Daleans are an independent lot, but they also value tradition and the rule of law. They bristle at any rules or laws passed that restrict their freedoms, but if the person in charge can give good reasons for why those laws are just and necessary then Daleans will do their damnedest to uphold them. The people who govern Daleans must earn the authority they’re given; all positions of governmental power in the Federation are either elected or appointed by elected officials. Daleans are fiercely proud of the fact that they’re no longer ruled by hereditary kings or other rulers, and anything that threatens to disrupt their democratic governance tends to earn their ire very quickly.
The Federation is a parliamentary republic, led by the High Chancellor who is elected from the Gravetenders of the Moot. It is divided into twelve Commonwealths, each home to one of the Twelve Great Cities, which are led by Chancellors and their courts of advisors. Each settlement within the Federation, whether a City or Steading, is led by a Castellan, who frequently shares power with a town Council of some sort.
Two organizations act as the arms of the judicial system in the Federation: the Tombsguard and the Reeves. The Tombsguard functions to enforce the will of the Moot should any of the Commonwealths refuse its lawful orders, keeps the Gravedust King’s tomb secure, and guards the Moot itself within the Graveskeep. The Reeves act as a national police and judicial force, keeping the peace, enforcing the laws of the Federation and Commonwealths, and bringing lawbreakers to justice.
Each of the Twelve Great Cities controls a portion of the Dale, with each City’s territory referred to as its Commonwealth. The Commonwealths are what formed the Federation, technically, though in actual fact it was representatives from the Cities and some of the more influential Steadings who first wrote down the Federation’s Constitution at the Graveskeep. Each Commonwealth includes all of the Steadings contained within it, as well as the Great City it is named for, and the citizens from throughout the Commonwealth all vote to elect the Commonwealth’s Chancellor and the Commonwealth’s representatives to the Moot.
Each Commonwealth is governed by a Chancellor and their court of advisors. The Chancellor governs the Commonwealth from its Great City, but must be careful to avoid getting too embroiled in the City’s politics and administration: half of their constituency resides out in the more rural Steadings within the Commonwealth, and the Daleans of field and woods take a poor view of their Chancellors being too chummy with the high and mighty of the Cities.
Each Chancellor is functionally an elected petty king of their Commonwealth, with broad powers over the laws and judiciary of the region. However, they all face strict term limits and have hard restrictions on their ability to influence how votes are cast in their reelection, making it impossible (or at least very difficult) for any to use their power to retain their position if their constituents want to kick them out. Every Chancellor maintains an unofficial council (jokingly called their “court” by most) of advisors selected from respected members of the City and various Steadings throughout the Commonwealth. These councils don’t have any real political power, but instead act as advisors to the Chancellor, keeping the leader of the Commonwealth in touch with their constituents and informed as to how their actions will impact the people they govern.
Chancellors control and administer the Militia Companies of their Commonwealth, ensuring that they are compensated for their drilling periods each summer and that their equipment and logistical supply chain are kept in good repair and ready should the call to arms ever go out. Each Chancellor appoints a Comandante to lead and do the actual administration of the Commonwealth’s Militias, but the Comandante is subordinate to the Chancellor and ultimately the Chancellor is responsible for the Commonwealth’s military readiness and effectiveness.
Each Steading and City is governed by a Castellan, and frequently has a City or Steading Council that acts as a legislative body. Every settlement has its own rules and traditions governing how exactly Castellans and Councilors are elected and what their powers are; most communities have a relatively straightforward setup, with regular elections for each position and a balance of power between the executive and legislative branches.
The Kingsgrave Moot is the national legislature and ruling body of the Federation, where each of the Commonwealths send representatives (known as Gravetenders, in honor of the Moot’s location in the Graveskeep) to debate national policy and direction and elect a High Chancellor to govern the Federation. It is overseen by the Tombsguard, a neutral body who keep the peace and ensure that none of the Commonwealths bring any of the Ebb And Flow with them into the Moot. The total number of Gravetenders is capped at 137, supposedly a lucky number; each Commonwealth’s delegation is proportional to its size, determined by a once-a-decade census, performed via an extensive use of the Harmonious Chorus Of Order ritual to survey each City and Steading in the Federation.
The Moot’s greatest powers are its ability to nominate a High Chancellor to act as head of state and to vote on legislation that will affect the entire Federation. Legislation can be presented by any Gravetender, which leads to a lot of arguing and backroom deals about who gets to take up floor time. The chamber is notoriously fractious, though Daleans like to reassure themselves that at least their national government doesn’t descend into brawls as often as the Althinge of the Skaldings does.
The High Chancellor is both the head of state and head of the national government of the Federation, leading the nation’s diplomatic efforts, military affairs, and domestic legislative and administrative matters. They have the right to levy Militias for the Federation’s defense (though their ability to launch offensive wars is strictly controlled by the rest of the Moot), and to negotiate treaties with other nations, which must be ratified by the Moot at large and at least half of the Chancellors to take effect.
High Chancellors are elected whenever a majority of the Moot agrees that a new one is needed; sometimes this happens immediately after a previous one has had some political disaster befall them, but there is a tradition that the High Chancellor submit themselves for a new election every five years, regardless of whether the rest of the Moot demands one. The Gravetender selected as High Chancellor is chosen by a ranked-choice vote, which sometimes leads to unexpected winners but still makes it so that most of the Commonwealths are happy with the final choice.
The current High Chancellor is Ethaniel Miller von Throkmarton, a Gravetender from the southern reaches of the Pikesbreak Commonwealth and a Vaettrkin well-known for his pronounced waistline, magnificent rack of antlers, earnest intent to do his best for the Federation, and smooth political skill. He was only recently elected as High Chancellor (after the previous one lost the faith of the Moot by ignoring the signs of the oncoming Churning) and seems quite focused on getting the Federation onto a war footing without disrupting its economy too much in the process.
The Tombsguard was formed alongside the Federation, created from the heroes who brought low the Gravedust King to ensure that the archlich stayed dead this time and to act as a neutral enforcement arm of the Moot that was not beholden to any of the newly-formed Commonwealths. (This also served to neatly remove those heroes from the running for political offices, as the leaders of the Cities and Commonwealths were rather concerned about losing their power to jumped-up adventurers.) When the Moot passes a law, if a Steading or Commonwealth defies it the Tombsguard is called upon to sally forth (frequently reinforced by the Militias of other Commonwealths) to ensure that the miscreants are dealt with; it has extrajudicial power in these situations, able to act as judge, jury, and executioner, as well as to oust politicians from their positions and call a special election to replace them, should the death penalty not be called for.
Most of the time, however, the Tombsguard’s duties primarily revolve around keeping the Graveskeep secure. This involves guarding the town itself, keeping the peace in the Solemn Chambers where the Moot meets and debates, acting as security for the Pale Manse where the High Chancellor lives and rules from, and of course acting as guards on, around, and within the Silent Tomb of the Gravedust King. It is this last role is what most in the Federation fixate on when they think of the Tombsguard: solemn and stoic jailors of the biggest bogeyman in the Federation’s history, whose duty is to prevent that old horror from rising from the grave once again. The majority of the Tombsguard, however, only spend a few months of their careers guarding the Tomb; most spend much more time over the years on guard duty around the town and government offices.
Centuries before the Federation’s formation, the Reeves began as a collection of bounty-hunters, bands of roving Wardens and Outriders who had taken to hunting mortals more than monsters, seeking out lawbreakers and outlaws and bringing them back to Steadings for a reward. Eventually they formed their own Companies of bounty hunters, which slowly changed over time into informal law enforcement organizations that aided Steadings and Cities for a price. Soon after the Federation was formed, the Chancellors of the time became frustrated with the independence and mercenary nature of the Reeving Companies, and demanded they incorporate into the Commonwealths as official parts of the governmental apparatus. Though there was some resistance initially, the resources and security offered by the Commonwealths was too enticing for the Reeves to turn down.
In modern times the Reeves are not a group of individuals or a collection of companies but a proper governmental organization. The senior-most amongst their number, numbering about two thousand across the Federation, are the only ones who actually hold the title of Reeve; all others working for them to uphold the law within the Federation are either lawfully-appointed Deputies or introduce themselves as “agents of the Reeves.” Much like the Wardens, the Reeves cultivate an aura of mysteriousness and elite skill — they are widely believed to be the cleverest investigators and most insightful judges on the Continent, and many Daleans with an interest in law enforcement aspire to become a Reeve eventually.
The Reeves are based in each of the Great Cities and the largest Steadings throughout the Federation, serving as high-ranking police officers and judges. They recruit and train Deputies to keep the peace and uphold the law in far-flung Steadings, depending upon these agents to kept the central headquarters appraised of the needs of their communities and any issues that might arise that demands a Reeve ride out to render a judgement or help with an investigation. In addition to their agents and Deputies, though, at any given time about half of the Reeves are riding circuits through their assigned Commonwealth, acting as traveling judges and investigators and aiding any Deputies or Castellans who need their assistance.
Each Commonwealth is responsible for funding its branch of the Reeves. Chancellors are in charge of appointing a High Constable to act as the leader of the Commonwealth’s Reeves, but traditionally they are expected to have a hands-off approach to what the Reeves do and how they go about doing it. A number of Chancellors who have meddled in the Reeves’ operations have fallen afoul of their constituents’ disapproval, so while it’s legally entirely possible for a Chancellor to order the Reeves to do their dirty work that kind of tactic is very likely to end up costing the Chancellor their position.
Aurendale is a relatively meritocratic and democratic nation, so there are many paths to authority and responsibility for those who are interested in climbing the ladder of power.
Hunters and Outriders who wish to join the Wardens can pursue acclaim as monster hunters and protectors of their community; the Wardens regularly recruit promising young hunters to become apprentices and train under them. Once a promising candidate gets enough difficult hunts under their belt, particularly ones where they lead other hunters, the Wardens officially induct them into their number, with all the responsibilities and benefits that come with the title.
Those who are interested in climbing the ranks of the Reeves can do so as either a Deputy, working in one of the rural Steadings to keep the peace, or as an agent of the organization in one of the Cities, acting in their name to enforce the law and keep the organization’s bureaucracy running. Those who wish to gain the title of Reeve must prove themselves to be incorruptible, clever and keen-eyed investigators, and masters of the laws of their Commonwealth and the Federation. Once someone has proven themselves to have all of these traits and spent at least a decade earning commendations, the Reeves promote them to be one of their personal Adjutants; if an officer acquits themselves well as an Adjutant, they are eventually chosen to replace a Reeve when one retires or passes away.
Aspiring politicians have three general paths forward: Castellan, Councilor, or Gravetender. Would-be Castellans and Councilors must earn enough acclaim and good-will in their Steading or City to win an election to the position, and then continue doing their jobs well enough to keep the position. After they’ve proven themselves able and honest administrators and/or legislators, many such politicians run for Chancellor or Gravetender, hoping to convert their local prestige and experience into a regional or national position. Two other paths towards these positions are to win acclaim as a captain or general of the Militias (which tends to get a person well-known by a large portion of a Commonwealth’s Sommerlins) or to become well-known as a gods-favored Friar or Springwalker (which tends to be more difficult but gives someone a distinct edge in politics amongst the Dalean faithful).