Fisher Kings and Queens
The Fisher Kings and Queens are the hereditary rulers of the city of Nephatar on the mouth of the Nepha River on the south east coast of the continent of Myruthea on Magicians' End.
The title of the first Fisher King was assumed by Walthar Bass when he founded the first of the Water Kingdoms at Nephatar in 467 APC, and what had formerly been a small town, became a city overnight and an important one in only a very few years.
Appointment
The title of Fisher King or Fisher Queen stands at the apex of a very traditional form of hereditary monarchy which operates according to the rules of primogeniture.
The coronation service involves a symbolic immersion in the sea, in which the new monarch must swim from a boat in the river to a landing stage in front of the royal palace where the rest of the ceremony is conducted in a more decorous fashion.
Responsibilities
The Fisher Kings and Queens are symbols of the statehood of the city of Nephatar. They lead all important civic cermonies and represent the community in diplomatic meetings. The true level of power that they can exercise has varied greatly throughout history. In some ages, the Fisher Kings and Queens have been autocrats, able to appoint their own ministers and having full control over the policies of the city. At other times they have been puppets of many different kinds of regime, both internally led and governed by supranational powers. Then there have been more complex periods when their influence lay somewhere in between, balancing the demands of competing authorities and acting as a kind of traditional social glue. We find ourselves in such an age now, when the Trans-Oceanic Empire dictates foreign policy and sets the terms of trade but the Fisher King or Queen still has responsibility for local government in Nephatar.
Accoutrements & Equipment
There are numerous items of regalia belonging to the king or queen and in their gift as symbols of authority. Some of these are shown in the image at the head of the article. They all derive from ornate representations of fishing implements or creatures of the river and the sea.
The First Fish Lord, to name but one example, is presented with the splendid metal sculpture shown at top and centre, called the Great City Fish which symbolises their responsiblity for the defence of the city.
The most famous and powerful artefact is the Net of Pruth, which was gifted to the royal line in 1873 APC and has been in their possession ever since.
History
The monarchy of Nephatar boasts an unbroken line from 467 APC all the way through to the current year of 6929 APC which makes it one of the longest lasting institutions in the world, but it has undergone many changes of form and function over the millenia to preserve its relevance and maintain the winding lineage of descent. At times, the role has been a practical and military one. This was certainly the case in the age of the Water Kingdoms and during the Time of Terrors. On other occasions, a more subtle and deft form of politics has been required, which the Fisher Kings and Queens at the time of the Four Aerial Courts were called upon to supply. Sometimes the role has been more like that of a mayor under a supranational body, which is the form it takes today under the umbrella of the Trans-Oceanic Empire. Sometimes royalty has had almost all its power stripped away to become nothing more than a ceremonial accoutrement for other forms of government. More rarely, the monarchy has had to retreat from the public gaze altogether, suppressed in the name of the orthodoxy of the day.
But even if it had to be in secret, there has always been a Fisher King or a Fisher Queen to symbolise the city of Nephatar and to fight for its interests. And they have always had a restoration of sorts after dark times, no matter how much it might have seemed that they were on the verge of extinction.
Type
Royalty, Hereditary
Status
The title has been continuously active in some form for over six and a half thousand years but the exact form has varied over time.
Length of Term
Life
First Holder
Current Holders
Past Holders
Related Locations
What an insanely old family line! It really makes the world open up and you feel the age of everything bearing down on the current day! Excellent concept <3
Its Worldember!I am building out a spooky world, which you can read about here! (psst, its a link)
To learn about my main world click on this link! (if you want to ;) )
Thanks! Magicians' End is the realm within the Discontinuum that has the longest historical timeline and it's taking me a quite a while to enrich it to the level I'd like but I think it's starting to come together. The length of their year is only two thirds of ours which makes absolute time not quite as long as it seems but still very long...