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).