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Anaxi Politics

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In Anaxas, nothing is ever straightforward. The Six Kingdoms dread an Anaxi Symvouli cycle.

By contrast with the other nations, its government is endlessly convoluted and contentious; seldom can anything be agreed upon within the houses of parliament, and the judicial system is sluggishly-paced and only helpful to those who need it the least. The lower races have no representation whatsoever in government, though the spoke tribes have some measure of sovereignty, insofar as they cannot be controlled by urban galdori. Behind the scenes, regardless of the petty squabbles of the secular aristocracy, the Headmaster of Brunnhold has the final say on most political matters.

Even still, the galdori of Anaxas hold their government to be a meritocracy.

The Headmaster and Magisters

The Headmaster of Brunnhold (also referred to as Prime Minister, Regent of Education, and Grand Magister of Anaxas) has a great deal of political power - some would say more than the King and Queen - but is in charge of different aspects of running the country. The purpose of the Headmaster goes far beyond supreme control of Brunnhold (which, according to law, the King and Queen can barely touch, as they have very little jurisdiction there); he or she has the task of granting primary political positions to candidates in a unilateral decision, including the positions of King and Queen, Minister of Education and all Anaxi envoys to other countries, and significant control over the structure of the government. Whomever the Headmaster wishes to be in a position of power is granted that power.

New Headmasters are chosen by the exiting Headmaster when his term of service is ending for whatever reason, including health, retirement or imminent death. The Chairs of Brunnhold (who serve as an advisory cabinet for the Headmaster and the whole of Brunnhold) are candidates for the position; being a Magister is a requirement for becoming a Chair. Like the King and Queen, it is possible for Headmasters to be ousted if serious indiscretions are proven. This is incredibly rare.

The current Headmistress is Ophelia Servalis, succeeding Achillius Merrin; she is known for her progressive attitudes toward the lower races.

The King and Queen

Anaxas is governed by an elected King and Queen, who share equal roles in making laws. Both the King and Queen are chosen from the Incumbents of the King’s Council by the Headmaster of Brunnhold. A King or Queen serves for life, barring extenuating circumstances such as a severe indiscretion. It is generally the case that they are 40 or older at the time of their selection, but in rare cases younger individuals have been chosen for the position.

In contrast to other nations, the Anaxi King and Queen are not married; they are chosen individually, under the belief that men and women should have equal representation in royalty. The powers held by a King and Queen are few but important: they have the final say in new laws and have unquestionable veto power, and they alone can declare war against another country. This decision must be unanimous between them.

The Royal Cabinet of Anaxas consists of eighteen ministers drawn from parliament, with the exception of Prime Minister, who is the Headmaster of Brunnhold. They are appointed jointly by the King and Queen, on the advice of the Prime Minister, and serve for the duration of the term of the last remaining sovereign that appointed them. The Lord Chancellor technically outranks the Prime Minister, but the Headmaster outranks the Lord Chancellor.

Parliament

As of 2611, the Parliament of Anaxas is composed of two houses: the King’s Council and the Assembly. All members of parliament enjoy partial immunity from prosecution, which must be removed by the King and Queen (who can be compelled to do so by the Headmaster/mistress), by the High Judge, or by a vote.

The King’s Council

The King’s Council is the older of the two houses, considered the “upper house” and made up of a flock of politicians simply called “incumbents”. The King’s Council was once a peerage, and most (but not all!) of the incumbents are from old and influential families. The current Lord Chancellor is Casimir Leblanc.

While hereditary appointment is no longer permissible, an incumbent must be appointed by either:

  • 1. A majority vote of the existing incumbents, or
  • 2. The King or Queen, who can be compelled to appoint an incumbent on the advice of the Headmaster/mistress or the High Judge.


Once appointed, an incumbent serves for life, but can choose to step down honorably at the end of any Symvouli cycle.

There are 61 incumbents, ten for each region of Anaxas, ten for Vienda alone, and 1 for Cellas Isle (on account of a dispute that occurred in 2524). With exceptions, most of the incumbents do not actually live in the areas of their purview.

The King’s Council is often accused of impracticality, sluggishly-paced and crippled by infighting; at best, it’s a running joke that the incumbents “don’t actually do anything”. Within the King’s Council, there is strong contention between some conservative incumbents – usually old money, and usually male – and their more progressive counterparts, who consider themselves to be “self-made” men and women. Due to the nature of appointment, the King’s Council is predominantly conservative, but between executive appointment and bribery, plenty of particularly ambitious “lowborn” galdori have found their way into the upper house.

Historically, there were both a King’s Council and a Queen’s Council, and the King was appointed from the incumbents of the King’s Council, and the Queen from the incumbents of the Queen’s Council. At that time, both councils were heavily skewed towards the gender of the leader who would be chosen from them. In 2374, members of the Queen’s Council were accused of fomenting a rebellion against the controversial then-Headmaster, who responded by disbanding the Queen’s Council and announcing that, henceforth, both the King and Queen would be appointed from the Incumbents of the King’s Council. However, although it has been discussed many times, the rules and precedent governing gender balance in the King’s Council have never been updated, and as such there are 45 male incumbents and 16 female incumbents at any given time.

The Assembly

The Assembly was formed in 2611, in response to accusations of nepotism. Approximately 600 galdori sit on the Assembly at any given time, and they are directly elected (by galdori, of course) in local votes. Members serve for ten years at a time, and elections are staggered throughout the final year of the Symvouli cycle, moving clockwise — on account of the Anaxi reverence of time — around the five regions of Anaxas.

Assembly member districts are population-based, with the average assembly member representing roughly 836 galdori as of 2700. In general, however, districts do not include more than one region, and there are distinctions made between urban and rural districts. The process of redistricting is nasty, complicated and fraught with corruption and accusations of corruption. It typically lasts for at least the first five years of the ten year term cycle although it is not uncommon for the committee to request an extension of up to three more years to finish the process. Membership on the redistricting committee is one of the most important appointments in the Assembly, and highly coveted.

Political Parties

The Reformist Party

The Reformist Party of Anaxas is, despite what its name might suggest, one of the most radically conservative in the Kingdom. The party rose to prominence starting in the 2660s, with the late Alain de Vries, an Assembly member and activist from Dorhaven; in the years since, it has spread like wildfire through the lower house of parliament.

Reformists hold that Anaxas is governed by money and blood where it should be governed by merit, and favor “self-made” men and women (galdori all, of course) who have climbed the social ladder and “earned” their wealth. They believe that Conservative incumbents like the Lord Chancellor have grown lenient with the lower races as a result of complacency.

Prominent Reformists – including the current High Judge, William Azmus, and much of the Seventen’s leadership, with the exception of Hanz Morde himself – have worked tirelessly to limit the rights of the lower races. Where other groups have been sceptical as to its existence, they are increasingly concerned with stamping out the so-called human resistance.

The Conservative Party

The Conservative Party, on the other hand, holds the majority of the Council, including the Lord Chancellor. They are characterized by their resistance to nearly any sort of change. Of course, like the Reformists, they hold that galdori are the superior race; however, while they recognize that individual financial misfortunes do occur and are terribly tragic, they tend toward the belief that galdori with wealth and power have earned it. In the Conservative mindset, Anaxas is already a meritocracy and has achieved equality to any extent that it matters. On the whole, they are enforcers of rigid gender roles, troubled by women in government and law enforcement. They tend to be older, wealthier, and male.

They subscribe to the time-honored conception of the galdori as custodians of the lower races, and they have little fear of the Resistance or desire to add to the tensions between themselves and those people that make up their servants. They were sceptical as to the wisdom of Azmus’ ban on tsat, and they see no reason to shake up the social order.

The Equality Party

The closest to a socially progressive political party in Anaxas is the Equality Party, so-named for its association with the Society for Passive Equality. In casual conversation, they are often derogatorily referred to as the Blushing Hingle Party, due to an incident that ruined an Assembly candidate’s career in 2709. While they take a fairly radical stance on the passive problem, citing Mugrobi imbali and Gioran veay priests like Illustrious Peak as positive examples of galdor society “accepting” passives, they are tepid at best in their engagement with discourse surrounding humans, wicks, and the human resistance. Nevertheless, rude jokes (and more serious, scandalous rumors) about Equality candidates’ relations with the lower races abound.

The Courts & Jurisprudence

The Kingdom of Anaxas has a complex system of courts, almost exclusively benefiting galdori, that follow common law procedure. High Judge Azmus and Low Judge Ogden preside over the criminal and civil divisions of the senior courts respectively. In addition to the secular court system, an arcane court exists in Brunnhold — a holdover from ancient Anaxi law — to handle magical crimes and disputes relating to university property.

For more in-depth information on the courts, specific laws, and an overview of Anaxi jurisprudence, please see Anaxi Law.

Suffrage

Suffrage is a complex issue in Anaxas. First, and crucially, suffrage is strictly limited to galdori; humans, wicks and passives have no ability to vote, nor any other scope for formal participation in politics.

Within galdori, both men and women have the right to vote. Anaxas's complex system of guardianship means that one's suffrage is determined by a complex mix of age, gender, property and marriage laws. In general, most galdori men and women vote on their own behalf after age 20; however, there can be a number of complex (and confusing) exceptions. for more information, see Anaxi Law.

Other Political Entities

  • The Everine - The Everine also have substantial political power, as they serve as the spiritual advisory board for the Headmaster in a capacity rivaling that of the Chairs. However, Everine are not eligible by law to become Headmasters.
  • The Seventen - The Seventen are the epitome of law enforcement in Anaxas. More generalized police forces exist in smaller towns and villages, mostly comprised of humans under the authority of galdori leadership. These lesser local police answer to the Seventen in charge of their jurisdiction, but do not undergo the advanced training that Seventen do. Humans may serve in the police guard.
  • Anaxi Armed Forces - The Armed Forces of Anaxas are led by the Army General, who is appointed by the King and Queen. The army has a human majority, led by galdori.
  • Wick Tribes - Wick tribes are granted a sort of pseudo-autonomy by the galdori government. In exchange for their adherence to the law, wicks may operate outside of the major cities and have freedom to travel in nomadic tribes, obeying the laws laid down by their respective Durgs. For now the galdori government has no intention of commandeering any of these tribes, and they are not called upon to pay taxes or serve in the military as long as they remain tribal subjects. Wicks who live in cities and do not adhere to the tribal structure are subject to the same laws as humans.