The Senate’s function was to draft legislation and prepare the candidate lists for Magistrate positions, which the Centuriate Assembly would then vote on. Senators, appointed by the Consuls, served for life unless a significant breach of public trust warranted their removal. This occurred through an Assembly decree, which could only be initiated if the Senate itself agreed to bring it forward. There was no fixed rule for how many members the Senate would have, though the number was generally kept close to a hundred. The rationale for the Senate's existence was based on the belief that the average citizen lacked the capacity or time to formulate informed proposals about the empire's future trajectory.
Although Senators held no direct legislative power, they exerted significant influence over the political agenda by deciding which issues the Centuriate Assembly could vote on. This gatekeeping role enabled them to block or promote legislation and candidate nominations, effectively shaping the governance of the Empire. However, this power came with the expectation that Senators would uphold the Empire’s core values. Throughout its history, there were several instances where the entire Senate was lynched when the citizenry deemed their actions to have so grossly violated the Empire's principles and interests, and the mandates of their gods, that they were perceived as a direct betrayal. This meant the Senate always had to balance their power with public opinion and could find it challenging to maintain prolonged gatekeeping of popular propositions or Magistrate candidates.
The Clergy unofficially formed the 4th pillar of the Empire's government. They held no official political power, but held a lot of soft power over the other bodies due to being perceived as the conveyers of the very will of the gods. The Empire's deeply religious nature meant that any official would find it hard going too far off what the clergy decreed to be the gods' will, out of fear of public outcry. The clergy tended to have its members closely accompany both magisters and members of the senate in order to levy this soft power as much as possible.
-The Clergy was on paper led by the Oracle, though a more accurate term would be that they acted as the Oracle's attendants. The Oracle was a cleric kept in a constant trance through a mix of herbs and incenses, and who was believed to be able to commune directly with the gods while in this trance. The other members would attend to the Oracle, listen to whatever was said or done by the Oracle, attempt to decipher its meaning, and convey that to the governing bodies and the populace. The Oracle was seen as a sacred being in Concalian society, though the permanent trance tended to take such a toll on the person's body that they'd usually die after only a few years as Oracle. The senior members of the Clergy would typically pick a healthy young cleric, whose abilities indicated a lot of favor with the gods, as the new Oracle whenever the last one expired. This dynamic meant that, aside from the wrath of the gods themselves, there were little stopping the senior clerics from using the Oracle as a convenient puppet.
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Functioning as an unofficial fourth pillar of governance, the Clergy wielded significant influence. They were perceived as the direct communicators of the gods’ will, a perception that all but ensured the alignment of governmental decisions with their declarations. The Clergy’s power was concentrated around the Oracle, a cleric maintained in a perpetual trance to commune with the gods. The interpretations provided by the Oracle’s attendants were critical in shaping both governance and public perception.
-While the Oracle was revered, the position was taxing and often lethal, leading to frequent replacements chosen by the senior clergy. This process allowed senior clerics to manipulate the selection for their ends, using the Oracle as a puppet when advantageous.
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The Clergy served as an unofficial fourth pillar of the Concalian Empire's government. Although they held no formal political power, their significant soft power stemmed from their role as the perceived conveyors of the gods' will. Given the deeply religious nature of the Empire, governmental officials were cautious not to contravene the Clergy's decrees, fearing public backlash. Clergy members frequently accompanied both magisters and Senate members to leverage this influence as effectively as possible.
+The Clergy was nominally led by the Oracle, a sacred figure who existed in a perpetual trance induced by a mix of herbs and incenses. This state was believed to facilitate direct communication with the gods. The Oracle's utterances and actions, however ambiguous, were interpreted by senior clerics and presented as divine guidance to both the government and the populace. Despite the Oracle's sacred status, their tenure was often short-lived, as the continual trance exacted a severe toll on their health, resulting in an early death. The next Oracle would typically be a young, healthy cleric who had demonstrated noticeable divine favor, chosen in the hopes of extending their service duration. Being selected as the Oracle was considered such a great honor that refusal was virtually unthinkable. Falsifying the words of the Oracle was a capital offense, with the fear of divine retribution reinforcing compliance. However, in practice, there was minimal oversight over what the Clergy chose to convey as the gods’ will.