Sartar can be thought of a confederation of small cities centered on the large city of Boldhome, with a score of allied tribes, most of which have a say as to the running of one of the small cities. The Prince is the central ruler over all of this, with Boldhome as their palace.
When Kallyr became Prince in 1625, Sartar really was a mess. The city assemblies acclaimed leaders – city kings or rexes – upon their liberation from the Lunar Empire, with Kallyr ruling Boldhome and Swenstown and her ally Orngerin acclaimed as the ruler of Jonstown. Wilmskirk was practically autonomous. The city councils were responsible for day-to-day administration, drafting decrees, and advising on local policies.
After the failed Lightbringers Quest, Jonstown and Swenstown devolved to their city councils, and Kallyr delegated much authority to the Boldhome city council. When she was killed in early 1626, each of the cities were effectively autonomous, although they were certainly allies.
When Argrath became Prince in 1627, he quickly made it clear that he held supreme power over all the cities. He could and did intervene directly in city affairs, appoint officials, impose taxes, or demand military support. Decrees often required approval by the Prince, and major decisions were often dictated by the Prince. The city councils remained responsible for day-to-day communication, but Argrath maintained a mobile court that traveled with him on campaigns such as much of 1628-1632. Scribes, advisors, and treasurers issued decrees, managed finances, and communicated with city councils. The cities in turn coordinated with the tribes, made demands of military support, and provided financial resources. This combination of supreme power centered on the Prince with decentralized civic administration (often reinforced with Sartarite garrisons in Tarsh and later Saird), seems to have worked for Argrath, and the basic system appears to have been used throughout his long reign.
I thought the usual term was city “rings,” not councils? It is the same thing.
Were there any city councils that opposed, or were reluctant, to give up their power to Argrath? I’m sure there might have been individual people who were reluctant. But Argrath lit the flame and installed garrisons, and by that point it also was clearly him or collapse and conquest by the empire. He had the backing of the main cults and either the backing or the acceptance of the main tribes.
The House of Sartar’s first dynastic crisis was in 1561, when Tarkalor took the throne instead of the children Jarnandar or Aransandra. Of course that wasn’t seen as a crisis – neither of them were Orlanth initiates (neither were adults) and thus could not be Prince.
The second was in 1600 when Terasarin was killed, and his children all dead. Salinarg, a distant relative through a line that I doubt anyone even assumed would inherit from, claimed the throne, lit the Flame, and was acclaimed.
After 1602, there was no Prince until Temertain, a second cousin of Salinarg, was found and accepted by both the Sartarite rebel leaders and the Lunar occupiers as an acceptable candidate. He never lit the Flame and never was acclaimed (and never gained Sartar’s magic), but he served his purpose nonetheless.
When Kallyr lit the Flame in 1625, the magic worked. She could use Command Priests on any priest in Sartar, and could use Command Worshipers to gather assemblies. That’s Sartar’s magic, which hadn’t been seen on that scale since 1602.
When Argrath lit the Flame in 1627, same deal. He could and did use Command Priests and Command Worshipers. For the Prince, those spells work for all the cities and tribes of Sartar.
There is a weird assumption by a handful of largely grognards who have no doubt been drinking the Lunar or “why oh why didn’t Starbrow remain Prince forever” Kool-aid that Argrath becoming Prince was opposed by many Sartarites. Lets put the record straight:
By the end of 1626, it was clear to most Sartarites (especially city leaders) that Sartar needed a unifying prince.
The attempts of other tribal leaders to start a new dynasty were non-starters. They couldn’t light the Flame.
Argrath was an uncertain personality. On the plus side, he was the greatest Orlanthi adventurer of the age, a certifiable Hero of the god. He had an army, magicians, and was known to be a fighter who was willing to fight against the Lunar Empire at long odds. And he claimed to be of descent from the Sartar dynasty and the Lhankor Mhy cult confirmed his claims.
On the negative side, few tribal or city leaders knew him. He had been in exile for the last sixteen years. And also, his biggest plus – that he was the greatest Orlanthi adventurer of the age, a certifiable Hero of the god, is also the thing that many very nervous about him.
So his ascension to power was viewed with nervousness, trepidation, and a feeling of inevitability. It was clear that things were going to change – a lot – with the new Prince. The Orlanth, Storm Bull, and Humakt cults were on board, but many others were very nervous. But he was not actively opposed – after all, he was the only horse running.
A similar thing happened in 1625. Lots of Orlanthi leaders had a lot of misgivings about Kallyr Starbrow – remember, the rebellion in 1613 was viewed by many leaders as a complete fiasco. She definitely was willing to fight against the Lunars, but plenty of tribal leaders – Leika, Vamastal, the Culbrea tribe, and others – had plenty of misgivings (and Leika was close to open defiance). Remember, earlier in 1625, Argrath had already made his claim and tried to attack the New Lunar Temple in Dragon Pass but was defeated at Hender’s Ruin by Lunar magicians and forced back.
After Dragonrise Leika moved first. She took Boldhome and installed her followers as part of the garrison, and then took Jonstown. She had a legitimate claim to the Sartar dynasty, and the only other potential claimant was at least four weeks away in New Pavis. At that point the only real alternative to Kallyr was a civil war (and Argrath would likely have the support of several powerful tribes). Argrath didn’t do that (and may well have calculated that he did not have enough support or that if he did win, he would have won a poisoned chalice).
In 1627, there was only one real candidate for Prince. Argrath had decisively defeated the Lunar Army at Sword Hill and liberated Alda-Chur, and proclaimed Prince by that city (and probably Alone as well). He marched around Sartar with his army, getting support from city and tribal leaders before entering Boldhome. There were attempts (no doubt paid by Furthest) to assassinate him, but they were foiled. In Boldhome, he lit the Flame and after that, he was the Prince.
Might there be people who wished there was some other claimant with an army and a reputation? Sure! But Kallyr was dead, the Lunars had murdered anyone with a better claim, and Argrath was the last candidate standing.
A Prince acclaimed with the powers of Orlanth Rex really can assert power over HIS cities. And Jonstown, Wilmskirk, Swenstown, and of course Boldhome, are after all the cities of Sartar and his cult. Your traditional “powers and rights” stem from him – meaning at the very that if you are a Rune master you can’t cast any Rune spells if he decides to get your face about it. Regardless of cult. The Prince is THE head of the Orlanth Rex/Sartar cult and all the city councils in Sartar are tied to that. Neat how that works!
Now there might well have been some early conflicts, as people thought that being an Issaries priest on the city council of Jonstown (for example) gave you some independent authority, only to discover that the Prince really is supreme in his cities if he wants to push it. Now the reality is that the Prince is probably not going to care too much about how you all zone new buildings, resolve disputes between citizens, allocate grain, collect taxes and tolls, etc – as long as you have enough money to pay what the Prince demands, that your summon the tribal militias in amounts and readiness for the Prince, and that you are able to mainly keep the peace. The Prince doesn’t have a big bureaucracy – the Orlanthi demand rulers personally intervene when it matters. But at the end of the day, you are playing with Sartar’s toys and his heirs get to have a big say in what gets done with them.
Were tribal leaders (kings) elected by their tribes or appointed by Argrath? These were never “elections” in the manner of a Western democracy. Tribal kings are chosen from among the eligible candidates by the chiefs and priests and lords of the Orlanth cult. They cannot rescind their support once it is given. The candidate then must perform a Crown Test and if successful is acclaimed by the tribal assembly and invested with the tribe’s Orlanth Rex powers to become tribal king and priest of the tribe’s Rex cult. That’s all in the Orlanth cult writeup.
Now obviously, a Prince can and will influence this process. Most common is to suggest a candidate that is then supported by the Prince’s supporters in the Orlanth cult.
The Prince of Sartar has a lot of tools at his disposal. He can’t rule by decree or through a bureaucracy, but a determined Prince who can lead warriors, wield magic, and bravely confront problems is going to hold a lot of the cards in most Sartarite leadership conflicts.