Vionom

Vionom (n.) /viːoˈnom/ (Dwarfish) is a regular planning meeting of the Tihu and all Aojox of a dwarfish kingdom, usually annually.
It is usually during Vionom that a new Tihu is installed. If the old Tihu is removed from office in other than normal means (i.e. a successor is named and the transition takes place peacefully) an emergency Vionom (Mamuti Vionom) can be called. The Tihu, their successor, or one of their administrators will send notice to all Aojox with best possible speeds and the Aojox or duly selected representitives will travel to the Mamuti Vionom as quickly as possible.

History

It is believed that the Vionom was first instituted in the ancient days of Ur Pijeot, the first dwarf kingdom, when the dozen or so clans decided they needed a single unified leader. The Vionom was used then, as now, to help keep the Tihu and the kingdom itself in sync with the various clans that make up the kingdom. All subsequent dwarf kingdoms, including the five that now make up the Dwarfish Empire, have honored the Vionom to one degree or another.
Avionom are usually peaceful, but they are not always. There have been several violent Avionom, some of which resulted in many deaths among the representatives.

• Incident in Ur Pijeot when a significant portion of clans (25-30%?) refused to attend a Vionom as a protest against policies implemented by the Tihu and enforced by a militant clan who overstepped their boundries.
• The Great Schism, wherein the Second Kingdom split into three separate kingdoms. Was implemented following a particularly violent Vionom.
• Another violent Vionom resulted in most clans ceasing to send their Ojox, sending an representative instead. This has since become a rare practice, typically only used when an Ojox cannot attend.
• Assassination attempts against the Tihu, with some successful.

Govionom

With the advent of the Dwarfish Empire and subsequently the Eopit, all the clans of the entire Empire occasionally meet in a grand Vionom, the Govionom. This is currently scheduled to occur once every five years or so.

Participants

Tihu

As the king, the Tihu represents the kingdom itself. The purpose of the meeting is to review the past decisions of the Tihu to guide their future decisions.

Aojox

The Ojox of each clan is usually in attendance with a small retinue of advisors and body guards, usually no more than five or six, although the details vary from clan to clan and from Ojox to Ojox. Occasionally an Ojox will send another dwarf to represent their clan, but this is rare.