Mordax et al

To put it simply, both the King and the Queen rule Dersites, but only the Queen rules the planet of Derse– this is the same for the Prospitian royalty. Because the King spends his life of Skaia waging war, the administration of the moon is left completely to the Queen.

The King functions more as a general; his expertise lie in the commanding of troops and the administration of an army. Everything on the home front is under the Queen’s purview. This is not to say the Kings are officially powerless– were they on their planets of course, their subjects would have to obey them there too. However, while they have power they have no official duties. The Queen does not need the King’s signature or agreement on or in day to day kingdom affairs. On her moon, she is the final authority; the death of the King would make no difference in the ruling of Derse or Prospit.

The organization of Derse (and Prospit, frankly) is much more a dictatorship– or absolute monarchy– than it is any sort of republic or democracy. The only rules binding the Queen’s hands are those of the Prophecy, which forbids her or her subjects to interfere with the sleeping Dreamers on her moon, other than that, the laws and people of Derse are subject to her whim.

Even the Black Queen of course can not personally monitor *every* aspect of her kingdom by herself however, so of course beneath her is the royal council– a network of clerks and bureaucrats and administrators and judges who work as a sort of middle management between the people and the Queen.

The laws of Derse were originally written out by the Queen in the early days of the Kingdom, and it is she and only she who can repeal or add to them. The council might introduce to her a suggestion for a law but she may brush it aside no matter how much support if that is her will.

In terms of enforcing laws the justice system of Derse is surprisingly familiar, if a bit draconian. Each district has a police precinct full of beat cops, detectives and a run by a chief. The police investigate and arrest offenders who are put in jail at the palace. Criminals have a right to a defense attorney, and a trial takes place in front of a judge. if the partiality of the judge is suspected however, the defendant may ask for a modified trial in front of a jury.

At any trial, the Queen herself may chose to take the position of judge, which generally occurs in high profile cases. When the Queen is not personally involved, every sentencing for a crime must be signed off on by the queen, or rather the queen’s intermediary, the Archagent. The paperwork for every fine or jailing, no matter how large or how insignificant, crosses his desk for a signature.

The Archagent, in fact, acts as an intermediary for the Queen in this way for most branches of the bureaucracy, reviewing building and repair plans, complaints filed, copies of trade agreements, taxes the rare promotion, orders for Dersite production, changes in a Dersite’s title etc etc. All of this is meant to be reviewed, and either signed off on, or sent to the Queen for her personal attention.

What follows is a list of the largest bureaucratic departments and divisions on Derse   in no particular order:

• Building and Repair (also includes Fire and disaster services)
• Taxation/Treasury/Budget
• Trade and Importation
• Interplanetary Relations (headed by my friend the Draconian Dignitary as previously mentioned)
• Energy and Transportation
• Labor and Housing
• Justice (including the infamous Complaints department)
• Communications
• Health

I feel that the above serves as a fair introduction to the workings of the government of Derse. However, if people have questions, or a desire for further detail on the material presented, you have only to ask, and I of course, will endeavor to answer.