Offices in Kethaela

From: pmaclanderson <pmanderson_at_...>
Date: Sun, 22 May 2005 21:51:27 -0000

I just had to deal with a party that went to the City of Wonder in sea- season 1617, so I had to invent a scheme for his officers (since the city is still operating like a snake with its head cut off).

Since the system has been devised by the Jrusteli Belintar, there is an officer for (most of) the Great Runes. There are seven official languages (Esrolian, Darkspeech, Heortling... plus (for proper names only) Pharaoh's tongue - may he live forever!: Jrusteli - I give names only in Jrusteli and Heortling:

The chief officers for administration of Kethaela, as a whole, are:

1. The six Logothetes/Secretaries, who screen Pharaoh's -(mhlf) correspondence and supplicants, depending on their language. For example, the Aeolian Logothete, the Secretary of State for Air, deals with Heortlandish, and so also Sartarite and other Air Tribe languages; the Chthonian Logothete, the Secretary of State for Earth, takes care of Esrolian, etc.; the Stygian Logothete, or the Secretary of State for Night, of Darktongue...

The existence of a seventh, Sacred, Logothete, for the private diary of Pharaoh, is unconfirmed.

2) The twelve Ministers, or Demiurges, or Archons, are associated with the eight runes of the weeks, plus Luck, Fate, Left and Right. For example, the Library of the City of Wonder is the Ministry of Truth; the Minister of Truth is the vice-librarian, the Epistemic Demiurge or Gnostarch (Pharaoh, may he live forever, is the Chief Librarian, as another of his innumerable hats). The High General is Minister of War, the Polemarch. The Chief Justiciar is the Minister of Fate, the Moirarch. The Grand Treasurer is the Minister of Luck, the Tycharch,
(after all, the Treasury began with Belintar's winnings -mhlf- when he
broke the bank of the Casino of Refuge) and so on...

For the City of Wonder itself:

3) The City of Wonder is, by definition, the Hall of the High King of Heortland (may he live for ever), the Holding of Husband-Protector of Esrolia, (mhlf), and so on. Largely, the corresponding institutions exist, each in their own sixth of the city. In some cases, corresponding institutions have merged (thus the Library of St. Lankhor is also the Archives of the adepts of the Left-ArmClassification School.

4)The job of ensuring that the island nevertheless functions
(importing the necessary supplies, for example), is overseen by the
Grand Domestics: The Grand Domestic of Stone looks after stone and metal shipments; the Grand Domestic of Plants over grain and lumber, the Grand Domestic of Beasts over meat and beasts of burden; the Grand Domestic of Man runs the personnel office; and the Grand Domestic of Spirits registers religions and cults.

and also:

5) The other Runes are mostly entrusted to Leagues (Rings in Heortlander), Boards or Commissions. Customs duties are levied by the League of Issaries, Newtlings are subject to the Newt Board, the Kralorelan Ambassador deals with the Dragon Commission....

6) and beyond that are the internal organization of each of the Six Realms. For example, the Aeolian Church is an institution of the Kingdom of Heortland, and unless it has to deal with Pharaoh (mhlf) or the other Kingdoms, it operates inside the Kingdom as though the CoW didn't exist.