Sancturi Political Parties¶
"Sow and Reap. Unofficial: You can't eat gold." — motto of Great House Arvumas, of the Imperialists (S322)
Five parties contest the Great Election of the Imperial Government: the Imperialists, the Crimson Beacon, Righteous Might, Prosperity and the Crusade. A party is a bloc of great and lesser houses behind a platform, and its strength is counted in the twenty-five High Councillors and four Warlords its houses hold. Members of the clergy's lower ranks may keep their party ties, but those raised to the Divine Grace "must disavow all familial ties, which includes spouses, children, political parties and house affiliations" (S321; see Sancturi Clergy).
The parties¶
| Party | Platform | Offices held | Great houses | Lesser houses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Imperialists | the empire as it is: infrastructure, consolidation, defence | 7 High Councillors | Arvumas, Ocassus, Devjardin | Thorel, Restault (Ulchera defunct) |
| Crimson Beacon | unfettered expansion before the end times | High Warlord, 1 Warlord, 5 High Councillors | Vinceric, Novall | Bellamare, Manweil, Boivin |
| Righteous Might | religious devotion and forced conversion | 1 Warlord, 6 High Councillors | Vesulias, Sidcarnon | Osmont, Illyri, Hanivel |
| Prosperity | measured expansion and internal development | 1 Warlord, 4 High Councillors | Barahd | Bolli, Aequina, Cornely, Wyvill |
| Crusade | the Hollows as an existential threat | 3 High Councillors | Thanaxa | Devere, Malhorte, Gillain, Auvrey |
The Imperialists¶
"Referred by some (in a derogatory fashion) as the Old Guard, their primary platform is the health of the empire as it exists and are far less concerned with its expansion. They believe priority should be given to infrastructure, consolidation and defense" (S322).
Their seven High Councillors come from Arvumas (three) and Ocassus (two), two of the original great houses, and from the old house of Devjardin (two). Their opposition is the Crimson Beacon, and they "will often form coalitions with Righteous Might, Prosperity or Crusade" (S322). The lesser house of Thorel, formed by defectors from Vinceric, has "struggled to prove their loyalty to the party due to their generally militant views and focus, but have made some progress" (S322).
Crimson Beacon¶
"Their primary platform is the domination and control of all living races. They see continued unfettered expansion of the empire as critical to its survival and believe the end times confrontation is near and the best way to prepare is to expand the empire as quickly as possible" (S322).
The Crimson Beacon holds the High Warlord, from House Vinceric, and the Nightshade Warlord, from House Novall, with five High Councillors: one from Vinceric, two from Novall, one from Bellamare and one from Manweil. Its opposition is the Imperialists (S322). The bitter feud between Vinceric and Arvumas runs along the same line; see Great Houses of the Sancturi.
Righteous Might¶
"Their primary platform is religious devotion. Proselytization and conversion (forcible) in new lands is a priority as well as inter-empire conversion. Militaries in these factions are made up heavily of paladins, clerics and runepriests. These factions see religious devotion and purity as the means of survival and prosperity" (S322).
The party holds the Obsidian Warlord, from House Vesulias, and six High Councillors: two each from Vesulias and Sidcarnon, one each from Osmont and Illyri. "They have no strong opposing parties, though they most often conflict with the position of the Prosperity Party" (S322).
Prosperity¶
"Their primary platform is the prosperity of the empire which they believe is through measured expansion and internal development" (S322).
Prosperity holds the Griffon Warlord, from House Barahd, and four High Councillors, one each from Barahd, Bolli, Aequina and Cornely. House Bolli is marked "Fallen" yet still holds its seat (S322).
Crusade¶
"Their primary platform is that Hollows represent an existential threat to the empire and should be dealt with immediately and proactively instead of reactively. They view the policy of containment as one that is doomed to fail. This is a relatively new party (< 50 years) that has been booming in recent years as the threat the Hollows pose has been slowly revealed" (S322; see Hollows).
Its three High Councillors are two from House Thanaxa, both sitting on the Hollow Council, and one from House Devere (S322). The Great Council's Hollow Council itself is new, having "recently replaced Frontier whose responsibilities were merged with War" (S323).
Council seats by party¶
Each High Councillor sits on two of the ten legislative councils, chosen in order of seniority and votes after each Great Election (S323). The party notes tally the seats each party holds on each council (S322):
| Party | Budget | Defense | Hollow | Honor | Infrastructure | Judicial | Labor | Religious | Trade | War |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Imperialists | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Crimson Beacon | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||
| Righteous Might | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | |
| Prosperity | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |||
| Crusade | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Gap
The tally gives the Hollow Council four members rather than five, and the Crimson Beacon's houses list two Honor seats (Novall and Manweil) where the tally gives the party one. The notes never say which party holds the throne's favour, how a coalition is formed, or how long any party has existed except the Crusade.