Lofbast Archives

Societal Structure

The story takes place (with the exception of one and a half chapters) in a nation called LandOfTheBackStabbers (placeholder name. LOTBS is a monarchy with a single ruler reigning over six provinces. Each of the provinces, except for the province the monarch resides in, also has a royal family, the head of which is the duke or duchess of the province. 

LOTBS operates on a slightly modified 'divine right of kings' mentality. The nation as a whole was founded to protect refugees from a large, devastating war happening in the north. Another nation was launching crusades against its geographical neighbors. Both the crusading nation and the invaded nations had refugees flee away from the war, and many of them escaped down a river. Some of the refugees made their home among the natives of the river while others continued farther west. When the nations came around hunting for the refugees, the natives decided to resist the hunters and united to form a single nation.

The land of the natives was divided into three areas, which would later be named provinces. Of these three provinces, three men and three women rose as leaders during the war and the formation of the country. These six were granted the 'privilege of sovereignty' for their service to the people during the war, a man and woman from each province. Two of those couples were made duke and duchess of their province, and the third couple was made king and queen. Thus began the three initial royal families of LOTBS. 

The 'privilege of sovereignty' has three principles: the ruler must protect the nation or province they rule over, promote the prosperity of and peace for their people, and raise and train a suitable heir to the throne. The idea was that only someone who was carrying or had carried the responsibility of sovereignty could be capable of training a successor. No one else would have the experience necessary to navigate the challenges a ruler would face (never mind that the original six rulers were... *checks notes* a pair of hunters/gatherers, a pair of fishers/gardeners, and a pair of blacksmiths). 

The other three provinces of LOTBS were added over the next two centuries as the nation absorbed and conquered more land and people. Each of the new provinces had a new royal line named, but those royal lines never carried as much weight as the original three. Their stories were not as well known. 

Between all the royal families, great respect is expected. All the monarchs must bow to whoever rules over the land they stand in. If the king or queen travels to the province of a duke or duchess, the duke or duchess must bow to the king or queen, AND the king or queen must bow to the duke or duchess, as they both rule over that land in different capacities. Not following this etiquette could result in drama at best and civil war at worst. 

The cabinet makes up most of the rest of the government. The king or queen selects a court of six ministers, one for each department of government. In each department, there are six chairpersons, one for each province. The chairpersons report to the minister, and the ministers report to the monarch. In each department, there are two, three, or four offices. In every province, each office has a director. Each director reports to their respective chairperson. Below them are all the officers of government, as well as any apprentices the offices are training at the time. There are a total of eighteen offices divided up almost evenly between the six departments. 

You might have noticed how many sixes there are in this setup. This is not a coincidence. I've already told you that the current reigning queen of the story is a villain. I'm attempting to evoke Christian imagery with all the sixes I'm throwing around. 666 is said to be the devil's number according to Christian mythology. There are six provinces, six departments of the cabinet, and three sixes of cabinet offices. There will be more sixes to come. Christianity does not exist in this universe, so this adherence to the rule of six is not intentional in-universe, but it certainly is to me, the author. 

While the chairpersons report to the ministers, the chairpersons also report to the duke/duchess of their province (unless they are in the king's/queen's province, in which case they also report to the king/queen). The king/queen appoints the ministers, but the ministers and the dukes/duchesses must cooperatively appoint the chairpersons. If one or both parties don't have a strong opinion about who the role goes to, the transition between monarchs is relatively smooth, but this is not always the case. Many a rift has been caused between a newly crowned duke/duchess and a minister due to the appointment of a new chairperson that one of them does not approve of. As the chairpersons alone are responsible for appointing the directors, who then manage their inferior officers, this transition can be felt all the way down the chain of command. 

The cabinet, monarch willing, has complete authority in LOTBS except during war, in which the military gains absolute power, monarch willing. The cabinet has the power to declare war, monarch willing, but once this has been done, they relinquish their power to the military until the military and the monarch agree that the war is concluded and peace has been secured. The monarch has the power to veto or override any decisions made by the cabinet or the military, but they would be unwise to do so and both the cabinet and the military will remind the monarch of this. Any monarch foolish enough to ignore the advice of their advisors, ministers, military generals, and other knowledgable subjects may find themselves losing the privilege of sovereignty for themselves and their descendants. This hasn't happened to a reigning monarch yet, but there have been a few heirs and siblings disowned for doing this.