====== Steepost (the City) ======


====== Government ======

===== The "Council" =====
The main governing body is a town council consisting of 9 members and at least 5 members must be present for a quorum. The head of the city guard is always a member, a proxy ambassador from the capital is always a member, and the city's mayor is always a member. These three are known as the "permanent members". The other 6 seats are the "term members". 

The Mayor is voted on by the people; the city guard is appointed by the King; and the proxy is appointed by the King's 'court'. 

The term members are broken into "appointed" and "open" seats.

Three of the six seats are appointed, one each by a permanent member. In other words, the mayor appoints 1 seat, the city guard appoints another seat, and the capital's proxy appoints another. Only one is appointed each year, so there is a constant cycle of a brand new permanent member and so forth. 

 The remaining 3 seats are "open" in that anyone agreed upon by 4 of the Permanent and appointed members can be an open member provided that they reside in Steepost for the duration of their term. 

Terms are 3 years for appointed, and 2 years for open seats. Open seats have no term limits and a member could serve forever so long as the rest of the council approves. Appointed seats cannot serve consecutive terms. I.e., they can only serve 3 years on, then 3 years off. However, this tends to cause "good" appointed members to be "open" members kept on indefinitely. 

__**Current Council Members**__ 

//Permanent and Appointed Members// 
  - Mayor [[wiki:steepost:freya-thurgis|Freya Thurgis]], human female, age 45
    - [[wiki:steepost:astrix-myris|Astrix Myris]], gnome male wizard, age 65, divination specialist, 1 year remaining in term
  - City Guard Captain [[wiki:steepost:ilmins-strongarm|Ilmins StrongArm]], hill dwarf male, age 125
    - [[wiki:steepost:rexisstanchon|Rexis Stanchon]], human male, age 25, second in command of City Guard and rumored to be the region's "spymaster", 2 years remaining in term  
  - King's Ambassador The Honorable [[wiki:steepost:solveigfriggsiff|Solveig Friggsiff]], human male, age 30, and cousin of the King
    -  [[wiki:steepost:bjortihoneyhair|Bjorti Honeyhair]], half-elf female, 50, frequent royal courtisan in the capital but living in Steepost. Full three years remaining in term.

//Open Members//
  - [[wiki:steepost:odinshand-leif-sagason|Odin's Hand (Leif Sagason)]], human male, age 60, highest ranking priest in Steepost, 20+ years on council.
  - [[wiki:steepost:bearselinochecshee|Bearselino Checshee]], goliath male, age 40, a powerful trader dealing in ores, coal, etc. Brand new on council. 
  - [[wiki:steepost:quisitarothelsimir|Quisitar Othelsimir]], high-elf male, age 400+, head of the [[wiki:steepost:wizards-consortium|Wizard's Consortium]], 75+ years on council. Frequently absent in second home outside of Steepost. Rumored most powerful magic user in the region.

===== Courts =====

Steepost has courts similar to the American judicial system but a jury is only allowed when the potential sentence is death, or the judge determines it necessary. The judges are appointed on 6-year terms by vote of the council. Steepost currently has 3 judges. 

===== Jail =====

The city jail has capacity for about 50 prisoners humanely, and about 200 prisoners inhumanely. It's unknown to the general public how many prisoners are currently there.