The Speaker for the Loas of Stagdrift is a newly created position to act as a liason between the Count of Stagdrift and the spirit loa citizens of Stagdrift Hills.
Duties
Once a month, Speaker for the Loas of Stagdrift gets an audience before the Count where he brings up any issues concerning the spirit loas of Stagdrift and by extension he also passes on news of Stagdrift's ghost population.
This has not been tested yet, but if the Speaker deems a situation an emergency, he can ask for an immediate audience with the Count.
Responsibilities
To see to the general welfare of the spirit loas in Stagdrift Hills.
Benefits
The position is unpaid. The benefit is he gets to be on regular speaking terms with his local lord and be listened to.
History
Recently, Countess Colwyn ap Selwyth kidnapped several spirit loas and subjected them to cruel experiments.
A disproportionally high number of these kidnappees came from lands controlled by House Selwyth and the highest proportion of all came from Stagdrift Hills County.
The ruler of Stagdrift County, Count Llewellyn ap Selwyth never liked Countess Colwyn in the first place. The loa kidnappings of some of his subjects was done without his knowledge or permission and he was not happy about it.
After the adventurer Kormatin rescued 23 loas from Colwyn's captivity, Kormatin (despite being techncially an enemy) arranged with Count Llewellyn to give safe passage back home to any loa who wanted it. Eight loas resettled in Stagdrift Hills with the Count promising full protection. Seven of them were originally Stagdrift citizens already. One was a transfer from another pronvince who followed his friends.
Mervyn the spirit loa was the oldest spirit loa in the group and had risen into the informal leadership role of "Team Dad" for the Stagdrift loas.
Count Llewellyn formalized Mervyn's role by naming him "Speaker for the Loas of Stagdrift", a title he made up loosely based on the Speaker for the Gnomes that serves the Queen of Swynfaredia.
Isn't this similar to what King Henryk did?
Llewellyn did do something similar to King Henryk's Proclamation of Protection for Spirit Loas though it has less weight because Llewellyn is a Count, not a king. On some level it has more weight, at least symbolically. Technically, House Selwyth and the rest of Swynfaredia is at war with King Henryk and even though this is not directly connected to the war effort, adopting a similar political stance to an enemy king is scandalous, bordering on treasonous. But Llewellyn is only 16 and he has a lot of teenaged rebellion in it, but unlike a lot of teenaged rebels, Llewellyn is right and his elders are wrong. After talking with his father (who is a Kovenoth not a Selwyth), Llewellyn believes this political act will benefit him in the long term even if it earns him a lot enemies in the short term. Spirit loas are kind of weirdos, but they are useful weirdos. By taking a public stand guaranteeing loa rights now, he is establishing his credentials as a friend to loas. Perhaps as he establishes his trustworthy, he can recruit useful loa agents.
Type
Civic, Honorific
Creation
1840
Source of Authority
Appointment of Count
Length of Term
at the Count's discretion
First Holder
Current Holders
Reports directly to
Related Locations
Related Organizations
Comments