Empress

Overview

The Empress of the Kepek Commonwealth is the head of state, elected to rule the empire by the Commonwealth Council. The Empress is always a woman and while elected, only children of the previous empress are eligible contenders for the throne. In the event that the line of succession is broken and an entirely new family takes the throne, A new age will begin. the Bektep Orbit after they take the throne is considered "year 1" of a new age.

The current reigning Empress is Empress Uvennaer

Requirements

Other than being a daughter of the previous empress, the only requirement for a Kepek to be considered as a potential candidate is that they must (at the time of their election) be able to have their own children in order to continue the family line. The law, however, does not state what role they have to play in having the children, and so trans women (regardless of weather they've medically transitioned) and other fem-presenting Kepek are also eligible. In fact, there have been multiple trans empresses in the past, including the current empress's grandmother.

Every empress must also a Vara'tu Kepek - a unique type of Kepek only seen in the royal family. Vara'tu are the largest of their species, standing at 10m tall, often with glowing eyes and stunning markings not seen in any other Kepek. Anyone with even a single Vara'tu parent will always be Vara'tu, and so it is discouraged for anyone other than the current empress or (on very rare occasions) their siblings to have children to prevent the any potential challengers to the throne from appearing. Vara'tu can be created, in the event a new family takes the throne, by submerging an unhatched Kepek egg in a substance called "royal sap" - though what the sap is, how to make it and where it comes from are all closely guarded secrets.

Appointment

When an empress resigns or passes away, all ICF Captains who make up the Commonwealth Council are called back to the Bektep Space Station in order to call a Commonwealth Council meeting and vote for a new empress.

The daughters of the former empress present themselves to the council and explain why they would be the best candidate for the job. The ICF Captains will usually select a new empress collectively within a week