The Council of Nodd
The Council of Nodd is accepted by most to have been present as long as the city itself, and its origins are likewise unknown. This doesn’t stop citizens from having their own theories, which range from scientific theories to utter madness - some individuals regard the entity as a higher power capable of far more than just maintaining order. The secretive and often destructive nature of the Council does little in keeping these conspiracies at bay.
The Council of Nodd is made up of the major and minor council.
The Major Council
The major council is made up of the citygods and The Unseen Ones - a small group of anonymous figures who deal directly with the citygods. These unknown entities convey the collective will of the citygods to the minor council for enforcement.
Each citygod is an ancient and corrupted cityspeaker, considered the most powerful in their aspect of magic. Each also has a following - called a house - as a source of belief to sustain power.
The six citygods are as follows:
Citygods receive treatment that falls between royalty and imprisonment. Generally restricted to their chambers but housed lavishly, their purpose is to assess the needs of the city, and to answer inquiries posed by the minor council.
The Minor Council
The minor council attempts to enact and enforce the will of the collective major council through rapidly-changing laws, announcements, and regulations.
The Minor Council also gives formal judgment on disputes between citizens or corporations. A court hearing may be requested by anyone, but most are ignored. In some cases, a citizen may even face punishment for requesting a court hearing over something deemed particularly petty or suspected of being anti-Council.
The minor council and its attendants also oversee any Council-directed processes and establishments.
Council Attendants
Council attendants are given a variety of roles. Many of these also exist as occupations outside the Council - see Roles for more info.
Council Pawn - city guards, seen on streets as security, deal with daily/petty crime
Council Knight - seen around tower or as an entourage, called upon to deal with higher crime
Council Arcanologist - scientists, researchers, lab technicians
Council Bishop - ceremonial, orators
Council Darling - pets, concubines, entertainers
Council Usher - hospitality
Council Chirurgeon - medical
Council Reaper - public punishment/execution
Council Sweep - cleans the streets of garbage and corpses
Council Menagerist - beast-keeping
Council Botanist - anything plant-related
Council Architect - anything building-related
Council Apothecarist - pharmaceutical
Council Tinker - creates artifacts, general maintenance
Council Hunter - dispatches dangerous wildlife and other pests
Council Fodder - expendables used by the Unseen Ones to tend to the citygods' food and hygeine needs; often killed
Each role has their own unique uniform (which I will add here eventually).
There exist many different attendants beyond these classifications, most of them higher-ranking and specific individuals or small and exclusive groups, but these are the most commonly encountered and broadly known.
The Courts
The minor council is made up of various organizations known as Courts.
The courts are sections of the Council Spire, and usually refer to the buildings through which citizens can access related services.
Court of Analysis - Responsible for exploring and documenting the world and its magic.
Court of Architecture - Responsible for anything related to buildings, including housing. Organizes and enacts The Pruning.
Court of Ceremony - Responsible for any Council-organized events and ceremonies.
Court of Discipline - Deals with anything relating to The Underchambers, public punishment, and execution. All Council Pawns and Knights belong to the Court of Discipline.
Court of Induction - Ushers outsiders into the city and provides them with a brief invasive probing, both physical and mental, as well as an orientation seminar explaining the workings of Nodd. Often, a mage from the Court of Analysis will be on site, standing by to document new outsider species.
Court of Information - Responsible for all the Council’s bookkeeping. Contains information on all citizens, organizations, magic use, and almost everything else.
Court of Medicine - The Council's hospital.
Court of Resurrection - Responsible for reviving citizens. Also determines how many death allowances a citizen gets, based on information provided by the Court of Information.
Court of Sanitation - Responsible for keeping the city streets free of corpses and garbage - at least enough to allow passage.
The Council Spire
The Council Spire is a large tower in the center of Nodd. It serves as the headquarters for the Council, as well as the residence of all members of the major council. Their respective houses connect to their quarters via heavily-guarded skybridges.