Council Lands
The Basics
At the end of the Great War, the people of the Basin decided to shed their feudalistic government and fully empower the Council of Seven to rule. Previous to this, the Council served to advise the Line of Kings and held an impressive tract of land in the southeastern portion of the Basin, but with the Line of Kings ended, and having just fought an exhausting war, everyone was ready for a change. The vassals of the former King unanimously agreed to retain their titles in name only, and hand all governing power to the Council. The Council is only vaguely democratic. The ruling body itself consists of seven elected members, with one Council Member coming up for election each year and won by simple majority popular vote. Each Councilor has dozens of functionaries serving him or her, and these are political appointments, rather than elected positions, so the actual work of governing is done largely by appointed officials, and not elected ones. The Council ruled the whole of the Basin for 35 years until the Eye of Kaylaar fell. That event proved to be the governing body's undoing as they were torn about how to respond, both to the disaster that the impact wrought, and to the sudden influx of strange and fantastical creatures. After months of paralysis, which led to thousands of deaths all across the Basin, the former, Feudal power structures reasserted themselves and old leaders once again picked up the mantle of leadership. The Kingdom splintered. To be sure, the Council's core holdings remained intact, but the Council now rules over only a fraction of the territory they once governed. Since that disaster, they have made a genuine effort to reform and do not spend endless weeks debating issues of great import. The Headman (or as is currently the case, Matron) of the Council is granted sweeping powers in times of crisis, and can thus get around the endless mire of debate and inaction, at least in theory. Currently, the Council Lands are the second most powerful political entity in the Basin, behind only the Kingdom of Fraine. While the Council's population is smaller, they are a much more innovative and dynamic People, and many in Council Lands have embraced, or at least come to tolerate the practice of magic and the fantastical creatures that now share space with them in the Basin.Political Situation
The Council probably has the most enviable position in the whole of the Basin. A large, vibrant population and lots of internal dynamism and development. They’re hungry to grow and there’s lots of territory to expand into. The most obvious choices are Norlund and the Vales, but such a move would not go unnoticed or uncontested, and there is tremendous strength in the Kingdom of Fraine. Besides, nobody wants another long and bloody war. It would be far better for everyone involved if a peaceful political solution could be found that would begin to reunify the Basin and the Council is well-positioned to do it. Their main problem is that they don’t have a strong decisive leader and their democratic leanings make them generally less organized and slower to respond than the centralized, more Feudally structured societies elsewhere around the Realm. If the Furies decide to go to war, the Duke says we’re going to war and that’s that. Things are never so simple in the Council Lands. There are endless weeks (and often months) of deliberations as everyone weighs in. In some respects, they are their own worst enemy but their experiment in democratic governance has been, by most accounts, an astonishing success (which doesn’t make the Feudal societies very happy). Politically, the Council is at odds with Norlund and the independent-minded Vales, both of which are very aware that the Council would love to expand northward, but they’re on excellent terms with the Holy Church, mostly owing to the fact that the reigning Prelate is incredibly broad-minded and interested in both magic and technology. He takes a somewhat dimmer view of the territory’s democratic experiment, but treats it with cautious optimism. Still, as the leader of the Justicaari, he comes down on the side of Order more often than Justice, which puts him at odds with the common folk of the Council Lands. This, in turn, sets up a complicated relationship between them and the Prelate. A solid majority of the people in Council Lands worship the HighFather, and Erich Castillar is the Basin’s equivalent of the Pope. So they revere him as their spiritual leader, but they don’t like his authoritarian views on law, order and justice. As I said, it’s complicated. In any case, the relationship between the Council Lands and the Holy Church is strong and one can definitely count on the other in times of great need. The Council has three major political problems: First, piracy and banditry in parts of the Realm. While Calimba is the shining exception to the rule, there are a number of powerful crime syndicates in Council Lands, and even some rumors of cult activity that give the leaders no end of trouble. Second, their southern border is constantly under threat. The rugged hills that form the Serpent’s Back Ridge in the southeastern Basin have been all but abandoned, and they are teeming with monstrous creatures of all sorts. In this way, their troubles are not dissimilar to Norlund’s problems, except that the Council has a much larger standing army to deploy against them, and a strong ally at their side. Finally, the Crevasse of Sorrows. Not only did it eat two of their most brilliant minds (see The City of Calimba for details), but of late, there have been more troubling rumors of foul “things” issuing forth from it, and as usual, the Council can’t seem to find the political will to take decisive action (which is what prompted Lum to go off exploring on his own in the first place).
Type
Geopolitical, State
Capital
Government System
Democracy, Representative
Power Structure
Federation
Legislative Body
The Council of Seven
Judicial Body
The Justicaari
Neighboring Nations
The City of Calimba
Towns of Note
Thunder Hill Keep
Villages & Hamlets
Landmarks of Interest
The Crevasse of Sorrows
Lakes & Rivers
Loch Laern
The Silent Run
The Thunder River
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