The Royal Orbit
- House al-Hakim — the royal family and its tree
- Royal Court Factions — Sultan’s faction, Ikram’s faction, the Daughters, the marriage question
- Uncle’s Men — the party’s employer
The Great Houses
Hazadi:
- House al-Akram (Sanayyah, north) — leads Conservatives
- House al-Bushra (Fesa, south Ufrat) — leads Separatists
- House al-Fahd (the capital) — leads Mercantilists
- House al-Faisal (Kasi, southeast)
- House al-Magdi (Taz, north Ufrat) — the Sultana’s house
- House al-Rabi (Uryula, west) — leads Modernists; Farraj’s house
Old Imperial:
- House Balventia (Karven) — gift: Divine Channeling
- House Menenia (Charsanon, southwest) — gift: Air & Weather; leads Expansionists
- House Ulpia (Auvernius) — gift: Metal; leads Pragmatists; Gnaeus’s house
Political Factions
Hazadi: Conservatives · Separatists · Modernists · Mercantilists · Unificationists
Imperial (see Imperial Factions): Expansionists · Integrationists · Pragmatists · Restorationists
Cross-cutting: Loyalists (secret western-rite; reunification under the Most Holy)
Churches & Orders
- Eastern Church · Western Church
- Orders Militant (overview) · Order of the Eagle · Order of the Phoenix · Order of the Owl (dissolved 1736) · Order of the Swan · Order of the Gull · Order of the Raven
Other
- Clan Zum — the dwarves of Hazad
- Clan Grum — western dwarven clan, Morrschatten; metalworking and devices, and probably the orrery
- Clans of Halwa — the five clans that run the Free City: Zaka, Ma’a, Uru, Qaaya, Kalumu
- Dock Crews of Halwa — Halwa’s sixth gang in practice; the waterfront’s own power