Silverbrine is a Yetkoli vassal city - while technically distinct from the Empire, it is ruled predominantly by those hailing from the imperial seat on the other side of the continent.
Specifically, as with all vassal cities, it is ruled by a Septumvirate - a council of seven who write the laws, determine their meaning, and oversee their enforcement. They have complete political and military power within their city, and are kept in line only by infighting.
There are three types of council members: Malghres, Klohres, and Vahres. (MAHL-gress, CHLO-ress, and VAH-ress respectively). Of note is that -hres means "whip" in the Yetkoli dialect of common.
The Emperor's Whip
The Malghres is a single member of the Septumvirate, appointed by the Yetkoli emperor and approved by the Imperial Legislature. Unlike all other positions within the council, it is a life sentence, barring cases where the Emperor or Legislature removes the Malghres from office.
The role of the Malghres is to serve as the will of Empire, which in many cities (none moreso than Silverbrine) is very far away. They are often appointed from the Emperor's personal friends or from military officials that ingratiate themselves to the Emperor - similar to how ambassadors function within the real-world U.S. government. They often wear ceremonial armor or carry ritual weapons into office.
It's very common for the Malghres to abstain from votes within the Septumvirate, coming in only on obviously-unanimous votes or to serve as a tiebreaker. Otherwise, the Malghres's vote is seen as one speaking for the Emperor - and perhaps even the Empire as a whole. Used lightly, that can be a very dangerous thing for everyone involved.
 |
| Micah Ulrich, Under the sign of Virgo. |
The current Malghres is a woman named Daria Bhennok. A short, swarthy woman, she's rumored to have dwarven blood in her ancestry. As far as she is concerned, though, she is pure yetkoli. She has served for 28 years after distinguishing herself during a revolution under the last Emperor. She mainly abides by her role as a neutral party, but has broken her abstinence in the past for policies surrounding spiritual freedoms.
The Purse's Whip
There are three Klohreses, and they are appointed by a board of stockholders who have stake in the specific colony for which the Klohreses serve. Since the creation of the Imperial Legislature in the 1140s following the disastrous Gnoll Wars, the Emperor's budget has been out of their own hands. The Legislature decides it, in addition to having the final say on where the Emperor can declare an expansionary war.
To circumnavigate this, the Emperor began to seek out private investors who were willing to fund Colonial Venture Companies. They provide any extra money the Emperor needs to start the wars that build colonies, getting around the Legislature's financial limits on declarations of war.
In addition to having first dibs on the industry of the colonies they fund, these warmonger-stockholders are able to appoint a vassal city's Klohreses. Typically, these Septumvirate members are most concerned with matters of industry and government budgeting, usually coming from the companies owned by stockholders. Most vassal cities view them as incompetent products of nepotism, and they're mostly right.
 |
| Cucculelli Shaheen |
Klohreses are also known to hold fancy balls and other social events whenever they're up for re-appointment. Stockholders review their appointments every five years, taking into account their record and popularity within the city. Reappointment season happens in Crucible, after the first twelve days. Within the frame of my current game, reappointment season is coming up in a few months.
The current Klohreses are:
- Setai Merr, the daughter of a yetkoli trade baron. Setai is most well known for being the "party girl" of the Septumvirate, throwing a government-sanctioned ball almost every other month and mostly just voting in accordance with the other Klohres.
- Gardov Vestwryn, brother of a Rikolese CEO that distributes cosmetic alchemical supplies. Notably, he has been re-appointed once already, which is somewhat rare for Klohres. He's known for hard-line conservatism and prioritizing industry interests above all else.
- Lian Jowdaan, a ratfolk. They're a entrepreneur trying to expand the firearm trade into Silverbrine, appointed by a saltpetre mine owner back in the Empire. The first ratfolk to ever serve on Silverbrine's Septumvirate, and one of the few ratfolk to serve in any Septumvirate.
The People's Whip
The last three members of the Septumvirate are the Vahreses. They are the only council members elected by citizens - anyone owning land gets a vote. Their terms last ten years, and they are re-elected in the month of Zuzen. The current Vahreses are in their fifth year in office.
 |
| Can't find a source beyond wearemadeofblood.tumblr.com |
A Vahres typically is the one who introduces a law to the Septumvirate, as they have constituents to worry about and the most direct ties to the city. A Vahres may only ever serve one term, in order to reflect the changing values of citizens.
Laws regulating who can serve as a Vahres have changed over time - originally, only humans could serve. Right now there's some activism surrounding the removal of the landowner status, but it lacks momentum.
The current Vahreses are:
- Micchi Sabba, a wood elf. Also the first elf to serve in any Septumvirate. The campaign to have him elected was an arduous one, with the Irzmir (Silverbrine's underground revolutionary newspaper) campaigning for him constantly.
- Racha Itte, a yetkoli human campaigning on a platform of "clean politics." His supporters are mainly people who dislike the other two Vahres. He doesn't do much to address the over racism of man of his supporters.
- Chev Kastyron, a lightfoot halfling who's known for having been a poisoner ten years ago. She was inspired to get into politics after having her business shut down by the Silverbrine Reserve, and her backers mostly consist of anti-police voters.
---
sorry 'bout the long delay between posts. since i'm DMing most of my inspiration goes into planning for that. this is still pretty much planning for my current game, but it's something i feel comfortable having public.
i honestly wish this government was weirder, but there's a couple political players in my current game and i wanna keep things fairly familiar to real-world.
as always, go read anders's blog.
