May the stars ever light our way.
—Unofficial motto of the Kingdom of Luctanem
The Kingdom of Luctanem, also known as the Valdayn Kingdom, was the official government of Luctanem and its colonies and other possessions, established by the House of Valdayn not long after the disappearance of the Ethereal Empire during the rise of its much more decentralized replacement, the Ethereal Demesnes.
Over time, the Kingdom of Luctanem and House of Valdayn became the most powerful force in the Demesnes, with the various Demesnes within the Kingdom of Luctanem in time coming to act as regents and viceroys of the Kings and Queens of Luctanem, who accrued so many lands and titles across the region over the millennia that they could not possibly efficiently manage it all on their own. In time, though, this policy was modified to instead favor local leaders as the Valdayn lords' representatives, particularly those who were descendants of the previous holders of the various titles.
For a number of centuries, lasting across several millennia, the Kingdom of Luctanem, the Noctoren Imperium, the Grand Duchy of Cinnericium, and the Protectorate of Arcuvium were rivals in the great power games of the Ethereal Demesnes, proving to be the center of most of the region's violent, factional history. As Cinnericium and Arcuvium declined in power, Luctanem and Noctorem rose, finally coming to a head around the time of the Republic Dark Age. During the New Sith Wars, King Carolus Valdayn rallied the Demesnes against the Sith, and, after much hesitation and distrust, Imperator Feldron Attix agreed to join the fight.
In time, the two sides became closer, setting aside their differences with exception of an extreme faction of the House of Attix and their followers, which disagreed with this approach, feeling it reduced Noctoren power and independence. In time, they were proven correct in their beliefs; a marriage between Queen Andoria Valdayn and Imperator Lysandris Attix resulted in the Imperium's inheritance by the Kingdom of Luctanem, the final piece of the geopolitical puzzle to assure Luctan and, particularly, Valdayn domination of the entire Demesnes. For the remainder of the next millennium, the Valdayns and the extreme faction of the Attixes continued to wage their old war, now reduced from great capital ship battles and planetary sieges to quiet manipulations, political games, and occasional small skirmishes or other acts of violence, only ending when King Arius Valdayn returned Noctorem's throne to Imperator Tharan Attix following the restoration of the Ethereal Empire.