Holy Nation of Crescent

Overview

The Church of the Sun and Moon runs the government of Crescent - the leader of the Council of Five is also the high priest of the Church. Still, since the governing of a huge country is quite a monumental task, a bureaucracy has grown up around the church, to facilitate the actual governing of the people and the nation, itself. The members of this group have been incorporated into the Church structure, and are known as the Order of the Remembrance of Joy. They are really the group that does the actual, day-to-day governing.

Still, the Church does not rule with an iron fist. In some areas, regional councils or various groups have grown up into prominence. Although they are not typically legal powers, they often control the social or economic life of a region.

In Luminaux, for example, the Guild Council has nearly an equal footing with the Church. Composed of equal parts of the Great Merchant Houses and members of the trade guilds, they are on very good terms with the Church.

Like Luminaux, the Church's influence in Ferrodyne is shared with another group, although in this case it is the Gnomish Ministry of Engineering (which, in spite of its name, is not technically affiliated with the Church.) The Ministry, which controls the research and development of new ideas, was originally only concerned with governing intellectual properties. However, it quickly became concerned with protecting the interests of its members - and protecting its members from the sometimes outraged members of the community, which has often been burned down, blown up, or rendered unlivable due to stench, torrential rain, or giant mechanical constructs on the rampage.

At the opposite end of the political spectrum was Maxaen. This human city, which lies at the mouth of the LightningStroke River, was a city in a constant state of readiness for war. As the front line in the conflict with the orcs and other monster races, the city was strongly controlled by the military - which is itself largely composed of members of the Church. Thus, in Maxaen, the Lord Marshal's word was law.

That was, until the days following Cometfall, when Dame Aelen Wyer looked past racial tensions and saw, in the large camp of orcish refugees, a people in need. Her actions turned Maxaen into a contradiction: a fortress city without a war to fight. Though Wounded Bear is still legally in charge of the military encampment and the city inside the (now repaired) walls, Dame Wyer is the de facto leader of the vast majority of people in the area. It has effectively turned into an independent city-state.

Some of the other regions are under different degrees of control - the bulk of the desert, for example, is not really under anyone's control, save for the occasional nomad. The Sea of Shadows, a tempestuous and temperamental sea, is of course under no one's control, but there are a number of halfling clans that call its waters home.

Council of Five

As far the practice of high-level politics goes, that is mostly in the hands of the Church, as well. The ruling body of the nation is the Council of Five, which is, by tradition, composed of one member of each major civilized race - human, elf, dwarf, gnome, and halfling. By law, the Council must have one member from the Divine Orders, one member from the Sacred Orders, and one each from the Sword, the Shield, and the Fist. Historically speaking, the leader of the Council, known as the Lord Marshal, is nearly always from the ranks of the Order of the Sword of Malicean.

Currently, the members of the Council are:

• Vigilant BlackAnvil, a dwarf of the Order of the Sword of Malicean; also the Lord Marshal.
• Sir Jericho Templar, a half-elf of the Order of the Shield of Revelation (filling the human seat)
• Silas StormCloud, an elf of the Order of the Fist of Reverence
• Veritas Bookworm IV, a gnome of the Order of the Mind of the Prophet
• Wisp of Cloud of the Soaring Cloud Clan, a halfling of the Order of the Celebrants of Glory

Each member serves a 20-year term, and is elected from within the ranks of his order (or Order group, in the case of the Divine Orders and the Sacred Orders). Although a member may not serve consecutive terms, reelection isn't unheard of - in fact, a couple centuries ago, council member Javid FlintKnapper was elected from the Shield, served his term, joined the Order of the Holy Compass, and was subsequently elected to the Council to fill the Divine Order seat. To date, he is the only member who has been reelected to serve from two different Orders.

Elections are staggered every four years, barring death, illness, or resignation.