The Political System of Sanctuary by Murien Zirkin

[Gippy]

In this work, I attempt to clear up some misconceptions the Sanctuarian system of governance, which others seem to idealize falsely. It was never truly effective or democratic.
 
The Myth of Sanctuary's Republic
 
To call Sanctuary's government a council, as so many did, is incredibly naieve. The system was held togeather by the office of the mayor, a charismatic dictator whom held the will of the people to such a degree that the offices powers were never truly tested. Though the system had its hiccups, such as the Ubel Rebellion, it was skillfully saved from disaster time and time again by the office of the mayor. To forget the mayor's role would be folly.
 
Sanctuary's government nominally functioned for a hundred and fifty years. It was comprised of seven councilors, and a mayor, whom served to execute the laws of the town. The council was elected by the people using a system of votes cast into a strange machine created by the Office of Engineering. The Mayor was always a Bresley, and was sworn in for life. He had the power to veto any law, and was the commander of a select few elite and loyal Watchman. In practice, however, Mayor Bresley was such a cult of personality that he could do whatever he wished. He rarely exercised his powers, content to oversee elections, and offer guidance to the council as a voice of benevolent reason. The limits of his powers were never truly tested. Without him though, as will be explained later, the government quickly failed.
 
The council’s job was to write laws which the Watch, the Spellguard, and rarely the Seekers would enforce. If it was an administrative law then the Office of the Herald would be tasked with seeing that it was carried out. The council system worked on a simple majority, but was checked with the powers of the mayor. Often, the council would be plagued by a lack of active councilors, as demands of living or dying in the Underdark quickly drew their attentions away. The council’s largest task was to create a budget, and allocate the resources of the city to various defense and administrative organizations. When the mayor was killed and no Bresley was ready to take his place, the council was quickly co-opted by the man of ambition, Demetrius Bhast.
 
It became clear at this time that the Bresley line had served as a series of wise and just dictators whom willingly surrendered some of their power to the council as a means of giving voice to the people. The real power always remained in the guidance of the mayor’s office, which was able to put an end to squabbling and power mongering amongst council members. This system of a benevolent cult of personality checking the powers of the council was essential to the stability of the city’s government. For one hundred and fifty years the council served as a means to make laws and was thought to be successfully ruling the city. Then, as the last mayor died, the entire system collapsed. The council was unable to project power over the city, and eventually, First Citizen Bhast seized complete control of the government. In the two years following Bhast’s assassination the city suffered a series of conflicts, as it splintered into various systems of governance. It was a less then benevolent dictatorship by the Thrall, Azrus Azzam, that once again led to stability in Sanctuary and the resurrection of a ‘functioning’ council. This stability was once again torn apart by his death, ushering in an age of civil war, and the end of Sanctuary.
 
To presume that the system of governance used in Sanctuary will work once more upon the isle of Ymph is to presume that a dictatorship is needed. There is not a benevolent Bresley to guide us, and so the island of Ymph would have to accept whichever councilor, or sheriff decided to seize control and rule. Sanctuary’s council was never effective as a form of rule, it at best served as a means of informing the dictator of the time. At its worst it distracted the people from the fact that they were in reality ruled by a single individual, and gave them a false sense of empowerment. The well documented failure of the council's powers following the death of the last Mayor is indicative of its impotence. Such a mistake as the Sanctuarian Council should not be repeated on the Isle of Ymph. If we are to have a dictatorship, let it not hold a council of puppets, and if we are to have the people rule, then let us devise a system that shares the power, lest once again we repeat the failures of Sanctuary.
 
~ Murien Zirkin