Political and Military Structure
Vaarta is a feudal society ruled by a Khazar, his immediate vassals are the Kizen and then the Boyars. It is a largely rural society with serfs bound to the land and living in villages close to the local lord's keep for protection.

Each Kizen and Boyar has two companies of "knights" for his personal protection called Hetmen (so addressed as Het Boris for example), a cavalry and an infantry. The cavalry are a much more ancient tradition than the infantry who have their origins in a peasant militia raised against the Empire and though there is no technical difference in their rank the cavalry are considered socially more acceptable. They are distant descendents of a nomadic culture that once roamed the plains of Vaarta. A poor Boyar would command a few dozen, a rich Kizen several hundred. The Khazar has no fewer than 2000 in the Blessed Ranks as well as his personal guard of Volkolaki.