Council of Kings
The Kingdoms of New Meritta are led by the Council of Kings. Six kingdoms, each with their own ruler who is fit to make the laws of his or her own kingdom as long as they are in accordance with the decrees given out by the Council of Kings. The Council was founded at the end of the Blade War to finalize peace between the kingdoms. Grievances between two kingdoms are now heard by the four other kings on the council and disputes are handled in private sessions.
The Council of Kings meets regularly, twice a year, and will also handle inter-kingdom disputes on an as needed basis. The Council rotates host cities each session, with the host King getting an extra vote in the case of ties.
Royal Structure in New Meritta[edit]
King is an androgynous title, with both men and women taking the honor of kingship. A king’s significant other holds no title except for default King Regent in the King’s stead, unless another has been appointed. When a king dies, the title is passed to an individual of his choosing (a list maintained by the king and kept by the royal keeper to be announced upon the King’s death). The only exception to this rule is in cases where the King’s appointee and his or her murderer are the same person, in this case the choice would fall to the appointed regent to make (unless they are also the appointee and the murderer, in which case it falls on the keeper to make the selection).
Each kingdom is ruled by its King, who oversees a number of Dukes in charge of the various provinces of the Kingdom. Dukes are appointed by the King, and if they die a replacement is appointed in their stead. The King can also strip a duke of his power if the King is not pleased with the Duke’s rulership in some way. Dukes operate out of keeps usually found in the largest city in the province, though sometimes other cities have grown away from the keep. The Duke is often a landowner within the province also, and will still control their holdings elsewhere.
Barons are in charge of districts within the province, mostly overseeing small operations such as farming and shipping and acting as a representative for their district to the duke. Dukes choose their Barons, but the Barons must be approved by the King. Barons must also be selected from landowners inside the districts they serve. They are not given anywhere special to live and must maintain their own residence.
Lord and Lady are titles given to landowners within the kingdom and any are eligible for selection of a higher nobility role. To gain the title an individual must own at least ten acres of land and apply for the right to be addressed by the title to their Duke through their Baron. Once Authentication has occurred they may be considered a Lord or a Lady depending on their gender.
