Structure of Our New Kingdom

A little while ago I discussed my concept for my ideal organization. Since then, Robb introduced me to the High Fantasy Society (HFS). Much to my delight, HFS grants complete autonomy to each park, which is designated a realm (kingdom).  We are now in the process of setting up a new HFS realm (the Free Kingdom of the Shrouded Isles) in South Florida. Here is a summary of our organization, with commentary.

The Council

• The realm shall be ruled by a Council of representatives. This gives every person a voice in the government, through their representatives.
• Each unit of the realm shall receive 2 representatives. Free folk (those without a unit) shall also have 2 representatives.
• Before it can receive seats in the Council, a unit has to be recognized as an official unit of the realm. This is to prevent a single person from saying he/she is a unit and demanding a seat.
• Currently, there are no set rules to be an official unit. We leave it up to the Council; they should consider the unit's size, participation, and service to the realm.

The Chancellor

• The chancellor is the chief executive of the realm (essentially club president). He/she will run meetings of the Council, put forth proposals for kingdom law, plan and organize practices and events, and take care of mundane administrative matters.
• The chancellor does not make important decisions about the direction of the realm. That responsibility resides with the Council. The chancellor may make suggestions and proposals but does not have the final say.
• The chancellor only gets a vote if the Council is tied. The chancellor will serve as the tiebreaker.

The Monarch

• Because we are a realm, we will have a king or queen.
• The monarch has no power or formal authority. He/she is merely a figurehead.
• I am fond of this rule for a few reasons
• It protects against egotists, motivated merely by a royal title, from taking over and messing with the democratic nature of the realm government.
• It allows a royal court, with more opportunities for roleplay.
• I provides an opportunity for a fun event - I imagine a battle royale for the crown, like the one in Role Models.

That's the structure in a nutshell. We are also planning our own system of awards and ranks (including knighthood). More on that in another post.

The Free Kingdom of the Shrouded Isles

Once we founded Freehaven, inhabitants of neighboring islands began to pay us visits. All expressed a concern that the Faedwyr could escape from Ember Shoals and invade their lands. After hearing about the Ironheart Accord's efforts to end the Faedwyr blight, our neighbors asked about uniting for mutual defense.

After some discussion, we agreed to form a new kingdom. Considering that we are a conglomeration of islands in a mist-shrouded archipelago, we decided to call ourselves the Free Kingdom of the Shrouded Isles.

Although we shall have a monarch, all peoples will have a say in the governance of the kingdom. The individual islands will have a lot of leeway how they govern themselves. We then drafted and enacted our constitution. I, Rufus, was selected as Chancellor (essentially the prime minister of the kingdom). Our new kingdom had begun. Hail the Free Kingdom!

We have one task left; we need to choose our monarch. We felt that the crown should go to the most capable combatant and leader in the Isles. To that end, we decided to hold a tournament, a grand melee. The victor shall be declared the king or queen. I am in the process of organizing the Grand Melee.

OOC Notes

• After some frustration with existing organizations, I began to consider creating my own game. Then Robb told me about the High Fantasy Society. HFS split from Amtgard in the 1990s. They use a clone of the Amtgard rules but each park is completely independent. It sounded exactly like what I wanted all along. Robb and I then decided to form our own chapter. We will use Amtgard v8 rules (perhaps with some tweaks) but will not be subject to the Amtgard corpora.
• We envision the lore for the kingdom as a spin-off of Caligo and Ember Shoals, which is how we came up with the idea of a mist-shrouded archipelago (hence the name). We use the term "Free Kingdom" to emphasize that we are independent.
• Our kingdom will be ruled by a Council, with the Chancellor acted as chief executive. Units (and free fighters) will have representation on the Council, The monarch is merely a figurehead, added for medieval ambiance and because it's fun. Once we get our practices going I'll schedule the Grand Melee.
• I made a comment about the islands governing themselves. This is a veiled reference to units. Each unit will have a lot of freedom about their own ranks, etc. We will have a kingdom-level system of knighthood and other ranks, but they won't be exclusive. If a unit wants to knight their members, we won't stop them. They just won't be part of the kingdom-sponsored order of knights. This philosophy also solves the problem of foreign knights (those knighted under other systems but are now members of the Isles). They can retain their titles. Our lore is very flexible with the units. They can actually created their own island which will be part of the archipelago. Thus, there is a lore justification for different ranks and titles.
• If you are interested in the Free Kingdom of the Shrouded Isles, check out our Facebook page.

Foundation of Freehaven

Our campaign against the monstrosities of the Faedwyr has taken its toll. Their creatures had been diminishing in numbers, but this has triggered reprisals from the Faedwyr. They have sent raiding parties into the hinterland of Ember Shoals to hunt us down. They also unleashed new horrors into the land. We are constantly forced to pick up and move, which is placing nearly unbearable burdens upon our civilian populace.

Recently, we found a solution to our dilemma. While sailing back from the Sentinels' outpost in the High Forest, we discovered a new island* The crew landed and investigated, finding a peaceful land with fertile fields, bountiful forests, plentiful game, and more importantly no hostile inhabitants. Reporting back to the Ironheart Accord, they informed us that it is a perfect place to settle. After some discussions, we decided to move our civilian population there.

Currently, we are under way building our first settlement. We have called it Freehaven, because it is a haven of freedom for our people. Buildings are going up, crops are being planted, and life is returning to normal, without the fear of Faedwyr raids.

We have even had contact with neighboring islands, and there is talk of uniting to form a mutual defense front.

We have not given up our quest to free Ember Shoals from the Faedwyr. We still send out combatants on raids and monster hunts in the Shoals and will continue to do so until our enemies are defeated, But at least we now have a safe haven for our civilians.

* The geography seems to change randomly in the lands around Caligo. New islands crop up from time to time, and Freehaven seems to the one of these that just appeared out of nowhere. We have discovered that Freehaven and Ember Shoals are just a couple of islands in a large archipelago.

OOC Notes

• Given the open-ended nature of the Caligo setting, I have been toying for some time with creating my own island for RP purposes. I just came up with the story to explain it, and will be developing it in future installments. Don't worry; Rufus will still be involved with Ember Shoals!
• I have some additional news but plan to save it for a later post.

Not A Lifetime Achievement Award

In most medieval recreation games, knighthood is treated as a kind of lifetime achievement award (LAA). You spend years doing x, y, and/or z (whether that is being a skilled fighter and winning tournaments, creating masterworks of the arts, or providing extensive services, etc.) Once you have accomplished certain tasks over the span of your medievalist career, you are rewarded for your efforts by being knighted. I'm fine with the concept of a LAA, but it has absolutely nothing to do with knighthood.

To me, knighthood is about embracing the principles of chivalry.* A knight is one dedicated to living in a knightly manner by serving his/her community, treating others with respect (even those with whom one disagrees), and basically making his/her park a better place. You don't need to have a laundry list of achievements to be a knight, you just have to be a knight in your heart (kind of like the Dagorhir realm of Greyglades approach).

Unfortunately, this fundamental philosophical difference creates tension and conflict. The LAA requires a more ordered, hierarchical approach. Someone needs to determine the standards (what achievements are necessary to become a knight) and then monitor who has met those standards. A knight of the heart might not meet those standards, which proponents of the LAA feel undermines their approach. The LAA crowd feels that the knights of the heart haven't "earned" their title. Conversely, knights of the heart feel that the LAA threatens their freedom to pursue knighthood as they see it. The two sides find themselves at loggerheads.

I don't know if we'll ever reach an agreement between the two sides. I am toying with an approach that will require some achievements (based solely on service to the realm) but won't require as long as the LAA approach. I doubt that my proposal will end the debate. I guess that the only solution is to live and let live. Will the two sides be willing to do that?

* Although there are many varied lists of chivalric virtues, I condense them into the following - Charity, Humility, Valor, Loyalty, Responsibility, Integrity. Thanks to Robb for helping develop the list.