In order to maintain balance in the world, stewards are required to make sure that the rituals are performed, rites are upheld and the gods are honoured.

Whilst all of us are descended from the agents of the gods, and hence the gods ourselves, not all of us are fit to be stewards, and we cannot all be stewards of the same things. A good steward is not a centrist, not one who in and of themselves embodies the balance that society requires to function. No, such people are often wracked with indecision and cannot effectively advocate for a position, cannot effectively advocate for any of the gods. They do not make changes, and thus do not disturb the balance. The gods do not agree with each other, do not desire balance, and do not suffer priests who claim to act in their name and yet are nothing like them. The gods, we must remember, desire war with one another. Peace in all things will not appease them.

To allow those of internal balance to be stewards is a dangerous game, for they would invariably be bullied by those who are unafraid to take a position and unafraid to fight for it, those who are true agents of their gods. And from their place of weakness, others would gain power at their expense. By failing to stand for anything, they would ultimately stand for emboldening and strengthening their foes.

No, those of internal balance do not make good stewards. Stewards must be like their gods, opinionated and chauvanistic. Balance between the gods does not arise from their stewards, it arises from conflict between their stewards. The gods were at war before we demanded they stop, yet cries of conflict yet come quick to their throats. And so they must come quick to those of their stewards, too.

So then, who does make for a good steward? Karyan's best stewards are cold women, passive of face and chill of demeanour. Like their goddess high in the mountains, they are patient, tolerant of hardship and capable of explosive bursts of rage. They prefer to get their way through making the alternative to capitaluation untenable. Yet they are not all harsh, for they are also calm in the eye of the storm and a firm, reliable foundation upon which to rely. They are thus suitable to raising children and heading the household, which requires consistency to flourish.

Teykian's stewards are drawn from the largest pool, for men, women, and those who are neither can represent Teykian's interests. Their domain, most simply, is of life: they are responsible for directing the harvest and where livestock grazes, and ensuring that the Havas population flourishes. They do this through collecting tulal, tax in boon times that is redistributed to the people in lean times. Their domain also encompasses the trees, ensuring that there is enough wood to burn and to build, and the wildlife, ensuring that it is neither too bold nor too sickly.

The final stewards are those of Muspar, and are drawn from the ranks of men alone. Like Muspar's first agents, the mermen, his stewards are playful, manipulative and scholarly. Their roles are many and varied, for they are artists and poets, sailors and shipbuilders and those who organise festivals. They are also the most likely to simply sit and wonder about the ways of the world, philosophising and wondering how and why things came to be.

Our society is made of villages, each self-governing even if some have come to pay respect to the wealthiest and most cultured villages. Each settlement is governed by a council of stewards. In most of these villages, the council has an equal number of stewards from each of the gods - the village itself exists in balance. Yet some villages eke out an existence in rocky crags, whilst others sit by the great lake Hitherak, god's waters, and some rest in great green valleys. Some have councils that are stacked with the stewards of one god at the expense of the others. We condemn such villages as vasarak, outside balance, and keep a close eye on them. Though individually they threaten the balance, their disagreements with one another often lead to conflict, and hence their biases cancel each other out. They achieve balance through conflict, just as the gods did.