Ire- Politics

 

Ire- Politics

Leadership The leadership of Ire is a tangled web of various factions all with their own goals and aspirations (see Factions article). One must be careful of whom to back as your affiliations may have political consequences that could be hazardous to someones health and/or career. The leadership of Ire is divided into four main groups each with their own understanding of where they rank in the overall leadership scheme. The four main groups are: Internal Government The City Master leads the city in all governmental affairs. The main goal of the government is to keep a balance between the orcs and the outside Empire. When the balance is swayed either for or against the Empire, conflict usually erupts either in the city or in the provence. This leadership group encompasses all of the factions that support the City Master and his policies for the city. They also protect the City Master against all foes foreign and domestic. The greatest threat to the City Master is the second-in-command of the city, the Gothmog Ushtar or Horde Master. The ideology of the internal government and the military forces (namely the Great Horde) are so different in ultimate goals that time and again it has led to the death of either the City or Horde Master. Not always is the political battle between the two groups played out in public. Most of the battles are played out by the alliances with other factions internal and external or by subterfuge (assassination) of political players. Military The Horde Master (Gothmog Ushtar) is the second-in-line to control the city. This is a great temptation for one orc to handle. The goal of the Military is to recapture all of the ancestral lands that the orcs once owned under the Orkish Assembly and to rid the orc lands of all Imperial Forces that dare to encroach upon their rightful lands. With so much power under his command, several warriors flock to the orcs military branch forcing the City Master to keep an undaunting eye upon this branch of the leadership. This is one instance where an orc could gain a high status in the city without having to physically challenge the City Master for power. The Horde Master can achieve this goal by various other means. He is supported by the bulk of the warriors in the city but the three main clans of the city act as a buffer between the two to prevent continuous coups against the government leadership. Religious Not even religion is void of its own leadership and struggles within the city. In an effort to keep external religious zealots from advocating the destruction of the city the City Master has forsaken the old religion of shamenism and replaced it with three Gods chosen from the pentathlon of Gods known to the Empire as Jorel, Aslan, and Hayan. There has been established a leadership group called the Black Marks (Shon Zi) made up of three mages each serving one of the chosen Gods (see Religion article for more info). The Shon Zi support the City Master and are entrusted to recruit as many of the city population as possible into the fold of worshiping these Aelyrian Gods. The opposing group within this leadership of course is the deposed group of original seven shamen that managed the old religion of shamenism. The seven shamen along with the old religion are kept from being entirely wiped out by the protection of Horde Master. The warriors of the Horde are superstitious and will not risk forsaking the old ways just to appease a political policy. The Horde Master and his allies provide the balance that keep two factions alive within the religious leadership of the city. Underground The clandestine groups that make up the Underground of the city have various factions (see Factions article) that are vying for leadership over the countless "unfortunates" of the city who are not important enough to garner much attention from the other leadership groups. Though the unfortunates of the city are only relied upon to do the back breaking labor required to keep the city running, they do not slip the attention of certain faction leaders that see their potential in gaining them personal power within the city. With personal power and contacts, they gain contracts from the other leadership groups to handle their dirty-work thus keeping the public blissfully unaware of political strife in the city. Pitched battles rage within the Underground between rivals and the flux of power shifts like tides within this leadership group. Before getting into this group, one must be aware of the hazards one will face and the groups that these factions are backing. Political Careers Politics in the city follows the leadership establishment as mentioned before. To start in a career in Ire politics, one must pick a side and back them. You move up based upon the successes that you garner in your assignments or positions. Status is everything in the city and you cannot hope to gain higher positions without status. Status is equivalent to the position you hold or is given to you in favors by your superiors. Beware that the more status you hold, the bigger target you become in the political fight. You may find yourself not waking up one day for something as simple as backing a particular person or policy. There is only one path that leads to the top chair in the city (the City Master) but there are various ways that you can get to that chair. The path you choose is up to you and your abilities.