Pentarchies

  No one knows which place implemented a secular Pentarchy first, but the Pentarchy system is now the most popular non-monarchist governmental system in Scarterra.   Note, monarchies are still the most popular system by far, Pentarchy models are a distant second. Or distant third, if you count feudalistic monarchies and absolute monarchies as separate systems.   Sometimes Pentarchies rule over isolated autonomous areas such as in Prophet's Pass.   Other times they are shoehorned awkwardly into feudalistic system. For instance, some feudalistic lands decree that all Lords must own farmland so an urban center is going to be a fuzzy grey hair. So an urban center might have a Pentarchy while the surrounding rural lands have traditional Lords and Ladies. Though in this case, a Pentarchy is still going to have to answer to king or queen, but the Pentarchy at least gets to set some local laws and regulations.   Ironically, as secular Pentarchies became more prominently, the Keepers began relying on them less. Apart from the theTower of the Sun, very few Keeper controlled temples or jurisdictions use a full Pentarchy with full powers. In prior centuries, they had over a dozen Pentarchies overseeing various regions where the Keepers held influence.

A pentarchy is basically a group of five oligarchs that discuss major decision, and if they can't form a consensus, and three votes always wins.   If the matter if the urgent, the members of a Pentarchies will try to reach a consensus if possible.   Generally, Pentarchies are used as governmental bodies in relatively small areas. No Pentarchy claiming dominion over a large stretch of territory has lasted very long.   When a Pentarchy operates under a monarchies, the king or queen can veto any of the Pentarchy's decisions anytime they want, though most monarchs choose not to do this. A king allowing a Pentarchy is done as a gesture of goodwill to the people and undermining his own gift is a bad look for any king.

Each Pentarchy is different. But normally what forms a Pentarchy after a bunch of different groups are arguing about who should be in charge. The Pentarchy is set up as a compromise to prevent competing power centers from killing each other. Each member of the Pentarchy normally represents a special interest group or political faction.   In theory any five people can be Pentarchs, but it usually represents a military figure, a clerical figure, a mercantile figure, and a person who is supposed to represent the interests of common people. Each Pentarch is selected by the group they represent in whatever matter the group sees fit.   Sometimes one of the Pentarchs is a noble lord or lady, though in reality being a Pentarch is actually much weaker than being a Lord. This is generally a compromise move, a noble family is essentially offered the ability to nominate a Pentarch as an alternative to being put to death or exile.   If hypothetically, two of the Pentarchs are cut from the cloth, like two military figures or two clerical figures or two mercantile figures, this will demonstrate that this area value that sector of society more. Normally if three Pentarchs are cut from the same cloth, the Pentarchy government will collapse when the trio trie to edge out the other two Pentarchs and nominate one of their own as a authoritarian ruler.   An area that faces of lot of external threats is likely to have two military figures on the Pentarchy. An area with a lot of commerce is likely to have two mercantile figures. An area with a lot of pious people is likely to have two priestly figures.   If multiple races need to share land and power, the Pentarchy might be made up of representatives from different races and ethnic groups. Pentarchies based on power sharing structures like this tend to be historically short lived.   The small nation of Prophet's Pass has a Pentarchy making up a representative from the merchant's guild, the commander of the militia, the ranking priest or priestess of Korus, the oldest man and the oldest woman. Or at least the eldest relatively spry man and woman. The fact that the Pentarch has not one, but two elders shows that Prophet's Pass greatly values commoner rights...ostensibly     Prophet's Pass actually opted to keep their Pentarchy going after Emerande was exposed and slain. It was easy enough to replace Emerande's puppets and keep the system going.