The Court of the Rose Throne
The life of the Court revolves around the Elf Queen’s Palace.
At the head of the Court is the Elven Queen. She holds ultimate power within the Court, and exerts considerable influence over elven folk outside Blood Wood who still owe her loyalty. The Elven Queen’s first duty is to protect the Court, Blood Wood, and other forests across the world. Because its power and influence have eroded over the past several hundred years, the Court now finds it impossible to maintain its distance from the complicated politics of the world. If they are to survive, they must gain power by playing the same political games as every other realm.
The current Elven Queen Alachia, has involved the Court in intrigues throughout Barsaive. Thus farther attempts are marred by the Court’s lack of experience in the affairs of other races. In centuries past, the Elven Queen and the elves of Blood Wood could command instant respect and awe; but few in Barsaive feel the same reverence since the elves carried out their self-inflicted corruption. King Varulus III of Throal has made his antipathy toward the corrupted Court of Blood Wood quite apparent. Those who know anything about Blood Wood and its inhabitants speculate that many years will pass before the Queen successfully replaces her imperious directness with the silent, unseen manoeuvring necessary in our time.
Structure
Consortis
Queen Alachia appoints eight advisors and courtiers, called consortis, one for each of the massive trees that supports the palace. The Elven Queen often dismisses a consortis and then appoints a new one with little warning or apparent logic. Her whims have prompted her to dismiss and reappoint some members of the court several times. As might be expected from this description, the consortis wield little actual power, but on occasion may influence the Elven Queen. Though she usually surrounds herself only with those who support her own plans and ideas, and will dismiss a consortis for daring to speak his mind, her advisors have occasionally led her in unexpected directions In addition to advising (and supporting) the Elven Queen, consortis often have their own concerns that may not be in accord with the greater concerns of the Court.Blood Warders
In the hierarchy of the Elven Court, the Court magicians are next in power to the Elven Queen and the consortis. Known as Blood Warders, the Court magicians continue to practice the twisted magics created during the Scourge. They create the thorn men, fire hounds, and other strange creatures that patrol Blood Wood. They advise the Elven Queen on various matters, and she listens carefully to their counsel. Though the Blood Warders often act independently of the Elven Queen’s knowledge in the political sphere, the rest of the Court rarely protests their actions. The elves seem to have given the Blood Warders sole responsibility for keeping their perverse traditions alive, without practising the traditions themselves. The Blood Warders accept this responsibility, knowing that it brings them considerable freedom to act. For example, the Blood Warders recently procured the bones of dozens of skeletons from a graveyard outside an inhabited citadel in order to perform a certain experiment. Without asking the Queen’s permission, the Blood Warders secured funds from the Queen’s treasury and hired a band of adventurers to remove the bones from under the watchful eye of the graveyard’s guards. Even for members of the Elven Court, grave robbing is considered reprehensible, but no one reprimanded the Blood Warders for their dreadful deed. Despite Queen Alachia’s apparent willingness to grant the Warders’ a certain freedom, many observers believe that she is beginning to feel uneasy at her magicians’ growing power. Few know precisely what the Warders have been up to and no one except Alachia would dare to ask.
Type
Governmental, Senate/Parliament
Alternative Names
Court of Blood Wood
Parent Organization
Location
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