Meti'khutu

The **Meti'khutu** was the head of the government in Kentotra. The title is derived from the Tenkotesh words "meti," meaning "royal" or "regal," and "khutu," referring to a person in a position of power. These translations as well as Kentotra's democratic monarchal government means "Meti'khutu's" closest English equivalent is "monarch."

## Marriage and Family Life

The Meti'khutu was strongly encouraged to marry soon after taking the throne if they had no spouse already, as they were expected to produce multiple heirs. If the Meti'khutu was not already courting someone, their family and advisors would gather a list of potential suitors for them to choose from. The list mainly consisted of close friends of the royal family, but also included the Meti'khutu's personal friends and old classmates. Other political families offered their own unmarried members as suitors in an attempt to have their own blood in the royal line. Some citizens from the general public even tried their luck at being selected, though many were too intimidated to offer their names.

Arranged political marriages were not quite as rigid as they were in our history, however, as both partners still had to agree to the union regardless of political or family pressure. The social advisor would preside over the agreement, asking each partner about any concerns they had for the union and checking for signs of reluctance. No contracts were signed until the advisor was certain that each partner was genuinely satisfied with the terms of the union. Every precaution was taken to minimize the chance of exploitation of manipulation from outside parties.

Royal weddings could either be public or private depending on the royal couple's preference, but were often grand and lavish. The ceremony itself bore little difference from the standard wedding ceremony, but it was conducted by the Highest Priest, who only ever officiated royal or economic upper-class marriages. After the wedding, the nation eagerly awaited signs of pregnancy. While there were cases of Meti'khutus who couldn't or didn't want to produce their own heirs,-- often in cases of infertility, same sex unions, or one or both partners refusing copulation-- they were still expected to assign one or two surrogate parents. It was common for some royal couples to legally adopt their nieces and nephews to maintain their bloodline.

Raising the Meti'khutu's children was a palace-wide affair. While the Meti'khutu and their spouse were occupied with their respective work, nannies and tutors were responsible for the children until their parents' designated family time arrived. The children would be privately tutored on valuable conduct and skills for political work, but they were granted a wide array of interests and hobbies to engage in. As they reached their teenage years, they would decide what kind of politician they wanted to become and start building their election campaigns with the help of their own advisors. It was not uncommon for an heir to reject their royal destiny and choose another occupation at this point. However, if they were an only child or one of two siblings, social pressure often kept them in the palace. Any royal children who left the palace in adulthood would still be in the line of succession for the throne, staying at the bottom of the election order for their siblings, and be allowed to pass on the throne to the next person in line should they be satisfied with their new lives.

## Selection Process

As Kentotra's government was a democratic monarchy, it gave its common people some choice in their leadership while still keeping power within a certain family line. As with most monarchies, the current Meti'khutu's children were the successors to the throne. However, the firstborn male was not guaranteed to become the next heir; in fact, gender and birth order were not factors in most cases. As each child reached legal age, an election would take place, the people choosing which child they would prefer to succeed their parents. The vote was decided via a simple majority, a tie broken by the Meti'khutu themselves. Depending on how many children the Meti'khutu had, several elections could take place in the span of a decade. If the Meti'khutu died or was otherwise removed from power before an election could take place-- or worse yet, if there were no children to crown-- a new Meti'khutu would be selected based on the line of succession laid out in the next section.

Due to the electoral nature of the monarchy, there was immense social and political pressure on the Meti'khutu and their spouse to have not just one heir, but multiple. A royal couple struggling to conceive was seen as a potential end to the current royal bloodline, which was seen as a bad omen. However, a couple only having one child, deliberately or otherwise, was an even worse circumstance in the eyes of the people. A royal bloodline dying out, though tragic, could easily be remedied by choosing another politician's family to rule or simply assigning surrogate parents for the royal couple. If there was only one royal child, that meant there could be no election; the people had no choice but to accept the child as heir. This often led to dissenting opinions of the heir, regardless of what kind of leader they grew up to be. As such, the pressure on the Meti'khutu to have multiple children was not just a measure to preserve their family and its influence. It was also a means of protecting the people's right to choose their government as well as their children's reputation and mental health.

## Line of Succession

Kentotra boasted a long and detailed line of succession to prepare for the Meti'khutu dying or otherwise being unable to rule. The order is as follows:

* The Meti'khutu's children in order of poll preference
	+ If no election took place before the Meti'khutu's death or dethroning, the new Meti'khutu would be selected in order of age, starting with the firstborn child. If this child was underaged at the time of their parent's death, they would be assisted by their assigned regent until they have reached legal age. This assigned guardian was often the non-Meti'khutu parent, but it could have been any trusted adult in the Meti'khutu's life: an aunt, uncle, family friend, or even a trusted advisor. Older siblings were not typically selected as regents if they were too close in age to their younger siblings.
		- In these cases, the firstborn child may have been looked down upon as if they were an only child, but the public was generally more understanding depending on the circumstances of the former Meti'khutu's death or displacement.
* The Meti'khutu's siblings in order of poll preference
	+ If at least twenty years had passed since the election that chose the previous Meti'khutu, the remaining siblings would undergo another election to better represent the current opinions of the people.
		- If no election was able to take place and the previous Meti'khutu was selected by age order, an election would automatically take pl
* The Meti'khutu's spouse
	+ The spouse's ability to take on the Meti'khutu's responsibilities varied depending on their occupation, as the Meti'khutu was not obligated to marry another politician. The spouse would be given the choice to accept the crown, being removed from the line of succession completely if they refused it but still being allowed to occupy the palace as a member of the royal family. If they accepted the role without any political knowledge, they would be trained over the course of several years while advisors and council members helped them make decisions.
* The Meti'khutu's nieces and nephews in order of poll preference
	+ The Meti'khutu's sibling with the second highest poll rating had their children voted for first. If they had an only child, said child would be placed on the ballot next to their cousins.
	+ If a Meti'khutu legally adopted their niece or nephew, they would be considered one of their children and thus balloted as such.
* The council chairperson
* The economic chairperson
* One of the nine council representatives in order of poll preference
* One of the Meti'khutu's personal advisors
	+ Order is not decided by a vote but by the relevance of the advisor's expertise (Political, economic, religious, cultural, social)

Should all these options be exhausted, the next heir would be sought out within the smaller regional governments. This never happened in recorded history due to the already long line of succession.

## List of Meti'khutus

(Name)- The first recorded Meti'khutu from the Djeric period. It is possible there were other Meti'khutus before them, but writing only saw use around (name)'s lifespan. How their bloodline was selected as the royal bloodline is unknown. They were described as a fearless leader who rarely got agitated.

(Name)- The reigning Meti'khutu at the time Kentotra's capital city was developed. He was regarded as one of the first brilliant architects in Kentotran history, laying out the plan for the royal palace. His guidance would grant his descendants with a sturdy yet elegant home for millennia to come.

(Arrogant King)- A king recorded in both Kentotran history and mythology. Both described him as egotistical and snobbish, and he wrote many personal journal entries about how he considered himself as great as the gods. He was also not well-liked among the people, many complaining about his selfish policies that left the lower economic class to fend for themselves. He was reportedly an only child due to his parents' fertility issues, so the people had no choice but to accept his rule, further fueling countrywide resentment toward him. (King) died under mysterious circumstances, his body charred as if set on fire. Though the mythology maintains that the goddess Olakoye struck him with lightning for his arrogance, it is more likely that he got caught in the historically confirmed forest fire that burned much of his city down.

(Benevolent Queen)- (Arrogant King)'s widow. She became his successor due to the couple not having children at the time of (king)'s death. She fell out of love with her husband when she saw how unwilling he was to change his selfish ways upon ascending to the throne. There were rumors of her roaming outside of the palace and having an affair with a local fish merchant she claimed to be friends with, though her personal journal never confirmed these rumors one way or the other. However, they were strengthened by how quickly she married this fish merchant and planned to have three children with him, only months after her husband's death and her city's reconstruction. Regardless of this scandal, she was reportedly a kind and hardworking queen who spent many sleepless nights reversing her first husband's harmful laws. Her reign lasted many years until the time came for her eldest son to take over.

(Benevolent Queen's Son)- (Benevolent Queen)'s eldest son. Reportedly charismatic and social, he was considered a popular and handsome bachelor for much of his youth. His most notable laws mainly concerned personal freedoms, such as nationwide standards for alcohol consumption and marriage policies. His suitor list was rumored to be too long to fit in an average scroll. His final selection-- a council representative's niece-- brought about a long depressive period for many of Kentotra's young and single citizens.

(Name)- The second to last recorded Meti'khutu. She ascended to the throne at a young age, spending many years getting used to her new duties and not focusing on marriage. After much social pressure to produce heirs, she accepted a proposal from (Te'Kegarr follower name). She was found dead on her bedroom floor two weeks after the wedding. An examination of her body found signs of strangulation, but judging by the way her bedsheets were wrapped around her neck, authorities reported her death as an unfortunate accident in her sleep due to tossing and turning. Her husband had reportedly left on official business the day before, so he was not listed as a murder suspect despite usually sharing the bedroom with (name). Many noted the swiftness at which (follower name) had returned after hearing what had happened. Some speculated that he had not left at all and actually bore more responsibility than it appeared, but more optimistic Kentotrans believed he simply returned quickly out of love for his wife.

(Name)- The last recorded Meti'khutu who reigned during the final civil war. He was a member of the (Te'Kegarr followers) family, the fourth child of their last recorded priest. Encouraged by his father to seek a government position, he found his way into his region's council before proposing marriage to (former monarch name). He took the throne after her untimely death. He died in the midst of the civil war without an heir, taking a rebel leader's life with him and sending both sides of the conflict into a state of anarchy.