My main model for Noricum, where Wolf’s Trail takes place, was the Hapsburg Empire, especially the later, more decentralized version at the end of the nineteenth century. But the more I dug into it, the more I discovered that the Hapsburg Emperor had a much more hands-on role, even in that era, than I really wanted the fictional counterparts to have. So here’s the situation with the Emperor of Noricum in the books…

• The Imperial Throne became an elected office a long time ago, originally chosen from a small pool of nobles by a small pool of nobles and bishops (here called high priests), but with the College of Electors steadily expanding over time to include a larger group of nobles and clerics, and eventually commoners chosen from the Assembly as well.
• A few hundred years ago, Empress Hazeltine os Elegast os Arent os Storm, aka the Empress Inquisitor, basically became insane and started persecuting ordinary people because she believed they were monsters. She was deposed, and the Stormcrow dynasty, which had led the Empire for a very long time at that point, were in very bad odor. The Prince-Elector of Highforest was given authority over Greater Landfall, the two provinces previously ruled by the King of the Stormcrows.
• The Prince-Elector, however, protected those Stormcrows who had opposed Hazeltine, and permitted them to hunt any evil things they found in his lands. The Princes of Highforest claim descent from Carlhart, the very first Emperor, whose sister married Elegast os Storm, and have occasionally intermarried with the Stormcrows since then, which probably influenced the Princes’ decision to protect the Stormcrow clan as a whole. Dr. Maxim os Storm is descended from a nephew of Hazeltine’s who fought against her; a full version of his name would also run: “…os Elegast os Arent os Storm.”
• The fall of Empress Hazeltine led to a number of changes in the political order of Noricum. The procedures for deposing an Emperor (or Empress) were formalized, and probably influenced the procedures developed by the Stormcrow elders for deposing a Stormcrow King. The Assembly, previously more of an advisory body, became a full-fledged legislature. The pool of Imperial candidates was considerably expanded; in theory, any candidate proposed by any Elector could be considered, but in practice those actually elevated to the throne continued to be either pedigreed or wealthy or both, and more often men than women.
• The Emperor’s sphere of power was also severely limited by these reforms. He has a purely ceremonial power to open and close the Assembly sessions, and to acknowledge as Prime Minister the leader chosen by the majority coalition of parties after an election. (Refusal to do these things can and has led to an Emperor being deposed). He can propose subjects for legislation, and he can veto laws passed by the Assembly, but not declarations of war. It takes a four-fifths majority to override an imperial veto; very difficult to arrange in an Assembly containing representatives from eight or more parties at any given time.
• Like an American President, the Emperor is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, but in peacetime this mostly means that he proposes flag officer candidates and similar high-level military promotions to the Assembly, which confirms or rejects them. In wartime, he is require to confirm or reject certain high-level strategic decisions by the military high command. He can be more hands-on than that, but the military would generally prefer that he doesn’t do so.
• The Emperor is the nominal owner of certain castles and lands, and receives the income from these properties during his time on the throne, but in practice, these are usually treated more like National Parks and Monuments and administered by government officials. An Emperor *can* order renovations to his castles and palaces, and *can* request that the Assembly set aside tax funds for these renovations. However, at the time of Maxim’s and Chloe’s adventures, the most recent emperor just got deposed for sinking waaay too much money into castle renovations. (Think Crazy Ludwig of Bavaria, but on a bigger scale).
• To sum up, the fallout from Empress Hazeltine acted on a previously centralized monarchy in kind of the same way that the English Civil War and its aftershocks did in our world. (Minus the Jacobite Uprisings, because the Stormcrows, although continuing to choose a King for internal clan business, were determined keep their heads down.)