Elendel

Elendel
by Isaac Stewart
Region	Elendel Basin
World	Scadrial

This page or section contains spoilers for Shadows of Self and The Bands of Mourning!

This information has the ability to potentially ruin elements of the plot for the reader. Proceed with caution if you have not read these books.

Elendel is the largest city in the Basin on Scadrial. Named by Spook for Elend Venture, it is located at the mouth of the Irongate river where it flows into Hammondar Bay.

Elendel is also the center of government for the Basin and, as such, is home to many noble houses.

Structure

The city is divided into octants, of which there are eight—as the name suggests—each functioning as an administrative district of the city, with a dedicated constabulary.

Bordering each octant is a canal flowing from the center of the city out into the basin, facilitating transport of goods into and out of the city.

At the center of the city is the Hub, a ring of canals surrounding a large public park.

There seems to be a port west of Seventh Octant, and a large rail terminal west of Sixth Octant.

Hub

At the center of the city is the Field of Rebirth, the location where the survivors emerged after the Final Ascension.

First Octant

• Madion Ways
• Elendel University

Second Octant

• Governors mansion
• Lestib Square
• Hammond Promenade
• Tekiel manor, and House Tekiel in general

Third Octant

• Ranette's house
• Rousseau's on Yomen street

Fourth Octant

• Ladrian mansion
• Ironspine Building
• Yomen mansion
• Dampmere park
• Wistings 'Cottage'
• Church of the Survivor
• Bourton district
• Tindwyl Promenade
• ZoBell Tower

Fifth Octant

• Cett mansion
• Longard
• Tekiel Tower
• The Village
• Breakouts

Sixth Octant

• Northside sixth

Seventh Octant

• Inner seventh
• Marksman's hideout

Government

The government of Elendel is a democratic unitary government with a directly elected Executive branch. It's legislative branch has mixed methods of appointment, some hereditary and some elected. A judicial system is known to exist, but little is known of the specifics, apart, notably, from its ability to assign capital punishment.

Elendel's unitary nature makes the surrounding provinces almost powerless, leading to tension between them and the capital.

Executive

The leader of the Executive Branch is the Governor. The Governor is assisted in his duties by an Executive Staff. Known Executive Staff positions include the sanitation director, minister of trade, secretary of education, and minister of public affairs. The governor has the authority to declare martial law, a strong implication that, like on Earth, law enforcement is considered within the penumbra of the executive branch. As such, they will be covered here.

The Constabulary

Primary (and possibly all) law enforcement within Elendel is the Constabulary. Each Octant is headed by a Constable-General, though each reports directly to the Governor. The Governor had the authority to appoint Aradel as "lord high constable", a position which it seems he invented on the spot, as neither the Constable-General, one of his best lieutenants, or his aide had ever heard of before. They even wondered aloud whether or not the "lord" in the title conveyed peerage, though the Governor lacks the authority to appoint someone to the nobility. The lord high constable was given authority over the other seven Constable-Generals, and did not seem to give up his position as Constable-General of his own octant.

There seems to be roughly six hundred constables per octant.

Legislative

The legislative branch of Elendel is bicameral in nature. Both houses, however, are comprised of politicians called Senators. One house is comprised entirely of Noble Houses. Whoever inherits any given High Noble title also inherits their vote in the Senate, although they can assign a proxy to do the actual voting. The other house is elected by the people, divided by profession (i.e., there is a seat for Orchard Growers, and one for Seamstresses). Term limits and years of service are, at the moment, unknown. It is also unknown if the Seats representing different professions are weighted in some way to reflect number of constituents or importance towards the city, or what arrangement are found for people in niche industries like zinc therapy which cannot possibly have a fraction the numbers of Orchard-Growers.

It is known that a new title, and presumably an associated Senate seat, has to be ratified by a council with a quorum of the major house seats in the city, which phrasing begs the question, are there major and minor house seats?

The Senate also has the authority to issue citywide deputized forbearances to private citizens which gives them certain authority and responsibility in law enforcement. Constable-Generals are required to honor them.

Judicial

Judges are appointed by the Governor; it's unknown if the decision needs to be ratified by any body. Most are noble.

Checks and Balances

As yet, little is known about how the branches interact. There does seem to be basic separation of powers; Rep Innate had to abdicate his Seat on the Senate when elected Governor.

Foreign Policy

The lands of the Basin and the Roughs appear to operate as an Elendel Hegemony. The main city contains roughly half the population of the known world, and in size dwarfs even the largest other cities. The canals lead exclusively to and from Elendel, so all trade by water must be either to or through Elendel, or to one of the few cities along a single canal. The railroads have historically followed canals, so most train freight must also go through the capital city. Elendel imposes tariffs on all shipped goods, which results in the Houses and businesses in Elendel being the only ones with the funds to maintain and build railroads, which in turn means they get to keep all goods flowing through them. Actual laws passed by Elendel don't appear to have effect outside the city, and a constable's credentials appear to have less weight, but Elendel appears to rule the basin through finance.

As first contact with a foreign nation was just established, it's unknown what the Basin's broader foreign policy is going to end up being. The very first meeting happened to include a Senator, but the first official meeting seemed only to involve the Governor in any official capacity. A rough trade agreement has been hammered out, partially in the hopes of defusing potential hostilities.

Notes

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