Zahard Empire

A long time ago, Zahard and the 10 Great Warriors entered the Tower and undertook gruelling tests. They were then recognised as the rulers of the Tower. As time went on, their Empire eventually expanded and this article is just an outline of its political structure.


 * Unknown families with strong and protected bloodlines will also be left out because they've no place in the ongoing politics (for now).
 * The Ruling Class is defined as a social class which dominates through wealth, power and influence. They include the Royalty and the 10 Great Families. Some of the other Special Families may count as well.
 * Royalty for now is defined as: The Zahard Family and perhaps, the Three Lords.

The King
The Zahard Empire is led by King Zahard. It rules over the first 134 Floors of both the Inner and Outer Towers. Its Palaces are likely located on the 134th Floor.

The only exceptions are the 43rd Floor and 77th Floor in the Inner Tower.

Another exception is the Second Floor but it is unknown for now, if the Ruler Evankhell holds any allegiance to the Zahard Empire. Evankhell is not from any of the 10 Great Families.

The Rulers
In total, there are over 130 Rulers, one for each Floor. The King is the No. 1 Ruler and rules over the entire Tower. However, he is resting and is represented by the Three Lords who take turns to rule in his place every 1000 years.

The Three Lords have highest authority in all the politics of the Tower. They have discarded their surnames and use only their first name, to avoid being bound by heredity.

When all the Rulers gather for a Ruler's Conference, the Three Lords have the final say on all items submitted by the "Ruler's Conference". It's unknown if the King is present during this Conference.

The 10 Great Warriors probably occupy the next 10 ranks, in terms of their influence. Each probably rules over a Floor of their own, apart from other Floors ruled by members of their Family.

The rest of the Rulers probably belong to the 10 Great Families and other Special Families. It's unlikely any common families get to rule.

The Ruling Families
First, there is the Zahard Family which consists of Zahard, the Princesses who have been adopted into it and the RED. In terms of power and influence in the Tower, they are the greatest and most influential family. The Princesses actually call Zahard their "Father".

Next come the 10 Great Families who hold considerable power within the Zahard Empire and are counted as part of the Ruling Class. Quite a few of the 10 Great Families count at least 1 to 2 Princesses as their members, in addition to Rankers and High Rankers.

It's also been mentioned by Yu Han Sung that the Koon Family lost its place in politics but it's unknown if they've regained their status.

It must be noted that after the Eurasia Enne Zahard incident, Eurasia Blossom forbade any of the Eurasia females from becoming Princesses. As a result, the family likely lost a lot of power due to that incident and would likely find it harder to regain political footing as a Princess likely carries a lot of political clout. And it is unlikely acquiring more High Rankers would regain its former influence and power.

The Princesses
The Princesses of Zahard are a sect of elite females chosen to serve Zahard, as the obligation for receiving his grand power. They are the "ultimate species" and a Princess is chosen every several hundred years. They are also the "chosen daughters" of the King because they call him "Father".

Upon joining the Zahard Family, all of them discard their birth surname and instead, assume the surname of Zahard. It might be the same system governing the Three Lords: placing the needs of the Empire before their birth family's. In addition, the interests of the Zahard Family likely come first.

None are descended from Zahard's blood, so most of them belong to the 10 Great Families or, if not, belong to other places. It's also unknown how they individually fit into the political structure for now, outside of the Zahard Family.

There are 2 types of Princesses: informal and formal. An informal Princess is probably chosen, even before she has become a Regular. A formal Princess is a Ranker.

Only a formal Princess may be bestowed with a 13 Month Series. The more 13 Month weapons she holds, the greater her status.

RED
The Royal Enforcement Division are part of the Zahard Family. As the purpose of this organisation is to uphold the rules and image of the Zahard Family, this means they haven't been chosen to be the King's sons or daughters. They don't discard their birth names upon joining the Zahard Family and none of the members are likely allowed to call the King "Father".

Since all of their enemies are formerly from the Zahard Family, there is some animosity between the the RED and their targets as they're likely viewed as traitors and betrayers of the Empire. According to SIU, "it's kinda like the feelings between the military police and an official".

The division has no loyalty towards King Zahard. But loyalty towards King Zahard among the RED members varies and most of them joined the RED to fulfill their urges and lust to commit murder or fight.

Royal Guards
There are also Royal Guards led by Adori Zahard and it's unknown if the "guards" seen in Repellista's Palace are part of them or are ceremonial guards. It is mentioned the Royal Guards and Royal Guides have the greatest loyalty towards Zahard, out of all the factions or groups within the hierarchy of the Zahard Empire.

The Royal Guards likely enjoy some status as their Captain has quite a high ranking, even though she is rarely active and leaves her duties to others.

Royal Guides
There is also a faction of Royal Guides. It's led by Evan Edrok, the Fast Ship who occupies the position of Chief Guide of the Zahard Royalty.

So far, it seems that some of them (Evan Edrok, Alumnik Edrok) guide the Princesses and also serve as their personal bodyguards. Apparently, Alumik Edrok also serves as Butler to Repellista Zahard.

Zahard Army
Apparently there is an Army who serves the Zahard Empire.

Military Police
It has been mentioned by SIU there is a military police but nothing is known about them so far. Also the military police in the Zahard army is not the RED.

Inner Tower and the Tower's Rules
Apart from the 2nd, 43rd and 77th Floors, the rest of the Floors are owned by a Great Family.

Floor is defined as: Inner Tower, Outer Tower and Middle Area.

A note which probably applies to the Middle Area: The relationship between the Regulars and the non-Regulars is similar to that of the ruling class and the subjected class.

And since the Ruler is from a Great Family, it can be said their rule reflects the will of their Great Family and in turn, the Zahard Empire. Rulers are High Rankers, Test Directors are likely also High Rankers, Test Admins are Rankers and support staff/other employees are likely former Regulars who have given up while climbing the Tower.

Except the Ruler, it is likely the rest of the Staff can be found in the Inner Tower as they've to administrate or watch over the tests or perform other tasks on the Floor.

The 43rd Floor has no Ruler because Enryu killed the Guardian and Rulers can't rule without a Guardian.

Despite the power and influence of the Zahard Empire, all staff (including the Ruler) on the Floor are still subjected to the Tower's rules in the testing Floors of the Inner Tower.


 * They may not change the rules of the test and as a workaround, likely have to resort to adding rules.
 * They are to uphold the fairness of the Tower's rules.
 * They are likely prohibited from involving any of the test takers (Regulars and Irregulars) in political disputes. However, take note that all test takers are most often referred to as "Regulars" because Irregulars are very rare.
 * They are likely prohibited from causing direct harm to the test-takers. Though it must be noted Yu Han Sung snapped Mauchi's bones without any repercussions but perhaps, that was because he had failed and was no longer a test-taker. And as a failed Regular, he had no rights and likely, no protection.
 * Rankers are not allowed to interfere with Regulars during a test, according to Yuri Zahard.

It's unknown if breaking these rules is the same as breaking certain limitations set by the Guardians which would then result in the contract being broken.

However, the Ruling Class have still have managed to circumvent the rules by introducing the complicated testing procedures on the 2nd Floor, in order to preserve the stability of the Tower and also, the status quo. How they've managed to do this is unknown so far.

Deification and Propaganda
King Zahard is apparently worshipped like a god and is essentially referred as "The Great King Zahard". The 10 Family Heads are apparently viewed as the 10 Great Warriors which seems to confer an almost mythological status upon them. Also, their process of conquering the Tower is supposedly referred to as "The Great Journey". And whenever Tu Perie Tperie reminisces about the time he became a Light Bearer, he’s known to have said “The Heavens gave me the Eyes of God”. However, it could be possible people chose to believe a well-fabricated story rather than a solid truth. Also, Macseth is viewed as the Great Father of Blacksmithing.

Also, everyone living in the Tower is considered the son or daughter of Zahard but a few are chosen to become the Sons and Daughters of the Zahard Family.

Many or all of the Princesses are also worshipped by people of the Tower and admired by the masses. They're viewed as the "ultimate species" and call Zahard their "Father". And some of them were part of the Great Journey as they were Zahard's helpers in conquering the Floors and aided him in expanding his Empire.

It's unknown if any of the others from the hierarchical structure are included in this deification process.

Also, the Guards stationed in Repellista's palace were called "fanatics" by Koon Maschenny Zahard, which possibly hints at the propaganda they exhibit or undergo.

Although much or most of the Tower likely worships the above figures to a certain extent, there are exceptions. For example: Hon Akraptor and Kang Horyang don't seem to mind conflicting with the Zahard Empire.

And it's also possible many of the common people living in the Outer Tower simply pay lip service as long as it benefits them. Or simply, many might only worship part of the Zahard Empire but at the same time, still believe in part or all of its propaganda and even be fiercely loyal to the Empire. And also, it must be remembered that certain Regulars likely lose faith in the Testing system and in turn, the Zahard Empire over time.

Also, a person's loyalty towards a system is usually tied to the amount and quality of benefits and treatment they receive. The worse the living conditions, the likelier the chances of revolt will increase over time (decades or centuries in the Tower). This applies particularly to the Officials, the upper classes and sometimes, even part of the Royalty or Government themselves. As for the Middle Class, economic, stability, meeting their basic needs and perhaps social mobility are important in ensuring their loyalty.

 Also, propaganda is instilled often subtly via education, activities the citizens take part in, media, symbolism (via a figure or a building or statue or landmark and so on), military activities etc., so it can't be too clearly defined either. Plus, some of propaganda is just instilled not to further belief in a country's causes/stance but simply, to motivate the masses into being more healthy or to find jobs and so on.

Finally, people will often side with the political group or regime which fulfills their basic needs like food, fresh water, medical care, education and this is regardless of the group's political stance or human rights record. Only after the country's infrastructure (types of schools, hospitals, job industries, agricultural, etc.) has been established and developed to bring about stability like economic, will the citizens have any opportunities or time to think and converse about politics. But the process of political maturity will develop only if the government allows the people to freely converse about politics, doesn't crush any avenues for them to do so, doesn't set any political boundaries regarding what they 'may or may not discuss' and only if the people are interested in political discussion.

Wolhaiksong (a.k.a. Wing Tree) is an Non-governmental organisation but its liberal movements often clash against the Empire's conservative practices. It is led by Urek Mazino and its goal is to "find the way out of the Tower". The influence of Wolhaiksong is equivalent to that of the 10 Great Families.

FUG is opposed to the existence of the 10 Great Families and is a leading group in the criminal underground of the Tower. It is likely seeking to wage war on the Zahard Empire although how or when this will happen, is unknown. Influence of this organization is unknown so far. It is led by Grace Mirchea Luslec.

Note: Some people are affiliated with both FUG and Wolhaiksong though both groups don't get along.

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