Council of Lords
The Council of Lords is the governing body of the nation of Berk, which sets national laws and performs all other administrative tasks required.
Structure
The Council is currently made up of twenty-four regional governors, or lords, chosen by the citizens in their region. The method of selecting the governors various by the region and that region's local laws. In most regions, only men can be chosen as lords, but some allow for women to be elected and to serve on the Council. It is mainly coastal regions with high rates of trade that permit women to be elected, or even to vote for a lord.
Above the twenty-four lords is one Overlord, chosen from the lords. At the beginning of each five-year session, twenty-five lords are selected, one from each of the twenty-five regions. One is then voted into the position of Overlord by the other lords when the session begins, leaving twenty-four to continue as lords. Lords cannot vote for themselves, to create a more fair and streamline process. The Overlord casts the final vote in all decisions and ensures all procedures are followed properly. The Council, in turn, restricts the Overlord's power to this final vote and the national figurehead in all international political roles.
Public Agenda
The Council's main duty is to ensure the continued prosperity of Berk by creating and enforcing laws, policies, agreements, and treaties that benefit the country as a whole. The use of a Council in place of any one ruler chosen from any one region of the country ensures, in theory, equal voice from all regions of the country, regardless of wealth or population.
Assets
History
The Council came into being when the nation of Berk was being structured and organized. Leaders of the various regions concluded that coming together as a body of representatives for their own regions was potentially a good way to rule the country with every region's input. An Overlord of Berk was selected from the regions' leaders to help oversee the ruling process and have a final say in general government. There have been many instances of attempts to manipulate the system in the Council's long history, but it remains the country's governing body with only minor changes having been made since its beginning.
