Ascendant Council
Holding the keys to power
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scendant Councils are quasi-judicial bodies that are formed and maintained in any society that deploys the Ascension Rite. The Council is considered to be a critical cog in the Rite , so much so that there have been no examples of the Rite ever being conducted without there being some form of supporting Council.
The Council serves as the ultimate referee of the process. Without them, the Rite would devolve into a bloody free-for-all, with barely any advantage over an all-out war for the throne.
The exact duties of a Council vary according to region and time period, but their general duties are as follows:
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Screen would-be aspirants to ensure that only "viable" candidates, with acknowledged backgrounds and solid history, are allowed to vie for the throne.
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Provide a thorough vetting of the broader support that is claimed by the aspirants' when they first come before the Council. Any ambitious soul can walk before the Council and boast that they have have thousands of arbyrkin throughout the countryside who support - and would fight for - their claim to the throne. It's the critical duty of the Council to verify that these claims are absolutely factual.
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Act as sole arbiters of the Ascension Rite itself. This includes informing the aspirants of the size of the arbyrkin force that they will be allowed to bring alongside themselves into the arena. It extends to the adjudication of any controversies that might arise during the Rite's combat phase. And ultimately, it is the Council that will recognize the ultimate winner and crown them as the nation's next ruler.
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Provide a constant "marketing" presence - even when there is no foreseeable need for a succession rite in the near future. To the extent that the Ascension Rite is truly a success, it's generally presumed this is so because the countryfolk believe in it and they respect its legitimacy. If the populace didn't believe in the outcome of the Rite, they'd be more likely to foment rebellion against it. And the Council is seen as having a critical role in maintaining that public support. Their members are constantly "among the people", discussing those who might have a future claim, and reminding townsfolk that any wannabe rulers couldn't be bothered to compete for the throne through "fair" means in the Rite. This continual public-relations campaign is seen as a critical factor in maintaining the perceived legitimacy of current and future rulers.
Membership
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here are no hard-and-fast rules about who may serve on a Council. Its members generally hail from many professions and are representative of all the nation's regions. Their ranks typically draw heavily from the cognoscenti, but it is by no means a "cognoscenti organization". Respected arbyrs, prominent merchants, learned historians, political wonks, and many others parties are represented on a Council.
Nor are there any specific "terms" to be served on the Council. Some participate for the majority of their adult lives, while others may be involved for no more than a single cycle of succession. Although some have advocated for formal limits on term length, the general feeling is that it is best to have the wisest souls active on the Council for as long as they're willing to serve.
Inevitably, history has also seen some blatant attempts to "pack" the Council with members who would favor a given aspirant, or deny another. But these efforts aren't known to be particularly effective, primarily for two reasons:
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Councils are intentionally large. In the most extreme cases, they may consist of more than a thousand individuals. At a bare minimum, they're expected to maintain a membership at least a hundred strong. This is done, first, to avoid the precise concern of tilting the Council's process with a handful of partisans. But it also serves a practical purpose: When the Council is called into action, they can be faced with a large volume of work to be done in a very short period of time, as they race to properly vet any potential aspirants before the next Rite is expected to commence. So it's advantageous to have many members on which they can lean for this task.
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Councils are semi-permanent in makeup. While their exact composition evolves from year-to-year, there is never a time when the Council completely "stands down". This is critical to the process of transferring power, because it's far more difficult for a schemer to undermine an institution which has not merely been thrown together on a moment's notice. The Council members are quite familiar with each other - typically, with decades of history between them. If someone were trying to undermine their judgment with corruption and subterfuge, it's believed that this would be easier to expose amongst a standing group that communicates amongst themselves on a regular basis.
Commitment & Demands
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ouncil membership is not a job or a vocation. While some of the eldest may no longer have a regular career, most of the participants fulfill their Council roles as an act of civic duty, in addition to whatever else they do in their normal lives. The duties of a Council member take up little-or-no time during "quiet" periods when the current ruler is in the midst of a long reign. It's only when there's a vacancy on the throne that all Council members are expected to spring into action. During the 60-day cycle leading up to, and including, an Ascension Rite, it's assumed that the members are solely dedicated to their critical tasks. But once the Rite has concluded, most of them will return to an active civic life having nothing directly to do with their Council responsibilities.
Type
Geopolitical, City council
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