Role in the Empire:
by Alex Benson"The people of Randel are a
valued resource for the Empire. If they were not, then we shan't
have tolerated their antics this long."
Dlocteriol, Grand Council Member living in Haven
The Randel Korp's role within the Empire is simple. They answer to and owe fealty solely to the Imperial Court. Technically, their loyalty to the Empire is through the Empress. This has caused a commotion since that aspect was realised. In particular, the Grand Council sees the oath as a direct undermining of their authority. So far, they have not had any real reason to try to implement change. At least not enough reason to warrant the risks of it. Instead, the Grand Council is rather strict with funding. In this way they hope to assert some control.
In theory, the Randel forces are supposed to be used by the Imperial Court as a fast reaction force. And since the Imperial Court should have the Empire's interests in mind, those deployments should reflect the needs of the Empire. In actual use, the Randel Armed Forces are also used to protect the Imperial Family and its interests. Between the forces of Randel and the Imperial Guards, the Imperial Court has a formidable defensive as well as offensive capability.
In times of unrest, the Randel forces are sent abroad. They either offer a show of Imperial force or they get directly involved. In times of war, they are often sent to spearhead attacks. With their deployment capability, Randel troops are usually among the first troops to arrive.
This is not to say that everything
is friendly between Randel and the Imperial Court. On the contrary,
the two are often in conflict. Budget and funding seem to be the
key issues in such conflicts. At times, things get so bad that the
Randel king has hinted at rebellion. The current King and Empress
rarely quarrel. As King Verothrics puts it "It does little to be
scornful to the Imperial Throne. The Empress does not hold the
reigns for the budget and funding. Instead, you display callousness
towards the people that do. However, you do not go overboard with
them. Instead, subtly hint at attacking their home kingdoms. That
always rattles them."