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  Revision: 1
  All material copyright 2004 by M.A.R. Barker
  The Court of
  Purple Robes
  
  Credits
  front layout and design
  Victor Raymond
  cover illustration
  Giovanna Fregni
  editorial help
  Chris Davis
  
  The Court of Purple Robes and the High Chancery.
  The Court of Purple Robes is an ancient council of
  advisors to the Emperor. It was founded by Metlunel
  II "the Builder" in 1,207 A.H. (on the model of a
  much-earlier Engsvanyali advisory body, which had
  been called something like "The Lords of Purple
  Illumination.")� Metlunel II had lived through the
  reign of his father, Metlunel I, a rather paranoid
  ruler whose fear of everyone and everything (plus a
  few really wild hallucinations) led Metlunel II to
  gently push him aside and rule the Imperium in his
  stead -- without actually breaking the line of
  succession, of course. Later Emperors saw this
  council of close personal�advisors to be a useful
  thing, and so continued it to this day. It meets at
  the Emperor's discretion in a special room outside
  of the Golden Tower. This chamber contains a
  sorcerously enhanced tube that passes through the
  thick stone ramparts to carry the voices of the
  Emperor and his counctil to and fro between one
  another as each agenda item is discussed.
  There is no fixed number of members of the "Court."
  There have been as few as five members and as many
  as thirty, with further non-member outsiders
  invited in for their special expertise. The
  council's business is similarly fluid: it discusses
  and advises on whatever topics the Emperor wishes.
  He then may assign tasks, projects, or topics for
  further discussion to this member or that. Unlike
  the committees and official bodies set up under
  American official procedures, the "Court" is
  
  entirely at the Emperor's discretion: he
  establishes its standards and sets forth its
  structure. Members serve for life -- or as long as
  the Emperor chooses; there is no fixed term of
  membership.� If a member fails or betrays his
  charge, he is expelled from the "Court" forthwith
  (several have gone directly from the "Court" to the
  Tolek Kana Pits, or even to the dungeons beneath
  Avanthar for more dire and immediate rewards.
  Compensation and "pay" similarly depend upon the
  Imperial whim.
  The Chancery is more of a public access point for
  the Imperial government. Within this labyrinth of
  chambers are the scribes and bureaucrats who handle
  the day-to-day business of the Empire. People bring
  petitions, requests, bribes for this service or
  that, items to be recorded, and the like. Records
  are kept in the Chancery, and disputes are
  adjudicated, if they are interesting enough to the
  Imperium.There are tiers of seats for the
  functionaries of this body, and slaves carry
  documents up and down between the rows of sweating
  scribes and bureaucrats. Again, there is no fixed
  membership, no fixed terms of office, etc. All of
  these matters depend upon the will of the High
  Chancellor, who, these days, is the Emperor's older
  half-brother, Prince Rereshqala. The Prince and his
  family have quarters within Avanthar right beside
  the offices of the Chancery. Members have no
  special uniforms but wear whatever finery they
  prefer.There are, however, customary insignia,
  "colours," and sigils that identify� peoples’
  status and occupation. They are also given "writs"
  
  by the Emperor and/or the High Chancellor to prove
  their membership.
  Outside of the great halls of the Chancery itself,
  there are chambers for meetings, offices of the
  Imperial Guard, more offices for the Omnipotent
  Azure Legion, more rooms for scribes and slaves
  performing special tasks, etc. etc. Avanthar is a
  warren of halls, offices, and dormitories, filled
  with noise and hubbub. The scribes write, eat,
  sleep, and bring their families into the Chancery
  (often to be expelled again by the guards, if they
  get in the way, or make too much racket). (There
  are, of course, schools and play-areas set aside
  for the families of these functionaries, but not
  everybody obeys the rules all the time.)
  Avanthar also contains small shrines to each of the
  twenty Gods and Cohorts, and there are thus priests
  and their families, performers of rituals, singers
  of hymns, and all of�*their* entourages. The great
  clans also have suites of apartments where
  occupants vie for space and use what wiles they can
  muster to gain preference.� As has been said, "If
  Avanthar were not a mighty mountain, the Imperium
  would have long ago collapsed for sheer weight of
  crowding!"
  This is only the tip of the iceberg (the top five
  handspans of ThenuThendraya Peak, as is the
  Tsolyani idiom) in any discussion of Tsolyani
  government structures and policies..
  Sorry! Just thought you might like to know...
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Empire of the Petal Throne (osr)/Setting Information/The Court of Purple Robes.pdf