I see the elemental countries as powering the magical body of Belintar/ Holy Realm. There's precedent in Sartar: Kingdom of Heroes p77 in which the elemental runes are described in those terms.
In trying to decipher the politics, I looked at the known History of the Holy Country and was struck by what wasn't there. We don't seem to have any conflicts between the countries or even among officials. The Governors of Heortland are usually killed or dismissed by the Living God. We don't have any bureaucratic battles (like say clashes with the armed forces over the Volsaxi) or feuds with a powerful rival (like say the Leftarm Governors). The Lunar Empire and even Sartar have far more political infighting.
So my best guess is that the competitive nature of the Holy Country Officials is that it's driven elsewhere probably into journeys in the Holy Realm and that the Officials are heavily constrained in their policies.
For a guess at what the Pharaoh would want, I think he would want as many people to experience the Holy Realm as possible. Increased participation in the Holy Realm makes him stronger which is good by definition in his dictionary. The problems that the Governors of Heortland faced were that they were trying to encourage the local Orlanthi to participate in the Holy Realm (such as compulsory observances or be heavily fined). That may be why many Governors were oppressive while some lenient Governors were dismissed.
That's not to say that everybody in the Holy Country is a Master of Luck and Death. Most of them merely experience fleeting dreams and visions while the powerful, the magicially awakened and a fortunate few are able to consciously experience the Holy Realm. Because participation reduces resistance to him, I do think the Pharaoh would require that key native officials (ie Esrolian Queens, Esvulari Bishops etc) as well as his own officials (ie Governors, Generals etc) be active in the Holy Realm.
--Peter Metcalfe
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