Azorius Senate

The High Judges

THE LAW

Founded by parun Supreme Judge Azor I, a sphinx lawmage who authored a majority of the original Guildpact, the Azorius Senate functions as the government of Ravnica and creates Ravnican laws. The guild considers itself to be the mediator and controller of all other guilds' activities, even though most of its countless decrees are largely ignored. That's not to say the Azorius Senate is impotent, however—its legitimacy and reach wax and wane over time depending on economics, cultural trends, and the reaction to other guilds' overreach. At its best, the ultra-hierarchical Azorius Senate is just, farsighted, and impartial. At its worst, the guild is cold, stultifying, and bureaucratic.

THE THREE COLUMNS

The trias politica structure of the Azorius Senate has existed nearly since the beginning of the guild but had been theoretical and unimportant for millennia. With the dissolution of the Guildpact and the rebuilding of Prahv, the Azorius revivified the concept, and it has become deeply meaningful and reflective of the guild's structure and hierarchy.

Sova Column. Comparable to a judiciary branch, this Column adjudicates, arbitrates, mediates, and studies the effects of Azorius law.
Jelenn Column. This is the legislative part of the guild—the actual makers of law, including assessing the need for new laws and formulating their language.
Lyev Column. Putting laws into practice, as well as enforcement of them, is the domain of the Lyev Column.

THE SUPREME JUDGE

Dovin Baan, a Vedalken is currently regarded as the arbiter of the Azorius guild. Dovin Baan is tall, thin and always impeccably dressed. His suit is partially encased in whorls and filigrees of brass, bits of which hiss and tick faintly as he moves. Baan has an innate talent, heightened by magic, that allows him to clearly see the flaws in any system or machine. After mere moments of scrutiny, Dovin can provide a complete analysis, noting a particular machine's weaknesses, highlighting its shortcomings, and predicting with startling accuracy exactly how and when it will fail.

""The Azorius don’t just make laws. They make laws. Their laws are magical manifestations of rules.""

History

AZOR I

A powerful lawmage Sphinx of unkown origin, he is remembered as Supreme Judge Azor I and the parun of the Azorius Senate. Azor was the author of most of the written part of the original Guildpact. He was present during the Clash of Two Champions, where he proposed the legal covering of the inter-guild pact for the first time. He also created the Implicit Maze. His current whereabouts are unknown to nearly everyone, and as such the guild had gone under many new leaderships over the course of its founding.

AUGUSTIN IV

Augustin IV took control of the guild in 9,900. Augustin IV held what is perhaps the most powerful position in Ravnica on paper. As the Grand Arbiter of the Azorius Senate, he was the leader of Ravnica's "technical" ruling body, which has the most legal authority in the entire plane by far, if not the most actual authority. As Grand Arbiter, he presided over the most important legal cases in Ravnica. When such cases were not in session, he would often move from courtroom to courtroom settling disputes.

Unlike many in the Azorius Senate who pride themselves on their verbosity, he is known for his brief but eloquent speech, as well as his strong personal authority. Augustin IV calls the senate together and they vote to force Ravnica into martial law under his own guidance soon after the Guildpact was broken. He later meets his end when Szadek's spirit kills him by removing his soul. A few months later, after the chaos settles down, the Azorius senate elect Leonos II as the new Grand Arbiter.

LEONOS II AND ISPERIA

Azorius found itself guildless once again until Leonos II took power. Little is known about him, but during his time he enjoyed the same same privileges and protections of his predecessor. He led the guild strongly until his natural death, whereupon the power turned to Isperia, a Sphinx. The process of convincing Isperia to lead the guild took years, as sphinxes are aloof beings who value solitude above all.

As crime and chaos on Ravnica increased in the absence of the Guildpact, however, and as its denizens more vocally demanded laws and their enforcement, Isperia decided her service was needed enough to trump her own preferences. She is later assassinated by Vraska, turned to stone and kept as a trophy by the Golgari queen.

A POWER VACUUM

Once the death of Isperia had been made known, the Azorius Senate fell into a moment of chaos as high ranking officials began to try and seize the chair of Arbiter. It was when a well respected and intelligent Vedalken was nominated for the position, Dovin Baan. After weeks of debate, the final vote came down to appoint Dovin as the new head of the Azorius Senate.