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Nortlendiga, Empire of the North

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Post by Nortlendiga Tue Jan 19, 2016 8:38 pm

Government: Government exists in three branches of power (Rule, Reason, and Right) and at three levels of organization (Empire, Kingdom, Fiefdom)

Rule-- Branch of Wisdom. Rule represents executive power, which commands military forces, appoints military officers, and is responsible for diplomacy and the enforcement of law. A city and its surrounding lands (fiefdom) is headed by a single Earl. The Earls within a larger, encompassing region swear fealty to a single King or Queen, who serves as the executive of the Kingdom as a whole. All Kings and Queens, in turn, owe fealty to the Imperator, the sole executive ruler over the entire Empire, also called the High King or Queen, the Drake, Heart of Viskavaeng, or the Master of the Winged Throne. The authority of the executive is referenced as "The Throne", as in "The Throne commands..."
Each Ruler appoints an heir by adoption. Biological family is of no importance to Nortlendic society, and so it is only rare and by chance that an executive might appoint a family member as heir. Thus, royal lines are traced not by last name but by House. For example, all Imperators are adopted into House Eldur, the House of Emperors.
Should an Earl die before appointing an heir, the next Earl is elected by popular vote of the people of the fiefdom. Should a King or Queen die before appointing an heir, the next monarch is elected by the Earls of the Kingdom. And should the Imperator die before appointing an heir, the next Imperator is elected by the Kings and Queens of all the Kingdoms of Nortlendiga.
While the appointment of heirs is done officially by the current Ruler, the Ruler's decision is based on an edict from the Tribunal of Seers, who determine the next rightful heir by divination. However, even after being appointed heir, one must undergo a series of strenuous magical trials, conducted by the Sorcerers, to conclusively test whether he or she is the True, Rightful, and Worthy heir.


Reason-- Branch of the People. Represents Legislative power, responsible for the writing, debating, reviewing, and modification of laws. This power is held by the Councils. Citizens of a Fiefdom elect representatives from among themselves to serve on the Younger Council, which serves the particular Fiefdom. Councilmen of all Younger Councils in a Kingdom then elect from among themselves representatives to serve on the Elder Council, which serves the entire Kingdom. In turn, members of all Elder Councils then elect from among themselves representatives to serve on the Sage Council, the highest authority of Reason which serves the Empire.

Right-- Branch of the Gods. Represents Judicial power, responsible for arbitrating criminal and civil disputes, and for determining rightful heirs for Rulers. Power rests in the Tribunal, a body composed of three (Fiefdom level), six (Kingdom level), or nine (Empire level) Seers. They use divination magic in combination with evidence to determine the proper settlement of cases in accordance with Reason, the law. Tribunal members at all three levels of government are elected by all members of the three magical Orders of the Fiefdom, Kingdom, or Empire.

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Post by Nortlendiga Tue Jan 19, 2016 10:51 pm

Magic: There are three magical Orders in Nortlendiga. They are organized in Monasteries or Monastic Colleges, analogous to the Guilds which predominate more secular aspects of society.

Order of Seers: Seers are robed in white, and draw their magic from Sol, the sun. They are the order of light and day, and speak for the gods. They are masters of prophecy, divination, clairvoyance, insight and foreboding. They are what could be considered "leaders" in public religion, as they offer sermons, divination, and advice to the local people. Their Words, once spoken, become Prophecy. To select new members to their order, Seers merely peer into the future of individuals to determine who will become one of them, which inevitably they do.

Order of Silents: Silents are robed in gray, and draw their magic from Tunglith, the moon. They are the order of shade and twilight, dawn and dusk, and are responsible for communing with nature and determining the will of the forests, mountains, rivers, etc. They are scholars of magic, spending their time in dimly lit libraries studying and cataloging arcane lore. They speak no words and show no expression among people, communicating only with the spirits and forces of nature and the universe with long periods of listening, and with elaborate, multi-toned throat-songs. Moreover, by intensive training and magic, they are utterly silent in all their movements, and if they wish they can fade into invisibility, and even when visible may appear visually shifty and indistinct. When singing, they can project their Voices over great distances, or whisper such that only a desired one or few may hear. They can travel swiftly by fading into the wind or the flowing waters to be whisked away and reappear elsewhere. They commit all that they know to writing in beautifully gilded, magically enchanted books. New Silents are all volunteers who commit to the Silent life at a young age, and submit themselves for a lifetime of training, requiring the highest levels of concentration and commitment. Often those who aspire to become Silents will demonstrate a high degree of connection with nature in their earliest years.

Order of Sorcerers: Sorcerers are robed in black, and draw their magic from the light of the Stjornur, the stars. They are the order of night and darkness, and perform more tangible magics such as summoning, elemental magics, and hexing. Sorcerers form a cornerstone of the military, and are called upon for all sorts of magical tasks that need accomplishing, such as the magical sealing of buildings and bridges, spiritual purification, combating demons, and communing with dragons. Sorcerers are selected by a rigorous application process involving tests, essays, and demonstrations of magical skill and potential; the Order of Sorcerers has roughly the same number of members as the other orders, but typically has huge numbers of aspirants compared to the other orders.

All Nortlendics have some proficiency in one or more of the schools of magic, and all these types of magic are a part of everyday life. Members of the monastic orders, however, are the true experts in their respective schools, and can make an ordinary citizens magic look like child's play.
However, Rulers of the Royal Houses must be proficient in all three schools of magic, to varying degrees depending on the level of government. Earls must be proficient in the three schools, and Kings and Queens must show strong prowess in all forms of magic. The Imperators of House Eldur, who rule the whole Empire, are all masters of all three Nortlendic schools of magic, and their magical achievements often inspire awe and wonder even in members of the Orders.
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Post by Nortlendiga Wed Jan 20, 2016 4:40 pm

Society:
Nortlendics cherish words above all things, and are wary of lies, often believing that anything spoken will eventually come true. They also love to categorize and label, believing that all things and all people have a certain predetermined purpose and destiny.

An important consequence of this idea of purpose and destiny is a common cultural aspiration towards a sense of belonging. The largest societal institution to fulfill this need is the system of Houses and their constituent Guilds and Colleges. Nortlendics are born unaffiliated, but are driven towards a career at an early age. When Nortlendic youths discover their talents and aptitudes, they join a guild for a career where they might excel, if the guild will allow them. Your guild or college is where you live, eat, study, and often work, alongside like-minded individuals with similar passions, as you move from apprentice to journeyman to master ranking, with lesser degrees of ranking in between.
Several guilds and colleges will collectively form a House. For example, the industrial town of Marendur is home to a handful of houses including House Brenspek and House Gjallarus, each of which has its own guild of smiths, of carpenters, etc. Houses are institutions with long histories, unique traditions, different cultures and values, and diverse coats-of-arms. House affiliation forms the largest part of social identity in Nortlendic society, and generally follows and introduction (e.g. "Skol, I am Brenna Grenhook of House Tellemruk"). Your house affiliation reflects your cultural quirks and your values. When joining a guild, Nortlendics select a House based on where their personal values lie, and swear oaths to maintain such values when becoming initiated into the House. For example, a small House may value loyalty, and expect loyalty of its members, while a larger House may be more concerned with politeness and discipline.

House and guild/college affiliation is key to all aspects of life, and serves the same role in identity that most societies place on family and profession.
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