Lanreath
| League of Lanreath | |||||||||||||
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400 SP remain.
History
Recalled for Consultation.
Politics
Lanreath is ruled by an elected monarch who reigns for life, and from whom all power ultimately devolves. The franchise is far from universal; there is a strict property qualification, and no individual below that boundary may vote. It is, however, 'universal' in that gender, race or social background play no part- the only deciding factor is wealth. Likewise, anybody able to vote may stand for election upon the death of a monarch.
Assisting the king is a Chamber of Competencies, a group of advisors and specialists appointed by their respective guilds and political organisation, whose task it is to ensure that the policies formulated by the king and his immediate advisors are based upon sound knowledge and principles. In many cases, this entails results in rather more than simple advice, and various members of the Chamber possess important government posts; the Banker's Guild representative, for example, also holds the post of First Lord of the Treasury. Except on the occasion of the death of a monarch, the Chamber has no formal power beyond being able to force an audience with the king at any point in time in order to be heard. When a new election is required, however, it is the Competencies that assume responsibility for organising a new election and directing the country until a new king can be crowned.
Below the Competencies is a second Chamber, the Chamber of Pays, the function of which is to present grievances held by those without suffrage to the king. Generally summoned three times a year, it has even less formal power than the Competencies, in that the monarch is not required to assemble a session of the Pays at all, and may chose not to be present when grievances are aired. However, the Pays are a useful tool for raising tax revenue from the lower classes, and thus are not usually ignored. Indeed, some argue that, while a king can rule (probably badly) without heeding the advice of the Competencies, he can't rule without assistance from the Pays.
Actual governance of the League is carried out through Royal Governors, who are responsible for administrative tasks inside their area of control, appoint local judges, collect taxes, command the local milita- although not League Army units, which remain under the direct command of the king- maintain roads and harbours, enforce laws and generally keep the country functioning,
Religion and Magic
Pliuni religion is, effectively, a blend of Soreism and the worship of the Old Gods. According to Pliuni teachings, the physical world is governed by a complex hierarchy of gods that have dominion over various aspects of the natural world, from Camwyn, the God of the Sun, to Alyanya, the Goddess of the Harvests and Torre, the Mistress of Winds. Although offerings are made to many of these gods and goddesses, the prevailing view is that most of them are uninterested in most worldly affairs, or rather, pay no specific attention to Pliunis (or Humans, Elves or anybody else) over other life.
The major exception to this rule is the God of Death, Sennet, and his three daughters, Effa, Canna and Fennet. Sennet himself is responsible for organising the reincarnation of every soul that enters his domain- although, it should be said, that he is not responsible for said entry- and his assistants for watching over and protecting the souls as they await their next chance at life. Inevitably, the four deities come into prolonged and constant exposure to spirits who are still interested in the goings on in the land of the living, and are thus considerably more interested in mortal goings on than most gods. They tend to be rather more sympathetic as well; indeed, the most common portrayal of Sennet in Pliuni religious art is as a kindly old man providing shelter in his own home to lost travelers, and he is usually referred to as 'Grandfather Sennet'.
Like other void magic, Pliuni 'spells' rely on allowing possession of the caster's body by a spirit or spirits that have the ability to do what the summoner asks them to. In this case, the most common spirit summoned is that of an ancestor or ancestors; something that requires the consent of Grandfather Sennet or, for smaller workings, one of his daughters. As a result, most Pliuni mages are members of the Death Cult, something that can be rather disturbing to those not familiar with Pliuni religious practices. Extremely high level spells in contrast, usually involve possession by a powerful nature spirit, or even a god, and are considerably more dangerous; a man possessed by the God of the Sun might well have his soul seared clean in the process, being reduced to a drooling vegetable. This is a risk inherent to all spells, and as a result, Pliuni mages are generally adorned with paper wards and prayer beads designed to protect them against accidental damage caused by enthusiastic spirits... or to banish a spirit that turns out to be hostile or rampages out of control. Many of these are effective against other implementations of mana, and it is not uncommon to see a Pliuni adept carrying sacks full of wards into battle to counter enemy magic users without having to put themselves through the stress of possession to counter every spell.