Ascalon

Ascalon is a floating empire comprised primarily of a few large metropolitain cities as well as a number of minor ports and territories raised into the skies prior to the Last War. A powerful "Spellseal" encompassing it keeps the cities and territories afloat in addition to preserving law and order by preventing most citizens from using magic beyond 'acceptable limits' of power if they do not have special qualifications or badges.

Government
Ascalon is ruled by an Emperor residing at the very top of its capital city, Prominus, who directs orders to the Grand Council which handles most of the business within the empire. The Grand Council currently consists of one seat for every school of magic (With the exception of divination) alongside other miscellaneous seats such as a seat to represent Chromatic dragons, a seat for the Metallic dragons, a seat for the Divine, a seat for those of exceptional Merit (left unfilled for a prolonged period of time for some unknown reason), and of course the seat for the Head of the Council who serves as the Emperor's direct representative. The members of the council are appointed for life and for security reasons, the identities of many of the members is not public knowledge.

While the Emperor has not been seen for several centuries, the Head has reaffirmed that the Emperor is in good health, and while the Head himself makes few public apparences, he has made a recent appearance at the start of the most recent war to quell rumors started by the Rebellion of the Emperor's demise. The government assure that such rumors are as unfounded, and that just as the Head has not changed since the founding of the council, nor has the Emperor in any way or form.

Military
While Ascalon does posses a general military force, its military is primarilly a consildatory force consisting of soldiers offered as tribute to the Emperor by the Empire's major factions, houses, organizations, and so forth. These include but are not limited to, the Overwatch, the Academy, the personal forces of seated Council Members, and so forth..

The general military was created for, and is mainly responsible for handling outside threats, whether they be threats originating from the Surface or other nations threatening to encroach onto Ascalonian land. Due to a long era of relative peace, the general military is not as numerous as it once was during times of conquest and expasion. However, what it lacks in number, it makes up for in its use of powerful mechanical armors, massive airships, advanced teleportation technology, and autonomous constructs second only to those employed by the private forces of the Council, they are able to quickly respond and deal with any threat within their reach in a relatively short time.

The Overwatch consists of two groups, the Overwatch, which acts as the standard police unit within the city, and the lesser seen, Overwatch Elites, which act more as special forces when particularly dangerous individuals appear that act against the city's interest. Even if they are not mages themselves, and it is not uncommon for them not to be, many are either from Noble familes or at the very least, middle class citizens who have taken extensive courses and lessons to learn how to identify, and suppress, dangerous magic use. In times of emergency, the Overwatch may be drafted to fight alongside the Ascalon Military.

Each council member is allowed to choose forces to serve as their own personal army for the purpose of protecting themselves and to exert their will within the city. Typically, a council member will choose a squad of Overwatch Elite to be their own guard,  and then proceed to put them through specialized training of enhancement to suit their needs. Sometimes upon appointment however, a council member may call in an outside group to act as their guard, generally specific individuals that have caught their eye rather than an established force. This however has caused problems in the past, and is generally viewed with disdain by more established members of the council. One of the notable personal armies is the Scouring, which serves as the Merit Council member's personal guard.