The Coastal City States are each governed by a prince and a council.
The Prince is social status 6. Council members are ranked by seniority from Grand Councilor (5), Senior Councilor (4) and Junior Councilor (3).
Different cities handle this distinction differently.
In Selence the rank of a council member is literally by seniority; with five grand councilors, 10 senior and 20 junior. While being on the council is hereditary, the status changes as time passes. The council is a single chamber with each councilor getting a number of votes according to their status. Grand getting three, senior getting two and junior getting one.
In Sombanio the positions are inherited directly. There are three grand councilors, five senior and 40 junior. The council is two chambers with the High Council consisting of the grand and senior members and the low council being composed of the juniors.
The councils of both Selence and Sombiano have actual power and make law for the prince to enforce. Both elect their prince from the membership of the council, normally but not always from the grand councilors.
In Palernice the high council is ten grand councilors who inherit their membership. The prince is also a hereditary position. The low council consists of ten senior councilors who are elected from the 42 noble families and thirty junior councilors elected from the free population. Again, the councils make the laws that are enforced by the prince. Palernicians also enjoy the pleasures that go with being TL 2.
Tanalthens is ruled by it's prince who both makes and enforces the laws. The council membership is mostly hereditary, but is generally a sop to those persons and families favored by the price at any given moment. There is a great deal of intrigue and infighting to curry favor from the prince.
Then there's The Guild.
Technically they are The Council of Thaumatology, Guardians of The Arcane and Protectors of The Mystic Knowledges.
They are extra-national and while they generally abide by the laws of the princes (or other local authority) they clearly operate independently of common society. It is a testimony to the foresight and talent of the senior leadership of the mages that they retained power and influence during the centuries long period where magic no longer worked. It's an open secret that there were some places where magic could still be worked and that The Guild could project much power from those sites.
In general, The Guild does not meddle in the affairs of the nobility, or allow the nobility to meddle in theirs. A sign of this is The Guild forbids healing, cures and any spell which can extend a person's lifespan to be cast upon a sitting prince or councilor. Better to let a good prince die than to perpetuate the life of a bad one; and by interfering a good man could be turned bad... Abdication and renunciation of all titles allows life-saving magics to be used on a former nobleman.
The Prince is social status 6. Council members are ranked by seniority from Grand Councilor (5), Senior Councilor (4) and Junior Councilor (3).
Different cities handle this distinction differently.
In Selence the rank of a council member is literally by seniority; with five grand councilors, 10 senior and 20 junior. While being on the council is hereditary, the status changes as time passes. The council is a single chamber with each councilor getting a number of votes according to their status. Grand getting three, senior getting two and junior getting one.
In Sombanio the positions are inherited directly. There are three grand councilors, five senior and 40 junior. The council is two chambers with the High Council consisting of the grand and senior members and the low council being composed of the juniors.
The councils of both Selence and Sombiano have actual power and make law for the prince to enforce. Both elect their prince from the membership of the council, normally but not always from the grand councilors.
In Palernice the high council is ten grand councilors who inherit their membership. The prince is also a hereditary position. The low council consists of ten senior councilors who are elected from the 42 noble families and thirty junior councilors elected from the free population. Again, the councils make the laws that are enforced by the prince. Palernicians also enjoy the pleasures that go with being TL 2.
Tanalthens is ruled by it's prince who both makes and enforces the laws. The council membership is mostly hereditary, but is generally a sop to those persons and families favored by the price at any given moment. There is a great deal of intrigue and infighting to curry favor from the prince.
Then there's The Guild.
Technically they are The Council of Thaumatology, Guardians of The Arcane and Protectors of The Mystic Knowledges.
They are extra-national and while they generally abide by the laws of the princes (or other local authority) they clearly operate independently of common society. It is a testimony to the foresight and talent of the senior leadership of the mages that they retained power and influence during the centuries long period where magic no longer worked. It's an open secret that there were some places where magic could still be worked and that The Guild could project much power from those sites.
In general, The Guild does not meddle in the affairs of the nobility, or allow the nobility to meddle in theirs. A sign of this is The Guild forbids healing, cures and any spell which can extend a person's lifespan to be cast upon a sitting prince or councilor. Better to let a good prince die than to perpetuate the life of a bad one; and by interfering a good man could be turned bad... Abdication and renunciation of all titles allows life-saving magics to be used on a former nobleman.
