Council of the Free Cities
Pelervar/Council of the Free Cities
| Type | Confederation |
|---|---|
| Members | Cities, chartered ports, dependent towns, shared waters |
| Governing body | Council of the Free Cities |
| Meeting place | Ardaene |
| Authority | Treaty, charter, and shared law — not sovereignty |
The Free Cities are not a kingdom. They are a confederation of semi-independent cities, chartered towns, free ports, and shared waters, bound together by trade agreements, sea-lane treaties, mutual-defence pacts, and a body of trade law. What holds them together is not loyalty to a ruler but a common interest in keeping the sea-lanes open and the markets running. They prize independence and commerce above inherited monarchy — and will tell you so, often.
This does not make them peaceful with one another. The cities cooperate readily against an outside threat and compete just as readily over trade, tariffs, ports, patrol rights, and influence the rest of the time. Not every settlement stands equal (see Membership Tiers of the Free Cities).
The regional capital is Ardaene, the wealthiest and most influential of the cities, where the confederation's council meets.
The Council
The confederation is governed, so far as it is governed at all, by the Council of the Free Cities, which convenes at Ardaene. The Council:
- recognises charters and confirms the officials of dependent and chartered settlements;
- hears appeals that local courts cannot settle;
- coordinates the common defence.
It does not command the internal affairs of a Free City; its authority is that of treaty, charter, and shared law, not of a sovereign. Representation follows a settlement's standing rather than being equal.
In practice, much of what the Council decides is shaped before anyone reaches the chamber — the merchant houses, the great guilds, and the temple orders all have interests, and harbour wisdom holds that the real bargaining happens over private dinners rather than in open session.