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snootysith · 5 years

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Hierarchy of Tunon’s Court

Note: I wanted to take a stab at worldbuilding in Tyranny and figured I’d start at home, so to speak. Everything here is a patchwork of canon and headcanons and reflects the universe that my Fatebinder, Ru, wanders around in. It’s by no means definitive. I’ll probably add or alter something I hadn’t considered later.

Ever since Tunon the Adjudicator established his Court of Fatebinders two hundred years ago, his wards have cultivated their own little community behind the walls of the Palace of Justice. Unsurprisingly, Tunon's influence can be felt in every social rule, behavior, and expectation.

To be Tunon’s ward is to live in a state of near constant vigilance... which makes keeping attachments somewhat difficult. Relationships aren’t impossible though. It’s almost inevitable that wards will form bonds of family, friendship, or romance living in a communal space together— but there is an underlying fear and risk involved that compels some to put their fellow wards at arm’s reach and save themselves the trouble of heartbreak. If they lose sight of their duties, no amount of affection will save anyone from Tunon's judgment.

Everyone has a role to play and the responsibility to honor their Archon and Overlord through their actions.

Appearances are everything.

TUNON THE ADJUDICATOR

The Archon of Justice and creator of the Fatebinders. Eldest of the Archons in service to Kyros, he has served the Overlord for over 400 years. Tunon's principal concern is the implementation of Kyros' Law and execution of justice. To this end, he fashioned the Face of Judgment, a metal mask that he wears during judgments to eliminate any outward appearance of bias. Over the years, he became a living incarnation of justice, cold, dispassionate, and as fair as humanly possible. As such, he outranks the other Archons and is empowered to judge them and settle disputes that arise.

BLEDEN MARK

The Archon of Shadows and Kyros' executioner tasked with ending the lives of those Kyros deems dangerous. There is no army that marches behind him, no city hails him as ruler, and no great monument that boasts his name. While the other Archons surround themselves with human trappings, he is cloaked solely in shadow. Though he owes allegiance to Kyros, he is often used to carry out Tunon’s judgments as his blade and headsman. Mark is primarily dispatched for high profile or exceptional cases but occasionally, he leverages his skills to train promising Initiates— though few survive his wholly-immersive survival classes with both their limbs and lives intact.

EXECUTIVE FATEBINDERS

⟶ Fatebinder of War - Fatebinder of Balance - Fatebinder of Peace

As of 431 TR, these roles currently belong to the corresponding Fatebinders: Nunoval, Calio, and Rhogalus.

They are the pinnacle of all Fatebinders and well-known faces of the court outside of the Adjudicator himself. Their duties are many and varied but broadly speaking, these three manage court cases on a day-to-day basis— advising Tunon on pending matters, ensuring compliance with rules, policies or guidelines, preparing court orders and notices, taking custody of evidence, making arrangements for security, and explaining procedural and jurisdictional issues to interested parties.

Curry enough favor with them and they might even divulge a bit of court history and their own personalities. Each of them supervises three different domains that regulate court operations (see below).

FATEBINDERS

Judges and executioners of Kyros’ Law, they act under the watchful eye of Tunon the Adjudicator as they resolve disputes that arise between different factions across Terratus. They decide whose actions are best in line with Kyros’ Law, mediate where they can, and order punishments and executions where required. Any citizen in the empire can appeal to a Fatebinder for judgment but doing so is dangerous, as a Fatebinder’s judgments cannot be appealed and some deal harshly with those who bother them for trivial complaints.

Fatebinders commonly dabble in many skill sets depending on their personal interest and the context of their duties but there are instances of Fatebinders specializing in a single field (barring executive Fatebinders), such as the Fatebinder of Lore who researches traditions and beliefs or the Fatebinders of Tribute who deal with the finicky nuances of taxes and quotas.

With enough years of experience and good conduct, a Fatebinder may be installed in another Archon's territory as district judges or governors to extend and uphold the influence of the law beyond Tunon's purview. All must be held accountable and no one is free from Kyros' judgment.

COURT OPERATIONS

⟶ Scholars

Tunon’s judicial administration. Overseen by the Fatebinder of Peace, scholars are the beating bureaucratic heart of the court that contend with paper trails stretching across Terratus. They are the largest of the three groups for good reason. Minutes of all court cases must be recorded, missives, evidence, forms, and daily schedules must be managed and processed, the Archives must be maintained, and every stone must be turned in pursuit of knowledge and truth. Their function isn't terribly glamorous compared to their counterparts but they play a pivotal role in improving the quality of court life.

⟶ Enforcers

Tunon's civil police force. Overseen by the Fatebinder of War, enforcers maintain public order wherever Tunon's seat of power resides. They are the second largest of the three groups and most commonly seen in the populace patrolling streets, keeping down rabble in court, guarding and interrogating prisoners, and protecting loyal citizens and public property. While their limited numbers do not qualify them as an army, Tunon's authority combined with their heavy combat skills make them a formidable foe for those who threaten the peace.

⟶ Agents

Tunon's secret police force. Overseen by the Fatebinder of Balance, agents keep eyes and ears in places most susceptible to corruption-- inside and outside the Palace of Justice. Comprised of spies, assassins, saboteurs, and scouts, they exist to mitigate damage, investigate claims, collect sensitive intelligence, and dispatch potential threats that are beneath Bleden Mark's concern. Their responsibilities often involve toeing the line of Kyros' Law and one misstep can be enough for the hammer of justice to turn on them.

INITIATES

Since Tunon accepts candidates from a wide range of backgrounds, Initiates make up the bulk of his charges. The minimum age requirement for initiation is fifteen-years-old. All candidates who haven’t yet sworn fealty to the Adjudicator must do so before they can pursue initiation. This is quite deliberate as those who do succeed strengthen Tunon's powerbase and those who do not no longer have the option to leave. They can either improve or become a servant. Either way serves Tunon's interests. He dislikes squandering any potential assets, however small, as all must fulfill a function in his court. Anyone caught subverting the system, whether in cheating a test or murdering a rival, face harsh penalties. By the end of initiation, their numbers rapidly decline as trials and tribulations separate wheat from chaff.

Failing the final trials isn't grounds for immediate demotion but in retaking them, the bar is significantly raised each time. Those who do pass their final trials with satisfactory grades are relegated to a domain in court operations depending on their how high their score and which subjects they scored best in— all the better to utilize their strengths. In order to qualify as a Fatebinder, high marks are expected across the board and Tunon has the final word in the matter.

PAGES

Any of Tunon's wards between the age of five and fifteen is designated a “court page”. Those younger than five-years-old have no official title yet. Children born in the court automatically belong to the court and undergo due process as any other young ward would. From time to time a guilty party will promise their child, unborn or otherwise, in favor of a lighter sentence and often Tunon will accept. He has also been known to select children with especially great potential from all corners of Terratus.

Being so much easier to shape to Kyros' great design, every child brought into his vassalage is an investment and are more inclined to obedience and loyalty as they grow up. There are always exceptions, but the rigor of court life and the perks of success and cooperation tend to be enough motivation. In the rare event that a page still refuses to yield and a Fatebinder cannot resolve the issue, Tunon personally intervenes. To date, he has never failed to bring one to heel though some privately claim any unruly page comes away a different person altogether.

Pages are usually confined to the Palace of Justice but on rare occasions, Tunon will permit them to explore outside (with a Fatebinder acting as chaperon). Pages who reach the age of majority (15) qualify for initiation and while their upbringing gives them a leg up over most, this does not lend them any measure of favoritism. If anything, the court holds them to a higher standard.

SERVANTS

Slaves in all but name. “Servants” is the “polite” word to use in Tunon’s oh-so “civilized” courtroom. Nearly all Archons in Kyros' vassalage keep them on hand to perform menial or undesirable tasks and Tunon is no different. Compared to the likes of the Voices of Nerat or Graven Ashe, Tunon's servants live more comfortable lives and need not fear abuse but a benevolent slave owner is still a slave owner all the same and there are no illusions that others consider them easily disposable. Indeed, more often than not, court wards barely pay them any attention and the Fatebinder of Balance takes advantage of the fact, keeping informants among the servants who report back any sign of wrongdoing.

Most servants are scooped up from conquered territories but some willingly enter servitude, chief among them being failed Initiates who see it as a ticket to a stable life— a full belly, a roof overhead, and some measure of protection living in close proximity to the court— or who are disinterested in or unable to endure a high stakes/high stress lifestyle.

MISC. INFO

These roles are by no means rigid. A court ward in one domain may find that their duties overlap with a different domain and when this occurs, cooperation among fellow wards is ideal in order to work effectively. This, however, sometimes works better in theory than practice.

A court ward's combat proficiency is not always indicative of their role. That is to say, those whose skills align with rogues can be found tottering in the Archives as scholars just as much as any mage can be a strongarm enforcer or any warrior can be an agent.

Any court ward who falls out of Tunon's good graces (but have not committed an egregious crime) may find themselves stripped of titles and demoted to the rank of servant.

The Fatebinder of Balance has the unique role of being a Fatebinder of Fatebinders, sharing with Tunon the ability to pass judgment on Fatebinders who may have overstepped their station.

An Initiate's final trials measure proficiency of skills including, but not limited to, recollection and understanding of Kyros' Law, literacy, combat, spellcraft, and conflict resolution.

Scholars play a major role in a page's education, laying down a framework for basic subjects that gradually ease into an introduction to initiation. Well-behaved pages earn basic combat training— with wooden weapons, of course.

#tyranny game #tyranny #tunon the adjudicator #fatebinder #obsidian entertainment #bleden mark #worldbuilding #the next worldbuilding installment i'm working on is about the palace of justice itself #let it be known that ru graduated into a fatebinder by the skin of his teeth #he would have ended up an agent if he hadn't pushed hard for tunon to reconsider his essay because he 'wasn't wrong per say'#tunon acquiesced three bonus points to him and the rest was history #long post

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