Ceruleans tend to be an orderly lot, preferring to follow rules when they exist, provided that those rules have been tested and seem to be logical and suited to solve a problem that exists. They become agitated when they are forced to follow rules that don’t make sense, or that have somehow been proven to be faulty or incomplete. Many public offices employ skilled communicators specifically to ensure that the populace can easily get answers about why various laws are in place and how well they’re functioning, and Cerulean governments tend to be extremely responsive to problems with the effectiveness or failure of laws and regulations.
Ceruleans are also, generally, fairly respectful towards those in authority. However, this respect falls apart remarkably quickly if someone starts losing control of their emotions, starts behaving irrationally, or makes foolish mistakes. Ceruleans understand that sometimes failure is inevitable, but they care a great deal about why a leader fails, and how they react to failure. Accepting and learning from your mistakes with dignity and self-control is critical in Cerulean leaders, and those who lose their heads to anger or self-doubt are frequently encouraged to step down voluntarily before they are deposed by their followers.
The League has a strongly decentralized governmental structure, making it less of a unified nation and more an alliance of otherwise independent Isles and Poleis. The League is also strikingly democratic, in the worst and best of ways. Every Polis in the League holds an Assembly to govern itself, as well as sending delegates to its Isle’s Nesos Assembly to help direct policy for the Isle it belongs to, and each Isle in turn sends delegates to the Greater Demos to set policy for the League as a whole. All of these delegates are chosen by lot from the citizenry, creating very representative but often rather messy forums for debating and enacting public policy. These Assemblies are only kept in check and on track by the practiced shepherding of the Poimandroi, career politicians elected by their Polis and/or Nesos to guide their delegation in working towards the best interest of the citizenry.
The Polis (plural Poleis) is the fundamental building block of Cerulean government. A Polis can be any sized community, from a single village to a grand metropolis, as well as a large amount of the surrounding territory. The key defining feature of a Polis is its self-governance: each maintains it own laws, citizenships, and councils. Most are formed out of a single settlement, though some Duapoleis or Triapoleis exist, fashioned out of two or three communities that are close enough in geography and culture that they’ve banded together to form a single governing body.
Over the centuries since the age of the Seven Sages, nearly every Polis has come to adopt a form of direct democracy based on the Great Rhetra of Sophon. Over time, as the Isles’ own governments coalesced and the League itself was finally formed, this system was adapted for higher levels of government as well. Under this system, the Polis is governed by a Demos, or assembly. Assemblies are formed at the municipal or Polis level, where villages, towns, and cities hold a Demos to write laws and decide local policy; at the Isle (or Nesos) level, where all the communities on an Isle send representatives to the Nesos Assembly to set policy and make decisions for the Isle as a whole; and at the League level, where every Isle sends representatives to the Greater Demos on Drunessos to make decisions for the entire League.
While many individual communities and Isles have unique customs for their assemblies, they all function in a similar fashion, using direct democracy to debate social and legal issues, appoint and recall civic and judicial officials, and enact or repeal laws and statutes that affect the Polis. When Ceruleans try to explain their system of government to outsiders, they frequently use the idiom “it’s turtles all the way down.” Though it’s meant as a bit of an in-joke, most Ceruleans are proud of how well the Demos system of government tends to work, despite (or because of) how messy and drawn-out many of the debates within the various Assemblies are.
Though in practice the Nesos Assemblies and Greater Demos function as representative democratic bodies, the Cerulean system is based on the ideal of direct democracy: every Cerulean citizen is (in theory) not only welcome but expected to take part in one or more of the Assemblies that make decisions affecting them. This is most clearly true in the Polis Demos, where citizens frequently appear to vote or make speeches on the floor of the Demos, but it’s also a critical part of the Nesos Assemblies and Greater Demos, where delegates are selected at random from the citizenry and expected to serve their community, Isle, and nation for a year within the Demos. Though every assembly is careful to compensate delegates for their service, serving within one (often far away from home and family) is seen as a duty by most Ceruleans, one they accept gladly as doing their part to keep the Cerulean political system functioning smoothly.
Every Demos and Assembly in the League has one or more Poimandroi (singular Poimandros or Poimandra) to act as stewards of the governing body or its members. The Poimandroi are the only professional politicians in the League, and are the only officials who are elected to their seats via a general election; every other official is either appointed by a Demos or is chosen by lot to serve on a Demos. The Poimandroi are functionally the managers and advisors of the delegates they were elected to serve — the title means “shepherd of people” in Old Raldenic, and refers to the customary responsibilities of the Poimandroi of ensuring that members of a Demos are provided with all the knowledge they require to make decisions and informed of the needs and problems facing their constituents.
There are many Poleis within the League, and while each has its own unique take on how their Demos should function, most are based on a blend of direct and representative democracy. A collection of citizens (traditionally 100, but sometimes more and sometimes less) are selected from the Polis’ adult population at random each year to be delegates of the Demos, proposing legislation and directing the Polis’ civil servants. While the delegates are the ones who write the legislation and hold most of the Polis’ governmental power, the ability to actually pass legislation and important administrative actions lies with the populace — whenever legislation or another important decision is on the floor of the Demos, citizens of the Polis may show up to vote upon it, and it is their collective decision that actually puts whatever is under debate into effect.
Most Poleis elect one Poimandros to their Assembly at a time, usually for a term of seven years. The Poimandros acts to keep order within the Demos and ensure that the institutional memory of the body is passed on to each new crop of delegates; some are also granted the power to act as a singular head of state for the Polis by the Demos, but this is usually only done as an emergency measure and not a regular occurrence.
The Seven Isles have their own individual governments, known collectively as the Nesos Assemblies. Each Isle has its own name for its Assembly (the Ekklesia of Alethon, the Apella of Lakedemos, the Diet of Rhoku, etc.), as well as its own traditions, but they all function in a similar manner. Every Polis of sufficient size (usually over ten thousand citizens) sends six delegates to the Nesos Assembly each year; those Poleis who are too small usually band together with their neighbors to form a “macropolis” of sufficient size that sends a single delegation. Each delegate can cast a number of votes equal to a sixth of their Polis’ adult population, measured every seven years via the Harmonious Chorus Of Order ritual.
Each Polis (or macropolis) also elects a Poimandros to serve within the Nesos Assembly for seven years (except for those of Rhoku, which has Poimandroi serve in its Diet for eight year terms). The Poimandroi cannot cast votes, but instead act as guides for a Polis’ delegation, helping the fresh delegates get acquainted with their duties each year and advising them on the interests of the Polis and any of the more technical legal or policy issues that arise within the Assembly.
The Greater Demos is the highest legislative body in the League, making decisions and setting policies that affect the entire nation. It is held within the Sanctuary of Temenos on Drunessos, a grand amphitheater consecrated to Druathos, Alethos, and Oruunos. The Greater Demos’ daily meetings are overseen by the Hierophant of Druathos, the leader of the Druathan priesthood within the League, who acts as a neutral arbiter and chairperson and a tie-breaking vote, should one be necessary.
Each Isle sends twenty-one delegates to the Greater Demos every year, who each cast a single vote. Delegates and their families are kept sequestered within the Sanctuary’s halls, and may only meet visitors in places open to the public — a measure intended to ensure that corruption does not gain a foothold within the nation’s government. Every Isle also elects a collection of Poimandros to attend to their delegates; like those sent to serve in the Nesos Assemblies, these politicians cast no votes within the Greater Demos, but instead act as support staff for the delegates, keeping them informed on events and helping them understand the technical details of any policy matters that are being addressed in the League’s government.
The governmental bureaucracy of the League, the organizations that administer the laws of the nation as passed by the Greater Demos, is called the Alsos Sophias, or “grove of wisdom.” Each individual bureau within the Alsos is referred to as a Dendron, one tree out of the grove. Public offices within the Alsos, such as diplomats, judges, and other civil administrators, are filled by citizens who are nominated, questioned, and voted on by the Demos at the level they are operating within — the Greater Demos appoints national-level officials, the Nesos Assemblies appoint officials to administer each Isle, and the Myriad Demos appoint officials for each individual Polis. These officials, collectively referred to as “dendrites,” have dual loyalties — first to the people of the Polis or Isle that appointed them, or to the League as a whole, and second to the Dendros which they are a part of.
The exception to this are the military offices of the Dendron Strategon, which are mostly under the Archon’s control. The only officials appointed by a Demos within the Tree of War are the Archon and the generals and bureaucrats who serve directly beneath the Archon; all other military personnel decisions are made by the Archon, their advisors, and the officers within the League’s military.
The Cerulean League draws a sharp distinction between military and civic matters. Not every decision can afford to be debated at length within a Demos, and the Ceruleans have (after some disastrous experiments) decided that a more autocratic method of leadership is required when it comes to warfare. The Archon is the highest military officer in the League, tasked with leading the Dendron Strategon and the League’s armies and navies to keep the League safe from external threats. The Archon is chosen by the Greater Demos, and although they have ultimate authority over military matters, they are subject to questioning and recall by the Greater Demos should they take actions that call their judgement, loyalty, or ethics into question. As such, the military administration and command structure in the League is incredibly meritocratic, with the higher-ups doing their best to ensure that only the most capable of leaders are appointed to positions of authority.
The current Archon, Anaxandra the Shadowed of Tokyga, is a shrewd and enigmatic tactician, known for predictive strategies, riddling wisdom, and more curiously giving less-pressing orders in the form of haiku. Her epithet comes her close relationship with the Dendron Mysterion, using their agents and divinations to catch the marauding Emerald Skull pirates from the Jadefang Archipelago and (allegedly) crush a nascent civil war in Rhoku during the Coralbone Ague outbreak of 3014. Although she has always been somewhat somber and pensive, she has grown more so in recent years as the League has come to realize she will have to lead them through the difficulties of a Churning. Some surmise that Anaxandra had foreseen the coming chaos decades ago when she was appointed as Archon, and the weight of such knowledge has been the cause of her demeanor since.
The title of Archon traces its roots back to the role of the Stratiarch of Lakedemos, first established by the famous Lakedemian king Lykhourgos to manage his armies while he dealt with rival political factions at home. That general, Marisia the Cunning, was so successful and loyal to her king that the title was passed down as a great honor to whoever led the Lakedemian military. During the Echo Churning of the late Twenty-Sixth Century the Stratiarch of Lakedemos was named leader of the entire League’s armies, and took on the title of Archon to make it clear that they served the League as a whole, rather than the Isle they hailed from.
Leadership in the League is dependent on a combination of merit in someone’s field, skill in logic and elocution, and actual leadership and management abilities. A record of accomplishments speaks for itself and the person’s ability to accomplish in the future. The ability to speak clearly and convincingly and to use logic to arrive at a course of action means that they’re more likely to be able to lead other Ceruleans by persuading their subordinates that they know what they’re doing. Finally, being able to lead and manage others is still a critical skill in and of itself, and the Ceruleans understand that there is a vast difference in the effectiveness of a genius with no interpersonal skills and a gifted but not brilliant leader who is well-practiced at getting those around them to perform as a cohesive group.
The leaders of a Schola are referred to as its Scholarchs. Becoming a Scholarch is often the most straightforward means of attaining a leadership position within the League that doesn’t involve the Temples or government service — either found a Schola and increase its status and capabilities, or join one and advance through its ranks until you reach a leadership position within it. Scholarchs of large Schola are influential figures in their fields and communities, and those of small ones can frequently wield great influence if their Schola has a reputation for excellence and reliability. Exactly how someone becomes a Scholarch of a Schola is, of course, entirely up to that individual Schola’s customs and membership; good Scholarchs are those who understand their Schola’s mission and who can both further that mission and bring in new members to teach.
The other major option for those looking to attain a leadership position is to seek government service of some sort, either as an elected Poimandros within a Demos or as a Dendrite serving within the Alsos Sophias. Gaining one of these positions depends heavily upon demonstrating skill in the task at hand — either understanding policy issues and managing delegates for a Poimandros, or whatever professional skills are necessary for a given post within a Dendron. Once that first entry into the profession is successful, climbing the ranks is usually a matter of continually growing within the bounds of the job and showing capacity to handle more responsibility and complexity. Poimandroi within the Greater Demos are frequently chosen from the best and wisest of the Poimandroi of an Isle’s Nesos Assembly, and the highest ranks of a Dendron’s bureaucracy are either promoted from within or recruited from the best leaders of Schola that specialize in the Dendron’s field.