To appreciate the complex tapestry of the Imperium, one must understand its people. One must know of the Great Houses that stand sway over the Known Universe — organized within a feudalistic hierarchy headed by my father, the Padishah Emperor.
In turn, the Great Houses and their Lords manage their own hierarchy of subjects and homeworlds within their siridar fiefs. Collectively, these Lords form a governing assembly known as the Landsraad Council. While the member Great Houses share in the Emperor's noble lineage and political authority, it is only through the collective strength of the Landsraad that they counterbalance the extensive influence of the Imperial House.
Next in the feudal hierarchy are the Regis Familia, the direct descendants of the Emperor and Siridar Lords, followed by the Na-Familia, their extended family.
Serving these are the Bondsmen, the professional and bureaucratic cogs that keep the Imperial machine running. At the base of the hierarchy are the Pyons, the vast unskilled serf class of the Empire, and the Maula, the slaves who serve at the nobility's pleasure — in more ways than one...