Eb-Evehlem's Government

Like most nations, Eb-Evehlem experienced some rather dramatic growing pains before reaching a semblance of stability - From Abutaki VI's suicidal reforms to Iruki's betrayal - and yet all of that was set to change, thanks to the selfless actions of one absolute monarch.

Ragras of Gharghara's rule started when he seized control of Eb-Evehlem as part of a coup. During his 27 year rule, Ragras created a universal education system, unified Eb-Evehlem under one religion, reformed the military AND the Government, and rendered absolute monarchy illegal. Keen to practice what he preached, Ragras stepped down from the throne in 3379, leaving his nine advisors as joint rulers of the Empire.

The Magnolia Whirlpools / Aliwa'owa

Look at this Magnolia Flower. It's got 9 petals -- unless we're getting into a discussion about tepals/sepals, which we're not, so yeah, 9 petals. Now, Ragras's favourite flower was the Magnolia. He used to be quite the breeder, actually, and so he figured he'd name his new form of Government after his flowery flame. Adorable.

Now, where do the whirlpools come in? Well, a whirlpool spins around, which is essentially what the Government does. Prepare to be mystified!

Eb-Evehlem, at its core, was a Hegemony based around Ngkoradelba. In order to remedy this, Ragras chose 9 of his advisors and sent them to cities equidistant from one another. These cities were called Owa, meaning Whirlpools. In each of those cities, the advisors then subdivided their city's territories into 9 parts of somewhat equal population. For each of these 9 territories, called Malowa, two positions of power were available to the highest bidder. The two successful bidders were known as Malvehlem, little judges. At the end of the celebration of the leap year, they began their 5 year term with one aim in mind -- improve the happiness of their subjects more than the other bidder. Both bidders were sworn to secrecy regarding their position. After 5 years - and the next leap year celebration - one of the two was judged to be more successful in their efforts by the Judge above them, and thus promoted to High-Judge, Evehlem. The other would keep his position as Malowa, provided no one outbid his original bid.

Now a High-Judge - along with 9 others - this person was given a bronze mask, a white cloak and hood, and given the task of making their city as happy as possible for the 5 year term. After the term finished, the Al-Evehlem - Grand High-Judge - selected one Evehlem to replace them, whilst the rest returned to their families and were granted a hefty pension. The Al-Evehlem was then responsible for representing their home city in the Capital of Ngkoradelba, inside the Judge's Temple.

Why Happiness?

Well, you remember Mlida, right? Ol' flower-cloaked ascetic, bit of a weirdo, preached during the time of the plague -- well, he reckoned that every creature shared a soul, and thus to cause pain to something else was to cause pain to yourself. He also believed that only through happiness would ultimate truth (Nvega) be revealed, and only through Nvega could the world finally end. Ragras was enamored by these teachings, so he wove them into his little Magnolia Whirlpool system, hence why causing happiness is the main aim. There was a darker side, too, but I'll be covering the culling of the depressed and treatment of criminals in another post later.