The Regent

Purpose and Limits

The Regent is the city’s public face and final tie-breaker in Council. The office exists to keep the four guilds talking and to prevent sudden, dangerous shifts in policy. The Regent commands no army, holds no treasury, and cannot pass laws alone. All binding rules require a Council vote by the four guild masters. When the Council is deadlocked, the Regent casts the deciding vote. This power is used rarely because it can strain trust between guilds. Day to day, the Regent represents Odrun Fell to outsiders, signs treaties and caravan compacts, receives envoys, and presides at major rites and memorials.

The Regent’s duty is to maintain balance. The office protects long-term stability over short-term gain. The Regent tracks casualty rates, route viability, food and gear supply, price swings, and crowd pressure. The office warns when these indicators point to risk and asks the Council to act.

Election and Term

The Regent is elected every ten years by the Guild Council: the masters of the Barleys, the Ashcoats, the Promissory, and the Cudgel. Each guild master casts one vote. There is no public ballot. Candidates are drawn from notable leaders with records of service and restraint. The oath binds the Regent to impartial service, to keep the city’s peace, and to uphold the limits of the office. A Regent may be re-elected, but custom favors rotation. Removal before the end of a term requires a unanimous Council vote and public cause posted in the Span.

Seat and Staff

The Regent’s Seat stands in the Sprigs near the formal courts. The chambers include a council hall, a small map room linked to the Threadspire updates, a sealed archive for treaties and compacts, and a receiving room for foreign envoys. The staff is small: a chief clerk, two recorders, a messenger captain, and a rotating aide from each guild for liaison. The office keeps a modest guard for ceremony and crowd order; field security remains the Cudgel’s role.

Daily work follows a set rhythm. Morning briefs review Threadspire route changes, Dregvault transfers, Promissory fee notices, and Cudgel incident reports. Midday meetings handle petitions from districts. Afternoon sessions prepare Council materials: proposed language, risk notes, and fallback plans. The office publishes weekly summaries of actions taken and items pending.

Powers in Practice

Tie-Break Vote. Cast only when delay would cause harm or the Council cannot reach a deal after defined sessions. The office documents the reason and the expected effect.
Diplomacy. Receives envoys, signs caravan compacts, and issues letters of passage. Any new duty or tax requires Council countersign.
Emergency Voice. May call an extraordinary Council sitting after a major breach, riot, or supply shock. The sitting must occur within one day.
Ceremony. Presides at memorials, festivals, and oaths. Confers civic honors approved by the Council.

The Regent cannot order delves, seize goods, or redirect guild budgets. When the office needs action, it requests it through the responsible guild and records the response.

Relations with the Guilds

Barleys. The Regent recognizes line integrity and containment as the base of food, fiber, and medicine. The office supports ward upkeep in the Barley Fields and respects quarantine around breeding stock. In return, the Barleys share stable yield plans and recall notices.

Ashcoats. The Regent depends on their standards. The office supports field-repairable designs, clear manuals, and fast recalls. In return, the Ashcoats brief on gear limits so policy avoids demands that force unsafe output.

Promissory. The Regent requires clear tariffs, honest auctions, and fast blacklists for counterfeits. In return, the Promissory receives predictable festival schedules and escort planning so markets can prepare.

Cudgel. The Regent does not command them in the field. The office works through posted doctrine: hold the gates, keep routes open, minimize deaths. The Cudgel supplies weekly safety reports and receives cover from political interference during crises.

Oversight of Risk Sites

Odrun’s Head. The Regent recognizes the sealed border as a permanent measure until a multi-guild containment plan exists. No permits issue without written approval from all four guilds and the Regent’s seal. Any rumor of breach prompts an extraordinary sitting.

Dregvault. The office enforces multi-guild sign-off for dangerous transfers: one Ashcoat engineer, one Barley tender, one Cudgel mage, and a Promissory escrow writ. Incident logs are reviewed weekly.

Span and Courts. The office monitors crowding, labor sentences, and casualty counts. It favors short terms tied to necessary work and pauses in lower wings when maintenance injuries rise.

District Duties

Sprigs. Keep ceremonies punctual, limit private audiences that trade on access, and direct patron aid toward Hilt gear grants and Barrows clinics.
Spindle. Walk markets with minimal escort, post route advisories, and press for orderly fee changes that match tunnel conditions.
Barrows. Visit shelters, listen to injury reports and shortages, and fund no-coin services during crises.
Hilt. Witness memorial rites at Emberhook Hall, review after-action briefs, and route policy requests into practical changes (anchors, fuel, hooks, ward timing).

Records and Transparency

The office keeps plain records. Every action item lists a responsible party and a due date. Summaries go to the Council table before votes. Spot checks confirm that reports match conditions. The Regent’s Seal appears only on documents that meet the limits of the office. The archive holds treaties, emergency votes, and a log of tie-breaks with reasons and results.

Festivals and Rites

The Regent presides at public rites that mark the city’s common life: memorial roll at the Wall of Names, opening of market seasons in the Spindle, and sanctioned guild oaths. The office honors Barley containment days, Ashcoat recall closings, Promissory auction openings, and Cudgel commendations. These events are used to announce practical measures: route reopenings, fee reductions, and safety advisories.

Succession and Disputes

When terms end, the office hands over sealed ledgers, current risk briefs, and pending negotiations. Disputes about the election process are heard in the Span with all four guilds present. The Regent does not sit in judgment in such cases. If the Regent dies in office, the senior clerk maintains routine duties while the Council appoints an interim by majority vote and schedules a full election within one month.

Current Holder

Regent Myra Thorneveil, seven years into her term, follows these norms closely. She uses the tie-break sparingly, favors clear data over speeches, and keeps focus on safe routes, fast recalls, and strict containment at Odrun’s Head. She maintains steady contact with Captain Orin Vellak and expects the guilds to meet posted standards before asking for public praise.

Public View

Most citizens see the Regent as a steady hand who explains what is happening and why. Some want faster action. Others want fewer controls. The office accepts that it will never satisfy all sides. Its measure is whether crews return, markets stay open, and crowds stay calm. The Regent’s seat exists for that purpose, and it will continue under those limits for as long as Odrun Fell stands.