The Governing System
of Westra
The system of government of Westra is based on a *very* simplified version of
our own feudal system in medieval Europe. The most prominent unit of government
is the "House", which consist of a Lord, his sons and daughters, his
retainers, servants, soldiers, peasants, etc. Each house is usually thought of
as one "family" since they are all inextricably bound to each other.
House Dragonfell
The most powerful House (at least theoretically) is House Dragonfell. Benarius,
the founder of this House, was the legendary hero who slew the dragons that had
dominion over Westra and made it a land of free folk. The capital he named
"Dragonfell", where he slew the last dragon, and took the name to his
house. All of the Major Houses, theoretically, owe their allegience to House
Dragonfell so that House Dragonfell rules over the rest of Westra through them.
The Lord of House Dragonfell is therefore the "King".
The Major Houses
The next step down from House Dragonfell are the major houses. Including House
Dragonfell, there are currently 13 major houses in Westra. These houses are:
Stonewall
Algoth
Riverman
Darius
Shadowbane
Allister
Oarman
Talbert
Berristan
Conrath
Fallosworth
Abith
These houses haven't always been the major houses of Westra. In fact, many
houses have risen and fallen from "major house" status. There is no
limit on the number of major houses, nor are there any minimum of minor houses
in their system of government. Which house gets to be instated as a major house
is determined by the Court of Dragonfell.
Major Houses are VERY powerful. In fact, before Benarius, these houses were the
ruling families of their own nations. However, Benarius united them under one
banner nearly 500 years ago and, with the help of the Dragonguard, expelled the
dragons from Westra forever. House Dragonfell rules over Westra only because
each house owes their alliegence to House Dragonfell. Right now, these 13
families rule over a country roughly the size of California and Nevada combined
and have kept a relative peace for 500 years (a very incredible feat
considering the technology at the time).
The Minor Houses
Each Major House derives its power from the alleigence of many Minor Houses.
Some Major Houses, like House Conrath, is HUGE and can have as many as 130
minor houses that owe them their alliegence. Some Houses, such as House
Allister, have a precious few. Some Minor Houses are more powerful than Major
Houses as far as manpower, wealth, and influence may be concerned, but have not
achieved Major House Status because they do not have the support of other Major
Houses or House Dragonfell to make such a claim at Court. There are some
"Lower Major Houses", who have the alliegance of some Minor Houses,
who are currently jockeying for power as a Major House. There are even *some*
(very very few) Minor Houses who do not owe alliegence to *any* House. (Sometimes
referred to as a "rogue" house.) Usually, these families are left
alone because they are unimportant or too difficult to control. If it wasn't
for their extreme loyalty to House Dragonfell, the powerful Major House
Shadowbane from the far north would be one such house.
Knights and Nobles
The system of titles is VERY simplified in Westra (mostly to save me a
headache). If you are the head of your house, you are a "Lord". If
you are the son of Lord, you are officially called a "Baron", though
it is becoming more common to call these people "Lords" as well (or,
in a derogatory manner, a "Lordling"). If you are a daughter of a
Lord, then you are a baroness, but this title is rarely used. More often, an
unmarried daughter is called "Maid" such as Maid Beatrice. When a
daughter is married to a Lord, her title then becomes "Lady", such as
Lady Shana Algoth. Obviously, these titles are inherited. Theoretically, Lords
are empowered with the ability to give anyone else minor title (such as a Baron
or Librarian or some such), but it has been the practice of Lords to have this
cleared with the Court of Dragonfell. Only the King can bestow the title of
"Lord" to someone and officially recognize their families and
properties as a "House". The line of succession follows the
"eldest son" line, and this has been a hotbed of political intrigue
since the only way for a non-eldest child to inherit a title of Lord is if his
father sets aside a part of the family Holdings and petitions the King to be
Lord of those Holdings.
Knights, who have the title of "Ser", come in two breeds: Knights of
Draenor (or the old Gods), and Knights of the Lord (or the Lord of Light). The
Knights of Draenor follow the church of the Old Gods, and the knights of the
Lord follow the Church of the Lord of Light. Currently, both churches are
acceptable practices to attain the title of "Ser", though the
increasing popularity of the Lord of Light has made it the more popular course
to become a knight. For a child to become a knight, some knight has to be
impressed enough to make him a squire. Theoretically, anyone, even commoners,
can become a knight, though it is more often an honor that is bestowed on the
nobility, particularly those sons who are second- or third-born and wish to inherit
title and wealth through other means.
Knights, once they pass the necessary rituals, are "officially"
ranked as "Lords" and retain all the political power thereof, though
unless they have land and wealth of their own, they are often treated as a
"Lordling". However, this is easily done as knights are bestowed full
armor, weapons, mount, and coin to "protect the lands of Westra and all of
her peoples" as a courtesy from whomever their patron house is. (Usually
the patron house is their own house, but it is not unheard of for a knight to
inherit his title from a different house.) These weapons and equipment make
them incredible in combat in a world where most soliders bear little more than
leather and pikes (if they are lucky enough). Whatever the knight does with his
newfound prestige weapons is theoretically up to him, but he owes fealty to his
patron house.
The Dragonguard
These men are a completely separate form of knighthood. Unlike those knights
from the churches, these knights are beholden only to the King and House
Dragonfell. Their origin stems from three knights who served Benarius himself.
Their highest oaths are to the protection of the King and protection of Westra.
To this end, they are forbidden from owning land and they are forbidden from
producing heirs so that they may devote their lives to these noble ends. The
*only* sort of power which a member of the Dragonguard may have is the title of
"Ser" and the political power that comes with it. However, they are
given the best armor and weapons in the land, the best training, and a near
infinite wealth (courtesy of Dragonfell) to discharge their duties.
Without going into too much detail, the three orders of the Dragonguard are:
Protect the King
Protect the Land
Guard against the Dragons
Currently, the First Order numbers in about 300 hundred, though Dragonguard
often move from order to order as the time demands. The Second Order put down
unrest and protect the borders (their most important job in the eyes of the
people). Their main posts is Northrun Fortress to the north, and Southrun
Fortress in the south, near Ironheld. The Third Order is the smallest order now
since the dragons have all died off (they used to be the largest and, from what
Benarius considered, the most important). Nowadays, they are usually charged
with wandering the land (usually be oneself) to act is a sort of
"policing" power and to help the common folk. (The adventurer part of
the Dragonguard, as it were.)
The Court of Dragonfell
All decisions that affect the Kingdom are made at the Court of Dragonfell. At
the head of the court sits the King. The twelve other major houses usually have
their own representatives there, maybe even the Lord himself, to speak on their
behalf. The power to make kingdom-wide decisions can ONLY be made by the Major
Houses. The Minor Houses have no jurisdiction other than over their own Houses,
though they often send representatives and delegates to try to influence the
representatives of the Major Houses.
The Court of Dragonfell usually meets three times a week, but this is more of a
tradition than a requirement. There exists no constitution or document which
enumerates the powers of the Court or the Houses. All laws are usually made by
"proclaimation" and "agreement". Although the King
technically has the final say over any decision of the Court, it is to his
advantage to reach a decision that is palatable to the other Major Houses since
they are his constituents, and to keep the peace in the land. Decisions on
legality and justice are usually done by "precedence", meaning they
look to a law or proclaimation that was made before (particularly those that
were made by Benarius).
In recent times, the King has lost considerable power over the other houses and
very little has actually been accomplished by the Court. This is because of the
declining power of Dragonfell, the apathy that many lords now have over
Benarius ("Why should I worship some dead knight from 500 years
ago?"), and the often conflicting ambitions of other Houses.
Distribution of Power
Obviously, in such a chaotic system, power is very valuable to uphold. Power is
usually seen through three columns: military might, influence, and wealth.
Currently, the most powerful military arm is House Conrath but they have
recently had tremendous losses in a campaign led by Jaden's sister, Piccarda
Conrath. Influence is usually garnered by marriages between houses and favors.
In fact, marriage is the most popular form of "alliance" between two
houses since a marriage often involves complicated exchanges of wealth and land
between two nobles (usually to the benefit of both parties in a strategically
arranged marriage). Wealth is now becoming the lifeblood of nobility and
usually determines what actions nobles can take (in Court, and in the land of
Westra in general).