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The Sapphorian Government is the supreme authority over all of the country of Sapphory. It was first established in SY 0 by the Founding Mothers and changed form a number of times in those early years. Like all governments, it is comprised of three branches, an executive, a legislature and a judiciary. In practice, however, the executive - Sapphory's Monarch and her inner circle - has almost all of the real power, and the rest of the apparatus of state exists to exert her will.

Structure of the Sapphorian Government

The Crown

All power in Sapphory derives from the Monarch, currently Crown Princess Selina III. She is exempt from all laws except those against murder and treason and has the final say in virtually everything. She delegates powers to her courtiers and ministers as she sees fit. The Monarch will bear the title of either Queen or, if her mother is still alive, but has abdicated, she will bear the title of Crown Princess until the previous Queen's death.

Sapphory's line of succession is fairly straightforward, with power passing from the current Monarch to her eldest surviving daughter, or if she has none, her siblings, their children, then outward from there.

The Royal Court

The Monarch's inner circle consists of the highest ranking Noblewomen in Sapphory - each of the Noble Families Matriarchs is a member as are the Monarch's immediate family, and the purpose of the court is to keep the monarch updated on life in each part of the country. Each Governess is expected to attend court at any time the monarch cares to call it, though in practice, barring emergencies, full court sessions are usually held every three months and are conducted with great pomp and pageantry. Some courtiers also hold the top ministerial positions, which are considered too important for anyone outside the Monarch's inner circle. These include the four great offices of state: Minister for the Interior, Minister of Defence, Foreign Minister and Minister of Justice.

Lesser Nobles

Consisting of high-ranking members of the other noble families and the monarch's extended family, the outer tier of Government is populated by hundreds of Noblewomen. Many of these hold ministerial positions within the sprawling governing structure, while others represent particular interests to the court. This group could be roughly compared to a legislature, though almost nothing happens without the direct involvement of the monarch or one of her courtiers.

Overmistresses

The highest ranking position that a commoner can achieve without marrying into the Nobility, (though many are also lesser nobles,) the overmistresses are responsible for the day-to-day running of the Palace. Whereas the Court and Ministers tend to concentrate on higher affairs of state, Overmistresses deal with the mechanical workings of the palace machine. Some (such as Janette) are responsible for slave procurement and deployment, others for supply requisitions, contracting, maintainance or HR. They can be thought of as the senior managers of the The Royal Palace (or its local equivalent.)

The Erinyes

(Erin-eese) Independent from Town Guards and answerable only to the Monarch herself, the Erinyes strike fear into the hearts of most women. Their uniforms are jet black and they are responsible for the personal safety of Princess Selina and her family. They have even more broad powers than Town Guards and are privy to high-level intelligence. They can detain without any sort of warrant or probable cause and many women who have disappeared into the cells below the The Royal Palace emerge considerably chastened and humbled by the experience. Some have not emerged at all, and have been sighted later working as palace slaves. Serving in the Erinyes is the highest honour a guard can achieve in her career.

The Royal Guards

Hundreds of guards, usually former town guards, are deployed to the security of the palace (or its local equivalent.) It is considered a high honour and is a reward for loyalty and service. It is also far more highly paid. Royal Guards wear a deep purple uniform and are concerned with the general security of the palace and its denizens. They answer to Captain Asuka Ryona, head of the Erinyes, and many of the Erinyes started out as Royal Guards before proving their worth.

Judiciary

All Magistrates are appointed directly by the Minister for Justice and have to be approved by the Monarch. They are invariably drawn from the lesser ranks of the Nobility, as while there is no rule against a commoner becoming a Magistrate, it is not done in practice. There is a chance, (though it last occurred over a hundred years ago,) that a member of the Nobility could be brought before a criminal court and the idea of a commoner sitting in judgement over her would be unthinkable.

As Sapphory has no separation of powers, the Judiciary is in effect merely an extension of the Monarch's will, and in the rare cases in which the Crown will have reason to take an interest in a case, the outcome is virtually predetermined as no Justice would rule against her expressed wishes. In all other cases, the Justices are free to rule as they see fit, though they must always take current Government policy into account when making their decisions, and know that in theory they could be summoned before the court to explain them. This, along with the fact that they will always take Town Guards at their word, has led to a very high conviction rate in Criminal proceedings, and while the presumption of innocence exists in theory, the reality is that a defendant must work hard to prove it. Family and youth courts operate along similar lines, with rulings largely turning on the opinion of the Judge and the relevance of current Government policy.

Captain of the Guard

The position of Guard Captain is partly a political role, and given that it is beneath even minor Nobles and must fall to a commoner, a very important position. The Monarch, (or local Governess) takes personal responsibility for selecting the Guard Captain, though she will first have been vetted carefully by the Ministry of Justice and her colleagues within the Guard structure.

The current Guard Captain of Sapphory City is Audrey Elysee and the current guard captain of Fivaviana is Alyssa Makstis.

Local Governesses

Each province of Sapphory is ruled over by a Governess. Usually, this will be the matriarch of the ruling Noble Family. They run their fiefdoms with absolute authority, though to prevent them from building private power structures that could threaten the monarchy, they are not permitted to have a standing army and all of their guards must swear the same oath to serve the Monarch as the Sapphory City guards do, though they also swear to serve the Governess as the Monarch's rightful proxy. To display their loyalty, they will usually appoint a member of the Monarch's family to a sensitive position in their cabinet, and to fail to do so is considered a breach of protocol, which may result in their being censured by the Royal Court.

Each province's capital building (usually the Governess's home, which will be a palatial mansion,) serves as the hub for government in the area. It collects tribute, runs marriage, reproduction and sex work licensing, and operates civil and criminal courts.

Governesses will generally be protected by a group of personal guards. Unlike the Royal Guards, who operate separately from the Town Guards of Sapphory City, the local guard captain will usually be responsible for assigning her best women to protect the Governess.