Esčambra
From Almeopedia
The Esčambra [ɛs ˈtʃam bra] is the name of the Verdurian legislature, and by extension the Verdurian word for ‘legislature’. It’s housed in its own building in the government campus of Verduria city, adjoining the Dalušeira (King’s Palace) and facing the Mažtan-Kal (City Forum). A member of the Esčambra is known as an esčambrom.
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The Biyetora
Council for Verduria city
In 2472 Žésifo, which had been conquered by the Bešbalicu, was liberated, with the essential help of the cefsanno (warlord) of Arcaln, Velto Cänen. In gratitude the Emperor Calpirion (Ver. Capiro) named him amaruos or mayor of Verduria city. (Previously, emperors had avoided allowing one man to rule both castle and city.) In 2477 Calpirion elevated Verduria to the rank of satranda or self-governing city; he established the Biyetora, a council of local nobles, to choose the Sanno or Lord of Verduria. It consisted of six nobles, eight government officials, and six kešaroi, stewards of the six boroughs of the city.
Naturally its first choice was Velto. On his death it chose his son Andor, and after that made two independent choices, Estdorot Alletiey and Nirunor Ayeon. When Nirunor died, his son-in-law Ružen Sáluer was given the sash; and as Douglas Adams would say, that about wrapped it up for the Biyetora making real choices. The Sáluerî retained the sash for over two hundred years. The Biyetora ratified each accession, but only made decisions when there was no clear heir.
Under the later Sáluerî and their successors the Yanî, the Biyetora was, as a convenient gathering of the most important lords, called together every few years, ostensibly to hear the Lord’s instructions; in fact the Lord would hear grievances, address matters of general concern, and beg for money or troops.
The Lord had responsibilities in the province, as he was the captain of its army; but the Biyetora’s scope was limited to the city— only nobles residing in Verduria city could be members. However, in the region’s intrigues and occasional armed conflicts, the Lords found it useful to reward allies with a biyeta or vote in the Biyetora; the body thus continued to grow. By 2742, under the Yanî, it contained 29 nobles, as well as 8 kešaroi, 10 officials, and 6 pagan clerics, for a total of 53 biyetî.
The kingdom of Verduria
In 2870, Anabar Prežeon married princess (sazë) Ašeli of Zeir; he was now ruler of the province of Zeir (and the largest landowner in both provinces); this seemed to Anabar to cement the idea that he was ruler of Verduria province as well. Some of the nobles acquiesced, but others continued to insist on their autonomy.
It wasn’t until Caleon Prežeon conquered the entire northern half of Eretald, taking his power to an entirely new level, that the nobles all formally submitted to the Lords— after 2943, Kings (dalî). At the same time, the Biyetora became a kingdom-wide body. On Caleon’s death in 2958 it consisted of 46 nobles, 10 kešaroi, 5 officials, and 10 pagan clergy. More than half of these lived in Verduria city, and more than three quarters in Verduria province.
This Biyetora chose Caleon’s son Ženeon as King; Ženeon’s older brother Ževuran was outraged, and fought his way to seize the Kingship instead. He forced the Biyetora to rescind its vote and declare Ženeon’s two-month reign invalid; he then declared the Biyetora dissolved. The later Prežeons did without it.
The Esčambra
Origins
After the fall of the Prežeons there was a period of usurpations and anarchy. When Caloton Soley took power (3142) he resuscitated the Biyetora, believing (as many did at the time) that the absence of a body to legitimize the succession had contributed to the violence of the interregnum. Though by no means a weak king, Caloton regularly called on the Biyetora for advice and support. “Respect your subjects, and they will respect you,” he declared.
Caloton got on with the nobles much better than he did with his own son Efaristo. He created an expanded version of the Biyetora called the Esčambra (3165), giving it legislative power for the first time. (Technically its laws were ‘advice’ (konsitî) until they were signed by the king.) The composition of the two bodies at this time were as follows:
| Institution | Nobles | Kešana | Officials | Pagan clergy | Eleďe clergy | Members at large | Guildmasters |
| Biyetora | 109 | 12 | 3 | 45 | |||
| Esčambra | 145 | 30 | 50 | 5 | 20 | 35 |
A notable innovation was that the representatives of the kešanî (boroughs) were elected in the Esčambra; the borough leaders, the kešaroi, still sat in the Biyetora. This, as well as the inclusion of the guildmasters, is an early indication of the rising power of the bourgeosie, who were too important to exclude but too numerous to include en masse. Also of note is the inclusion of five representatives of Eleďát in the Esčambra, a sign that the new religion was becoming respectable. "Members at large" were appointed by the King.
The Esčambra took the implied charge to watch over Efaristo to mean that it should rule in his place. It handled the budget, appointed officials, and even judged court cases. Efaristo at first went along, and then started refusing to sign konsitî he disapproved of. When he contracted a fatal illness, the Esčambra deposed him (3181) and gave the sash to his brother Alunařo— who however resisted everything the Esčambra did. The standoff was finally ended when Alunařo agreed that taxation authority would rest with the Esčambra, but day-to-day government remained in the hands of the kind and his Konselora or cabinet.
At Alunařo’s death power was seized by the wizard Utu (3198). Utu had little use for the legislature, convening it only once (when he wanted to raise taxes— even evil wizards understand that it’s better to have someone else to blame for taxation). His successor Utu-On convened it one more time, to approve his own succession... on pain of death.
Elena’s Esčambra
Tomao, first of the Eleďe dynasty, revived the Esčambra, and indeed encouraged it to write a law requiring it to meet at least once every four years. Party (fako) politics can be said to have begun in Tomao’s time, with the Suns (Ënomaî) and Acorns (Čunidoi). The latter were essentially an anti-royalist party, consisting of nobles who feared that a strong central power would interfere in their affairs; it collapsed when an Acorn plot to kidnap Tomao was exposed.
After Verduria’s humiliating loss in the first Kebreni war, the Esčambra impeached the ministers of War and of the Treasury (effectively the government leader), and hinted that it would reconsider the accession of Elena, Tomao’s daughter. It’s true that Elena’s accession to power was a bit extra-legal (she had disposed her brother Ihano— with the Esčambra’s approval— to accomplish it)— but she viewed the Esčambra’s actions as a revolt. Her response was to entirely recast the body, greatly expanding it, and packing it with her allies (3267).
| Institution | Nobles | Kešana | Pagan clergy | Eleďe clergy | Guildmasters | Šana | Petty barons |
| Esčambra | 170 | 76 | 18 | 15 | 32 | 119 | 10 |
The reforms greatly increased the importance of elections (and thus the principle of accountability to the greater population). Where the Esčambra had been 11% elected, the figure was now 44%. Elections were held in rural šanî for the first time; the income requirement for voting was also reduced to 100 ořulî per year for males (and 500 for females). The result was that the electorate was instantly expanded from 20,000 to 700,000, out of a population of 5 million.
Elena also formally abolished the Biyetora; henceforth the monarchy was to be hereditary, but the Esčambra would have the right to select the monarch if there was no recognized heir.
Under the Abolineron dynasty, the Esčambra oversaw a revision of Verdurian law, the first since Ževuran’s Great Code. Ironically, the revision had been proposed by Mëranac 1e in order to exalt his own power; it ended up confirming that legislative power had moved from the king to the Esčambra.
Modern times
The system of party politics returned during the Kebreni wars. The chief parties are:
- The Navirora or Navy party, originally the war party in the Kebreni wars. Its chief supporters are the armed forces, merchants, Eleďi, and the increasingly important bankers and manufacturers; to divide things another way, the north of the country, oriented toward ocean trade.
- The Caďin or Caďinorian party, originally the opposition during the wars. Its supporters include rural areas, a majority of the nobles, pagans, and in general the south of the country, oriented toward Eretald.
- The Ženië or People’s party, which split from the Navirora around 3400. Its support comes from petty bourgeois, scholars, and Zeir (queen Onvaďra 2ë’s home region).
The composition and party affiliations of the 3480 Esčambra:
| Institution | Nobles | Kešana | Pagan clergy | Eleďe clergy | Guildmasters | Šana | Petty barons |
| Esčambra | 187 | 115 | 24 | 24 | 35 | 136 | 16 |
| Navirora | 67 | 75 | 4 | 18 | 26 | 23 | 1 |
| Caďin | 108 | 15 | 20 | 0 | 5 | 103 | 14 |
| Ženië | 12 | 25 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 1 |
The Barons’ Rebellion of 3470 led to the present king Alric’s law that only nobles residing in Verduria city could vote. Many nobles do retain a home in the city, and residence might be for as little as a month of the year, but the effect has nonetheless been a great reduction in the actual power of the Caďin party. Nonetheless, the split of the Navirora complicates electoral politics, and generally the Navirora can only govern in coalition with the Ženië (as at present).
The present-day division of power, and its checks and balances, can be summarized as follows:
- The government proper is overseen by the Konselora, headed by the Sanno Konselore Daluii or prime minister. This is traditionally the leader of the largest fako in the Esčambra.
- The Esčambra is responsible for the budget and for law; more broadly, it largely determines domestic policy. It has the right to approve the King’s choice for Prime Minister.
- The king has the right to call elections and appoint or dismiss the Prime Minister; he also retains control over the army and the courts, and thus is the preeminent voice in foreign affairs.
Both King and Esčambra are sources and symbols of legitimacy; and the system ensures that both work in concert, if not always in harmony.
The Esčambra building
For most of its history the Biyetora/Esčambra did not have a building of its own; it could meet in any large enough building. During the Soley dynasty it became customary for it to meet in what is now the Šeira Mažtane, in the Išira borough. During Tomao’s reign it moved to the Mažtan-Kal, the City Forum, which was more suitable for a forum; but it was awkward sharing space with the Kal.
The solution lay near at hand, across the Mažtan-lagana from the Kal: the Archives of Magic (Densäte i Alcedla), a library and laboratory built by Utu. It was rebuilt and ready for occupation by 3258. It had to be remodelled just ten years later to accommodate Elena’s expanded legislature; under the Abolinerons an entire new floor was added, in order to provide office space and meeting rooms. Even so, its archives had to be moved across the street to the Abolineron Library under Onvaďra 2ë.
(The offices are for staff and for šana (rural district) members; most other members have residences or offices elsewhere in the city, generally in the Išira neighborhood.)
