There are two people on the Royal Bureaucratic Council that seem to be forever at odds with one another. No matter who occupies those roles, they find themselves embroiled in a nearly endless feud, pitting their expertise against each other in a struggle to influence the Crown, and temper the other’s ability to do the same.

The Office of Magicks was once overseen by the Lord High Warlock, but the last man to fill that position was Selkirk Deathtree. He was as cruel as he was mad, and he grew so powerful that he nearly brought ruin to the Kingdom. After he lost the position as the realm’s premiere sorcerer, he spiraled further into madness. His replacement was given the new title of High Warlock, a notable diminution in power. It is still a formidable job, but the scope has been narrowed during Queen Reichsha’s reign.

The Church is represented on the Royal Bureaucratic Council by the Archbishop of Slothenburg. The hierarchy of the Church has fallen into disarray following the collapse of the last Imperium, and every nation has had to make do to keep their institutions alive and well. In Slothjemia, as in many countries of the continent, the monarch selects who will be the leader of the Church within the borders of their state. The various Bishops of Slothjemia can try and shape this selection, but ultimately it is the Crown that chooses who will fill the job.

The High Warlock only has three jobs to do, and the Office of Magicks is by necessity relatively small compared to other offices in the bureaucracy. First, they provide the Crown with advice on things mystical, and give them whatever spellcraft that they might need. Second, they create and maintain the various magical wards that keep the capital and its regent safe. Third, they oversee the Royal Slothjemian University of Magicks, and keep an eye on the College of Arcane Sciences. By way of continual vigilance, the Office of Magicks ferrets out anyone engaged in or practicing necromancy, because to take part in this forbidden field of knowledge in any way can carry severe repercussions. Mages tend to be individualistic by nature, and as a result they are notoriously difficult to rein in and control. More than one observer has noted that the High Warlock is basically the chief cat-herder in the realm.

In sharp contrast, the Archbishop of Slothenburg has many jobs to do, but they also have their own vast network of resources with which to do them. They also have a number of supernatural defenses that they monitor and maintain in and around the capital, and they also provide advice and counsel in pertinent matters for the Crown. But the Office of the Lord Archbishop (as the role is commonly known when taken apart from their actual Church duties) also oversees the “Crusaders of Fenbattle”, a paladin house that serves as the militant extension of the Church. As a matter of Church etiquette, every priest, cleric, and paladin in the empire owes some measure of respect to the Archbishop of Slothenburg, and they work together as a cohesive group with passionate efficiency. Easily harnessed for any cause deemed worthy by the Archbishop of Slothenburg, these powerful groups can be a potent force to be reckoned with.

It is easy to see that the struggle between the High Warlock and the Archbishop of Slothenburg is nothing less than that of law and chaos, or in more practical terms, tribal and noble. Much of the dissent that forms in the country can be sorted into one of these two schools of thought. And once a person chooses which of these best defines their own beliefs, they have by default chosen who will be their champion on the Royal Bureaucratic Council.