Solarcrat

Do y'know those dreams about flying? The ones without magic, without wings. You just fly. It seems so natural, so simple. But when you wake it's an utter mystery. That's how I remember light. I know it was warm, I know it possessed some kind of radiance, that it was stronger than the dark, but its memory is as inconceivable as wingless flight.

The Starvation brought an end to many things, chief among them the Age of Light. After that terrible event Maverot entered The Long Night, an endless era of supernatural darkness. The cycle of reincarnation was also changed. No longer could women bear children, and age progressed at unpredictable rates. No more did children play on Maverot; a person who dies rises again as an adult somewhere else on the planet, ignorant of the means or reasons for their rebirth. The process is devastatingly traumatic, destroying memories each time it happens.
In this new age of darkness, the only light that shines is that which can be remembered from before the Starvation. In the early years of The Long Night, this seemed almost a boon. For many, light shone all the time, extending working hours and causing fields to grow at unheard of rates. Yet before long the memory began to fade. People died, either of accidents, age or malice, and when they awoke some of their memories vanished while they lay dead. With the loss of memory, light dimmed on Maverot. Within a few decades, it was all but gone.
As the implications of this decline became apparent, those who remembered light began to see the opportunity for exploitation. They schemed and skirmished, attempting to drive away others whose memory rivaled their own, or kill them if necessary. As a result, the foolish and licentious citizens of Maverot hastened their plunge into eternal night. Eventually, only a few were left who could still recall enough light to grant it to others. People gathered around these individuals with desperate loyalty as the dark began to crawl with unspeakable horrors. In time, they became known as Solarcrats for their monopolistic memory of light.
The Solarcrats were elevated into the defacto ruling class. Whatever they were before the Starvation, they are now tyrants over the areas they influence, capable of giving or taking light from any they desire. So vital is their memory to those around them, a Solarcrat generally has complete immunity from judgement, no matter how heinous or insane their pursuits. Among those that are left an uneasy truce has developed; each knows the others are near their equal in experience, influence, and resources and is unwilling to risk a premature death . . . and the loss of their own Memory of Light.

Qualifications

The title is informal and rarely applied by the Solarcrats themselves; rather it is a general term used to refer to someone whose Memory of Light is strong enough to grant to others as a patron and also controls a significant geographic area, means of production, trade route, etc.

Requirements

Only someone who has died very few times since the Starvation can possibly have a strong enough Memory of Light to rank as a Solarcrat. Since such memories cannot be regained once lost, the number of Solarcrats steadily dwindles and will never be replenished.

Source of Authority

The Memory of Light