The Council

Table of Contents

Since the ancient city of Elante fell to find leader powerful to claim it whole millennia ago, it has been broken into a hundred of small independant fiefs. The lords and ladies ruling over those have no true common goal or anything else to unite them and they fiercely defend their independance. Thus, the city, renamed the City of the Hundred Fiefs, cannot even be called federal.
However, despite all their amazing magic, the lords and ladies are still limited in what materials they can source from their fiefs and what food they can grown there. Surving without contacts with the exterior world is difficult, thriving without them is impossible. Yet, the constant anarchy and violence are not good for trade and travel. Another negative point to the independance of the fiefs is the fact that threats rarely bother with politely respecting fief borders.
This is in order to solve those problems that the lords and ladies have reluctantly agreed to the creation of a council where they could all meet once a month and discuss them. To avoid any of them getting an advantage, the neutral ground of the old royal palace located in the centre of the city was chosen. Its wards still stand after millennia, and even if they are not as powerful as they used to be, they still warn everyone as soon as someone attempts to use magic.
Still, not everyone is convinced of their safety inside the palace, nor of the usefulness itself of the council, leading many lords and ladies to refuse to come to gatherings. This has the advantage of not getting too people just showing up to attempt to block any progress and decision. Agreements only bind the lords and ladies present during those occasions, and only so far as their more powerful colleagues are able to entice or intimidate them into following through.
Votes are made by show of hands. Each lords and ladies possess a number of vote equals to the number of towers in their fiefs. After all, the wider the area over which they rule, the most powerful they are, and the most able to enforce council's decision. Nothing can be done without the support of the powerful, and the council is a very pragmatic institution.

by grandfailure on DepositPhotos

---

Related articles

The City of the Hundred Fiefs
Politics The Council · Lady Olénie Magic The Ruins of the Ancient city of Elante · Basement kraken Culture Red Moon days · Trading caravans