National Mistery

The National Mistery is the legislature of Essotori, and is similar to a Parliament in many ways. The National Mistery is a collection of all Local Mistery Associations, composed of regular people, from the lowest peasent to the richest businessmen, assembled together to accomplish a specific task within the government, and vote on all government proposals.

## History

The National Mistery has it's origins in the Tribella, the holy book of the Nozerod Cult, which states in the passage 'Propreity of Order 07'; "All under the heavens shall be as one, yet many, under the endless watch of the Ascended One, the momentous gaze of all's superior compels human rationality. To channel this prosperous peace in perpetuity, and fasten the chains of civility and justice securely around the necks of all, the people shall assemble themselves under Lords of good character, whom shall stand for the interests of the people, appealing the permanant case of the popular to the divine." Propreity of Order generally prescribes the proper form of government, and morality of the common people, as well as justifying popular representation without democracy.

(Propreity of Order 11) "All Crownslaves remain beyond flawed, without waging a trying personal war and dedicating themself to divine service, the evils of man may fade, yet they shall return to prominence. (12) To silence the evils of inner corruption, entropy and decay, requires the collective effort of all Crownslaves. (13) The supremacy of the Ascended One provides utmost security, though agents, officials and lords, who may have rose to positions of strength and justice in truth, or in falsehood, are imperfect. (14) The Imperial structure of the Ascendancy is true strength, the will of the Ascended One on this meagre world, made manifest. (15) However, some 'superiors' pervert righteousness, and betray their own achievements, their families, and the Ascended One themselves. (16) The duty of the faithful is to reforge the iron will of leadership, when temporal leaders fail to meet moral standards, or demonstrate fatal incompetence in their station. (17) The Faithful shall question, shame, belittle and resist, until the leadership conforms to the will of the Ascended One, ceasing all immoral behaviours, should this is not possible, the faithful shall execute an excellant takeover, restoring disapline and proper structure. (18) When peace and justice is once again restored, the faithful once again fall silent, in submission to the authority that has been duly restored by the faithful most heroic actions against Anarchy's comrades."

This deeply religious message is the backbone of the National Mistery, though it also applies to military and civilian duties involving superiors. It suggests that the peasentry, the commoners, should not accept poor leadership from the Nozerod's officials, and should attempt to restore a state of balance. Then, they will fall silent, and obey the new authority, with utter dedication and loyalty. This is reflected in the Misteries, who are formed to lobby for a position, and vote in the government, scrutinising and belittling the government. When their issue is resolved, they are expected to dissolve, and obey the government as loyal subjects.

### In Conland - Sagadahoc

The Mistery system first came into being in practical terms in Angel Land, the Duchy of Sereine under the control of the Ashwood family. They implemented an early, small version of the system, that was restricted to members of the upper aristocracy. This system maintained itself throughout the period of Angel Land's existance, all Misteries met in the Dagger Palace, named so infamously, due to the high amount of intrigue and assasinations in the Palace's walls. For this reason, the Nozerod resided within the relatively nearby Garlin Palace, in a model similar to the modern Palace of Origin, though within the Nozerod Cult, the Garlin Palace was always considered a mere stepping stone. In it's original form, establishing Misteries was a privilege reserved only for the Lords, who could form one if they had the support of three of their own vassals, up to Barons, who could call on Cnights. The original rendition of the Mistery system allowed Lords with issues that had been resolved to remain within the Dagger Palace until the next year came. This was heavily criticised by the general population, who believed it to be a form of corruption. Regardless, this privilege was not removed until the conquest of Essotori proper.

### Early Essotori

With the invasion of the Tori Kingdoms in the 17th century, came a revitalisation of the the Mistery System. The massive amount of Lords, as well as droughts and war deaths, meant that the Misteries were generally limited to 'Petty Lords', who refused, or were incapable of fighting in the conquest. These Petty Lords were generally corrupt and hated by the population, undermining the very purpose of the Mistery System, as a conduit of the people's will. They also maintained the deeply corrupt privilege of staying within the luxurious palaces of the Kingdom after their issues were resolved, as well as due to the lack of an effective Grandmaster, could simply make up a new issue to protest, and continue enjoying oppulance at the expense of the people, who were already sacrificing the conquer the territory for the Nozerod. In 1695, after the final victory over Radon, the Nozerod Everlasting Conquest, fresh from his victories, and with a delegation of his sons, and loyal nobility, marched into the Palace, and expelled the Petty Lords, throwing them to the mob. The next rendition of the National Mistery opened in 1696, with Lords from the campaigns finally taking their seats. These lords did not wish to personally stay in Radonstinatle often, and so generally sent commoner representatives, to the chagrin of prominent conservatives at court. This trend culminated in the Revolt of the Three Estates, when the nobility were purged by the Nozerod Eternal Freedom, who empowered the common people to serve officially in the National Mistery, so long as a large financial sum was paid to the government. This was seen as a triumph, and allowed a higher degree of mass control of government policy.

## Structure

### Grandmaster of the National Mistery

The Grandmaster of the National Mistery is the 'leader' of the organisation, with the task of regulating 'legitimate' Misteries, determining their purpose and ensuring a proper flow of fees and membership. He also supports the Prime Minister on a neutral basis, using subterfuge and dark methods to ensure that the representatives of Misteries vote for the Prime Minister. This is a stopgap measure to mitigate government gridlock, though this is still an issue. The Grandmaster is selected by his predecessor, usually in an apprenticeship system, with the strongest, most intimidating figures, as well as the most cunning, being selected for the role.

### House of Righteous Authority

The House of Righteous Authority is an ancient 'house' of the National Mistery, two hundred members of the aristocracy and the high ups of the Nozerod Cult. It is expected to support the government, though will stand up against the government in emergency situations, or when the government has dissolved Local Misteries. The House of Righteous Authority is generally respected by the population, though is criticised by reformers, and several measures to restrict it's power were passed during the reign of the Regency Council of Nozerod Glorious Jade.

### Local Misteries Association

The Local Misteries are the collection of Essotori based Misteries, assembled by the population. The number of Misteries is dependent completely on the performance of the government, and issues facing the people of Essotori. They rise with the people's anger, representing local issues and public disatisfaction. When the individual issue is resolved, the representative shall return home, and renew his faith in the government in his local community publically. There are no restrictions on the same individual forming multiple Misteries, in fact, this is respected, so long as the criticisms are continually valid.

## Functions

### Divine Government

A divine government, or a Divine Administration, is similar to emergency powers in other forms of governments, though it takes the form of the Nozerod personally intervening in politics to remove all Misteries from the National Mistery, allowing the Prime Minister to reign unquestioned for a period. This is intended to be used in war time, or during consolidation of a territory into the Ascendancy. It can also be used to enhance the power of a genuinely good Prime Minister, allowing them to function unrestricted by obstruction. The amount of divine governments has gradually been going down, until the reign of Nozerod Glorious Jade, who has issued two. Though, one was not willingly.