Duarch

The Duarchs are co-rulers of the kingdom of Arcandia hailing from two separate dynasties. They lead together in matters of religion, and yearly switch the roles of head of the military and head of state. This ensures that there is always one duarch present when Arcandia is at war. During times of peace the duarchs have the right to veto each others policies for their respective branches of government. An historical example of this was when the duarch Kokorus vetoed his co-duarch Veronese's upcoming policy of blocking woman from military service. Veronese hoped to increase Arcandia's population by removing the risk of woman dying on the battlefield, but Kokorus saw that such a drastic move would both make the Arcandian army vulnerable and create resentment amongst the woman of Arcandia, potentially leading to a violent uprising to regain their rights.
The death of a duarch is seen by the Arcandians as a failure of the current Duarchy. As such it is expected that when one duarch dies, the other will joins him in death so Arcandia might start over with a clean slate during a ceremony known as the Duarch Deascension.

History

The duarchy was born when king Hipoleo died and left behind two twin warrior sons, Theodese and Merecese, to inherit his throne. Both sons had been born at the same time and as such both were eligible for the Arcandian throne. Theodese and Merecese, having fought side by side in defence of their beloved homeland, made the then unprecedented move of sharing the throne together, dividing the responsibilities that came with the title amongst themselves. When Theodese died, he passed on his crown to his son, and Merecese, mourning his twin, decided to hand over his crown to his son as well, before jumping into his brother's funeral pyre. So the dynasties of the Theodeidae and the Mereceidae were born.

Type

Royalty, Hereditary