Category:City-State of Balic

Civic Organization of Balic

Balic is organized into four Karanaustian tribes and ten Axionic sub-tribes. The Karanaustian tribes and their constituent trittiarchies and naucraries are geographical and administrative divisions, and do not necessarily reflect any bloodline descent: where a man lives decides which Karanaustian tribe he is a part, not who his parents are. In essence, the Karanaustian system is a matter of governance and representative of the policing power of the templars. On the other hand, the ten Axionic tribes are representative of bloodline descent, and although the ten tribes generally do have general geographic footprints throughout the Balican peninsula, tribal membership is a matter of descent. The many demes of Balic (towns, villages, quarters and neighborhoods) each belong to one of the ten tribes. Demes themselves, being the core constituent polities of Balican society, are in the Axionic system composed of constituent fraternities or clan groups. The most important function of the Axionic system was the organization of the Balican militia system, for both army and naval power. Both tribal systems held elections for their magistrates, although under the rule of Andropinis, membership in templarate was required to stand for election for almost all major positions of any real consequence.

Karanaustian Tribes

In legend Karanaust the Sea King had four children with Balic, priestess of the lands where he had come ashore in times primordial. Together they had four children: Thanayn the Farmer, Navian the Sailor, Karasta the Mother and Karus the Warrior, and from these children the people of the future city were born.

In modern times the Balican peninsula is divided into four administrative quarters, organized especially for policing and taxation, but also, through the naucrauries, are administratively responsible for the militia brigades (taxiarchies) and the outfitting and manning of the tribal fleets. They are divided thusly:

Thanaysian Quarter, the Hither Farms and Fields (after Thanayn): The Tribal King of this quarter ruled from Thanaysia, at the Basilica of the Blood Orchard upon the Throne of Lashes, so-called for the brutality of the templars that oversaw the king's fields and orchards. His basilica was garrisoned by a full company of half-giants and his subordinate templars.

Navian Quarter, the Coastal Regions and Tributary Islands (after Navia): The Tribal Queen of this quarter governed from Abynon, from the Basilica of the Sea, upon the Throne of the Pediment, so-called because of the ancient original Navian basilica pediment-relief before which her marble throne sat. She was protected by a full garrison company of half-giants.

Karastan Quarter, the Metropolis and Outlying Farms (after Karasta): The Tribal King of Karasta ruled from the Basilica Megas not far from the agora. A massive complex, it was an epicenter of templar rule, and serves still as a great heroon to Karasta herself. The Red Throne was protected by two companies of garrison half-giants.

Karusian Quarter, the Capital District, Noble District, and Border (after Karus): The Tribal King of the Karusian quarter governed from the Basilica Militant near the acropolis of the Talathopagus, in the noble district of the city, and enjoyed the protection of a full garrison company of half-giants. His was the Throne Militant. His exarch "the Lord Vicious", easily the most powerful of the exarchs, governed in his name from Castle Vicious, situated in the center of the Tharian Hills along with Legion VII, where he might more easily see to the patrolling the borders of the peninsula, and to keep the power of the great nobles there in check, which he did so with two full garrison companies of half-giants.

The Royal Demesne, the personal lands of the King: The lands belonging personally to the King were administered by the Archon Basileus himself and his attendant lieutenants. The Archon Basileus ruled from the Temple of the Sacred King, and commanded four garrison companies of half-giants to guard the temples and palaces.

Each basileus had the power of life and death, ruling over their tribe or quarter as a father might over his family: with unlimited authority. Only the most powerful and influential members of the nobility might appeal to the King himself, but often a basileus would simply receive delegated authority from the Alabaster Throne to judge any he or she wished. Each basileus was served by a senior templar assistant called the exarch, a herald, a secretary and other subordinate staff, including a dedicated psionicist.

Each basilica also served as a major temple to the Sacred King, Andropinis, whereat religious ceremonies were performed on certain days throughout the year.

Each of the Karanaustian tribes were divided into trittiarchies, and these were further divided into the naucraries.

With the loss of power of the templars, the generally hated basileii have all been deposed, killed, or driven away. The basilicas themselves have in large part been taken over by the great merchant dynasties, or other powerful factions within the city. The functions of the basilicas have largely been taken over by the ten Axionic tribes, the courts, the ekklesia, and the great mercantile, noble and other powers of the city.

Trittiarchies

The trittiarchies are in theory the "one third" divisions of the four quarters of the peninsula, and are led by the trittiarchs, being the senior mid-level templar magistrates of a given area. More accurately, the administrative seats of trittiarchies were centers of templar power during the rule of Andropinis, usually set-up in or near a local temple or heroon or in garrison castles, and typically possessing reserves of guards, on-duty militia soldiers, magical and psionic resources, subordinate templars, monies, and a dungeon.

The chief concerns of the trittiarchs was the management of the naucraries.

With the loss of power of the templars, the formerly feared trittiarchs and their agents are largely in abeyance, with their power having been gathered to the demes and the ten Axionic tribes.

The Naucraries

The basic level of the Karanaustian organization of Balic is the naucraries, and unlike the upper echelon levels of the Karanaustian system, the naucraries still remain an important if lessened factor in Balican society since the templars lost their powers.

The naucraries are in theory the principle organizational centers for the naval obligations required of the Balican people. At a naucrary, all naval power to be drawn by the militia is organized, and likewise the land-based militia is also organized there. Formerly, the naucraros, being always a templar and acting as a kind of political officer, drove the people into the militia and oversaw all aspects of training, administration, drilling, patrolling and actual order of battle of the companies, battalions and regiments within his purview. Now, much of this power has been taken by the various militia officers, but the naucraros does resolve administrative issues between the militia units, and is still an important coordinator, organizer and planner. The naucraros also generally retains limited policing powers, and his headquarters the naucrary proper, which is generally a small fortress or keep, serves as an important gaol and armory for the militia.

Due to the enormous expense, naucraries still organize the funding and management of the construction and repair of Balican silt schooners. Typically, this is done through syndicates, being official groupings of citizenry organized for the purposes of funding individual ships, their floater domes, their upkeep, repairs, the payment of their crew, and the selection the captain and his mates. On occasion, individuals or families were rich enough to fund the entirety of a single ship, in which case such and individual would be made master of the ship. All this however is organized and overseen by the naucraros.

Due to the importance of the navy to the Balican way of life and the defense of the peninsula, the naucraros is still an important position, although few of the templar class still enjoy this position.

The Ten Axionic Tribes

The ten Axionic Tribes are so-called after the great lawgiver and archon Axion, who in ancient times is said to have reformed the democracy, organizing the Balican polity in a system not too radically different in its core elements than what survives of the democracy in current times. Axion also organized Balic in a regimented military system, organizing the ten tribes of the peninsula into a military machine.

In modern times, the ten Axionic tribes serve as major pillars of the Balican military and democracy. The ten professional legions (tagmata) were at least notionally raised from ten tribes, and certainly remain geographically aligned with their headquarters fortresses and castles, but the enormous militia system of Balic is inherently rooted in the Axionic tribal system. Likewise, the composition of the city's ruling Boule council and its ten constituent prytanies are still elected on a tribal basis.

The ten tribes and their general geographical regions are as follows:

The Tribe of Karanaust: the southern docks, harbor, and armory district, etc.

The Tribe of Nalthion: the northern docks and inland areas

The Tribe of Drocon: center north city and environs

The Tribe of Theles: royal and noble precincts, the agora

The Tribe of Mnedo: center south city and environs

The Tribe of Sagaeus: center of the city, outer gates and central environs

The Tribe of Nolist: the city of Abynon and environs

The Tribe of Kalix: the interior peninsula, nearer

The Tribe of Atheon: the interior peninsula, farther

The Tribe of Prolox: northern peninsula

Government of Balic

The Archons of Balic

Eponymous Archon, the Supreme Archon: Tabaros Wavir (posthumous honor), former Lord of House Wavir

Archon Basileus, the Sacred King: Lathos Kanthost, high priest of the Temple of Talathothanay

Polemarch, the War Archon: Narmikos, a former army chiliarch and militia general

Navarch, the Supreme Admiral: Phaaf Glien, former Nibenese templar, a general and admiral of the Free Army

Thesmothetai, the Five Chief Judges: ...

The Arch-Grammeteis, The Secretary-General of the Courts: ...

Elections

The next state election, for the ten archons, and other senior state magistrates, is scheduled to be at the very end of the Year of Ral's Vengeance, Free Year 20 in the Tyrian calendar, in the short month of Zenalia. The local or demarchic elections, and re-election of the ten generals and ten admirals, are scheduled for four months away, in Zenalia of Free Year 19.

Templars of Balic

Introduction

...Before Marda could explain further, a pair of Balican templars stepped onto the quay, leaving an escort of six half-giants behind at the ratany hedge. The sailors fell immediately silent, each man fixing his eyes on his work.

When the templars reached the group, one of them pointed at Agis. "You. How long have you been in Balic?" She was a hard-eyed woman with sour, harsh looking features.

-The Obsidian Oracle, III, 51

During the thousand year reign of King Andropinis (which is another way of saying he had reigned for as far back as anyone could remember), it was his Order of Templars who effectively ran the normal operations of local and state government. The templars were sworn to Androponis personally as their king, and derived their inviolability and magical spells from Androponis' office of Sacred King of the city-state, which is held for life. To hold almost any official office in the city-state, either civic or religious, one had to be a templar. Holding a near monopoly on public office, through these offices the templars held a near dictatorial sway over the city and its citizens, freedmen, slaves, and even the nobility. Identified by their cream-colored off-white togas, a token of their supposed sacrosanct persons, they were the masters of Balic until the unexpected disappearance of their long-lived king and Dictator Androponis in the Year of Friend's Agitation, the 10th Year of Tyrian Freedom. With the sudden absence of their sorcerer-king and master, the templars lost all their spell powers, as well as the awesome authority and privilege granted them by Androponis for so many centuries. Their fall was swift and bloody, but after nearly a month by which time the most hated or most vulnerable of their membership were killed or driven into hiding or to exile, the Mercantile Triumvirate offered the Order of Templars a deal. In return for their assistance in keeping the machinery of government working, the Triumvirate offered the templars a junior partnership in the new order, and protection from the vengeance and malice of the people. This arrangement lasted some nine years, until the current day, although each year saw the continued weakening of the templars as more and more of the offices of state were held by those who had never worn the cream-colored togas of their Order. With the coming of Xal'gren and the return of the so-called Free Dictatorship, the templars have been brought to their weakest point ever, for their central temple, the Synedrion, has been raided by the new Dictator himself, and its hierophant jailed. Yet, even so, the templars have not completely faded from the city of Balic. Families still send their children to the secret initiation rites outside the city, some templars still hold offices of power, and certain rumors abound that a secret cabal of underground loyalist templars still obey the will of Androponis, and work to bring about his return.

In legend, the templars were the loyal knights of Androponis' army when he seized the city in the remote past. Even with the recent fall of the templars from power, there are modern templar families that claim descent from these ancient knights. Although the templarate often passes from parent to child, it is not required that a parent have been a templar, as many templars underwent initiation from outside these families. Most templars however did come from such backgrounds, if for no other reason than templar families, as members of the knightly class, enjoyed the privilege of being able to learn to read and write, an important requirement for joining the templarate. There were also other requirements, such as pure Balican citizenship, the absence of the stain of wizardry, and the peculiar requirement that a candidate for initiation be free of the crime of bloodshed of a Balican citizen before the sacred rites of initiation were conducted. For those who wished to join the ranks of the templarate, they had first to gain candidacy in a tightly controlled and elaborate process, and only then were they offered to partake in the Lesser Mysteries, held annually in secret and forbidden areas outside the city. Upon completion of the Lesser Mysteries, the citizen then became a junior member of the Order of Templars, and was thereby now eligible to hold many offices both in and out of the city.

The most junior members of the templarate most often received directly appointed positions from templar magistrates. Many became military officers in the ten standing legions (effectively dual-classing), and many became petty managers of waste removal, road repair, city wall maintenance, royal farm field overseers, and agents of disease control in the city. Many junior templars however started their careers as subordinate officers in the naucraries, a naucrary being the lowest level of royal administration throughout the city, acting officially as in charge of ensuring the city's naval fleet was maintained and manned when necessary, but in practice served as bastions of royal authority in the city demes, executing his law, collecting his taxes, and searching for treason.

Civic Organization of the Templars

The naucraries abounded throughout the city with their own territories, splitting certain demes and merging others. Each naucrary was led by an appointed naucraros, assisted by a lieutenant and his subaltern officers. For foot-soldiers, they could call upon the militia, for which they were responsible for organizing, training and activating. Indeed, the physical naucraries doubled as the local armories, for which the deme militias could gather their armor and arms. In times of emergency or war, and if given proper approval, a naucrary could activate his entire militia, sending them to either man the ships of the naval fleet, to fill the ranks of the militia army, or both. Naucraroi could summon sometimes in excess over a thousand from the militia to serve in whatever capacity was required by the king, and although officially led by a pentakosiarch or chiliarch elected by the people (commanders of 500 or 1000), the naucraros stayed near to the commander as a political officer and enforcer of the Dictator's will.

The naucraries were themselves controlled by the trittiarchies, of which there were twelve in the city-state. Led by a trittiarch, the trittiarchies had more templars, resources and authority, and ambitious templars often sought to leave the naucraries to serve their king at this higher echelon. They too were responsible for organizing the city-state's militia and fleet, although at a more senior level. The trittiarchs themselves were appointed however by the tribal kings, or basileus. These officials were very senior templars, as there were only four of them. Elected by the people for ten year terms, they were very powerful, as they appointed both the trittiarchs and naucraroi, although the trittiarchs were confirmed by the king directly. The tribal kings had their seats at the four basilicas, great temples dedicated to the Order of the Templars, which were also homes to important templar libraries, armories and personal quarters.

The tribal kings themselves answered to the most senior magistrate in the city, the Eponymous Archon, who presided over the entire templar administration from his offices at the White Palace, the home of the king himself. The Eponymous Archon, himself elected every ten years by the people, effectively answered only to the Dictator himself.

Religious Organization of the Templars

Almost all the temples in the city, dedicated to ancient and half-forgotten gods and heroes of the city, were administered by priests and priestly families who were necessarily initiated members of the templarate. Still evoking the devotion or at least the respect of many Balicans, the templars used to provide healing and other magical services to the citizens from these temples, for a price. The four civic basilicas and their tribal basileus oversaw the running of these temples, as well as most all religious activities in the city, but they themselves answered to the Synedrion, the greatest temple dedicated to the Order of the Templars in the city, which served as their headquarters and place for internal justice and leadership.

The word Synedrion could refer to both the building and its ruling council, sometimes called the Nameless Council, who had abandoned their birth names in favor of sacred names such as Torch Bearer, Messenger, and Sacred Keeper. Composed of senior templars, they were all appointed for life in these sacred magistracies, and oversaw the entire Balican Mysteries, being the cult of the templars dedicated to the city and its king. Shrouded in mystery on pain of death and worse, the Balican Mysteries were overseen by the most senior templar in the whole city, called the Hierophant. Like his fellow councilors, the Hierophant no longer used his given name, having officially abandoned it in the Silt Sea. Commanding awesome respect, the Hierophant was one of the most feared officials in the city. The Synedrion regulated membership in the Order of Templars, deciding who might receive initiation into the Lesser Mysteries, and deciding who might advance as more senior templars by receiving initiation into the Greater Mysteries. As overseers of all things religious in the city-state, the Synedrion also was responsible for rooting out illegal sorcery, dispatching agents to seek out wizards throughout the Balican empire.

The Balican Mysteries

Presided over by the Hierophant and led by the delegated Sacred King or Archon Basileus of the City, the Mysteries were held on an annual basis by the templars, during which the majority of their numbers would leave the city to undertake the sacred rituals of their order. Held under great secrecy, none save templars or confirmed candidates for the templary could attend. Even amongst the templars, speaking of the rituals to outsiders was strictly forbidden on pain of death.

Although performed in various processions conducted primarily outside the city, it is known that the templar cult centers around the great and ancient Temple of Euchthonius, a legendary early king of the city from before the time of Androponis' rule who was supposed to have been born of the land itself. A haunted and forbidden place to outsiders, the temple is surrounded by templar burial grounds, some of which are quite ancient. Surrounded by an old and dark forest, much of the grounds around the temple are surrounded by thousands of the bones and shells of aprigs, domesticated creatures which are sacrificed by the participants.

Every four years, the ceremonies are especially elaborate, and involve the procession of a sacred statue of Androponis to the coast, the moving of sacred, forbidden and otherwise taboo relics.

Even in the fall of the Order of the Templars, traditionalists still conduct these ancient rituals, and initiate new members into the Order. The aura surrounding the Balican Mysteries is strong and dark enough that its ceremonies have not yet been accosted by even the most vengeful citizens and freedmen of the city. The Temple of Euchthonius remains unmolested, perhaps if for no other reason than the undead spirits which are widely believed to guard that place are far too fearful for even the most daring of thieves and adventurers.

Current Situation of the Templars

Soon after becoming Dictator, Xal'gren raided by force the Synedrion itself, and arrested and jailed the current Hierophant, sealing him in the Kioleian Pits, the site of the old lead mines just outside the city. Still playing at political power and allied to House Tomblador which opposed Xal'gren and his army, the surviving templar leadership was deemed too dangerous by the new Dictator and his followers. After seizing the Synedrion, they sold much of its treasures to fund their cause.

The Wavir half of the city has persecuted in the courts most of the worst of the templars from the time of Androponis who survived the purge nine years ago. Some templar families with more honorable reputations with the people have maintained various responsibilities and offices, with some serving either the state and/or House Wavir in positions not too dissimilar from the ones they held under Androponis. A few officials with less savory reputations still operate in Wavir territory, usually being too essential for the running of the city or otherwise too devious to be summarily removed from power, although even for these remaining templars their old authority still wanes. At best, the more respectable templars work to convince their fellow citizens of the honorable nature that the Order of Templars could have.

House Rees has made numerous arrangements with templars throughout its territories in the city. The worst were killed, prosecuted and stripped of power, or exiled. Some were offered positions in House Rees itself or allowed to retain some of their authority, subordinate to House Rees. This situation remains essentially the same to this day within the Rees demes.

After the Mercantile victory in the Year of Friend's Agitation, House Tomblador did the opposite of House Wavir, and kept on some of the worst of the templars, making a pact with them in order to keep tight control of their demes. Now that House Tomblador has fallen and fled Balic, House Wavir and the Free Army has come into the old Tomblador parts of the city, and have removed and/or arrested many of the evil templars that helped Tomblador run their parts of the city. Still early on in his government, Xal'gren and his followers as well as House Wavir are still dismantling the network of templar power that still runs in this part of the city.

Almost ten years since the disappearance of Androponis, under the current government, not a single civic office requires a candidate to be a member of the Order of Templars, and only a handful of old templar religious sites are still run by members of the templarate. Likewise, save for a few isolated pockets in the city, templars no longer have a stranglehold on the elections, and for the most part, the only templars who now win office in the elections do so because they are genuinely elected by the popular assemblies.

Karanaustian Social Ranks: Nobles, Knights, Land Owners, Artisans

The Eupatridae, The Nobility

...A gallery of marble benches ran down both sides of the huge chamber, partially concealed by two lines of marble pillars that supported the ceiling. Several hundred men and women waited patiently in the tiers, all dressed in white togas hemmed with silver and gold. They were of many races: human, mul, dwarf, half-elf, and even tarek. They all remained absolutely silent, sitting so motionless that not even the rustle of their silken robes disturbed the eerie quiet. - The Obsidian Oracle

The eupatridae or the "well-fathered" are the official nobility of Balic. Inheriting their status from either the ancient past of the city or from later creation, collectively the nobility of Balic were and are among the most powerful institutions in the city-state. They are typically identified by their stately togas of gold or silver hems, a brooch and/or ring bearing the insignia of their family, as well as by their proud bearing and ostentatious language. All members of houses in good standing are addressed as either lord or lady. Although eupatridae is the precise term in Balican, they may just as often be referred to as the nobility, the aristocracy or in the Tyrianized word "patrician."

The eupatridae of Balic are typically members of great landholding families, and enjoy the benefits of owning enormous agricultural estates that almost totally dominate the rural lands outside the metropolis and client-towns and villages. To be considered in good standing, eupatridae are required to maintain their immediate families in the so-called pentakosiomedimnoi or "500 bushel class" of agricultural production, or are no longer recognized as true nobility. During the reign of Andropinis, this recognition was demonstrated by each noble house's membership in the Chamber of Patricians, an advisory council meeting at the White Palace that at least notionally assisted the king in his rule of the city. As long as a family was invited to a seat in Chamber, they were considered to be eupatridae. If they were not granted a seat, it was usually because their lands and resources had dwindled to such a small size that the king no longer found them a rich and powerful enough family to tax and dominate, and therefore their status in the nobility faltered and if not corrected, would quickly fade entirely.

Until recently, the eupatridae were immune to most prosecution in the normal courts, and could only be tried at the Talathopagus, a law court comprised entirely of ex-archons. Thus, only the most powerful templars could judge the nobility. During the reign of Andropinis, nobles could also make direct appeals to the king, although this was usually an appeal of last resort, for the king was rarely merciful to his nobles. The nobility were also allowed the privilege to learn to read and to write, a right which is so deeply ingrained that it is still jealously guarded despite rising pressure from social and legal reforms. Furthermore, nobles enjoy exclusive access to several important priesthoods in the city, and although these are often hereditary and require initiation into the templary, they are nonetheless often prestigious and coveted positions. The nobility are also, unlike those of the equestrian class, able to fly their own house standards, and have the right (and obligation) to train their own professional armies, which although privately maintained and run are ultimately at the service of the state.

The eupatridae in good standing are generally of two ranks: silver and golden class. Although of little practical meaning or consequence, golden class noble families were rich enough to be considered of the "one thousand bushel class" and maintained a chiliarchy of slave-soldiers in the good standing, which usually meant at least one hundred professionally trained, equipped and maintained slave-soldiers, dedicated solely to the profession of arms, the service of the family, and service of the state. Families of the silver class were those which did not meet this threshold. Families were entitled to hem the lines of their togas with material the color of their house's rank. To avoid greater taxes, it was often the desire of houses to be determined to be of the silver class. Houses of royal descent were usually automatically considered of the golden class, as were noble families that inherited certain sacerdotal ranks.

The leaders of each house are entitled patriarch or matriarch, and typically have absolute sway over their families. Matriarchs and patriarchs are able to pass supreme judgment on the scions and slaves of their house, although free citizens who live or toil on their lands enjoy the protection of the courts. House patriarchs are also the supreme commanders of their house army and attendant militia. In formal occasions, matriarchs wear togas lined with laurel decorations in the color of their house's rank, and may wear and display laurel crowns, although laurel crowns are no longer fashionable amongst the modern Balic nobility.

The nobility of Balic inherit the patriarchy of their house by a modified form of primogeniture. Typically, the oldest child, whether male or female, of the reigning patriarch will inherit the title and authority of their parent. However, as autocrats within their household, house patriarchs may designate alternate heirs such as nephews, nieces and even members of cadet lines of their families, should they so desire. However, if this is not done, accession to the patriarchy is awarded to the eldest child. Heirs to noble houses are typically referred to as princes or lord-apparents.

The Chamber of Patricians: The Eupatridae in the Reign of Andropinis

Tithian walked forward, stopping near a graying patrician of about his own age. She had the pointed ears and peaked eyebrows of a half-elf, but her shape was somewhat plump and matronly for a woman of her race. Next to her, six gold coins rested in a shallow basket woven from the fronds of a soap tree. The woman did not turn to face the Tyrian.

"Is it not customary in Balic to greet strangers?" Tithian asked. His voice echoed through the still chamber as though he had struck a gong.

"Lady Canace cannot hear you," said Maurus, walking toward him. "Neither can she see you."

The Tyrian stepped around to face the woman. Ugly red burn marks scarred her sunken eyelids, leaving Tithian with the impression that she had no eyeballs.

Maurus stopped at the Tyrian's side, then placed a finger on the woman's lower lip. She jumped as though startled, then allowed her mouth to be pulled open wide. In place of a tongue, she had only a mangled stump.

"King Andropinis values the advice of his patricians," the templar said flatly. "But he also wishes to be certain that anything occurring here is never discussed outside the White Palace."

-The Obsidian Oracle

For many centuries up until his disappearance, it was the practice of Andropinis to make all their leaders of his noble houses blind, deaf and dumb. Communicating with them solely through the use of the Way, the king by virtue of such actions made it nearly impossible for the nobility to betray them, whether it be against their will or otherwise.

Despite the extreme crippling he inflicted upon his patricians, Andropinis nonetheless did not demand any less from the patriarchs of his noble families. Taxes, military quotas and the dreaded annual levy were all put on the responsibility of the patricians, and Andropinis would not let their mutilations be excuses for failure. Patricians were by necessity practitioners of the Way themselves, as this was the only skill that might make them still effective, and Androponis would not entrust the secret affairs telepathically discussed at the Chamber of Patricians to minds unable to guard themselves. It was fairly common for Andropinis to unilaterally declare the successors to his noble houses, and thereby check the ambitious or too powerful lords and ladies of his patrician families.

Because of the extreme cost of being a patriarch under the reign of Andropinis, maneuvering for the right of succession was almost completely muted. Likewise, making the most incompetent family members patriarch was largely futile, as Andropinis would kill incompetent patriarchs at a whim. Therefore, as competence was a necessity for the position, patriarchs usually cultivated members of their family for many years as potential successors, giving them important roles in the running of the house's affairs, so that upon a patrician's death, the new patriarch might already be a seasoned and veteran administrator, buoyed by descendants and a internal house power structure that would support and serve him even after his mutilation. These designated successors were dubbed "lords-coronet" of their households, and often acted as the seconds to their patriarchs and matriarchs, executing tasks that their mutilated kin might be hard pressed to accomplish. For example, de facto field command of their household armies would often fall to the responsibility of the lord-coronet. Lords-coronet were not necessarily the heir-apparent, and frequently the prince of a house and its lord-coronet were different persons.

Lords-coronet are entitled to wear slim coronets, usually of a precious wood, and if wearing their house military rank, it would be wreathed.

Families could not generally avoid mutilation by service in the templary, as Andropinis would simply make another member of the family patriarch or matriarch. However, it was possible for noble mutilation to be spared, albeit with extreme difficulty. Templars who were elected to the eponymous archonship, the polemarchy or the navarchy were, upon successful execution of their office, granted accession to the nobility and the Chamber of Patricians, and with the king's blessing might avoid mutilation entirely, although his noble descendants did not enjoy such exemptions.

Typical Positions in a Modern Balican Noble House

Patriarch: the absolute ruler of a noble family

Lord-Coronet: the second man of a noble house, but not necessarily the heir apparent; usually the de facto commander of a house's private army

Prince or Heir: the designated successor of the presiding patriarch; "prince" is typically only appropriate to the great noble houses, as elsewise "heir" is used

Chamberlain: by tradition, a household officer of the equestrian class, responsible for the manor itself, the management of the palace guard, the noble house's treasury; mighty families often employ patriarchs of cadet-branches of their families as a "lord chamberlain"

Steward: by tradition, a household officer of the gentleman class, responsible for the management of the family estates, and the overall management of the attendant farms, ranches, herds and slaves

Domestic: a trend in recent centuries, domestics are freedman give great authority in noble houses as was typically reserved for gentlemen, knights or the noble family itself; titles often include Domestic of Estates, Domestic of the Fleet, Domestic of the Fisc, etc.

Herald or Speaker: often, a member of a cadet branch of the family, or a gentleman/woman, who serves as the official speaker of the family and the patriarch, possessing the authority to conduct legal ; typically, the herald possesses significant training in the Way of the Unseen, and is often a full-fledged psionicist

Cup-Bearer: by tradition, a young member of a minor or cadet branch of a noble family serving a mightier noble family, who serves not only as an actual cup-bearer, but also as the private attendant to a patriarch, who being traditionally blind and dumb might frequently need special intimate assistance

Majordomo: the chief slave or servant of a noble household, sometimes a freedman

Shield-Bearer: typically the former arch-lochias of a slave-army who is rewarded with freedom for good service, and appointed as a liaison between the slave-soldiers and their officers; as a domestic, the shield-bearer often trains young officers in soldiery, advises the family in military affairs and assignment of slave-soldiers to the palace guard, and often serves as a special bodyguard to key family members; some especially effective shield-bearers later advance to become commissioned officers in the noble army

Domestic of the Palace Guard: in the circumstance that a noble born captain of the palace guard is not available or desired, a freedman officer of the palace guard often takes command, and although subordinate to regular officers, is typically chosen from among the brightest, most capable and most loyal of the noble house's slave-soldiers, and given his freedom in return for continued service; like house shield-bearers, they typically bear the house symbol as insignia of their rank.