Faction consisting of only 1 State, the State of Hadilux. One must be extra careful while treading through the State of Hadilux for one and only reason. There is a Gates of Hell located in their territory. The exact location is unknown and is a closely guarded secret of the State of Hadilux.
In terms of size, the Knight Faction again comes top.
If the entire Yesenia is divided into two parts by the equator, the entire northern half would be under the control of the Knight Faction, most of the land is under the Republic of Rurik and Ceonid Nation but Xerith controls majority of the eastern part of the northern half.
The south-eastern part of Yesenia belongs to the Witch Faction along the Everlasting Heights, the Beast Faction is situated near the south-western part of Yesenia while Hell Faction is situated in a very small region in the southern most part of the continent.
But again, I warn you. The Hell Faction may seem the most weakest but they are perhaps the one with the most potential to go one-on-one against Knight Faction. Not to mention their not-so-secret expansion into Xegres, trying to compete for land against the Sultanate.
Excerpt from The Geo-Politics of Yesenia by Jonah Rupp, Chancellor of the Saint Mueller's Cathedral of Swanwall Chapter.
…
Vanessa, the Imperial Capital of Xerith was located in the heart of the Xerith Monarchial State. It was a day in the month of December and it was business as usual. The markets were bustling, commerce flourishing, migrants and tourists entered the city in droves and officials worked as per usual.
The city was made in a circular fashion, like most other cities. There was the Outer City which consisted nearly 40% of entire Vanessa, covered the entire city in circumference.
Crossing the Outer City comes the Residential City where most of the legal residents live and the Commerce District where all the transaction and trade takes place. Out of these four areas, only the Inner City and the Outer City are perfectly circular in shape and are walled. On the other hand, the Residential City and the Commerce District are pretty much mixed in with a haphazard planning yet with a beautiful system.
The Inner City is the area where all the nobility lives and all the important offices are located. The Inner City is guarded by four forts right in the city which are Fort of Belogne, Camlogne, Vinbonne and Borlun. There are many other military and nobility areas but the most important of them was obviously, the Xerith Palace.
…
In one of the innermost areas of the Xerith Palace, there was currently a meeting taking place. A meeting between the Queen of the State of Xerith and 10 out of 19 of her Kaisers.
Kaisers are the head of Houses or factions in the Xerith State. A Monarchial State, like previously mentioned, are formed through coalition of empires and kingdoms but as they form a Monarchial State, the power becomes centralized and therefore there comes a need for a rank higher than an Emperor but lower than a Monarch (the literal head of a Monarchial State).
This honorary rank is called the Kaiser. Every Monarchial State has a rank equivalent of a Kaiser and their Houses are a collection of empires and kingdoms under their banner. Every emperor or king under a House must follow their rules and submit a portion of their taxes and annual income to the House they serve.
Currently, the 10 Kaisers who came along with two of their Personal Guards, were a little surprised at the sudden meeting. It wasn't uncommon to have such meeting considering the Abyss Outbreak a month ago but it was indeed uncommon for the Imperial House to call the meeting and not the Xerith Government which is responsible for the day-to-day workings of the nation state. This was the only reason why 10 out of 19 were present.
The Throne Room was a typical one with an elevated floor at the far end of the room with a red carpet dividing the room into two parts. Each side of the carpet had thrones placed, a total of 19 of them whereas on the pedestal, a large bed was placed. Yes, a bed not a throne.
And unlike normal thrones, it wasn't on display showing its glamourous jewels or precious stones, instead it was covered on all side by curtains, thus blocking the view of the Queen. But no one in the room dared to think that she was not present here or that she was shy or anything.
The lady who lied in the bed behind the curtain was one of the most powerful people in the whole Xerith, Queen Isabella I, the First of the House of Vanessa. Ruling for more than 400 years, she had attained a battle Qi cultivation base of half-step Demi-God(half-step into the Deus Realm which is the Latin for God Realm). She had been married to Emperor Emeritus George Schwartz of Schwartz family and had ruled the State for 132 years before his wife took over.
After she took over, the name of the House changed from Schwartz to Vanessa which was a rule by which the maiden surname of the ruler will be the official and de facto name of the Imperial House.
If you're wondering about their age, here's a quick fact, ageing slows down considerably after one cross the Mortal Stage and enters the Princeps Stage (Princeps is the Latin for 'Ruler' and thus this stage/realm is also known as the Ruler's Stage/Realm). It almost stops after one cross the Princeps Realm and enters the Deus Realm, effectively becoming a God. Or something close enough.
The Kaisers who were present in the room were of different ages but just like their Queen, their ages too stopped after they entered the Princeps Realm but all of them contained a certain aura around them which made even the most veteran and experienced soldier shiver in fright. Nine out of ten Kaisers were the Archdukes of Xerith and owned a certain piece of land as their own from where they controlled their subject states.
There was only one who wasn't an Archduke and she was Mariam Kauffman, the current head of the Kauffman House and the head of the Xerith Treasury.
…
It had been almost half-an-hour since the Queen had called their meeting but until now they had no new visitors or instruction. Usually, meetings like these would be very informal with the Queen inquiring about their day-to-day life, their families and their youngest children and vice-versa while waiting for the other Kaisers. Yes, the Kaisers were placed at the top of the food chain and therefore most of them were lazy and late. They only wanted to see who would come last and be the first one to be publicly berated by the Queen.
Unfortunately, today was a little different. They didn't know why but the atmosphere around the Imperial Bed, as many of them jokingly called, was stuffy and stagnant.
"Your Imperial Majesty, is there something bothering you?" the first one to speak was Jericho Helmuth, head of the Helmuth House and the Protector of the Western Border of Xerith. He is one of the highest-ranking Kaisers of Xerith.
"Hmm." Came a disinterested reply from behind the curtain. Everyone stopped whatever they were talking and turned towards the Imperial Bed, waiting for some kind of reply, after all, they too were bored.
"Are you my husband that I've tell you whether I've periods or not?" she said in a slightly irritated voice. The voice was young and full of vigor, something which one might find hard to take in considering she's more than 400 years old.
"Pfft!" everyone behind Jericho gave a small giggle of laughter and from their faces it seemed like they had expected it.
"You bloody…" Jericho grumbled and balled his fist but calmed himself down. Another Kaiser, who looked quite young compared to Jericho noticed his balled-up fist and said teasingly, "Hey, Master Jericho are you going break the armrest again and be punished by auntie again?" said the young man.
"Pfft!!!" the few around him laughed before stopping themselves. Jericho looked angrily at the man but it was the Queen who came at him.
"Elías, the next time you call me auntie, I'm throwing you out of here. Sigh! My goodness, all of you are nothing more than children. Have none of you kept tabs on the Southern border of the State?" she said as a shadow of a lady formed on the curtains. The shadow was a little unordinary for it seem like a hologram on a screen with two glowing eyes.
Nicola, the Archduchess of Kilmere Castle, frowned and said in her cold and emotionless tone, "Hasn't Duke Ian of the 3rd Imperial Legion Corps already reached the Southern border and taken garrison. Has there been movements from the Witch Faction?" she asked in a frosty tone filled with intention of war. Similar to her, many more of the Kaisers looked excited at the prospect of war.
The shadow shook its head woefully. "War, war, war… all you guys ever talk about is war. Can't you guys be more positive and keep a tab on what happens in the Nation State? Do you think only Mariam, Julián and Madoc will do everything while all of you suck on your nanny's?!" she said angrily.
Nicola's face turned red for a moment and she turned to the others but none of them had any idea on what was happening in the Southern Border.
"Sigh… all of you…. If I could just fire all of you. Anyway, it seems like there has been a birth of an angel—"
"Your Imperial Majesty! He has come!!" all of a sudden, one of the Palace Guard entered the Throne Room in a hurry and interrupted the Queen.
"Mind your manners, soldier." Barked Elías as the soldiers behind him unsheathed their sword. It was true and normal for them to joke with their Queen, even make fun of her but not for anyone lesser than a Kaiser.
The soldier's face turned white at the approaching knights but the Queen promptly stopped them.
"Stand down." She said in a calm voice.
Elías's soldier stopped immediately and looked at Elías for further instruction to which Elías swiftly brought them back. After they were back behind Elías, the Queen looked at the soldier and asked in a gentle tone.
"What's the matter, sergeant?"
The sergeant calmed down a little and replied, "Your Imperial Majesty, he has returned and is seeking an audience with you immediately."
"Hmmm. The child had vanished for nearly a week and now he's asking for an immediate audience. Tell me, is he shameless or way too confident on himself?" Queen Isabella said in an amused tone.
"I don't know, Your Imperial Majesty." The sergeant answered a little tense.
Elías turned to her and said in a righteous tone, "Your Imperial Majesty, allow me and I will teach this kid a lesson." He said zealously but was rejected immediately. Instead, she turned to the sergeant and said in a slightly curious tone, "Soldier, why are you so tense?"
"Y-Your Imperial Majesty, the c-child has already defeated two divisions worth of Imperial soldiers and is advancing fast into the Palace. He has already defeated Sir Collins and Sir Timothy and has only agreed to calm down for a few minutes. H-he says he will storm the Throne Room if you don't give him an audience." The sergeant said in a quivering tone.
"Who the hell is he to storm the Palace?"
"This kid is looking for an early death."
"Auntie, let me finish him off." Elías said as he stood up from his seat but the reaction he got from the Queen, startled not only him but everyone from in the room.
"Stand Down!!!!" she shouted, her aura cascading towards him and dropping him back on his seat, his feet wobbling like jelly. And it was not only him, everyone in the room found their heartbeat racing in trepidation.
The shadowy golden white eyes glowed eerily as it swept past everyone, making everyone shiver down their bones before falling on Elías. "It seems like you need a bit of discipline, Elías. You're not only forgetting your manners but your etiquettes and hierarchy more and more as time passes." She warned before turning towards the sergeant who had frozen in shock.
The aura vanished in a moment and she asked in her normal, gentle voice, "The child is not powerful enough to do that. He is five-year-old and he has awakened for not more than a month. Who has he brought that has made the Imperial Palace Guards to fall to such a low height?" she asked in a gentle tone but the sergeant knew that a life of only hardship laid for them for the next few years.
"I-its… Seraphim."
…