Dawn of the Third Age/Setting/CelestialDeliberative
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The Politics of the Celestial Deliberative
The Celestial Deliberative, though referred to in the singular, actually consists of two bodies: the Celestial Deliberative itself, and the Terrestrial Deliberative - a legacy of the way in which the new regime was founded, with Celestial authority replacing the Scarlet Empress as the top layer of the Realm's existing political structure. Each body, of course, has its own distinct structures, functions, and of course, factions.
The Celestial Deliberative
The Celestial Deliberative, unlike the Solar Deliberative, is deliberately structured to give each group of Celestials equal voice in the decisions it makes - Lunars each wield 1 vote, Sidereals 3, and Solars 2 - though as plans to redeem Abyssals (and Infernals, if possible) proceed, Solars will lose their extra vote.
The Factions of the Celestial Deliberative
- The two main Solar factions are descended from the splits in the Grand Circle which took control of the Sword of Creation and founded the Celestial Deliberative.
- The Hierarchists consist mainly of those Exalted out of Dynastic and patrician backgrounds of Realm society, and they opposed the abolition of slavery and serfdom. They tend to take the view that just as Dragon-Blooded should be clearly subservient to Celestial Exalts, so should mortals be clearly subservient to Dragon-Blooded - as they have been for the last seven and a half centuries. They emphasize the superiority of the Exalted over mortals, and of Celestials over Terrestrials. Though they do not assign blame for the Usurpation to the current generation of Dragon-Blooded, they clearly consider it to have been a criminal undertaking. They have a good deal of influence on the Great Houses, and obtain much support from them. They are led by one of Mnemon's granddaughters, a young Zenith who now goes by the name "Solitary Talon of the Veiled Silverhawk Lady".
- The Elevationists were behind the abolition of slavery and serfdom, and generally believe in encouraging mortals to heroism and enlightenment, arguing that a more capable mortal population will be able to solve more of its problems absent Exalted intervention, increase Creation's military power, and provide quicker reincarnation rates when Exalted do fall in battle. They emphasize the role of Exalted as protectors of Creation and its people, and tend toward the stance that given the madness of the First Age Solars, the Usurpation was partially justified (to the extent of the killings, at least) and ought not to be held against the Dragon-Blooded or the Sidereals. They have a great deal of influence on the Immaculate Order and draw much support from it. Their leader is Surely-Refulgent Anshu, a Zenith who "advises" the Mouth of Peace & the Immaculate Paragons on how to revise and interpret the Immaculate Philosophy and is rumored to believe that should the Solars slide once more into terrible madness, a second Usurpation should be encouraged.
- Despite losses during the Second Balorian Crusade, the Silver Pact has endured, and its various factions are alive and well in the new Deliberative.
- The Crossroads Society continue in their search for lost knowledge. Their attitude toward Twilights has softened somewhat since the formation of the Deliberative - indeed, many Twilights seek to become members. Raksi and Mahalanka survived the raksha invasion, but she has refused to participate in the Deliberative, and her infanticidal tendencies have branded her an outlaw. An expedition is being prepared to deal with her and obtain the knowledge she holds.
- The Seneschals of the Sun Kings have been experiencing a surge in popularity. They tend to follow the lead of their mates in public votes, but work to engineer compromises between the Solar factions behind the scenes.
- The Swords of Luna are heavily involved in the military of the Deliberative. Their focus remains on the Fair Folk, but they recognize the threat, posed by the Deathlords and the Yozis, and are working to increase their military might.
- The Wardens of Gaia, in the wake of the Fair Folk invasion, have joined themselves to the Swords of Luna in their determination to push back the Wyld and the other threats to Creation's natural order. They intend to serve as a moderating influence, should otherwise blameless wyld mutants be targeted in the drive to reclaim Creation.
- The Winding Path is ambivalent about the new Deliberative. On the one hand, they now have access to all the resources of the Realm and no longer need take such great pains to conceal themselves as they go about their experiments with the Thousand Streams River. On the other hand, they fear that the new Deliberative will become a force of cultural stasis as the old Deliberative was. For now, they reluctantly work to integrate their societies into the Deliberative without sacrificing too many of the qualities they have cultivated in them.
- The Sidereals are still reincarnating after they were nearly all killed. Because of this, they haven't yet settled into factions of their own, instead aligning themselves with other factions. The few surviving members of the Bronze Faction have gone into hiding and are believed to be covertly aiding the fundamentalist Immaculates.
The Factions of the Terrestrial Deliberative
The Terrestrial Deliberative is much the same body as it once was. It was left in place as a way to let the Terrestrials keep some direct influence over government decisions - unfortunately, the Great Houses expected the new Celestial Deliberative to treat the Terrestrial Deliberative with the same contempt as the Scarlet Empress had, and continued to use it as a dumping ground for incompetents and undesirables, thus creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. They have recently begun to realize their mistake and are trying to correct it.
The rivalries and alliances between the Great Houses continue as they have. The Seventh Legion survivors have integrated into the more military Houses, like Cathak, Tepet, and Peleps, and the Immaculate fundamentalist underground remains mostly quiet, discreetly funneling resources to the hidden monastery-manses from which the most devout and zealous fundamentalist monks wage guerrilla campaigns against the Deliberative's holdings.
