Folbi Velti, Free Judges

Folbe Velto, Judge of Freedom, is a rank in the Oti Velti, the Free Lands. The judges are military officers who manage cities, making sure laws are observed.

Appointment

A judge corresponds more or less to a vassal in the Doujatar Kingdom, who administers a city. The only difference is that in Doujate the royal family, advised by the Moon Church, appoints vassals, while in the Free Lands judges are just high-rank military officers who declared themselves keepers of the order. This is a clear reflection of the political fragmentation plaguing the Free Lands.
Successions can happen the peaceful way or the hard one.
In the former, at some point in their life, judges get tired of dealing with bandits, Moon priestess and agents from the Shadow Court, so they just decided to retire. They summon high-rank officers from all over their jurisdiction and ask who among them wants the role. They collect the nominations and publicly cast votes in the main town square, or a proper building, like a theatre.
But since judges love to self-proclaim so and high-rank officers may challenge the authority of their judge, when they can trust their soldiers. In the past centuries, it was much more common, now the expansionist behaviours of the Doujatar Kingdom on one side and the New Empire on the other are too intimidating: soldiers, officers and judges understand it is more efficient to compromise and fight the real enemy together.

Duties

A judge must protect their city population from outside threats, like rampaging bandits, wild animals and demons, and solve inside law issues. Moreover, they handle relationships with other cities and kingdoms; most notably, they keep a watchful eye on the New Empire moves, try to contain the growing influence of the Moon Church and manage trades with the Cajenian League. Since, especially for major cities, this is a significant workload, they often appoint a small group of counsellors.

Type

Civic, Military, Generic

Form of Address

Judge

Equates to

Doujatar vassals

Source of Authority

Army

Length of Term

Until retired or overthrown