The Gerualdi Union is a major political power throughout the Ealdremen System with much of its strength coming from a complex network of trade agreements and industry dating back thousands of years to the near-beginnings of Ealdremen as an interplanetary society. While it was originally founded in the 2700s in response to the threat of war, the Gerualdi Union has historically been neutral in wars, at least officially, preferring to do battle with proxies and independent contractors whose ties to the Union are too tangled to easily trace. Because of their immense political power, the Gerualdi Union has averted wars simply by virtue of threatening to cut off belligerent nations and governments, and it is an indisputable fact that if even major powers of similar size such as the Veriol Alliance struggle to defy the Union's wishes, powers limited to a single nation have no hopes of changing the Union's course.
As its name suggests, the Gerualdi Union's seat of power can be found on the planet Gerualdi, though any individual or group not affiliated with a competing political power can become part of the Union. The highest seat of office, Union-President, is elected by representatives of the Union's "interest groups," which comprise individuals with enough influence to have a seat at the Union's table, corporations, and entire governing bodies. These representatives are elected by the interest groups they represent, though critics may argue that certain interest groups "appoint" individuals rather than truly elect them in fair elections.