Glade Confederacy

**Confederacy of the Elders of the Glade and the Followers of Delarin**

 Location of Delan Forest

   Legislature
 **Glade Mother** | Ilyrana Trara Sulmatri

The **Glade Confederacy** (officially the *Confederacy of the Elders of the Glade and the Followers of Delarin*) is a confederacy of elven clans on Mundus.

It consists of 5 different elven clanss in confederation wish each other. Each clan controls a specific section of the Delan Forest and they collectively reach decisions through the legislative body, the Grand Council.

Their leader is the oldest Clan Mother in the confederacy, known as the Glade Mother. However, the confederacy is highly decentralised, and the Glade Mother takes a mainly ceremonial role, with each Clan Mother and subsequent chiefs truly controlling each of their clans semi-independently.

## History

During the Great Scourge and the collapse of the old Elven Clans which once ruled the whole of Mundus, Delarin the Great and her followers retreated into the depths of the Forest soon to be called Delan, in an attempt to escape the pestilence. 6 Clans followed, the Delarinae, Sulmatriae, Barinae, Lucaniae, Martrinae and Luthorinae.

By fleeing into the Delan the Elves escaped the Scourge, but soon came across far more terrifying foes in the depths of the Forest. The struggle to survive led to conflict between the 6 Clans, much to Delarin's dismay.

Soon Delarin had had enough of the bickering of her followers, and by harnessing mystical forces known only to her, she destroyed the armies of the clans and bent them to her will, forming the Glade Confederacy and becoming the first Glade Mother. Delarin built the Glade Capital Celebore with the help of the other Mystics of her clan, and lit the Confederal Fire, forming the Grand Council.

Hundreds of years past and Delarin became the undisputed leader of the Glade Elves, with many worshipping her as Goddess and saviour. However there was treachery a foot. Boton, a Barin Chief, felt that Delarin had become too powerful and sort to end her tyranny.

One night Boton confronted Delarin in front of the Confederal Fire during a Grand Council meeting and slew her with one blow from his sword. The other Glade Chiefs, appalled by his actions, beat Boton to death with their bare hands and cast all Barinae out of the Forest to be consumed by the Scourge.

After Delarin was burned, a Grand oak grew from the ground on which she died. The tree still stands over the Confederal Fire and has since become a holy site for her followers.

Since Delarin's death the Glade Elves have lived in the forest, gradually regaining their strength and population and becoming a major but largely misunderstood force on Mundus, bidding their time and waiting for an opportune moment to reclaim what has been lost.

## Society

Glade Elf Society is centred around the 5 clans which make up the confederacy. Each clan consists of many families each related to each other by blood who live together and forage the same land. The eldest mother in the clan is given the name Clan Mother, and acts as the official leader of the clan. The Clan Mother appoints various Chiefs to different positions, each chief acting as a representative of the Clan Mother. There are four types of chiefs, Civil Chiefs, War Chiefs, Peace Chiefs and Council Chiefs each with specific roles.

Civil Chiefs organize settlement building and the day to day running of the Clan. War Chiefs serve as military commanders and organize and equip the Clan Army. Peace Chiefs carry out diplomacy and organize trade between each Clan and with the wider world. Council Chiefs serve as representatives of the Clan on the Grand Council (see Government).

The Glade Elves take great pride in their clans and their Clan Mother, there have been no documented cases of a Chief disobeying the wishes of his Clan Mother. Any crime committed by a member of a Clan is seen as a crime committed by all members, and collective punishment is common as a means to prevent disobedience.

Each Clan also specializes in specific tasks when it comes to the running of the Confederacy, specifically of the Capital Celebore. The two largest and oldest Clans, the Delarinae and the Sumatriae, form the majority of the fighting force and leadership of the Confederacy. The Delarinae specialise in magic and mystic rituals, and serve as a major component of the Confederate Army, cultivating the treemen which serve them. The Sumatriae specialise in melee and have lighting fast reflexes leading to them serving as perfect shock troops.

The two smallest and youngest Clans, the Martrinae and Luthorinae, each serve smaller roles. The Martrinae specialise in foraging and scouting, and serve as the vanguard of the Confederate Army as well as the main hunters which keep the army and Glade Society as a whole well fed. The Luthorinae are tamers and riders of beasts and serve as the cavalry for the army, as well as messengers.

The Lucaniae have a special and unique role. They maintain Celebore, the Confederal Fire and the Tree of Delarin and serve as religious leaders and teachers for the followers of Delarin.

## Government

The government of the Glade Confederacy consists of two parts, an executive and a legislature. However, these institutions only make decisions which involve the entirety of the Confederacy and all 5 clans are largely independent.

The Glade Mother is a main executive component of the Glade Confederacy. She is elected via seniority from the various Clan Mothers. Due to her position, her Chiefs take a larger role than other Clan Chiefs, serving as Generals and Negotiators for the entire Confederate Army. The Glade Mother herself is still mainly ceremonial, spending much of her time organizing her own clan.

The legislature consists of the Grand Council of the 5 Clans. Each Clan Mother appoints 10 Council Chiefs to represent her Clan on the council, leading to a total of 50 Council Chiefs. Meetings of the Council are made in front of the Confederal Fire.

The Delarinae and Sulmatriae sit on one side of the fire while the Martrinae and Luthorinae sit on the opposite side. The Lucaniae sit in the middle due to their firekeeper role.

Votes occur in the following way. After an item is proposed, the clan which proposed it shall debate amongst themselves infront of the rest of the council and reach a consensus of either for and against. If they agree to be against the proposal, the proposal is rejected. If they agree to be for it, the clan on the same side of the fire begins to debate the same proposal and reach a consensus.

If the other clan agrees to be against it, the proposal is passed back to the first clan. If they agree to be for it, the proposal passes to the other side of the Fire. Now the other two clans will carry out the same process. If both of the Clans on that side agree to support the proposal then the proposal is passed. However if both sides agree to be against the proposal, the Lucaniae then debate and reach a consensus, providing a tie break between the two factions. If one clan agrees, while the other disagrees, the proposal is rejected and new votes are called.

This method seeks to historically prevent the two largest clans, the Delarinae and Sulmatriae, from fighting amongst themselves over a proposal, for if they do not agree the proposal will not pass. It also allows the smaller clans, the Lucaniae, Martrinae and Luthorinae, to have an effective veto against any proposal made by the two larger clans. Ultimately this seeks to prevent a civil war within the Confederacy.

Most of the day to day decisions politically are made on the Clan level by Chiefs appointed by the Clan Mother to specific roles.