The Parliament
The governing body of Dosharen. The Parliament holds legislative authority and serves as the primary arena where Dosharen’s competing interests — noble houses, professional guilds, and elected representatives — negotiate policy, resources, and influence.
Membership
Section titled “Membership”Parliament has two distinct tracks of membership.
Noble houses hold standing seats by virtue of the Mint. Dosharen’s currency requires Daruner blood to infuse Ren into coinage, and no single house can be permitted to monopolize that process. The houses are present in Parliament because the economy runs through them — their institutional position is not earned through election but through what they are.
Professional representatives earn their seats through election. Merchants, craftsmen, scholars, dock and trade interests, and other professional constituencies each elect members of sufficient education and demonstrated argumentative capacity. Their legitimacy is different from the houses’ — it is earned, not inherited.
Both tracks are recognized as valid. A Parliament member who dismisses elected representatives as lesser, or who attacks the houses’ right to their standing seats, is acting in bad faith by Parliament’s own logic.
Values
Section titled “Values”Members of Parliament tend toward the following values:
| Value | Why |
|---|---|
| Order | The institution is the mechanism. Process and structure are how Parliament functions and how members derive legitimacy. |
| Knowledge | Education and rhetorical skill are the entry requirement. Mastery of argument is how influence is built and held. |
| Power | Houses think in generations. Elected members fight to grow their constituency’s reach. Ambition and accumulated standing are the engine of Parliament. |
| Wealth | The Mint, merchant representation, and Gersan’s identity as a trade hub make material interest central to Parliament’s concerns. |
| Tradition | Particularly among noble houses, whose standing is inherited and whose involvement stretches back through generations of the same families. |
Tenets
Section titled “Tenets”Argument as legitimate authority. Parliament is the arena where Dosharen governs itself. Debate and vote are how things get decided. Members who bypass the process — through back-channel maneuvering, force, or simply refusing to engage — undermine their own standing as much as their opponents’.
Earned standing matters. Even house members have to hold their own in debate to get anything done. Education and rhetorical skill are the actual currency of Parliament. Inarticulate members lose influence regardless of their birth or profession.
Institutional preservation over personal victory. You can lose a vote and come back. The Parliament ceasing to function is the only unrecoverable outcome. Members who would burn the institution to win are the real threat — and are recognized as such across factional lines.
Long rivalry over short wins. Houses think in generations. Professional representatives think in terms of interests that outlast any individual member. Both produce a preference for strategic patience. A decisive strike that destabilizes the balance costs more than it gains.