Government
Under Lord British, Britannia has undergone a great transformation from totalitarian monarchy to representative democracy in what is called a monarchic republic. Instead of a single rule of the king, Lord British, Britannia is rules by a combination of Lord British and a council of representatives from each of the eight major townes. Although his intent for the future was that each towne elect its representative to the council, the first council was determined by appointment. British traveled to each towne, spending long hours with its leaders to determine the right choice for the first council.
The historic first meeting of the Great Council consisted of two parts. First, Lord British met with the council members and outlined his vision of participatory government. It was as follows:
This council and Lord British would begin to build a document, based on nature and reality, that set forth those rights of the people that should never be usurped. British believed that the eight virtues of the Avatar would play a major role in the nature of the document. Once adopted, the document would be binding on everyone, including Lord British himself.
Each year, a council member would be elected by each towne. That council member would conduct towne meetings at regular intervals to determine the problems in the towne and to become acquainted with the needs and interests of the people. Several times a year, at regular intervals, the council member would travel to Britain to sit on the Great Council.
The council would ponder problems that occurred in Britannia and decide if they were in the purview of government. If so, they would determine the course of action government should take, perhaps writing a law, perhaps repealing a law, perhaps altering ways and means.
Council recommendations would then be presented to British, and he could accept them or object to them. If he objected, his own rules would require him to sit with the council to try and work out solutions acceptable to all. Nevertheless, Lord British reserved to himself the power of veto in the event that an agreement could not be reached.
At that first gathering of the council, Lord British withdrew from the meeting after presenting his plan, directing the council to discuss the ideas and his rule in general.
After several days, the council was ready to present its findings. Its members were unanimously in favor of the new government plan Lord British had presented, and so it was enacted.
The first meeting continued for one month. Half the time was spent pounding out the new constitution and half the time was spent discussing affairs in what was to become normal council fashion. Since that time, the council meets for two weeks, four times a year, beginning on the solstices and equinoxes.
The monarchy continues in some respects. The crown jewels, for example, continue to define the office of ruler, both figuratively and, by their magic content, truly. These precious emblems consist of the jewel-encrusted gold crown, believed to contain a perfect ray of sunlight; the pure gold scepter, topped by the crystal orb of power; and the silver amulet, in the shape of the mighty earth serpent, said to have come from another world.
the guy on the left is Casca.
