The Six Heads
Shovani culture is centered, literally and figuratively, on Leviathan, a mountain-sized hydra which sits in the Shovani capitol. It should be no surprise, then, that portions of the government and society are based on aspects of Shovani's living god. Traditionally, only lizardfolk, dragonborn and other reptiles are granted full citizenship in Shovani; and at the ceremony in which they become an adult, each Shovani citizen chooses a caste. Each of the six castes is organized differently, and each has its own methods of selecting its leadership, but one thing they all have in common is that they have a title known as the "head," which surpasses all other ranks in authority within the caste. These leaders have enormous power within their faction, sitting atop the caste's bureaucracy and being able to make many (but not all) types of changes in structure and personnel as they see fit.
The Six Castes were:
The Military
The Priesthood (also known as the Lawspeakers)
The Merchants
The Artists
The Laborers
The Mages (known as Lorespeakers)
Each Head has numerous duties within the caste that keep them occupied, and many have significant investments in personal projects as well, but from time to time the seven heads meet in order to decide major policy issues facing Shovani. While Leviathan is the ultimate authority in the country, in practice the creature rarely even speaks, and only twice in modern memory has it publicly issued a command. In a cycle known as "The Turning" the heads of Leviathan take shifts sleeping or awake in irregular intervals. At any given time, two heads are always sleeping in the temples built to shelter and honor them, one is awake in its temple and available to converse with the priesthood and the rest look down on the city. The priesthood brings all "suggestions" of the council to whichever head is currently awake and in its temple.
No one but the council and a few of the high priests know exactly how much of a hand Leviathan takes in policy decisions. Edicts of the council are represented as "the will of Leviathan," with the Council being deliberately vague about which parts of a policy or rule were actually suggested by Leviathan, if any, and which come from the council or castes. A decree of the council is by majority, which for many years has led to frustrating deadlocks when three heads fell on either side of an issue. This may all be set to change, however.
In a mysterious event almost a year ago known simply as "The Rising," a portion of Leviathan's torso that had been wounded by artillery during the recent warfare opened and sprouted a seventh head. In less than a day it had grown to be equal in size to the first six and took up a place in the Rotation of Rest. This day is now a major holiday in Shovani, and the subject of much debate. Many feel that this change by their deity also demanded major changes in society, including a seventh caste, and numerous entrenched interests are scrambling to ensure that they won't be the ones losing power to some upstart organization looking to be the seventh pillar of Shovani society.
Put to the council, the decision was deadlocked three to three. In a stroke of political maneuvering, the High General suggested and passed a resolution to publicly debate the question of adding a seventh caste and soliciting suggestions from the public, a rare democratic move from a usually authoritarian government. Not everyone is happy with this new state of affairs, whether out of concern that the increased mass participation could foment violence or out of concern that any decision will ultimately alienate a portion of the populace.
Several groups have emerged to contend for possible recognition, including the Scientist's Guild, the Scholar's Collective, the Society of Explorers and Adventurers and, most controversially, the Invisible Children, an organized group of non-lizardfolk petitioning to have their own seat on the council.
Qualifications
Each caste has its own selection process for a head, and once selected they serve for six years.
Appointment
Each year, a different caste must select its head. Which caste is up in a given year is decided by lottery, with one of six tiles being removed from a box halfway through the year. There is enormous skepticism that this is actually conducted fairly, but most people know better than to discuss such "treasonous rumors," and if certain castes seem to come up less frequently, keeping their current head entrenched, it's alleged to be coincidence.
In actual fact, the council rigs the drawing, with the Heads usually allotting election to a predetermined candidate who's spent the last year doing especially lavish favors and sweeping reorganizing in their own caste to ensure they are selected again. Though the council frequently disagrees, this protection of their collective incumbency is largely a settled issue, with only one or two members having any real moral qualms. Once a caste has been selected, it has until the end of the year to select a head by its own internal system. The selected candidate must be within Shova on that day in order to accept or reject the offer, which is issued and accepted in an elaborate ceremony. The sole exception to this rule is the High General in times of war, as they may be needed elsewhere.
Grounds for Removal/Dismissal
Like the rules of appointment, the rules of dismissal vary by caste. A Head can also be removed if proven guilty of certain high crimes, though such a procedure would likely be redundant because the only punishment for crimes serious enough to trigger this provision would likely result in the execution of the offender. You need to have a head to be a head.
Type
Civic, Political
Form of Address
Great Voice, Your Eminences
Alternative Naming
Each Caste has a term used internally to refer to their own council member. The head of the military, for example, is referred to as "Lord General" by other members of the military caste.
Source of Authority
All Authority in Shovani comes from Leviathan
Length of Term
One to Six Years (see above).
Related Locations
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