The Closed Council
It is the custom of all royal houses to have multiple councillors to help the monarch rule. While the monarchs have the final say on all laws and choices made (unless vetoed), these councillors are meant to prevent the king from taking any actions that would be seen as bad for the realm.
The Treaty of the Lion states that a closed council must consist of at least five people, with ten at most. Each is given a specific title, in accordance with the examples listed in the treaty. and are then given the task of managing their aspect of the kingdom in accordance with the monarch.
If a monarch wishes to instate a new law within their kingdom, they are entirely entitled to it, as long as it does not violate the general conventions set up in the treaty. The closed council then takes a vote, if all of them are in accordance, this decision can be made undone. If even one of the councillors decides to agree with the monarch, the law passes.
To prevent easy exploitation of this system, Leobert Leowen, while creating the treaty with the other monarchs, decided no monarch should be allowed to grant any family or close friends these positions. If a monarch was discovered to have given out a council position to someone easily manipulated, they would be considered in violation of the treaty and be punished by temporary diminished protection.
Titles given to these council members are usually among these examples:
- Lord of Sea, the councillor on all affairs to do with the navy.
- Lord of Steel, the councillor on all affairs to do with the land forces of the army.
- Lord of Coin, the councillor on all affairs to do with the economy.
- Lord of People (also called the Lord of Rats), the councillor on all affairs to do with the peasantry.
- Lord of Shadows, the councillor on all affairs to do with the intrigue of the court and the lands.
- Lord of Brick, the councillor on all affairs to do with the building projects of the realm.
- Lord of Shields, the councillor on all affairs to do with the King's personal protection, this person is usually also the commander of the royal guard.
- Lord of Ink, the councillor on all affairs to do with letters sent to the king and diplomacy with the other realms.
- Moonlord, the councillor on all religious affairs within the realm. This person often has a high position within the local church.
- Lord of Study, the councillor on scientific matters within the realm. This position has not yet been appointed to anyone outside of Crown's Rest. This title is usually given to the Head-Archivist of the Archivist Society.
