Council of Seven

The Council of Seven is the governing body of Haark formed by members elected autonomously by the powers-that-be of each of the seven shards. Each of these members is accompanied by a delegation consisting of varied assistants, courtiers, and guards. The membership even includes the alien Novapendra — whose representative, mostly remains silent during heated council discourse, except to infuse the proceedings with cryptic and apocalyptic aphorisms that don’t do anybody any good.

So these council representatives, of which there are actually eight given the dual leadership of the delegation from Zenith, hold their seats for a term which is also established by their appointing populations. The Haarkeen, despite having the most to gain and lose from effective leadership on the council, frequently replace their representative based on the whims of whatever portion of local governance has the current favor of the populace. The Aurumel will go to great expense to have their councilperson presented to the membership only to be assassinated shortly thereafter. The Teryxian and Banyari representatives vacillate based on the current state of their ancient politics, and fight amongst themselves more often than not. The two representatives of Zenith whisper to each other and add little, while the Pyroi stand-in often looks bored or confused. The Pyroi hold the affairs of Haark in no regard and generally send a troublesome chieftain’s child or aspiring Embertongue to Haark’s claustrophobic conditions mainly so that they may learn how different one’s path can be from that of a proper Pyroi.

These are the trends of the council, as relayed on the street by the common people, but most Folk never set foot in the Grand Council Chamber of Haark. The council meets irregularly, with the only mandatory meetings occurring about four times per cycle. This allows the council’s members to tend to the affairs of their varied constituency while working on city projects, rubbing elbows with the powerful, or accepting bribes and other corrupt persuasions.