Prax/Entities

The Council of Entities

While everyone has heard of the Council of Entities and within Nexus their decrees are inviolate, very few people know exactly who and what the Council actually is. The Council’s effective headquarters is the Council Tower, a five-story structure of white marble and ivory located atop a hill in Lower Bastion. The tower itself is surrounded by seven white obelisks inlaid with runes of orichalcum and moonsilver, but otherwise the hill itself is barren except for grass, wild flowers and a wide stone path that leads up to the tower’s entrance. The doors of the tower are always open and anyone may enter at any hour of the day, there aren’t even any guards stationed at the tower.

The first level of the tower is the home of the Incunabulum, which consists of seven jade tablets arranged along the back wall of the room. Two of the tablets are made of blue jade, two of red, two of green, while the seventh and largest tablet is black. The six colored tablets each bear one of the six primary decrees known as the Dogma and the foundation for all of Nexus law:

No Taxes shall be raised, save by the Council.

None shall obstruct trade.

None shall bring an army into Nexus.

No one shall commit wanton violence.

None may falsely claim the Council’s name or sanction.

None shall harbor a fugitive from the Council’s wrath.

The black tablet, which is over ten feet tall, contains the Civilities, which appear upon it written in flowing gold script whenever the Council agrees upon a new decree. The black tablet of the Incunabulum is supposed to be the public record of the Council’s decrees, however it is not always easy to read. A slightly more accessible version of the Incunabulum is available on the second floor of the tower, where a number of strange ibis-headed creatures watch over racks filled with scrolls that contain the full and entire record of the Council’s decrees in seven different languages. New decrees are also regularly announced in Nine Fountains Square outside of the Guildhall by the Emissary himself and from there the decrees are carried by the Council’s official orators throughout the city who can quickly be recognized by their white masks, robes and crimson cloaks. The penalty for impersonating a Council Orator is typically removal of the tongue and the loss of a hand. The penalty for accosting a Council Orator is being flayed alive upon the Hill of Crows.

The third level of the tower contains the Council Chambers, which is as far as most people have ever traveled. Most people only get as far as the antechamber, a large room decorated entirely in white and black. This room is overseen by an eight-foot tall man-shaped creature with two hooded serpents for a head known only as the Interviewer. Before anyone can speak before the Council they must first petition the Interviewer, who will only take down a person’s name after a lengthy series of questions about their business. Those who accost the Interviewer must not only contend with the creature's enormous strength and ability to spew clouds of venom, but also the half-dozen human guards who are also stationed within the antechamber.

After the Interviewer takes down a person’s name and business, that individual is dismissed and may return anytime after the next day’s sunrise. At that point the Interviewer will inform the individual whether an appointment has been arranged or if other arrangements have been made instead. All decisions by the Interviewer are final and are assumed to be the Council’s collective will. The few individuals who have actually been granted an audience with the Council describe the Council Chamber as a large vaulted room shrouded in shadows. The petitioner always stands in the center of the circular chamber in a beam of light, while the Council is seated in a semi-circle all around the individual about twelve feet above. The members are only faintly illuminated from above and anywhere from three to twelve individuals have been described as being seated within the chamber.

No one knows how to reach the fourth and fifth floors of the Council Tower or what may be found on those floors. It is assumed the way up exists only within Council Chamber itself. In addition it is impossible to tell when the Council is in session as its members are rarely seen leaving the tower. Some believe that the Council cannot actually leave the Tower and that it is actually a prison erected to contain the powerful spirits or demons that make it up. Others believe that the Council members simply have some sorcerous means of entering and leaving the tower at will, because some of the Council Members, especially the Emissary have definitely been seen outside of the Tower quite regularly.

Members of the Council

The four most well known members of the Council of Entities are listed below. Others who are said to hold positions upon the Council are the Uncrowned, the ancient spirit of Nexus; the Wraith King who is supposedly the hidden ruler of the Nexus Underworld; the Scarlet Queen a Fair Folk noble who is said to dwell within the chaos of Firewander; and the Smiling Man, a fair folk, spirit or possibly even a demon who appears to people in dark alleys and offers them their heart’s desire.

The Emissary - The Council's mysterious voice and some say its secret enforcer. No one knows exactly who or what he is, but most rightly fear the strange masked man.

Fifth Coyote - The youngest member of the Council of Entities. His official position is one of the Council's three Guild representatives, but he is also the unofficial liaison for the council serving as its human face in public.

Master Eagle - The current head and most senior member of the Guild's ruling body, the Directorate as well as the second of its three representatives on the Council.

Elliander the Architect - A powerful god of civic works projects and urban development that came to dwell within Nexus shortly after the Council of Entities came to power.

Comments

Add some if you like