The Greater Chamber

The beating heart of Imperial politics, the Greater Chamber of the Deliberative is where the Realm’s foremost orators and dignitaries meet to pontificate and debate, to render wise counsel unto the Scarlet Throne, and to determine Creation’s fate — the ideal to which this august body aspires, but rarely attains.   Here, Creation’s greatest schemers clash with hated cousins in bitter warfare, only somewhat tempered by feigned civility. The Empress handpicked senators from the Great Houses; they’re almost always Dragon-Blooded.
Appointment to the senate is an honor that cannot be refused. Many of the Dynasty’s most troublesome members found themselves “rewarded” with senatorial appointments, drawn into the Imperial City under the Empress’ eye. Since her disappearance, appointments to the Greater Chamber are theoretically made by the Regent, although in practice he’s a rubber stamp on recommendations voted on by the Greater Chamber.
The post can only be resigned upon summary dismissal by the Empress, exile, or death. The Master of the Deliberative, chief officer of the Greater Chamber, oversees debate and has final say in procedural matters. Almost always a woman, she’s elected for a yearly term by a two-thirds vote of the Greater Chamber.
The senators likewise elect an Incorruptible Secretary to tally all votes taken, and a Guardian of the Enlightened Discourse to command the Guardians of the Deliberative protecting the Greater Chamber.
The holders of any of these positions may be dismissed from office by a no-confidence vote, which can be called at any time. The current Master of the Deliberative — Ragara Julinei, a vastly corrupt politician — fears the prospect of a no-confidence vote more with each passing day.
The Greater Chamber is rife with factions and cliques of senators. A house’s senators often vote together, but with no house holding more than a small fraction of the Chamber’s seats, the formation (and frequent turnover) of broader coalitions is inevitable.
Currently, the most prominent factions are the staunchly conservative Old Dragons, the zealous Yellow Banner reformists, and Ragara Julinei’s loyalists, derisively nicknamed the Jade Eaters. As candidates for the throne have stepped forward, new factions have arisen to support them, while existing ones face unprecedented shakeups in the face of divided loyalties.
The Old Dragons are torn between maintaining the status quo in anticipation of the Empress’s return and throwing their support behind Mnemon; the Yellow Banners argue incessantly over whom to back, though V’neef seems most likely; the Jade Eaters are more concerned with preventing Julinei’s ouster.
Some senators have broken from factional agendas, like the coalition of Old Dragons and Jade Eaters gathering support for dark horse Sesus Raenyah. Proposed legislation enters the Greater Chamber as a Declaration of Harmonious Intent, composed by the sponsoring senator and a pair of seconds. Declarations must be hand delivered by their sponsors to the Master of the Deliberative at the beginning of the day’s session.
Being first in line is a great honor; latecomers face jeers and abuse questioning the importance of legislation whose sponsors couldn’t bother to present it in a timely fashion. The session cannot commence until every Declaration is received, and may stretch on into the night.
Flooding the Master of the Deliberative with frivolous Declarations to stall the opening of debate while winning over supporters isn’t unusual. The Master of the Deliberative reads each Declaration to the Greater Chamber in the order in which it was received.
She cannot officially refuse to present a Declaration, but may find faults — substantive, procedural, or entirely pretextual — rendering one “unsuitable” for presentation, accomplishing the same end. After reading a Declaration, she calls a formal vote to determine whether the Chamber will debate it. If a simple majority agrees, the Declaration is burned in a ceremonial brazier, and the Incorruptible Secretary adds it to the list of motions to be debated.
If not, it’s returned to the sponsor as a badge of shame. After this voting concludes, debate formally opens, with the Master of the Deliberative choosing the order in which legislation is discussed and voted on. A Declaration’s sponsor introduces it. Once she concludes her speech, the rest of the Greater Chamber may join in, with the speaking order chosen by the Master.
No time THE GUARDIANS OF THE DELIBERATIVE One thousand elite guards keep the peace in the Palace of the Deliberative. Ostensibly on hand to defend against assassins and insurrectionists, their primary function is to protect rowdy Deliberative members from one another and enforce decrees of the Greater Chamber’s Guardian of Enlightened Discourse and the Lesser Chamber’s Protector of the Debate.
Outfitted in brass-chased lamellar and purple half-capes, they bear ceremonial naginatas and more practical short swords. Their insignia is a dragon with a scroll clutched in its jaws. Chapter Two: The Machi nery of E mpire
limits are imposed, and filibustering sessions can last for days. If debate stalls, the motion can be tabled until an agreed-upon date later in the legislative session. Otherwise, once debate concludes, the senators vote on the motion. If it passes by a simple majority, it descends to the Lower Chamber, to dare their disapproval.
A senator can freely skip a day’s session with little consequence, but while month-long absences aren’t unheard of, the Empress frowned upon such dereliction, and kept tabs on any senator who took too much leave. Even after her disappearance, lengthy absence from the Greater Chamber subjects the delinquent senator to steep political and social costs.

Parent Organization

The Deliberative