The Blake Heira series is set in the City of Frothwere, the capital of the country of Myos. Priests of the Pantheism religion rule the country absolutely, making Myos a theocracy. A council of representatives from what were considered the foundational churches called the Circle of Nine make all the laws for the country. The churches represented on the Circle of Nine are Sirek, Morn, Myril, Uramir, Shaimon, Kalim, Mercurius, Solemi, and Iricil (look here for more information on the Pantheistic gods).
The churches are responsible for enforcing those laws. Each church is given responsibility for a specific type of law enforcement. For example, the Church of Morn provides all judges, from the lowest civil judges to the supreme court. The police force is call the Order, who has members from the Churches of Morn (God of Justice), Myril (God of Light), and Uramir (God of Advancement). Worship of Drakyr and Lyram are also allowed, but they are not given a voice in the governing of the country. Worship of any other god is punishable by imprisonment until they repent.
Karish is a country thousands of miles south of Myos. They are so far apart, they are only vaguely familiar with each other. Priests of the Pantheism religion rule this country as well. However, the worship of all the Pantheistic gods is allowed in Karish. That means they allow worship of all the gods Myos does, plus the worship of Cyris (God of Disease), Tark (God of Darkness), and Versae (God of Time). Worship of the Lords of Chaos is considered blasphemy. The practice of other religions is not forbidden, however, and may be practiced openly. The Great Council makes all laws, with a delegation from each of the thirteen great churches selected through voting in the clerical ranks. Only the Church of Versae is denied a voice, as that church is so small that they are not considered to be representative of the populace, as is true of the other faiths.
The actual enforcement of the law is given to a secular police force. Executive authority is vested in a Prime Minister, who is elected by a majority of the Great Council. They serve a single, six year sentence. They are never allowed to run for the position again. Priests may be in the police force, but it isn’t a requirement and they are not given any special powers or status because of their religious station. Judges are appointed for 10 year terms by the Prime Minister and confirmed by simple majority in the Great Council, and may be reappointed as many times as Prime Ministers want. Again, some are Priests, but competence with the law is the most important qualification.
One would think that Myos would be reviled as a monstrosity. They have the most restrictive religious tenets, their blasphemy laws are much more stringent and strict, they do not have freedom of religion, and they are ruled by nine people in a council and all the laws are enforced by the priesthoods. Karish seems like a much nicer place to live. In reality, the influence of the Churches of Tark, Lyram, Drakyr, and especially Cyris in the application of law has made Karish a pariah state in the Southern Kingdoms. They practice human sacrifice, wage perpetual war on their neighbors, and encourage slavery. They believe that they are the Blessed Kingdom of the Gods, and therefore are destined to rule all the lands of Podio.
When you work on your setting, make sure you throw in the strange twist. Karish is as close to a democracy as you can get with a theocracy. Yet, the country is one your readers might love to hate.
Next week, I’ll be changing topics (again) to do a series on magic. First up will be creating your magic system to fit in your setting. Thanks for reading. I’ll see you then!
