League of the Night Lexicon

League of the Night

Archduke: The most powerful noble within the league, the Archduke claims domain over the collective duchies of the entire League of the Night. He is advised by a council of Grand Dukes. Were the Archduke to die, he would be succeeded by one of the Grand Dukes who is elected from among his or her peers of the grand ducal council by the assembled dukes of the league in an Emergency Assembly.

Grand Dukes: Advisers to the Archduke who oversee large regions which contain more than one major city and several smaller cities; IE a grand duchy. Each Grand Duke has several dukes who owe him fealty for the positions they hold of their cities.

Ducal Council: A council of peers, representative of all the Dukes in the League and the body from which Archdukes are appointed or impeached; whether the Archduke is being appointed or impeached, the Ducal Council requires the presence and approval of the Quorum of Advocates. In counterpoint, the council can promote or demote Grand Dukes at their collective whim; appointment to the position of Grand Duke can be as a reward to the appointee or as a punishment to the Archduke, but Grand Dukes stand closest to the Archduke for purposes of succession.

Dukes: Dukes are most powerful nobles of a given city and hold fealty over all lesser nobles. Dukes as individuals have the right to accept or decline any nomination to the position of Count, but have no power to nominate the Counts of their cities. In addition, the Duke of the city has the right to appoint any unique offices not held by Counts, such as the Chamberlain, Chancellor, the Justiciar, and the Treasurer. If the Duke feels a new position is necessary, either temporarily or permanently, he can make it so, as long as it doesn't duplicate an office already held by a count. Should a count or the council of counts feel the Duke is abusing his privilege, then they may call for an Advocate to decide the issue. The Duke may at anytime, appoint a lord if he sees the need for one or to reward an especially merited courtier; however a unanimous vote against the prospective lord by the counts can overrule the Duke in this unless he has the majority vote of support from the lords of the city for his candidate for lord. Like every noble of the League the Duke may have a retinue of Kindred who are his servants and he may have as many as he deems necessary for the smooth running of his court.

Chancellor: One of the chief officers and retinue of the duke, the chancellor keeps track of all legal appointments, the bestowal of titles, the fiefs, who is vassal to whom, and what rights and responsibilities each noble owes and whether the rules of vassalage have been violated. As such, he or she is the chief legal authority in any give duchy and often acts as judge on matters of jurisprudence. But the chancellor is more than the local legal consultant, he or she also keeps track of how many retinue any give noble holds and unofficially how many ghouls that vassal is keeping. Thus the chancellor is often a spy master for the local duke and some chancellors emphasize this facet of their position over that of chief legalist.

Chamberlain: The Chamberlain is one of the four main officers of any ducal court and is usually one of the primary members of the duke‘s retinue, the others being the Chancellor, the Justiciar, and the Treasurer. The chamberlain is responsible for the Chamber, meaning that he controls access to the person of the duke. He is also responsible for administration of the ducal court; ie a combination of the keeper of Elysium and the seneschal.

Justiciar: Each duchy has a justicar and the justicar is responsible for maintaining the peace, providing security for the person of duke and acts as the duke’s investigative consultant as an alternate to the Count of Security; IE a sheriff.

Treasurer: The treasurer is one of the four primary retinue of the duke of any given city. The position of treasurer is unique to the league alone as a sect. The treasurer acts as a record keeper of all legal boons exchanged between members of the duchy. Should a question concerning the legality of a boon or its consequences occur, the treasurer acts on the duke‘s behalf to resolve the conflict. But the treasurer is one of the duke‘s most powerful officials because he or she can often predict the political changes or upheaval months or years in advance just by watching the exchange and tally of boons for his or her respective duchy.

Counts: Counts exist to maintain the smooth running of the city and govern certain bailiwicks instead of a geographic area. These bailiwicks include all manner of mortal concerns, such as security, crime, medicine, etc. Prospective counts are nominated by the existing order of counts and must receive passive acceptance from both the Duke and from the Lords of the city, if the prospective count fails to recieve passive acceptance, then a vote must be taken by the lords of the city in order for the appointment to succeed, though the Duke may still rufuse the prospective Count, in which case only the unanimous vote of approval from the Lords of the city can overrule the Duke on this matter. Counts may have no more than five vampiric members in their retinue and five would be exceptional; many counts have died the final death for giving their Duke just cause for a duel in the form of too many retinue.

Lords: Lords oversee geographic areas within any given city and act as a first line of defense for the city. Lords are nominated by the current Lords of the city and at the whim of the Duke. However, all nominations must be approved by a majority of the counts within the city, although the combined support of the majority of Lords and the nod of approval from the Duke together can overrule the counts of the city on this issue. Lords are allowed no more than three vampiric members of their retinue or they face censure from higher up, usually in the form of a duel.

Courtiers: Courtiers are members of the League without standing and make up the vast bulk of the vampiric retinues. As a note, ghouls do not count as retinue and may be killed at any time, if they stray into a rivals domain.

Advocate General: Leader of the Advocates of the League and first among equals; chosen by his peers at the end of each Review Assembly.

Advocates: Officials who investigate violations of league policy, dispense justice and arbitrate disputes between league members, including duels; essentially mobile chancellors who oversee justice throughout the league. At any given time there are thirteen Advocates presiding, one of whom is Advocate General; the Advocates as a group are known as the Quorum. The Quorum of Advocates are up for review every thirteen years, beginning in 2010; the last year of an Advocates term is a review year. Noble assemblies nominate or renominate the Quorum of Advocates, but require the nod of approval from the Archduke.

Quorum: All thirteen presiding Advocates.

Assemblies: Assemblies are gatherings of nobles to handle issues of import and can be of a general nature for regular business or emergency for more pressing concerns. General assemblies meet every seven years in a randomly chosen host city, beginning in 2010. The only exception to this are Review Assemblies which are held every thirteen years to review the performance of the Quorum of Advocates and to make any changes if necessary; the Review Assemblies are also held in randomly chosen host cities. Emergency Assemblies are held in times of need and can be called at a moments notice by any noble, but woe be upon anyone calling an Assembly without just cause.

Retinue: Retinue consists of any lord's immediate vampiric retainers. These individuals are oath sworn to the service of their liege, the noble in question. In general, the retinue usually consists of either Courtiers who have sworn themselves to the noble or to childer who have yet to be released; exceptions exist in the form of foreign Kindred who are under the protection of the lord, this is often the case with guests in a city or with foreign dignitaries such as diplomats from other sects.

Ghouls: Ghouls are regarded as pets or herd and have no standing or rights within the League of the Night. As a note, ghouls do not count as retinue and may be killed at any time, if they stray into a rivals domain.