Tyrant of Keld

The Tyrant of Keld is the official title of the ruler of the city-state of Keld on the Sunscald Coast. Despite the title's implications, the position of Tyrant is in fact an elected and somewhat ceremonial role, and possesses very little capacity for tyranny.

History

For much of its history, the city of Keld has had to contend with the mixed blessing of being surrounded by fertile and easily traversible land. On one hand, this has brought great growth and prosperity to the city - on the other hand, it has drawn the attention of many would-be invaders recognising the area's near-indefensible terrain. Keld, both in its history and to the present day, has hosted a predominantly agrarian population, with little in the way of military might or even military tradition. Consequently, Keld has been conquered countless times through its history, frequently by bandits or raiders with a significant enough personal army. These conquerers would usually rule the land as despots, leaving the native Keldish population to toil in the fields while they reaped the benefits. However, these despots would also protect the cities from other aspiring invaders. Of course, the city would eventually expel its conquerers, either through their leader's death, migration to new plundering grounds, or a successful Keldish uprising - and shortly afterwards, a new conquerer would take its place. Keld had acquired a reputation as an easy prize - though one for its first claimant, as few were willing to challenge the city while under the thumb of a tyrant.
In 1072, Keld experienced a rapid changeover in conquerers, with the year becoming known as the "Year of Four Tyrants" in the city. Garen Deresc, a mercenary captain who had conquered the city a few years prior following the withdrawal of the previous tyrant, drowned while swimming in Keld's large lake. He was succeeded by his unpopular mercenary deputy, whose demoralised troops were overthrown and slaughtered by a Keldish uprising under local elite Mael Fferin. Fferin established a council of local elites to govern and reconstruct the city, but his plans were cut short as the city was conquered by a bandit army, having heard the news the tyrant of Keld was dead. Retreating to the countryside with his sizeable militia, Fferin was eventually able to fight off the army by the end of the year. Rather than announcing an end to tyranny in the city, however, Fferin announced that he had in fact conquered the city for himself, officially calling himself the Tyrant of Keld. To the local population, who shortly after witnessed Fferin establish a "Council of Advisors" comprising the city's major elites and interest groups, the title of Tyrant was clearly a fabrication, but it appeared to have its intended effect, as no new army arrived to capture the city in the following years. Though actual fears of a raider army invading Keld have waned today, the title of Tyrant is still used for the leader of the city to this day.

Authority

De jure, the Tyrant's word is law in Keld. In reality, the Tyrant is beholden to the Keldish constitution, which is officially framed as a series of decrees by the Tyrant. The Tyrant is also beholden to the Keldish Council of Advisors, which is essentially the city's parliament and passes laws on its own, though the Tyrant retains a veto. The Tyrant's other main duties are acting as the face of the Keldish government, and appointing new Advisors to the Council when one either dies or retires. In this regard Tyrants retain a substantial amount of power, and can shape the Council to their views rather effectively should enough Advisors die or retire during their tenure. Improper or overly biased selections of new Advisors have led some Tyrants to be branded 'small-t tyrants' by their political enemies - the distinction between 'big-T' Tyrants and 'small-t' tyrants is an important one in Keldish politics.

Succession

Officially the Tyrant of Keld cannot be succeeded, only killed and usurped by a new Tyrant. In reality, the most common reason for succession is the previous Tyrant's retirement or death in office, though unfit Tyrants can also be overthrown by a unanimous vote in the Council of Advisors. Before a Tyrant is permitted to retire, a new Tyrant must be elected by the Council of Advisors to officially usurp them. There are technically no restrictions to hold the office of Tyrant - especially considering most 'old tyrants' were very much not Keldish locals - but the Council will typically elect one of their own to be the new Tyrant. The incumbent Tyrant must then ceremonially 'kill' the previous Tyrant in public - this is traditionally done with a very blunt wooden 'axe'. Long-standing or well-respected Tyrants often act out their deaths dramatically and/or flamboyantly to cheers from the viewing public. Tyrants who have died in office are usually spared the indignity of being publicly 'killed', and so a representation is typically used instead - although it is partly for this ceremony that Tyrants are strongly advised to retire rather than risk their natural death. Though they have formally been killed, former Tyrants are free to go about their business in the city, own property, and even be appointed to the Council of Advisors - the death of the Tyrant is officially considered separate to the death of the individual.

Type

Civic, Political