Zul Kiran Government
Family and Clan
Zul Kiran society is heavily based on families and family loyalties, and their mode of government reflects this. At the most basic level, orc society is organized into extended family groups. These extended families are in turn organized into clans. Each clan has its own territory within Zul Kiras, and has a large degree of autonomy in running day to day affairs. Each family chooses a speaker to represent them at clan gatherings. There are no requirements to fill this post, but this duty frequently falls to a family's oldest member or most renowned warrior.
These representatives in turn elect a clan chieftain, who has no other job qualification other than that they be "the best one for the task." What constitutes being the best one for the role of Chieftain is left entirely up to the discretion of the clan assembly. In some clans, the candidates engage in a trial by combat to determine the new Chieftain, and the electors simply ratify the victor's status. In others, the Chieftainship is almost hereditary, staying within a single family for generations. In others, the debates among the delegates can rage for weeks until an acceptable candidate can be agreed upon. No two clans choose their leaders in precisely the same way, reflecting the varied origins of the Zul Kiran Clans. Female Chieftains are extremely rare but not unheard of, generally not elected unless there is no acceptable choice among the male members of the clan. This is often the case if wars have decimated the ranks of a particular clan. Chieftains rule the clans until they die, retire, or are replaced by a new chieftain. The clan councils do no officially have the power to remove a sitting chieftain, but can in practice do so by electing a new chieftain, and turning over the clan's military forces to him. This leaves the ousted chieftain with two options: retire, or be forcibly deposed. Most choose the former option.
There are several hundred clans composing the nation of Zul Kiras, each having anywhere from several dozen to tens of thousands of members. Originally, these clans were small raiding bands consisting of a single extended family group. Occasionally, a particularly powerful chieftain might be able to unite several clans under a single banner, but these alliances invariably broke up rapidly after the death of the charismatic leader that had brought them together. This changed when Fenris Bonebreaker began building his army in the Xaad mountains, and united all of the mountain clans under the banner of his own Steel Ravens. He continued to refer to his entire army as one clan as one way of fostering unity, even though the term was now inaccurate. The practice stuck, and thus, only the smallest of Clans fit the traditional definition in present-day Zul Kiras.
Several clans have the been raised to Major Clan status. The distinction between major and minor clans is usually based on the contribution that each clan is able to make to the kingdom's perpetually active war machine. This is not simply a quantitative measure of the number of troops each clan can supply; rather, there is a certain element of subjectivity in determining how valuable a particular clan has been. The Firestorm Clan, for example, is counted a Major Clan because of their mastery of destructive magic, and the enormous influence they wield as one of the three founding clans. The Fading Sun Clan is also considered a Major Clan, since the other clans recognize their vital role in the orcish state. In addition, relatively small clans that produce an unusually high number of leaders, or whose forces regularly undertake more than their share of difficult tasks may also be counted among the Major Clans. Major Clans do not merely enjoy a greater prestige than minor clans, but they also have a seat on the Overcouncil, the War-King's inner circle of advisors. While not unheard of, it is rather rare for a War-King to come from a minor clan. The distinction between major and minor clans is not a fixed one, but rather is re-evaluated every few years.
Whenever Zul Kiras conquers new territory, distinguished military leaders may be given the honor of founding their own clan, and settling on the newly won land. This has the double effect of creating new delegates to the Council of Clans with a debt to the War-King that established the clan, and of making the garrisons defending the new land fight harder, since they are fighting to preserve their own homes.
King and Council
The Chieftains meet in council to elect a War-King. The War-King is the supreme commander of the nation's considerable military might, settles disputes among clans, and determines policy in matters which concern the nation as a whole. The War-King is frequently chosen from among the Chieftains, but this is not a requirement for the job--they can and do elect whomever they please. In practice, the Major Clans have produced the overwhelming majority of the War-Kings, the Steel Ravens more than any other clan.
In addition, each chieftain appoints one member of their clan to act as an advisor to the War-King, as well as a liaison between the War-King and that particular clan. These representatives, called Khulds in the orcish language, form the Council of Clans, and are an advisory and quasi-legislative body. The Khulds do not officially have any authority, but it is considered a great insult to the clans if the War-King makes any important decisions without first consulting at least the Overcouncil, which is composed of the Khulds from the Major Clans. The Council of Clans can not pass laws per se, but they can pass resolutions strongly recommending that the War-King undertake a particular course of action. The War-King is not bound to follow the advice of the Council of Clans, but again risks insulting the clans by ignoring them. In most cases, the War-King gives his sanction to the Council's resolution, giving them the force of law.
Owing to their origins as an advisory body, the War-King must officially convene the Council of Clans to meet, though he does not have to remain present for the duration of the session. When the War-King is away on campaign, they get around this by simply departing without closing the meeting at the end of the day, and considering their meetings part of a single session until the War-King is present again. The members of the Overcouncil control the topics of debate if the War-King is not present to do so, and have the right to speak first. After the members of the Overcouncil have voiced their opinions on a particular topic, the Khulds from the minor clans speak in order of seniority. A given Khuld on the Overcouncil or the Council at large may yield his place to another Khuld if he so wishes, so the younger members of the Council tend to court the favor of the eldest Khulds. This gives the senior members of the body considerable influence, since the youngest members might not otherwise get a chance to address the Council before an issue is put to a vote without an older Khuld yielding his place.
The War-King can enact laws on his own initiative without the Council of Clans first recommending it, but the Council will usually pass a resolution voicing their opinion on the law in question in times of peace. During the United Clans' frequent wars, the Council of Clans gives the War-King much more leeway to rule as he feels necessary. The Overcouncil acts as the leaders and moderators of the Council of Clans, and can call for a vote of no confidence against the War-King. A two thirds majority in favor of the motion requires the selection of a new War-King by the Council of Chieftains. Like the Chieftains, the War-King rules until death, retirement, or replacement. The War-King has high expectations placed on him, and is expected to produce results. Those who do not are quickly removed.
Law and Order
The body of orcish law is divided into two sections, the Old Law (which predates the existence of Zul Kiras), and the New Law (which has come into existence since). The Old Law varies considerably from clan to clan, and applies to disputes between members of the same clan, or crimes in which both perpetrator and victim belong to the same clan. The chieftain (or one of his subordinates, in the case of larger clans) judges cases that involve individuals from different families. The New Law, as one might suspect, covers cases that involve members of different clans, or cases that involve foreigners. Both branches of the legal tradition are fairly informal, and tend to develop on an ad hoc basis, rather than by conscious design. Arbitrators have no qualms about making rulings in cases that are not specifically covered by any existing laws, or by ignoring the letter of the law in favor of the spirit of the law.
In Zul Kiras, producing a new code of laws involves organizing all the precedents that have come into use since the time of the last code and making them fit with the War-King's decrees. There are no standard penalties for the majority of crimes, and the arbiter of a particular case has a great deal of latitude in deciding upon a sentence. Penalties usually consist of fines, floggings, compulsory labor in the kingdom's various mines, execution, or a unique form of indentured servitude. Translated into the common tongue as being "Placed under the hand" of a particular individual, this is a penalty used for offenses of minor or intermediate severity. The convicted criminal becomes the ward of an individual for a specified period of time, typically either the victim of the crime, or the head of the victim's family. During this period, the person under the hand of another is bound to do as he or she is bid, and can be flogged or even sent off to the mines for the remainder of the sentence for disobedience. As noted above, the Fading Sun clan has found an innovative use for this particular institution, using it to indenture captives from conquered nations. Some clans also make common use of trial by combat for some offenses. Some orcs consider it a mark of great dishonor to put a criminal to death without giving him a chance to defend himself, though such trials may be weighted heavily against the offender to make it very unlikely that he survives.
Foreign Relations
Diplomatic relations between Zul Kiras and its neighbors are generally anything but smooth. They have already destroyed several kingdoms during their long and blood-soaked expansion, and still seem as militaristic as ever. When they attack another nation, it is generally without pretext, and often without giving much in the way of warning. The orcs believe that their method of conducting wars is more honorable than that of many of their neighbors, as they are fighting for something they feel is necessary and do not disguise the fact. Most other nations fight wars for reasons they find frivolous, and often confuse their true intentions behind a long series of diplomatic maneuvers and exaggerated pretexts. The orcs' often stunning bluntness in foreign relations has led more than one person to declare that "orcish diplomacy is an oxymoron." An ambassador at an audience with the War-King can not fail to be reminded of the aggressive militancy of Zul Kiras, as the War-King wears a crown of tempered steel, set with one gem from the crown jewels of each nation that has been conquered by the United Clans. Ten gems have been set in the crown so far, and there is still space for more to be added. Hostile relations with other nations works in the War-King's favor. The presence of foreign enemies no doubt helps to foster internal unity among a such a heterogenous nation.
This is not to say that the Zul Kirans have no regular contact with any other nations, however. The Korthai have extensive mercantile dealings with the United Clans through their port city of Vorschk, and have a home port called Volkhettla on Yat Shumak (orcish for Crow Island) off the coast of Zul Kiras in the Inland Sea. Thus, goods from many parts of the world end up in Zul Kiras, and orcish goods may be purchased in any land where the Korthai do business without the buyers realizing the origin of their goods. Several of the Khalar tribes from the western reaches of Kahlahra have a long-standing practice of trading horses to the orcs for steel tools and weapons, much in the way that some of the eastern tribes trade with Arangoth and Taranor.
Zul Kiras has been diplomatically isolated throughout much of its history. Neighboring countries have refused to acknowledge the orcish kingdom as a legitimate nation, and the orcs have had minimal interest in attempting to forge ties with other countries and establish official relations. Few orcs have the patience or inclination for the subtleties of international diplomacy, and the nation as a whole has seen little benefit in bothering to change the justifiable hostility other nations have displayed toward them. This has only recently begun to change, and scholars are not in agreement about the reasons for these shifting attitudes. In 470, Zul Kiras gained its first measure of international recognition when it was allowed to field a team in the yearly IGA grubball tournament. The orcs had been rebuffed for years on the grounds that they'd conquered several neighboring countries. Vrugar Ghostwalker successfully argued that since one founding member of the IGA, Aslar, had conquered Elluria, the other founding nation, the IGA must either admit Zul Kiras or expel Aslar from the league. The following year, War-King Vazhak Bloodhammer agreed to liberate Caern Rhia from the conquering forces of the Black City in return for Caern Rhia's diplomatic support and preferential trade with Zul Kiran merchants during the Kingdom's rebuilding process. No one is entirely sure what the orcs' motivations for this unprecedented alliance are, nor what they hope to accomplish with this novel experiment.