Nberezt

Nberezt is a city state, built on a foundation of noble rule, as established by the first Council of the Skyminded generations ago.

The ruling of the city is based on its boroughs, of which there are five: The Mountainmouth Borough, The Skyward Borough, The Echoing Borough, The Stalactite Borough and The Mountainback Borough.

The Boroughs

The first of these, the The Mountainmouth Borough, is one of the two front most boroughs of Nberezt City and is headed by The Planstrana Family. The Planstrana family's patriarch always represents his family and its borough in the city council as well as holds the Office of the Shield. He is therefore responsible for the Nberezt Infantry and the defensive plans and structures of the city.

Skyward Borough is located on top of The Mountainmouth Borough and is lead by the head of the Nbemech Family, usually the eldest child of the previous head of the family. The Nbemech Family head always holds the Office of the Sword and is therefore responsible for the the Nberezt Walkers and the city's war planning.

Then there is The Echoing Borough, the westside borough, and the turf of The Syanostri Family. The Syanostri Family is headed by a matriarch and she always holds the Office of the Serpents. Thus, she is responsible for the Nberezt intelligence network and its internal safety. The Nberezt Church is headed by the Mouth of Bera, who is the Syanostri matriarchs eldest sister or female cousin.

In the East end of Nberezt one finds The Stalactite Borough, headed by the patriarch of The Razvane Family. As the holder of the Nberezt Office of the Gold Hand, he is the one responsible for all of the trade in Nberezt as well as the coffers of the city itself. He is also responsible for the city's civilian infrastructure.

Finally there is The Mountainback Borough, at the back of the city. This borough is under the rule of The Drostkalski Family, headed by whichever member of it is considered the most capable by the rest of the family. The head of The Drostkalski family is the High Councilor, the foremost ruler of Nberezt . He or she is therefore the person the rest of The Council of the Skyminded reports to and the head of its Office of Questions, the administrative department responsible for the science and other development within the city.

Council of the Skyminded

The Council itself makes all decisions by majority vote, with the High Councilor acting as the tiebreaker and the leader of discussion. All positions within the council are lifelong unless a member wants to resign or the other members vote to oust them, though both scenarios are exceedingly rare and nigh taboo.

Outside of the daily meetings of the City Council, the five families of Nberezt also formulate policy during informal dinner parties and in private discussions. It is in this way that families conspire against each other and vie for additional power within the city. Full on coup attempts, however, rarely happen, as planning them is difficult in a city where eyes and ears are everywhere and because the families largely accept the system in place. The families may even themselves punish members for so much as expressing ideas of revolution or coup. In Nberezt, stability comes before all else.