Council of Colleges

During the Avaronian Empire the Elven magocracies had little in terms of democracry. Their successor nations have improved on it somewhat, but in comparison to other countries with a democratic process they are still elitist

— High Sage Syronikir

The High-Elven country of Mervidel is ruled by an Archmage but the election process of this leader is heavily controlled by the Council of Colleges. The council itself exist out of previous archmages, other important members of the colleges and members of the most influential families.
Although candidates for the Archmage position are first put forward by the city votes, the Council could choose to ignore this comepletely. But most of the time they select a candidate who already performed well during the city votes.

by Kefkejaco with Inkarnate

History

Niorath

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This map shows the world of Niorath and its various biomes and nations. The north and south pole areas are still rather unexplored because they are frequently covered in ice. Various species live there but they have not played any major role in the history of the planet. The other continents are much more populated and have seen their fair share of changing occupants.

Some areas of the world are quite different from the normal natural biomes. These are chaos areas, region affected by the dangerous Chaos Tempests who can corrupt the land beyond recognition. Many of these are the result of forbidden magic going very wrong and have often meant the end of the empires that performed the related rituals.

Origin

The Council of Colleges already had its origin during the Avaronian Empire. During that period of time it was, however, impossible for someone outside of the most important families to join the government. Near the end of the Empire more and more Elves were being trained in magic at various colleges and several powerful wizards rose from their ranks as well. This caused a bit of pressure on the main magical families to at least allow others to join the government.
When the Avaronian Empire fell a large number of members from the main families had died during the siege of Bagor. What is currently known as Mervidel became the de facto successor of the Empire although a lot smaller. It was the ideal time for some reforms. A new system was put in place that would allow all of the important members of the various magical colleges to join the government as well.

Interruption

As most things in Elven countries things did not change very often and for several centuries the concept of the Council remained the same. From time to time some changes were implemented that allowed mages from a lower background to advance to the council but in general it remained an elitist organisation.
What really shook the country and the council to the core was the rise of the Archmage Verakon Elervir. When he was in power he ruled for 53 years instead of the usual 20. He had effectively been able to almost fully block the council from important decisions and it was only after his death that the council could resume it's duties.

Yamaderis misplaced this image by Kefkjaco with heroforge

Government

Election

Getting in the Council of Colleges is almost a guarantee for members of the main magical families, some who are even believed to are descendants of Mackevor himself. The rest of the council is added through skill and a bit of networking. Every 15 years the representatives of the various magical colleges are renewed. The first requirement to be a candidate is a high level of understanding of magic, which is often only possible after many decades of study. Among those candidates a vote is taken from the various important mages in the colleges. Even students do have a vote although it is less important for the end result.
The Council itself is also important for the election of the Archmage. First every magical college has to put forward one of it’s representatives as a candidate. Most of the time this is a clear decision without any need of a vote but if not a vote takes place. Once every college has determined their candidate the real election begins. Every major city in the country holds an election for their favorite candidate which earns the candidate one vote from that city.
At the final stage of the election the Council steps in. Their vote actually can outweigh all other votes but in general they do tend to follow the candidates that are popular among the people. The representives are, however, always unable to vote on a candidate of their own college.

Governing

Although the Archmage makes the main decisions in Mervidel the Council of Colleges is actually in charge of running the majority of the country. They vote on laws and policies and can in case of a large majority even veto the actions of the Archmage.
They are also responsible for any appointing rulers in cities and determine the amount of money that flows to them. In many cases this is determined by which college and city can convince the council that they need funding. Just as during the elections any college represntative is unable to vote for their own college.

The symbol

by Kefkejaco with Inkarnate

The symbol used by the Council of Colleges is the same that is used at the entrance of every college campus. Although every campus has at least a somewhat similar tower, it is actually meant to represent the Archtower in the capital. It was one of the oldest centres of learning dating back to the Avaronian era. Many other colleges across Elven countries have been founded later but still copied aspects of the original Archtower.
The crystals in the back are meant to represent the Embercrystal Falls which are the most common in Mervidel. The use of fire magic is well spread in the country and even ordinary soldiers are given shards of these crystals to imbue their weapons with fire magic.