The Barrayaran Empire is made up three worlds and a multitude of political
regions. Barrayar
The Barrayaran Empire is ruled out of the Barrayaran capital Vorbarr
Sultana, located in the Vorbonn District.
Barrayar
The planet of Barrayar is divided into 60 Counts Districts and the Southern
Continent Territorial District. Each District Count rules his (currently
only males can inherit the countship) district as a largely autonomous
state within the empire. Individual districts can and do have widely different
economic, social, and political norms.
Komarr
Cosmopolitan Komarr is Barrayar’s gateway to the Nexus. The population
is gathered in city domes, as the surface of the planet is unlivable. However,
the Komarran’s are half way through a long-term (700 years long) terraforming
project. As part of Emperor Gregor’s wedding celebrations, the (Solstice?)
Mirror is being enlarged which will cut fifty years off the project.
Komarr’s wealth comes not from the land, but from the wealth of wormholes
in local space.
Komarran trade fleets, now escorted by Barrayaran military vessels,
ply the spaceways for the greater wealth of Komarr, Komarran shareholders,
and the empire.
Komarran local government is a democracy. Each citizen has a certain
number of votes dependent on how many voting shares that they own. The
oligarchic families of Komarr control large blocks of voting shares.
Sergyar
Sergyar has only been recently opened to colonization. Viceroy Count Aral
Vorkosigan and Viceroyeene Countess Cordelia Vorkosigan jointly run local
colonial government from Chaos Colony.
Person's under forty with a listed professional skill (contact the Sergyar
office of immigration) are encouraged to immigrate to Sergyar. The office
of the Viceroyeene offers scholarships to young Barrayarans who wish to
learn a skill in exchange for a period of service on Sergyar.