Manedsmith

When I visited the halls of Bun Daresh, welcomed as the glorious and important diplomat from Baradolia as I was, my confusion was big, when they led me into an ordinary smithy and told me to wait there.

Certainly, this had to be a mistake, I thought to myself and then proclaimed to the guard standing silently next to the door. I was about to meet the council of this city, why would they stash me in some workshop like a commoner?

When a dwarf walked in, covered in grease and dirty from coke, I thought this to be the continuation of this absurd joke. I was almost ready to complain, when the dwarf grabbed a chain hanging on a chair, and put it around his neck. With a sudden aura of authority he looked at me and I realized, that maybe I was not in the wrong room.

Excerpt from "Adventures in Extraordinary Diplomacy"
written by Gunnar Rundthorn in 1378 AR
Stored in the Library of Rashan'Kan
Room of Human Fiction, Shelve 8.6

Once originally the foreman in a dwarven mining camp, when those outposts grew and became settlements so developed the need to have a proper administration present. So the Manedsmith as leader of operations was elevated to a position akin to the Ironlords of the big metropolises in Aliretar.

Appointment

Whenever a previous Manedsmith retires or dies, the council of a settlement will vote on a new Manedsmith. The candidates of the position need not be part of the council, but have to b a citizen with their own home for at least a year. Furthermore they have to have at least three eligible citizens supporting the nomination. The vote has to be of at least three quarter of the council present in the first vote or more than half of the votes in a second vote between only the most voted top cancidates of the first round.

If a council fails to appoint a new Manedsmith within a month, the Iron Council can appoint a candidate that the council has to acknowledge. If they fail to do that within three days, the Iron Council will disband the Settlement's Council and appoint a new concil.

An appointment for life was fitting within a dwarven society that prefered slow sociological changes. However with the recent influx of human and orcen settlers in many border colonies and their sudden influences on dwaven societal norms, this issues is currently being discussed.

Responsibilities

The Manedsmith is the diplomatic representative of the settlement to the outside world. He has the last word in negotiating and signing trade contracts and he can decide if and where to deploy the settlement's troops.

He also has a lasting impact on the Judiciary, since he can appoint the larger half of the judges, where the other half is appointed by the council. He can demand from the council to vote about the dismissal of a judge coming next cycle.

Furthermore the Manedsmith can call for a vote by all eligible citizens about their trust in the council. He has to defend this decision to the Iron Council of the main settlements however an they can intervene in this decision.

Accoutrements & Equipment

The most obvious detail to recognize the Manedsmith is a necklace they wear across his chest, made out of six triangular shaped plates linked together with six rows of small iron chains. On these plates there are dwarven runes engraved and inlayed with Cobalt, associated with the Words of Maned. In the center between the third and fourth plate is a round plate engraved with the sigil of the Manedsmith's settlement.

Different to the similar necklace of the Ironlord, this necklace does never contain any jewels or uses any precious metals. Ever since the Blue Steel Taint there was never again a Manedsmith's necklace with steel created.

Type

Civic, Political

Status

Still active; Discussions about lifetime appointment

Length of Term

A Manedsmith is elected for life, if they so chose. They have however the possibilty to retire on their own will.

Related Organizations

• Aliretar