Government of Aledir

Aledir's government has three main branches, all of which have jurisdiction in certain situations and are responsible for different concerns such as Military, Education, etc.

The three main branches are The Crown, The Senate, and The Church. Each operate differently, but in conjunction with one another.

## Government Structure

Aledir has three branches of government: The Crown, The Senate, and The Church.

The Crown is the ruling monarch of Aledir. Currently this is King Gaelin II. The Crown’s two biggest responsibilities are the collection and allocation of taxes, and the management, maintenance, and deployment of Aledir’s military forces.

The Senate is a collection of senators, voted in by the people from all across Aledir. They are responsible for the creation, alteration, and cancellation of laws, as well as managing and allocating funds to infrastructure and business licences across the country. They also have the Town Guard, the police force of Aledir, under their juristiction.

The Church is the Church of Aledir. They largely get their funds from donations and a small amount from the Senate or Crown when requested. They handle education and medical services across Aledir.

## How It Functions

The Crown first starts with setting the tax rates for all citizens and businesses. These tax rates are based on the wealth of the individual citizen. The poorest citizens rarely pay more than ten Crowns, while major businesses and land owners pay much higher taxes by comparison. These taxes are collected by Crown representatives, often accompanied by Crown Knights.

Once taxes are collected, a portion of it is transferred to the Senate. The Senate collectively decides where to allocate the funds. Much of it goes to infrastructure maintenance and creation, such as maintaining roads and railways, internal trade routes, and so forth. The senate also proposes laws to be added or amended, and votes on them.

The Church gets an amount of money agreed upon by the Senate, and the rest of its funds are gained via donations. It is responsible for education and health of the citizens of Aledir, as well as its moral compass. It also has authority where threats from Geldor are concerned.

## The Crown

The reigning monarch of Aledir is King Gaelin II. He has been in power for over three decades, and has seen both peace and war. However, over the last year his health has been in decline. He has two daughters, currently.

The monarch of the country is always the first born child of the previous king. If no children are available, the responsibility lies on the husband or wife of the reigning monarch, then other sibling, and so on.

One of the principle decisions the Monarch must decide are the tax rates for all citizens. This is a very serious decision for the Crown. Too high of a tax rate makes citizens unhappy, while too low a tax rate means you cannot pay the troops or give the Senate money for their laws and initiatives. Currently, the tax rate is based on income. Those below the poverty line have no taxes, and are often given opportunities to improve their lives via initiatives from the Senate, while those with high income have high tax rates. Once taxes are collected every year, the Monarch then holds onto a portion of the tax revenue for the military forces under the Crown`s control and hands the rest off to the Senate.

The second major responsibility is the management of Aledir`s military forces. The Monarch must decide the size, position, and armaments of the military branches under its control. This is a large decision as well, especially since the war drained many of the military resources at hand.
In addition to the two major responsibilities, the Monarch also acts as the face of Aledir. It is imperative that the ruler must do their best to appear to support its citizens, and to appease them accordingly. The task of ruling a massive kingdom such as Aledir is a large responsibility. There have been heirs to the throne that have refused the position.

### Military Forces

The Crown has control over two major militaries: The regular Army, and the Royal Guard.

The regular Army is just that: the standard military forces at the disposal of the Crown. You don`t often see them in force these days, except for military parades and such. However, there are many bases for them across Aledir, with at least one major barracks in every provincial capital, as well as the national capital as well. These forces are primarily armed with rifles and swords.

The Royal Guard are the elite forces of Aledir, and are pledged to guard the Crown and its interests. While many never see more than a few soldiers at a time outside of parades, squads of Crown Knights are common during tax collections, often guarding the proper tax collectors. Crown Knights are a sight to behold. They have state of the art equipment, support, elite training, and do not mess around. If you even pretend to attack a Crown Knight, they have full rights to kill on sight. Many fear squads of Crown Knights, but also respect them.

## The Senate

The Senate is comprised of several members, elected from across the Kingdom. Each senator represents a populated area of the kingdom.

Their job is to go to the Senate in Malanar and decide what laws are to be added, amended, or repealed, and to allocate funds to projects devoted to infrastructure, as a group representing every citizen in Aledir.

The Senate has all the power to change, add, or remove laws. However, they must come to a 2/3 majority in order to alter any laws. This must be debated by the senate over the course of one week maximum. The allocation of funds are also debated, but only require half the senate’s agreement.

Senators do get a salary, but is set by the Crown. Often times, senators also get other boons, such as travel costs waived.

### Military Forces

The Senate has control over all Town Guard Forces.

The Town Guard is not technically a full military body, but are the standard police force of Aledir. All branches often act independently, though do report to a head office in their respective provinces, which reports to a main branch in Malanar.

All Town Guard members are typically armed with clubs and pistols, along with minor gadgets such as whistles and hand cuffs, but are often trained more for non-lethal combat or conflict diffusion than heavy warfare. However, that does not mean they are not dangerous.

## The Church

The Church of Auldin is the third governing body of Aledir. It is responsible for the moral and ethical wellbeing of Aledir’s citizens, as well as their education and health.

Many Churches across Aledir are the central hub for community within towns and cities across the country. As such, the clergy often act as individuals that are looked up to by the common folk. They often provide comfort for those who have lost a family member or going through a harrowing experience, advice to those unsure of themselves, and so forth.

The Church is also responsible for educating minds. Many churches is rural areas also double as schools. In more urban areas, colleges devoted to more advanced schools of study are also there for those that can afford them.

In addition, the Church often runs many hospitals across the Kingdom, under the organization known as the Matrons of St. Helene. While many of these hospitals have Faithful in them to perform rituals and healing miracles, many doctors stick to standard medical skills, only invoking Auldin when absolutely necessary.

### Military Forces

The Church has a military body called The Hand of Auldin.

The Hand of Auldin is an order of holy warriors known as Paladins. Many still wear armour despite the invention of the firearm. However, many higher-ranking paladins have blessed their armour to withstand bullets. While they recognize the power of the firearm, and count marksmen within their ranks, many are trained for melee combat.

## How The Branches Interact

### Requests for Action

A branch of Aledir’s Government can make requests of one of the others. For example, the Crown can request that the Senate boost funding to a particular thing, such as more funding to railroads to a province. The Senate can then debate and decide whether or not to allocate funds to that particular request. The request can be denied without penalty.

### Forced to Action

Two branches of Aledir’s Government can force the third to take an action, without argument. This is almost never used, and only for drastic actions. The draft during the war was a result of the Crown and Church ordering the Senate to draft citizens.

### Veto Action

Two branches can veto the action of a third as well. For example, if the Crown set a grossly-high tax rate, the Senate and Church can order the Crown to change the tax rates to something more appropriate.