The Noble Assembly
The Noble Assembly is an organization made up of representatives from each of the noble houses. Each representative, known as the family's Assembler, gets a vote based on the title held by the family's parriarch: 5 votes for a duke, 4 votes for a marquess, 3 votes for an earl, 2 votes for a viscount, and 1 vote for a baron. Traditionally the firstborn son of a noble family's main line becomes the Assembler upon reaching adulthood, although it isn't unheard of for a firstborn daughter to take the position, particularly if a family has no male children. Assemblers may appoint proxies to attend meetings for them; generally these proxies are given their votes but traditionally don't participate in debates or discussions. It is considered unusual and even scandalous for a proxy to take the debate floor in the Noble Assembly.
The Noble Assembly is known for being an extremely conservative and elitist organization, as the council that represents Escher's most established and wealthy noble families. Most of the noble families in Escher are elves, who are long-lived and often serve as Assemblers for decades or even centuries before passing the torch off to their children. Notably there is one Warforged Assembler, Lord Boot, the "son" of an artificer who was given a noble title by Queen Andrea herself. The Queen gave special approval for Lord Art to join the ranks of the Noble Assembly so that his father could continue his work.
The Noble Assembly has never seen eye to eye with the religious arm of Escherian government, and has notably been at odds with the Monarchy of late -- that is, in the past few hundred years or so. In particular, they dislike Queen Andrea, questioning her noble heritage and her reign in rumors and whispers behind her back, although they never challenge her outright. The noble family that claimed the Queen sent their thirdborn, Andrea's younger sister Amelie, as their Assembler over their firstborn son, drawing a lot of ire from the other nobles for bucking tradition. Amelie faces outright hostility from the other Assemblers, but it is said she carries herself with the dignity and cool head of her older sister.
The Noble Assembly meets twice a year in a grand hall in Orbwick, drawing a lot of fanfare as merchants vie for the attention of the wealthy Assemblers hailing from all over the nation. Some of the finest inns in town have lavish rooms set aside year round in case the Assemblers decide to make an unannounced visit. At the meetings, they make decisions meant to stand the next six months, and elect two of the Assemblers with 5 votes to stay behind in Orbwick and act as a proxy for the Assembly during the intervening months.
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