Politics

This page lists articles pertaining to Vitan society and its government, as well as other pertinent organizations. an explanation of the political system of Vita, including political parties and the system of checks and balances.

The Symvoulio: A Unified Six Kingdoms

While there were once Ten Kingdoms united together in Vita, there are now only Six. Destroyed in the War of the Book or closed off for their own mysterious reasons, four of the ten Kingdoms no longer participate in the unified system of government known as The Symvoulio. Now only made up of the Kingdoms of Anaxas, Bastia, Gior, Hesse, Hox, and Mugroba, each Kingdom autonomously rules itself with its own particular style of government but also comes together to elect a Symvoul, or a ruler and decision-maker over all the Six Kingdoms.

With the months marching onward toward 2720, Anaxas - the current seat of the Symvoulio - prepares to pass the torch to Mugroba, and Mugroba prepares to receive it.

The Symvoul

The Symvoul is the current seat of political power in the Six Kingdoms. Every ten years, the Symvoul passes to one of the Six Kingdoms, elected by a committee of delegates from all participating kingdoms. No kingdom can serve twice in a row. There have been times of war or strife where a Symvoul has been disposed and another Kingdom has fought to take over, or dry years where no Symvoul has been properly elected, but those have been rare.

As of the current game time (2718 years after the War of the Book), Anaxas is in the tenth year of its Symvoulio, meaning that next year, Anaxas will give up its rulership over the Six Kingdoms.

The Vyrdag

Below the Symvoul, who makes the final decisions on issues that affect all six kingdoms as a whole, is the much more important Vyrdag, or unified parliament, which consists of three branches: the Upper Consulate containing the Headmasters and Headmistresses of each of the six sorcery schools, the High Judges, and other upper-ranking political figures as chosen by the various styles of government in the Six Kingdoms; the Middle Consulate which consists of the upper ranking religious figures from across each of the Kingdoms, such as the High Priests of the Everine in Anaxas; and the Lower Consulate, which is comprised of a delegation from each Kingdom, in accordance with whom they wish to represent them. In Anaxas, the Lower Consulate delegation consists of all incumbents, an annually selected committee of lower chamber assembly members, and other relevant individuals (mayors, diplomats, generals, etc) who are appointed by the rest of the Kingdom’s Lower Consulate.

The Vyrdag is responsible for making trade agreements, negotiating conflict, voting on kingdom-wide issues or initiatives, and advising the Symvoul before he or she makes a decisive vote because they have the final say over all of these things, regardless of how the voting process works. Unlike the Symvoul, often members of the Vyrdag are the same for decades, such as Headmasters or religious figures, where as politicians come and go on a regular basis. This makes for a very diverse and dynamic kind of political representation for all Six Kingdoms.

Notes on the Symvoulio

Some years, the Symvoul has utterly ignored their Vyrdag and led the Kingdoms into unrest. Other years the Vyrdag has completely steamrolled over a weak or incompetent Symvoul, especially if a Kingdom has a particularly charismatic Headmaster or Headmistress in place in the Upper Consulate.

The Symvoul and the Vyrdag are housed in the Kingdom whose Cycle it is, overseeing the affairs of the Six Kingdoms from their Kingdom of origin. Once a year, during the rainy season of Loshis and Hamis, the Vyrdag convenes in the Kingdom whose Cycle it is, filling the capitol city to the brim with international insanity for a full 80 days while they negotiate trade, attempt to assuage friction, and pass laws that affect all of the Six Kingdoms before dissipating back to their own homelands again. A few uprisings have been purposefully timed with the calling of the Vyrdag, which is why the meetings were changed to the rainy season in hopes of discouraging too much violence.

Politics of the Six Kingdoms

Although the Six Kingdoms of Anaxas, Bastia, Gior, Hesse, Hox, and Mugroba are united under the Symvoulio, they are autonomous and self-governed as well. Additional information on court systems, jurisprudence, and important laws in the Six Kingdoms are included in the information below.

Hessean Politics