Federative Pneumocracy

A governmental system common in gimyndine-poor areas like Western Halisan and Eastern Anndalor, which resembles a federation on all but the lowest levels. Effectively, a settlement will have some central head who is the strongest firekeeper, who then delegates governmental authority as they see fit within their territory. They then form larger unions with nearby settlements, with some large systems even invoking firekeepers which don't themselves rule a city, but instead oversee a council as such. The highest level of this arrangement is then referred to as the nation proper, which is often defined as a body which moves to war as one unit for the sake of common interest or defense.

Division of Power

Particularly in Halisan, power within a pneumocracy is often spread among three factions:

• The Lords (Within the walls)
  • Military Defense
  • Wartime Leadership
  • Peacekeeping
• The Arteries (Without the walls)
  • Food Production
  • Shade Defense
  • Phlogistic Research
• The Stormrunners (Within the wilds)
  • Messaging
  • Surveying
  • Inter-city Trade

We Fight, we Feed, we Fly; to be Free

The position of what most would call "the state" typically lies with the Lords, although their authority is noticeably weaker within the fields or the farlands. Outside city walls, the Arteries and Stormrunners are expected mostly to govern themselves, with the exception of military support where necessary.

The strongest among their local members is often appointed to the position of highlord by a tenuous agreement, though many territories employ a more formalized process, often a duel between candidates of either physical or political nature.

Classes

As a short aside, there also exists a small but notable class of tradesmen. These are those persons in highly educated and skilled phlogistic professions, such as synthesizers and computers. Though they do possess notable phlogistic power, the specialized skills demanded of them mean they are low in number but high in political powers.