Council of Vvathaf
The Council of Vvathaf was the ruling body of the Free City of Vvathaf. It was made up of nine Councilors, each elected from among the Bvidthu (the aristocratic caste of Vvathaf) of the nine districts of the city.
The Council was responsible for the formation and administration of the government of the city. Each Councilor oversaw the appointment of the statutory Chancellors of their respective districts. In addition, the Council as a whole appointed the city-level magistrates, who were directly responsible to the High Councilor, whom the Council elected from among their number.
Public Agenda
The Council of Vvathaf sought to increase the influence of Vvathaf. Generally, this was accomplished via trade and diplomacy. Use of military force, while occasionally employed, was generally frowned upon.
History
The Council of Vvathaf originated some time in the sixty-ninth century AF. Prior to that time, the city was apparently ruled by some kind of sovereign, though records are sketchy. In any case, the Council was the ruling power in Vvathaf for around a millennium. It successfully maintained the city-state's independence from the Itaros Imperium, as well as its successor, the Estinos Imperium. Though the Council had a long and well established record of successful governance, a few periods of turbulence arose in its history.
The Tribe War (7151 AF - 7199 AF)
In the seventy-first century, the districts were not as developed as they are now. Each district was settled only by members of the tribe for which it was named. Following a series of assassinations on the Council, the various tribes broke into a low-level war that lasted two generations. At the worst points of the conflict, Councilors were holding their seats for a matter of days before being murdered in the streets. The period was marked by pronounced vendettas between tribes, and in some cases, between noble houses within tribes, as entire ruling families were wiped out, leaving vacuums of power begging to be filled. Umænt Relshu was elected High Councilor in 7194 AF. With savage ferocity, he spend the next several years forging alliances and utterly destroying his rivals, until he was able to assert unquestioned dominance in the council chamber. He issued the Edict of the Districts in 7199 AF, establishing the walls that today divide the districts. More importantly, the Edict stated that one in ten Bvithu children would have to marry outside of their tribe. They were chosen annually by lot. After several decades, enough intermarriage had occurred that, while the districts remained tribally distinct, ties existed between them that bound them together. The Edict was formally rescinded by the Council in 7606 AF, but by then it was no longer needed.Urinius' Invasion (7387 - 7389 AF)
In 7386 AF, the Emperos Crispinus of Itaros decreed that the Ronis Plain should rightly become a province of the Itaros Imperium. He bestowed three legions upon Marcus Tullius Urinius and commanded him to invade and conquer the region. By the Spring of the following year, Urinius had landed a significant expeditionary force between Zhækhtu and Vvathaf. The Council of Vvathaf did not enjoy friendly relations with Zhækhtu at the time, so coordinated operations were out of the question. They commanded the Lord High Marshall Poribv to expel the foreign invaders. Marching out from the city with a little over two thousand troops and supported by a naval force of around 200 biremes, Poribv interdicted the Itarosan naval supply lines and maneuvered the Itarosan Legions into a disadvantageous position while they were forced to forage for food. In a daring night attack, Poribv fell upon the Itarosan force, slaughtering a third of their troops in short order. Urinius, however, was an experienced general and was able to restore order in his legions and pulled them back out of the fight. Having lost the element of surprise and the momentum of this attack, Poribv found himself numerically matched with the far better trained and equipped Itarosan army. That being the case, he split his forces into twenty small units. For the next two years, his biremes kept pressure on the Itarosan supply lines, actually completely interdicting them for significant periods of time on two occasions. While his navy conducted the logistical interdictions, his small ground units raided the legions in a seemingly endless series of hit-and-run raids, gradually whittling down Urinius' legions. Finally, in the high summer of 7389 AF Urinius, understanding that he would soon have no effective fighting force, captured a series of ten villages and fortified them. Drawing upon their production, he was able to feed his army. He then consolidated his army atop a small hill known only as "the Tor." Fortifying the rocky hill, he awaited the Vvathan response. Poribv discerned that he would not be able to continue his harrying tactics any longer. Personally riding to Vvathaf, he stood in the Great Plaza and called for volunteers to join his army. Recruiting an additional two thousand from among the city's nobility, who were all trained warriors by custom, he led them to join his veteran army. The combined force encircled the Tor and advanced upon it. Over the course of three days fighting, the Itarosan Legions withered and finally collapsed. Urinius was captured, taken to Vvathaf in chains, executed, and his head, along with every hilt from every Itarosan sword from the Battle of the Tor were shipped to Estinos to be sent to the Emperos. Though peace was never formally declared, no further Itarosan invasions ever occured on the Ronis Plain.Alvvir's Uprising
During 8088, the economy of Vvathaf was severly disrupted by two events - a pirate incursion into the southern Mare Orientalem, which cut off all trade on the sea, and a doppelganger infiltration of the powerful Spicer's Guild. These two events, in tandem, coupled with the usual political to-and-fro between rival houses, resulted in economic and social disorder.
On the 52nd of Thuyir, 8089, a commoner named Alvvir led an uprising against the government. His movement quickly attracted thousands of followers, and on the 55th of Thuyir, they stormed the Central District, destroying the Palace of the Council and plundering the district. Most of the Councilors were slain in their offices, and the governance of the Council of Vvathaf was no more.
Dissolution Date
55 Thuyir, 8089 AF
Type
Geopolitical, City council
Successor Organizations
Government System
Oligarchy
Currency
Ruzhæbvs (gold pieces), Durkins (silver pieces), Pezhis (copper pieces). Platinum is not used as currency, per se, though it retains its intrinsic value.
Subsidiary Organizations
Location
Comments