Nole Silinel

Nole Silinel is one of the Nestean Kingdoms of southern Andolien.

History

The history of Nolë Silinel is long by the standards of men, because the Nestë are a long lived species, whose eldest die at ages in excess of 3000 years. The history of Nolë Silinel covered around 15000 years, however for much of that time, no records were recorded.

Kings of Nolë Silinel

The country only had six kings in this long span of time. The following table gives the names of these kings and their relationships to one another

Government

Nole Silinel is a Representational Democracy in the context of a strong Constitutional Monarchy. It is based upon the major principles of Nestean philosophy, which both recognizes the free will of all people as a product of the 'divine will' and realises that free will can be dangerous if not exersized with the proper wisdom and experience. This has led to the basics of the government system of Nole Silinel as well as laying the groundwork for other Nestean countries.

Legislative Council

The Legislative Council or <Ivanari Denimëa>, Family of the People, was made up of politicians elected at popular elections that were called at various times by the Government. Once elected to the council, these politicians were termed <paidë>, shepherd. In English, it is common to refer to these shepherds as councillor. They were representatives of the 13 districts of the kingdom and served with no term limit, unless ousted by a vote in council. A councillor could also be sent out of office by the natural elective process.

Elections were held at irregular intervals but were necessary whenever a Government fell. The King approved of the elections directly with no official input by the King’s Council. Thus they were upheld as the major way the Monarchy protected the freedoms of the people, without the influence of his appointees (the nobility).

The legislature had broad powers over law-making and taxation and was the national forum to debate issues arising at the local level that may have consequences for the nation as a whole. Outside of their ability to control taxation, the legislature had little power over foreign affairs.

The King's Council

The King’s Council or <Fiena Denihwië>, Fireplace of the King, was elected by the people from the nobility – who were the heirs of various philosophic, religious and military families. These families were ennobled directly (i.e. with no formal advice from ministers of Government) by the king for services to their country and were entrusted by the Monarchy to educate and prepare their members for leadership positions. Elections to the King’s Council were called by the King at intervals of around 100 years and were also necessary when a Government fell. Having been elected to the council, these nobles (<nilli>) became known as <hyanë>, elders.

This council could introduce some legislation, but their major function was to delay and amend legislation in accordance with the (unwritten) constitutional ideals of the nation (an interpretation in context of Nestean philosophy). The council was also one of the higher courts of the nation, dealing with crimes committed against the state.

The Crown Ministers

The Crown Ministers (<Rani nismië>) were two officials appointed directly to the Cabinet by the King. They were selected from among the nobility and usually from among the same few families. These Crown ministers were The Lord of Dorusse and Prince of Lannelka.

The Lord of Dorusse was an important position within the cabinet, usually amounting to either a kind of prime minister or commander-in-chief, depending on the time period and circumstances. In addition to the title of Lord of Dorusse, he/she had the title Lord Steward of the King's Light, which referred to the special relationship that this position had with the monarch.

The Prince of Lannelka, by contrast was a sinecure position with an often minor or non-existent role. He/she had the privilege of sitting on the Cabinet. Additionally, the position came with large land holdings in the northeast part of the country.

The Cabinet

The Government or Cabinet of Ministers was the actual executive of the country. It was made up of members of both the King’s Council and the Legislative Council. Those legislative councilors who made up the majority party in the legislature were entitled to choose from among their party membership individuals to head a Government. They were then formally approved of by the king and given the ability to rule. In order to do this effectively however, they needed to form an alliance with the majority party of the King’s Council, since that body had oversight and amendment powers over bills originating in the legislature. The Cabinet of Ministers also included nobles holding Dignitary Positions – i.e. crown appointments. Finally, it included the Crown Ministers.

Dignitary positions were important ministerial positions which were appointed by the King under recommendation from the Cabinet. The King had the special right to call upon a new Government to nominate any nobles (not just those sitting in the King's Council) for certain dignitary positions. These positions varied among successive governments and were created as needed by the King. They were positions of special importance, such as the military position of Mareschal-of-the-Horse and the judicial position of Seneschal-of-the-Household. The king was duty bound to appoint only from among the nominees to these positions. However, he was usually swayed in his opinion by both the Government and his personal biases.

Regions

Nolë Silinel was divided into four main geographic regions. The main inhabited area was the Green Hill Country (<Pendenya Nelëa>). This was a region of rolling hills and wide valleys covered with trees and fields. It was roughly 400 miles in width and 170 miles from south to north. It was cut off from the rest of the kingdom by a high escarpment on the north and east, pierced in three places by the main rivers of the kingdom. On the west, the change to higher elevations was less abrupt; instead the rolling hills were gradually replaced by peaks of approximately 800 to 1500 meters in height.

In the northeast, the basin of Lannelka extended from the escarpment to a group of hills around 200 miles to the north. It was bounded on the west by the Oloril river, on the north by the Lëannir river and the hills, on the east by the hills, on the south by the escarpment and the Silmostanir river.

In the north, the mountain Lordship of Dorussë spread for 500 miles, from the last sentinel hill upon which the city was built in the east to the lake of Kirasar in the west. It was sparsely populated, although many of its wider dales held large farms and upon many of the hills sheep were pastured.

The west was a wide land which was under the official jurisdiction of the Lord Chancellor for the Western Department, a dignitary in the Cabinet. It was approximately 500 miles from the southern shores of Kirasar in the north to the shores of the sea in the south. It had many small streams and wide valleys and was heavily populated. Upon a peak above the waterfall of the Kamordun river, the tower and city of Falmostari guarded the pass over the escarpment. In the far west of this region the land was bounded by a wide and shallow river, upon whose banks the city of Loisammornë was situated.

Cities

There were four main cities in Nolë Silinel. The capital was Mar Silinestin, in the south of the country. The northernmost city was Dorussë. The other two cities, Falmostari and Loisammornë were in the west of the country.