Difference between revisions of "Lanreath"

League of Lanreath
Politics and Religion
Population and Economy

Revision as of 05:41, 18 September 2009

Although the city of Lanreath itself has an extensive history, the League of Lanreath is a construct born of the Necromantic Wars. By the end of the conflict, Lanreath had gone from a city state to ruling an entire archipelago, and is now a prosperous trade centre.

Domains: 285 SP
Race: 5 SP (Beastfolk- Celerity)
Military: 0/ 27,500 gold.

History

Recalled for modificaton.

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,

For most of the time since the Necromantic War, Lanreath has been politically isolationist. The merchant-dominated Chamber of Competencies has always been in favour of a more aggressive foreign policy in order to further the interests of the trade guilds, while the nobles, fearing that the material costs of such a war might well fall on them and standing to gain little, if anything, from a war for the merchants, have favoured a more peaceful approach. The last three rulers of Lanreath were elected from noble houses, and all espoused the philosophy of the Noble Faction.

The mot recent election, however, placed a former trader firmly on the throne, much to the delight of the guilds. Although possessing only a peacetime army, all indications are that Sofi Gannarion intends to prosecute a policy of aggressive intervention to secure his former colleagues the trade monopolies they desire.

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 ==History==
-The Valdaire Archipelago has been inhabited since well before recorded history. Evidence suggests that the current inhabitants, a cat-like race of beastfolk known now as Pliunis, conquered the islands and drove out the original human occupants at roughly the same time as the Alfar Empire was beginning it's expansion into Lemuria, likely driven into migration from the inland plains of Lemuria by the advancing Imperial armies and their desire to put a stop to the nomadic raiding lifestyle of pre-Imperial Pliuni culture.<br>
+Recalled for modificaton.<br>
-When the Alfar reached the coast, the Pliunis had nowhere to retreat further. Despite their diminutive size, their impressive physical strength and speed delayed outright conquest for a time, but eventually, the Empire prevailed. With a small population and limited entirely to a single island chain, the Pliunis were easy to pacify, despite their position at the outside edge of the Empire. Until the Late Imperial period, the archipelago remained a backwater, little more than a source of manpower for frontier garrisons. When the Alfar began sending expeditions to Thule, this changed somewhat, as the islands were well placed for trade with the frigid continent, and trade that had previously been a tiny trickle became more substantial.<br>
-Even so, the islands were far from the centre of power and not fantastically rich compared to many other provinces, and their more accessible gold, silver, wax, salt, timber, tin, copper, wheat and rye. Apart from being noted as a source of very high quality amber and resins, almost unmatched in the Empire, the Valdaires languished in obscurity. Accordingly, when Imperial influence began to retreat from the periphery of the Empire, the Valdaires were some of the first territories to go.<br>
-During the Succession Wars, the islands did not have a single government; individual settlements went their own way, and Pliuni raiders were almost as common as those from Thule. The islands did not escape the depredations of their northern trade partners unscathed, but the inhabitants cheerfully returned the favour, pillaging and burning Thulian coastal settlements as often as those on Lemuria. It was in this period that the prolonged and permanent interest in trade with Thule became immovably rooted in the economy of the archipelago; Lemurian cloth, glass, spices and other goods, as well as slaves seized in raids, were bartered for Thulian resources which had suddenly become much more desirable on the mainland as the Imperial roads and trade network began to break down.<br>
-As the Succession Wars died down and continental realms became more able to protect themselves, the Pliunis shifted from a mixture of raiding and trading to trading exclusively, although the various islands and cities of the archipelago continued to raid and war amongst themselves. This continued until the Necromantic War. Under pressure from the Necromancers who had set up domains on Thule and on the mainland on one hand, and the Alliance of Light on the other, the various petty states that controlled the islands met together in the Congress of Fallo and agreed to unite their realms into a single kingdom. After much debate, the city of Lanreath was selected as a capital, and the first King of Lanreath installed in the ancient residence that had originally belonged to the Alfar governor of the province.<br>
-Although officially part of the Alliance of Light after that point, and contributing a limited number of pike colonelcies- the forerunner of the modern pike square- the League was a minor and reluctant player in the Necromantic War and emerged mostly unscathed. In the immediate aftermath, they were one of few states willing to continue normal trade with the new rulers of Thule, a policy that granted a significant advantage once other nations overcame their distaste for the Necromancers and began their own trading schemes.
 ==Politics==

Difference between revisions of "Lanreath"

Revision as of 05:41, 18 September 2009

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