Ammerville
Contents |
Geography
The northeastern 'arm' of the Dwarven Valley, The Ammer lies beyond the windswept moors of Gimmerton north of The Dark Forest. A beautiful panorama of rolling hills, lush farms, and verdant copses and glens, this bucolic valley enjoys generally milder temperatures and weather than Central Karchan. To the north this land of Free Men is bordered by the sheer cliff faces of the Nothern Range and to the east the perilous depths of The Great Rift.
Between all of this a pleasant life is shared by livestock and mostly good-hearted folk that are protected by the Thanes of the Furred and varied nobility of Ammer, in addition to the occasional wandering Knight of Karchan.
The entirety of this existence is made possible by the presence of The Great White City, Ammerville, and the legendary heroes that built it. Rising continually from its own ashes, Ammerville is protected by a deep river gorge, the cliffs of The Northern Range, and high, stone walls; both of which bear heavy enchantments, dweomers, and protections cast from both the arcane and divine magics of many potent Karchanians. A safe-haven against many forms of evil and corruption, the people of the city enjoy a mostly pampered and peaceful existence under the protection of City Guard, Thane, and Citizen alike.
Political Body
Ammerville's day-to-day operations are supervised and managed by a number of political entities, which follow below.
The Barony: The highest political official in Ammer. The Baron (or possibly Baroness) supervises the day-to-day operations of the city. He performs ceremonial and executive functions. He is allowed to veto decisions made by the Council, which, if left undisturbed, become law. He is allowed to veto decisions made by the Magistrates if able to offer another option that satisfies all parties involved. The Baron also is the direct owner of any and all 'City Property' and owns all non private land within the boundaries of the City State of Ammer. Anything unclaimed within that region also falls under the claim of the Baron. The Baron has the right to grant citizenship, or exile citizens from Ammer any time he chooses for any reason he chooses. The Baron is answerable to no-one within Ammer, and reserves the right to remove any individual from public office any time he chooses to do so, and to pardon any criminal for any crime. The Baron is a lifetime appointment, and is only left by death. There is no provision for a resignation of a standing Baron, and should be none. The title of Baroness, or of Baron in the event that a woman holds rulership of the city, is bestowed upon the current spouse of the Baron. Absolutely no powers or authority shall be bestowed upon the spouse.
The title is presently passed on after death by the will of the existing Baron. If such a will is not found to exist upon the death of the Baron, the City Council is duty bound to appoint another individual to assume the Baron's role. (Although theoretically they could take such an opportunity to declare the City-State a democracy and abolish the position, and claim all city property.)
Currently: Blackfyre. (Blackfyre is the founding Baron of Ammerville, and the only individual to ever hold the title.) (Rumored to be deceased. No new Baron has been set into place as of yet. So, the council has taken charge for the time being.)
The Council: Has up to eight members, Councilors, who represent different constituencies described below. The Council, by majority vote, passes laws for the city-state [link TBA]. It can also, on its own or at the suggestion of the Baron or a magistrate, initiate impeachment proceedings. Impeachment must be unanimous, whereas laws or require majority of five (so, three votes). Both impeachment and lawmaking proceedings are binding on the city-state unless the Baron vetoes them in a timely fashion (generally two ooc weeks). Council meetings should, in general, be announced via the public board a week in advance, although they can happen in the case of emergency. The council may not always meet with all of its members, but three aye votes are always required to pass a law, and five aye votes are always required to impeach.
City Council members are required to be both Citizens of Ammerville, and "Of age"; Sixteen human years, or the equivalent coming-of-age year for humanoids who age at different rates. e.g. Older for dwarves or elves, younger for orcs, etc. Additionally, a Merchant may not run for Tradesmith, etc. The current Council members will rule by majority (through mudmail) whether a specific citizen qualifies to run for either seat (in the case of a Lord that owns a shop, for example). Non-retired city guard or thanes may not hold a Council Seat, with the exception of the Eorl, whom holds the eighth seat during Wartime.
- Lords and Ladies of Ammerville - The Representative must be an Ammerville Noble, holding a title granted by the Baron.
- Currently: Hadassah de Carrefour
- Merchants of Ammerville - The Representative must own a business of any description
- Currently: Parveni
- Citizens of Ammerville - All of that population of the City not otherwise described above..
- Currently: N/A
- Seers or Arcanists of Ammerville - The Representative must be a qualified mage of some sort (or Seer.)
- Currently: Sealbhn
- People of Ammerville - Qualifying as simply peasant, worker, healer or teacher.
- Currently: Coeur
- Tradesmith - The Representative must work a trade, be it a craftsman, artisan, or skilled worker.
- Currently: N/A
- Cleric of Ammerville - The Representative must be a cleric (follower of a deity), under a good or neutral deity.
- Currently: N/A
The Magistrate: Has, ideally, a panel of three, although in extreme circumstances can run with just one. The magistrates resolve issues of justice and law that come before them. Read past magisterial rulings here [LINK TBA]. Magistrates may also, individually, issue warrants to both Guard and Degn members who have shown probable cause, but may not issue them on the Magistrate's own accord. To preserve the integrity of their duty as ministers of justice, magistrates are advised to be bound by their own magisterial precedent. Outside of the law/justice resolution process, magistrates cannot buy and sell property on behalf of the city, bind the city to agreements, enact laws, etc. In order to bring a suit before the magistrates, one needs to serve the following parties via mudmail: the city clerk, the magistrates (all of them), and the other party. After this point, the RPers may oocly decide to hold a "hearing" in game or to resolve the issue through mudmail submission of "briefs" for each side. IF YOU ARE A PARTY WHOSE SUIT IS PENDING RESOLUTION, YOU MAY ONLY SPEAK TO THE MAGISTRATE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE OPPOSING PARTY (even if it's to say happy birthday). Magistrates with personal conflicts must recuse(!) themselves or risk a motion for disqualification (which will be judged by the other magistrates, who must be unanimous in their decision).
- Currently: Majix, Hevlarn
The City Clerk: participates in organizing the election nomination and voting processes, and also receives complaints as they are filed for hearing by the magistrates. In short, this is a ministerial position that acts as managing secretary for the others. He is also nominally in charge of being aware of all city laws and regulations, and should be able to provide them on request. This is not for the provision or enforcement of Justice in particular, but to ensure no bureaucratic slip ups are made in the day to day administration of the city. Although the current city clerk somewhat dubiously appointed himself during a time of crisis, the role is normally appointed by a vote of the city council to 'An Individual of renowned good character'. It is not specified that the individual has to be a citizen of Ammer. The city clerk collects and make payments for the City-State, taking command of the city's coffers in the absence of a Baron appointed Tax-Collector.
- Currently: Thaeloc
Elections
The above positions are all elected, except the Baron, which is a life tenure job and the city Clerk who is appointed by the Council. The Baron determines his or her successor. As for councilor and magistrates, elections happen annually, and the Captain of the Guard is elected once every six months. (The next election is due in July) Applicants must send their nominations to each of the current standing councilor and the city clerk(s). During the voting period, which shall be limited to one ooc week for sanity's sake, votes must be sent to the city clerk(s) and each councilor. One vote per citizen is allowed. If an election results in a tie, that election will be determined by a one-vote-per-RPer rule instead. Election dates, candidates, and protocol will be first posted on the public board and then mailed out by the Council in a timely fashion to (a) all Ammer citizens listed in the Ammer guild, and (b) any Ammer citizens who write to express interest as a result of the public board posting.
Grounds for Impeachment
Generally, incompetence or proven failure to abide by the laws, prolonged (2 months) absence without vacating a seat beforehand, etc.
Police Force
The police force consists of the Ammerville City Guard. The current Captain of the Guard is Galahad Lionheart. The City Guard are defenders of the peace within the city, and the enforcers of law, empowered to arrest any criminals witnessed committing crimes within the borders of the city of Ammerville itself, and only the city.. The City Guard Captain may petition one of the Magistrates for an arrest warrant of anyone she has sufficient evidence to believe guilty of a crime, as well as right to deny petition rights to any other member of the Guard. The Captain also has the authority to promote or demote members of the Guard, an may create whatever ranks or titles he or she finds conducive to the defense of the City and its people.
City Guard may only detain citizens of the City-State for a crime that the Guard has witnessed! Otherwise they must investigate the crime to find sufficient evidence to bring to their Captain that the Captain may then bring before a Magistrate in hunt of a warrant. The City Guard maintain the right to wield weapons within the city's boundaries.
There is currently no lieutenant as Galahad has yet to appoint one, though (s)he would act as a commanding force when the captain is absent from the city, granting minor duties to the other guards, as well as some other responsibilities.
City Guards: Alastrina, Devona, Malgrim, Galahad, Tandavi, Dinaden
Police Code of Ammerville
Military
Ammerville's military force is known as the Šegns of the Fyrd. The thanes are the defenders of the City-State. They are led by the Eorl, and consist of the Eorl, Heoru, Scyld, Degns, Lesser-Degns and Fyrdmen. The Eorl selects his Heoru and Scyld (Heoru=Sword and Scyld=Shield) from the ranks of the Degns. Lesser-Degns are under a Degn to complete their training. A frydman is a new recruit with little to no training. The Degn's are actually an independent mercenary force with some extensive history, that were contracted directly by Baron Blackfyre for use as Ammer's private army. As a result, the Degn's remain completely aside from city positions and authority, taking instructions only from the Baron. They can not be dismissed, reappointed, or ordered. This also means that should Blackfyre ever cease to be Baron, they will immediately lose all contractual obligations and privileges currently enjoyed, unless Blackfyre's successor chooses to keep them on.
Currently,details of the deal are rare, but appears to involve a large amount of money, and references to the land east of Ammer, as well free access to the city, and a seat on the council in times of emergency. The Thanes are allowed to arrest individuals witnessed committing a crime, and -kill- individuals committing acts of treason, or high treason. A magistrate may order an investigation of such actions if they believe they are unwarranted, and free any falsely arrested individuals. Although they can not take action against the Thane responsible for the mistake, they may appeal to both the Eorl and the Baron for disciplinary actions. (Including execution.)
The Thanes of the Fryd are -not- allowed to stand for election as a member of the city council. Nor are they allowed to hold any postion within the city guard, including it's captain. They are additionally forbidden for standing as city Magistrate. (They are allowed to resign for the Degn's, stand for election, and if they fail reapply to the Šegns, although their reappointment would be at the discretion of the current Eorl.)
The Thanes maintain the right to wield a weapon in the city's boundaries.
The Current Eorl is: Thaeloc
The Current Scyld is: N/A
The Current Heoru is: N/A
Šegns: Percival
Lesser-Šegns: N/A
Fyrdmen: Aurelie, Cador, Cynwise, Ronnie, Seric
Citizenship
Citzenship in Ammerville is automatically granted to any individual born within the territories of the City-State of Ammerville, provided at least one of their parents was a citizen. Citizenship can also be granted to any individual at the discretion of any high-ranking city official, and citizenship disputes will be heard by a Magistrate. Citizenship can also be acquired by marriage to a current Ammer citizen. However, if questioned, proof of this marriage must be provided. If the marriage is broken, citizenship is lost, unless the marriage lasted a period of more than six months.
(OOC note: If you have been RPing your character as a citizen--a person who lives and works in Ammer--prior to this rule being clarified in this wiki, in general you have the presumption of that character being a citizen. Nobody is going to force you to track down a magistrate who never logs in, etc., if you in good faith RP that your character is a citizen, and in general, people send citizenship applications to Thaeloc when they wish to join the Ammer guild.)
However, any citizen granted citizenship can have their citizenship abolished at any vote of the panel of Magistrates for any reason. A natural born citizenship only loses their status when "exiled" from the city state. Citizenship is not required to live within the city-state. (But it does create a presumption that a person is a citizen.) It is required to stand in an election for any position, as well as to vote in an election for any position. Members of the City guard must also be citizens in order to apply for the job. Citizens of Ammer are also guaranteed legal council in times of dispute. Non-citizens must find their own.
Crimes and Punishments
Crimes committed within Ammerville follow general model of common law. Theft, assault, murder, kidnapping, blackmail, etc., are all crimes.
- Treason is defined as acting in a way to undermine or endanger the existence of the city state, and would most likely include taking up arms against lawful city state authority, or betraying information to an adversary of the City-State.
- High Treason is defined as acting in a way to endanger the life of the Baron, Baroness, their children, successfully acting to end their life, or aiding in the act thereof and is the only crime in Ammer with a permanently fixed punishment; Execution by a Council chosen City-State representative.
All other crimes are punishable by the decision of the city magistrates, who have several options to choose from. Known crimes are common sense, but it should be noticed that it is against the law in Ammerville to wield a weapon. Only City Guard or Thanes may wield a weapon within the city's boundaries.
Community Service - An individual may be assigned 56 hours of unpaid supervised labor on behalf of the city-state.
Fine - Fines may be either 1 gold, 10 gold, 50 gold, 500 gold, or 2,000 gold. Fines are paid directly into the city coffers. (i.e., the Baron's pocket.) A Magistrate may choose to award up to 20% of a fine to the victim of the crime in question, if applicable, in compensation.
Jail Time - An Individual may be jailed from anywhere from 12 hours, to six months in the jails under the Hall of Justice. Visitation rights and other privileges are to be decided by the Captain of the Guard, and either the Scyld or Eorl of the Degns, in such a fashion as the prisoner has no options to endanger the safety of the city.
Exile - A Magistrate may suggest an individual for exile. They will then be kept in jail until such time as either the city council may vote on the matter, or the Baron approves the request. After which time they lose their citizenship status, (if they had any) and are forever barred from setting foot on the territories of the city-state of Ammer again. If they do set foot again, they may be arrested and removed or imprisoned indefinitely by any member of the city guard, Degns, or ordinary citizenry, or killed by any member the Degns or the Captain of the City Guard. An exile imposed by the council may be overturned by vote of the council, or whim of the Baron/ess. An exile imposed by the Baron may only be overturned by the Baron.
Execution - An individual may be put to death ONLY for the crime of High Treason. The Magistrate may suggest a method, but it should be up to the Captain of the Guard and Scyld/Eorl of the Degn's to choose a method that poses no danger to the city (in terms of suitably powerful captives). If there is no possibility of danger from the execution, the responsibility for choice of method is entirely up to the city captain. The method will then be carried out by an individual appointed by that Captain. An execution may be held publicly at the Baron's discretion. (OOC note: the death penalty is non-binding on the character in an ooc capacity, unlike a Death Duel; characters may be resurrected.)
Rule of Appeal: The accused have a right to one appeal where new evidence has been discovered that would mitigate either the gravity of the offense or the guilt of the accused. The accused has the right to ask for a different Magistrate for their appeal trial, if one is available. Prisoners of the Baron or Baroness are not allowed the right of appeal.
Last modified on April 20, 2016, 18:02:54