Esteli

## Geography / Environment

#### History

The City-State of Estali was one of the first large areas of Atali settlement outside of Dorios between -500 and -400 ROS (Return of Ships). Fleets of Atali vessels set out and plied their trade along the central sea, setting up outposts or colonies (known as Centi’s) and beginning to exploit the area for the betterment of the Kingdom. Naturally some of these Centi’s would end up becoming hub areas where local outposts would stop in before making the trek across the ocean towards Dorios itself. This is how Estali found itself growing into a metropolitan area.

As Dorios became the Atali Empire under Revium I, these cities required more of a firmer rule than was previously applied. This became the role of the Despot, an elected title that would advise the emperor and take direct administrative control of the new Atali City-States. The Despot had absolute authority to determine expansion, decide tariffs, and focus the City-States to the needs of the Empire.

Following the fall of the Atali Empire, and the Return of Ships, Talys of Kiin, an Estali Seacaptain, claimed to be the nephew of the last Despot and so should inherit that title. At the time the Kiin people held the largest fleet of bondships within the Estali harbor, so there were few who were willing to oppose them. Since then the Estali Despots have claimed rulership over all the former city-states of the Atali Empire, however due to famine, natural disaster and civil war, the power of Estali has not been great enough to force that claim.

#### Inheritance

The Despotate is inherited in the same way as all Atali property, no longer the elected position of the Empire. On death, the position is passed to the middle nephew, or to the eldest, or to the son in order of succession. Should a Despot die with none of these relatives living, it will pass through, again in order of succession. So if the Despot dies with no successor, but once had a nephew who died, the succession path would start again from that dead nephew, and so on until a living blood relative is found.

This chain of family relations can easily get tangled, confusing, and have historically led to grand disputes between families and clans. This is as true for any Atali inheritance, and the Despotate is no exception. Many times long half-castes and bastards have been postured in front of the Atali people as a true successor as families fight and manipulate to be in the ruling seat. As a result the Esteli Ancestral Keepers keep detailed records within their Library, of every Atali family and are the final say in who inherits.

### The Secret Council

The Despot rules with absolute authority over Esteli, and maintains their own council of privileged administrators and warriors to run the state effectively. The council’s seats are not fixed, and the Despot is free to appoint advisors as they wish. The exact makeup of the council is always unknown and anyone in the Atali society could be a member, serving at the Despots pleasure. Occasionally, service to the Despot on the Secret Council has been accompanied with a life sentence, with councilors killed at retirement. These counselors typically have no individual power to influence or act, purely serving as advisors who listen, observe, report and guide the Despot towards the needs of the State.

### The Esteli Captains

Outside of the Despot, there are not any inherited titles that confer authority or power. Esteli has a strata of officials, known as Captains, who perform all manner of duties on land and sea, administrative and military. Captaincy within the Esteli city-state is granted through a legal writ, achieved through passing a meritorious exam process. These exams test maritime navigation skills, combat, history both legal and moral, and commercial understanding. Typically to achieve a Captain's Writ an Atali must pass these exams several times. Theoretically, any Atali, no matter the strength of blood, may attempt the Captain’s Exams, however often it is only the family of existing Captains that practically have the resources for the long-term study, apprenticeship and schooling required to obtain the necessary skills.

The Captains Writ gives the holder absolute authority in service of the Esteli state, and they act as an instrument of the Despot’s will. Theoretically, Captains should only act in service of the state, however practically this is often not the case. In Atali culture family comes close behind service to the state, and sometimes the lines of service to the two can get blurred. Captains must always be ready to serve at the pleasure of the state, and must always keep the Despotate informed of their whereabouts.

There are no explicit ranks within the Captaincy and seniority is determined by date of appointment, and wealth generated for the state. Wealth is directly tied to martial or commercial endeavors, meaning Captains who have identified profitable trade routes (and then those who inherit those routes) will often find themselves in powerful positions. Some Captains serve in fixed term positions, some are allowed to come and go as they please until they are appointed a task. There is a lot of political maneuvering within the Despot’s Citadel to get rivals or opponents caught up in long-term appointments which won’t directly generate a lot of wealth for the state, thus decreasing their opponents overall clout.