Nekrinas

Among the olundi of Qadal, the Etayen are uniquely benefitted and plagued by long life, spanning for upwards of 300 or 400 years. As a result, the Etayen and such long lived races suffer from a particularly cruel disease known as Nekri, which is a term to describe the rather simple process of current memories pushing away older memories in an aged mind. Unlike a true disease, one does not “catch” Nekri then take some manner of medicine for it. The pace is not remarkably fast nor slow depending on the health of the body. It is not something that can be avoided with the proper diet or exercise. Nekri is inevitable and its condition something Etayen cannot ignore, especially those in power.     In governing circles, then, there are means and systems in place for Etayen leaders to cope with the growing burden of Nekri which comes with age. The most famous arethe Nekrinas, or Memory Council, which are formed at the consent of the governing Ghalun or Balun of the Etayen domain. These are not regency councils in the traditional sense, wherein power is stripped away from the prince in favor of near and trust kin or advisors. In this case, the Nekrinas is a council brought together to, in so many words, help the prince remember and clarify the context in which important decisions are made. They are the record keepers and the assistants. They fill the valleys and lower the hills in the confused mind of one who suffers from Nekri, laying are bare to decide, and then allowing the prince to make the final choice. These groups can be very large or quite small. In truth it depends on the requirements of the prince, their age, and the resources available to them.     Generally speaking, the enstatement of a Nekrinas within a domain signals the twilight of a prince’s rule. The unspoken but consistent practice is that members of the same dynasty as the prince, and especially the heir to rise, shall participate in the Nekrinas to beging to familiarize themselves with the mechanisms of government and unsure a smooth transition. This is if things have gone well. Here I shall for balance sake note that certain cunning schemers in Etayen politics have been known to leverage the weakness of a prince or the strength of a faction to “enstate” a Nekrinas pre-maturely, and thus devolve the autocratic powers of said Etayen prince. It is such pretext and in these contexts that many of the power struggles in high Etayen government waged, whether in Etumrassus in Everos, Tarimikras in Othos, or the home bastions of Etal. One might therefore recognize their uses and shortcomings for good and evil alike.