Raphael VIII

Raphael VIII (ᚱᚨᛈᚺᚨᛂᛚ VIII) is the reigning Zusian Basilikar, Vordic Emperor, and Princeps of the Räichsbund. According to the traditional continuity of the Vordic Emperors, he is the 211th occupant of the Velvet Throne. He bears the honorific the Glorious, awarded by the Sentarch following the 2002 Treaty of Ostarna, which created the Amphian Commercial Union. He is known as a strongly emperor with firm  leanings; he has been described as "the foremost advocate of the Amphian Compact." He was the first modern Basilikar to favor a civilian over his formal military dress, a controversial decision which has now become standard practice for Zusian royalty.

Raphael is the son of Basilikar Arkadius the Great and his wife, Empress Sophia Luisa. His family, the House of Scharbach, lost the throne upon the death of his father in 1961, and so he spent the majority of his youth outside of imperial politics. As a young prince he served in the Himmelkorps and became a skilled, later participating as an officer in the Second Kyrossic War. In 1974 he left the military and began working in the First Special Department of the Spartai. In 1995, his uncle was elected Basilikar Sindolph XIV, returning the Scharbachi to power, and Raphael briefly served as Spartai Chairman before resigning to manage the political affairs of his house.

Raphael was elected Basilikar on 5th April 1998 after the death of his uncle. He was immediately confronted with the Ossintori Race Riots of 1999, during which he controversially chose to deploy the Vahrmacht to quell the violence in response to widespread allegations of abuses by the Ossintori police. This led to a confrontation in Victory Square between local police and the Räichsheer, and a landmark case in the Zusian Guardian Court. He later spearheaded the crafting and signing of the Treaty of Ostarna, creating the the largest unified in the world. In 2014 he authorized the intervention of Zusian troops in the Fifth Kyrossic War alongside Redon, which led to a brief regional war with Arshavat and a decisive defeat of the breakaway republic of Norasia. The House of Scharbach won almost universal acclaim in Zusea for his handling of the conflict.

Since 2017 the Scharbachi have faced mounting criticism for their handling of the ongoing Amphian refugee crisis amidst a wave of sentiment in Zusea. Since the start of the Kyrossic War, the Grenzipol have left open several key land routes from Kyrossia into Zusea, and have refused to tighten border security or exercise their power to unilaterally deport migrants. Rumors persist that many in the family favor a stricter stance on immigration, but that Raphael refuses to consider a change in policy.

Public perception and character
Though Raphael is more media-friendly than most of his predecessors, he is as careful as any Zusian emperor to guard his personal feelings and to instead quietly influence the politics of his House. He has never explicitly expressed his own political opinions in a public forum, and it is against convention to ask or reveal his views. During the Ossintori riots of 1999, Das Tempo journalist Johann Vogel reported an alleged comment Raphael had made during his time in the Himmelkorps in 1968, in which he referred to Ossintoria as the "wretched backwater of the empire." Vogel was widely criticised in the media for his reporting, and the House of Scharbach firmly denied the veracity of his story; nonetheless, Vogel claimed to be a supporter of the Basilikar.

Raphael has a deep sense of religious and civic duty and a lifelong record of public service. He has demonstrated support for inter-faith relations and has met with leaders of other churches and religions. A personal note about his faith often features in his annual Christmas Broadcast to the Räichsbund.

It is widely rumored that Raphael's personal commitment to the Kyrossic refugees is blocking a rightward shift in the House of Scharbach's stance on immigration.

Titles and styles

 * Lesser title: His Imperial and Royal Majesty Vordic Imperator Raphael Maximian, Zusian Emperor, Grand Apostolic Prince of Ossintoria, Prince of Tarmory, Doesia and Nerotysia, etc., etc.
 * Diplomatic style: , by the Grace of God and the Citizen Vordic Imperator and Zusian Emperor, Most Serene Worldly King of Kings, Grand Apostolic Prince of Ossintoria, Prince of Tarmory, Doesia and Nerotysia, etc., etc., etc.

His official grand title is: "Raphael Maximian the Eighth, by the Grace of God and the Citizen Vordic Imperator and Zusian Emperor, Most Serene Worldly King of Kings, Grand Apostolic Prince of Ossintoria, Prince of Tarmory, Doesia and Nerotysia, King of Vordin, King of Zoria, Grand Duke of Epholia, Listria, Boria and Upper Carnia and Tentalia; King of the City of the Cross etc., Archduke of Upper Stursea; Prince of Phyria, Harthia and Lakaria; Prince of Nesarbia, Herkina and of Oldenheim; Prince of Transixaria; Margrave of Mycetzia; Duke of Upper and Lower Taavia, of Salmia, Falkenheim, Mondegard and Kyrmont; Princely Count of Scharbach and Drakenau, of Warmitz, Herrenhof and Brechen; Prince of Osterbai and Valhausen; Margrave of Upper and Lower Spyria and in Fennmark; Count of Walzwerkental, Ischendor, Kolossendor, Flinthaven, etc.; Lord of Batley, of Mayach, and over the Ninkisch March."