Mithrilheart Elected Monarchy

The MithrilHeart Elected Monarchy was founded in February of 2665, a month after The Scream devastated the known universe. This polity suffered no worse, but was afforded no better than its neighbors in the immediate aftermath of the disaster though unlike its neighbors did not re-develop spike drive capabilities until April of 2670. It's current head is the recently elected First Lord Vharrus


The polity is based in the Kost system which consists of a binary system of warm yellow suns. Kost 1 is the temperate but heavily urbanized capital world of the Mithrilheart Elected Monarchy. Tens of Millions of people pack into the patchwork of walled settlements that cling to the surface of the planet. The wilds beyond are seen as the properties of the various elector houses that form the leadership caste of the Elected Monarchy and oftentimes outside of official state business anyone not of elector blood is forbidden to freely travel the countryside. The definition of “official state business” often varies wildly depending on the temperament of the electors and who currently sits on the throne.
The Temple of Human Enlightenment and four of the most powerful knightly orders are also free to travel as their official duties require their agents to be almost exclusively on the move, never remaining in one place for long as the polity continually rebuilds.
The wilds are a dangerous place on Kost 1, and most locals are only too happy to remain behind the thick curtain walls of the settlements they call home
Kost 2 is a recently colonized world. Twenty thousand people primarily involved in farming, logging, mining, and light manufacturing live and work on Kost 2. The products of their labor are shipped back to Kost 1 in exchange for manufactured goods, luxuries, and other goods necessary to keep life productive and comfortable for the loyal citizens permitted to settle here. Lotteries are held twice a year for the privilege to emigrate to Kost 2, and 500 people are chosen each time.
Kost Relay is a Peerless class platform that serves as a relay point between Kost 1 and 2, and is a common way station for the flocks of system shuttles carrying goods and people throughout the Kost system.
Kost 3 is a gas giant with a barren moon. It is ringed by asteroids and large chunks of ice. Mining and prospecting ships frequent the blet, as do a small and evasive flotilla of pirates that prey on them. Kost 4 is a dead world plagued by ion storms. Nothing lives there and any probes sent to the surface of the world have survived only seconds before the heat, pressure, or direct strikes by ion bolts renders them useless. It is estimated that a graveyard of over one hundred probes litters the broad eastern hemisphere of the dwarf planet.

Political System:
An election for the highest leadership position of the Mithrilheart Elected Monarchy occurs every ten years with the most recent occurring on January 2670.
Currently ten Lordship houses and four knightly orders hold voting powers within the ruling assembly. In the event of a tie, the leader of the Church of Human Enlightenment is empowered to cast the tie breaking vote, but only after three rounds of voting are attempted first. In addition to voting for leader, this assembly also votes on all legislation passed by the First Lord before it is implemented.
The current electors are as follows, house names are given instead of individuals in situations where elector power has been bestowed to the house or region ,rather than in a single individual

• The House of The Sun

• The House of Jewels

• The House of Stags

• The House of Masks

• The House of The Sea

• The House of the Mountain Lords

• The Coastal Semi Autonomous Zone

• The Lord of the Leaning Reef

• John of the Burning Blade and his Merry Men

• The Enigmatic Countess of the Faceless Order

The Knightly Houses with voting powers are

• The Order of the Black Crown

• The Order of Gold

• The Order of the Outrider Baron

• The Order of the Sundered Ring

The current Church of Human Enlightenment leader is Father of the People Siruk. He is known to try to form coalitions among the other voters when measures are stalled and only exercises his power as a last resort. He is the first Father of the People since the Second Wave of Exploration that appears to actually be for the people, and church membership is growing at record levels.
There are three non-voting labor guilds that occasionally put soft pressure on electors when it comes to the passage of certain legislation. One guild handles mining and all matters relating to the refining of metal and manufactured products, another is responsible for the construction of most major public building projects, and the newest guild to become formally recognized is responsible for the construction and maintaining of the handful of starships in polity control.

Military and Fleet

Lords of the Mithrilheart Elected Monarchy are not permitted to have more than 500 beings of fighting age under arms at any given time. This allows for a robust personal guard and backup security force for their respective settlements without causing an arms race among the various electors. This measure is also seen to limit the damage a Lord can inflict against the nation in the event a war of words in the assembly escalates into something more, though such incidents are increasingly rare in the wake of The Scream.
Letting the questing knights errant and polity agents fight the constant war against bandits, beasts, and other terrors in the woods is sometimes not enough and in times of dire need it is customary to conscript one man or woman of fighting age from each family in a hold to form a temporary Eschaton dedicated to fulfilling a specific military task. The elector who has called for this assembly is responsible for arming and training their draftees and terms of service are normally defined specifically at the time of the muster. It is customary for leveed soldiers to be given shares of any battlefield plunder taken, with additional shares given to officers, and any peasant that has distinguished themselves in the fighting.
Levees are seen as a chance to rise in this “Second Age of Legend” as this post-scream era is sometimes called. Most soldiers who are drafted in this manner view this as a chance to rise in station and return home a legend.
The Elected Monarchal fleet is small, consisting of a dozen system defense craft of various frigate displacements. Refitting these vessels with newly discovered spike drive technology is a matter of highest importance for the polity and its single small shipyard struggles to meet the incredible demands suddenly placed on it. Their first vessel, an expiration Runabout named the *Scion of The Lords’ Light* has recently finished testing and its shakedown cruise, passing with admirable marks. Exploration missions beyond the bounds of the Kost system are planned for the waning months of 2670 and beyond.
Religion
The Church of Human Enlightenment has human in its name but there is also a sizable Geon contingent within the polity that is likewise welcomed into the church after making their presence known in 2667. The following Edict of Kost did not change the name of the church, but allowed the Geon full participation.
The Church believes that the community and brotherhood between beings is the true spiritual push behind the universe. Your choice of supreme being may have created the universe, but this indomitable spirit of brotherhood is the power that keeps this divine clockwork in motion. The church has meetings every day, though attendance is only mandated once a month at the minimum. These meetings typically involved a shared meal, and discussion on the achievements and struggles of one's neighbors to foster the true growth of the community.
There is tension between the church and the electors, as some in power see this enlightened group of predominantly commoners as a risk to their power in the near future. Under Father of the People Siruk, these tensions have gone from flaring to simmering.
There is no mandate to be a member of the state religion in the Mithrilheart Elected Monarchy , though the citizens who exist outside the church often find their lives to be socially empty, and are often met with slight suspicion from their neighbors. Citizens are also free to adopt other religious creeds, and the church has explicitly stated it will never employ inquisition-like techniques against the citizens of the polity who choose to follow other creeds. .

Type

Geopolitical, Kingdom