Harrangradaan of Zoa

The Harrangradaan of Zoa “The Skylight Guides Us.”
  The Harrangradaan is the ancient governing council of Zoa—a coalition of clan leaders, icewardens, and keepers of law who gather each midwinter beneath the Icepoint Hall in Brugar, where flame, stone and frost share the same breath. To outsiders, they are a parliament of chieftains. To Zoans, they are the living echo of the land’s memory.
  Structure and Gathering
  The Harrangradaan is not a permanent seat of power but a living assembly, ever shifting with the tides of the north. Its members, known as the Harrangur, represent the major holds, harbours, and island-villages of Zoa. Each Harrangur is chosen not by blood, but by deed—through feats of endurance, wisdom, or sacrifice in defence of their clan.
  When the Opalescent Moon rises, the Harrangur travel to Brugar for the Concord of Skylight, a week-long council where disputes are settled, trade routes are affirmed, and the stories of the year are entered into the Stone Scroll of Record—a relic guarded by Atalus of Brugar, one of the Guardians of Zoa. The council sits in a circle around the Auld Column, a monolithic spire of obsidian and ice that burns with trapped aurora-light. Each Harrangur brings a torch from their homeland to light from the Column, with each torch the spire burns a little brighter. The ice walls of the structure refract light and illuminate the sky above.
  No single ruler sits above them. Decisions are made by agreeing chants and deafening silence, an ancient Zoan custom where debate continues until no voice rises in dissent. The process may last hours or entire days, but the end result is binding—a decree of the north sealed in breath and oath.
  The Guardians’ Voice
  Though the Guardians of Zoa hold no seats within the Harrangradaan, their presence is deeply felt. The five champions—chosen for strength, wisdom, and spiritual devotion—serve as advisors and protectors of the Concord. They are the trusted eyes and ears beyond the frozen borders, bringing word of foreign threats, shifting alliances, and southern encroachments. When the Harrangradaan convenes, one chair is left empty at the ring’s edge. This is the Guardian’s Seat, where any of the five may speak.
  Customs and Law
  Zoan law is spoken, not written. The Lawcallers, a revered order of memory keepers, recite centuries-old rulings to maintain consistency. When disputes arise, the Harrangur call upon these Lawcallers to recite precedent, and verdicts are decided through consensus. Crimes of greed or blood are punished with Frostban—exile beyond the White Steppe, where survival is uncertain but redemption is possible.
  The council also oversees the Zoan Oaths, a ritual binding between clans, merchants, and travellers. Such oaths are marked by drops of blood frozen into shards and cast into the Bay of Hima, its frozen surface glinting with the promises of generations. Breaking a Zoan Oath is among the gravest sins in Zoa, said to curse a soul to wander as wind crosses the glaciers.
  Faith and Heritage
  The Harrangradaan is guided by reverence for the Old Spirits of the Deep Cold—entities believed to dwell beneath the ice, older than men or gods. While a few shrines to Kuyon stand across the northern isles, the council maintains a sacred froststone altar within Icepoint Hall. Here, before any debate begins, the Harrangur strike their spears against the stone three times to awaken the ancestors’ attention.
  As with much of the civilized world, belief in Dhara has begun to overtake many of the old religions of the realm. Within many cities along the southern tip of Zoa Dharan Churches have been built by missionaries spreading the word of the Great Liberator who died up here in the North to purge the world of the Shadow Beasts who caused such ruin.
  Music and story are as vital as law. Each Concord ends with the a night of rhythmic tune and chant singing, when each Harrangur must recount a victory or failure from their year of rule. Laughter, grief, and honesty are offered in equal measure, for in Zoa, truth spoken before the Skylight is a sacred act.
  Philosophy and Purpose
  The Harrangradaan’s greatest strength lies in its refusal to centralize power. While southern empires raise kings and provinces, Zoa endures through shared governance and mutual survival. No fortress claims the north, no monarch rules its storms.