They couldn’t have been more wrong. Insofar as the war was concerned, the formation of the zal a debedo—which barely passed—brought the Meron army grinding to a halt. The original council was made up of twelve of the most powerful men on Meron, many of whom bore bitter grudges against one another. The first meeting of the zal a debedo degenerated into a blatant power struggle, in which one of the lords attempted to poison his cousin, one stormed out, and two killed each other in a duel.
Despite this inauspicious start, the zal a debedo has historically been a good thing for Meron. They succeeded in ending Haftad’s ruinous reign before he had a chance to do any lasting damage to his country and, although itself corrupt, has exposed numerous embezzlers within the government.
The modern zal a debedo consists of fifteen men. Though they are not necessarily the most powerful on Meron, they are chosen from three different sources: one-third are appointed by the King, one-third are religious authorities, and one-third are elected every seven years by all the landowning men on Meron who are able to gather in Kassen on the appointed day.
The duties of the zal a debedo are threefold:
- To advise the King, overruling him if thirteen of their fifteen members agree to it. This has only happened once, in the case of Haftad’s foolishness; on that occasion, the only member who supported him was benefiting from his schemes.
- To vote on laws, mostly taxes. Generally this happens every month or two. The measure has to pass by two-thirds.
- To be the highest court of law. Murder, theft, arson, and adultery are the highest crimes committed on Meron, but such things only come to the zal a debedo if they happen among the nobility; otherwise, they are judged in the courts.
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