Heunos

The name "Heunos" roughly translates into English as "The Supreme Council." The eight members of the Heunos, plus the Hilt, serve as an oversight panel over the entire government, intended to be a voice of restraint and prevent rapid reforms. Members of the Heunos are nominated by the Assembly of the People, and elected by the State Council and the other members of the Heunos.        

Authority

The Heunos has a number of unusual authorities and responsibilities in addition to its oversight role.    

Peacetime

In overseeing the government, it has veto power over any laws passed by the Assembly or State Council. The Heunos is responsible for composing the ballots to be submitted to the public on the first of each month for approval, and certifies that the final vote was valid. A member of the Heunos may take an interest in a certain policy or initiative, and champion that in public and in the Assembly or State Council as desired.    

State of Emergency

The Heunos may enact laws for sixty days, without requiring the approval of any other branch of government, including the Hilt. As with the Hilt, these laws may be overturned once taking effect. In addition, members of the Heunos may be dispatched to oversee a crisis, acting with the full authority of the Heunos while doing so.        

Origin

The concept for the Heunos is actually derived from three different sources.  

College of Seekers

The Knetreka city states of the Great War period were overseen by a College of Seekers, usually led by a "First Seeker." The number of members and the titles held varied from city to city, but all were consistent in the leadership being conducted by a supreme council.    

Council of Lek

Following the secular uprising in the Knetreka city of Lek, a government was established under a new Supreme Chairman as the head of a state council. In addition to the Chairman were four secular representatives, three Knetreka Seekers (one of which being the First Seeker), and in a rather bold move for the time, one Tavenso.    

Provisional Council

The Provisional Government which preceded the Republic was headed by a Provisional Council. This council consisted of two Utrajalek, two Tavenso, two Knetreka, as well as two members of secular states, with Mykentos serving as chairman. This Council would transition directly into the first Heunos.      

Evolution

The exact makeup of the Heunos, as well as its responsibilites would change quite often during the course of the First and Second Republics.    

First Republic

Following the chaos after the death of Mykentos, the Heunos largely restricted itself to ceremonial duties, rarely exerting any actual authority, even under states of emergency.    

Second Republic

The role of the Heunos would be largely ignored by the Hilts of the Second Republic, and other than the reforms of Chanos it would be largely forgotten. In an effort to shore up his position, Chanos had the Heunos replaced by a number of priests from the Cult of Mykentos, a move which would result in the Heunos being utterly sidelined in the civil war.    

The Proposed Triad Heunos

  The Centos Proposal
As a member of the Triad, Centos favored a return to the form of the Heunos as it had been under the First Republic, but with greater authority given to the individual members.   The Anatos Proposal
Both the cities of Gal and Cen, the original cities Anatos and Centos were derived from, had been members of the original Heunos, and were the first allies of Mykentos in the "First Triad." Mon'so, the origin of Monsos, had also been a member of the first Heunos, and so Anatos proposed that all three be made permanent members of the Heunos, with full veto powers over the government which would include the Hilt.   The Monsos Proposal
Monsos suggested eliminating the Heunos completely, transferring its oversight role to the Supreme Legislative Council.    

Third and Fourth Republic

The Heunos at the time of the restoration of the Republic consisted primarily of members of the Sanctuaries that had joined. When the Treaty of Unification took effect in 925, the composition of the Heunos was changed to represent the eight largest powers which had joined the Republic. The reforms of Mark Thomason that created the Fourth Republic did not significantly change this, because he wanted to demonstrate that he was slowing full unification.    

Domian Reformation

As part of the full unification under Domian principles, the Heunos was reconfigured to include representatives of the two most populous species, two from the least populous, and four elected at random. The intention was to provide a more representative sample of the general population, as well as ensure that minority rights were demonstrably respected at the highest levels of government.