The Prince’s Directive is an elite unit jointly affiliated with The Guard and The Emperor’s Embrace in the Geban Empire's military structure, established during the Era of Absolute Expansion for post-conquest assimilation and long-term stability in integrated regions. It is mistakenly attributed to Prince Ashan’Raeth Vareth. This is false, as he was long dead by the time of its official inception. However, his decade-long journey across fractured imperial provinces—documented in the Book of the Witness—provided the philosophical and practical foundation for the unit's creation.
Raeth, son of Emperor Ashan’Eze Narath and protégé of Emperor Ashan’Reze Karath, surveyed collapsed relay grids, uncovered hybrid cultures, and recorded Vessel emergences beyond doctrine. His companions included Tharyn’Breka Kael, Caledrin Solarn-Veykar, and Eira Vey. His insights into fractured assimilation, ungoverned provinces, and the importance of preserving imperial continuity shaped the framework that would eventually become the Directive.
Key functions of the Prince’s Directive included advancing imperial education and culture via persuasion and encouraging intermarriage for loyalty, focusing on humanitarian efforts to enforce Geban identity without force.
Post-Era of Fracture, the unit shifted toward humanitarian efforts in fractured zones but lost centralized coordination, fragmenting into regional defense forces loyal to imperial remnants such as escorting Auren’s family to Kela. In the Era of Shadow Rule, elements integrated into Shadow Rulers' networks for covert stability, focusing on relay enforcement and quiet policing in key regions like Geba and Ngorrhal. During the Warlord Eras, survivors operated as independent militias or undercover Shadow operatives, defending clearings from warlord incursions while blending into fragmented societies. In the modern era, no formal unit exists, but its legacy influences the modern settling of clearings through cultural integration programs.