The D'ni Council and the Great Lords

The council of D'ni was the ruling body set up by King Kerath before his abdication. He chose five of the grandmasters of the eighteen major guilds to be the first council, although it may have been too big a job for just five people. Certainly, by the time of the Fall of the D'ni Empire, the council had been expanded and its main voting body was made up of people chosen from all eighteen major guilds, and the original five seats were elevated and given oversight and tie-breaking duties. The holders of the five original seats were then called "Great Lords".

The ruling council itself was made up of guild masters who were appointed to the position by their guilds. There may have been turnover in the appointees as the guilds replaced their appointees, or councilmen became ill, retired, or died. In other words, the seats belonged to the guild, not the person sitting in it.

In keeping with the system set up by Kerath, the Great Lords were always five grandmasters chosen from the eighteen major guilds. They were, in essence, a regency that was to hold the power of the throne until the coming of the true Great King who had been prophesized in the Book of Oorpah. Kerath and his mother had belonged to a sect which denied that Ahlsendar had been that king.

There were always five Great Lords, and they held their positions for life. Whenever a Great Lord died, he was replaced by another grandmaster of the major guilds. The exact method used to select a new Great Lord is unknown. When a grandmaster was appointed, he gave up formal association with his guild, and his only official title was "lord". However, the guilds normally considered them honorary members, and it wasn't uncommon for them to still be called masters by their former guildmates.

The lords were not normally involved in the day-to-day business of the ruling council. They could vote in meetings of the council, but normally would only vote if the issue was considered important or controversial, or if the voting among the eighteen masters was tied.

The first Great Lords who were appointed by Kerath were Lord Taeri of the Guild of Messengers, Lord Hemelah of the Guild of Healers, Lord Moleth of the Guild of Caterers, Lord Kedri of the Guild of Writers, and Lord Korenen of the Guild of Analysts.

At the time of the Fall of D'ni, the Great Lords were former grandmasters of the Writers, Miners, Maintainers, Bookmakers, and Ink Makers.

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