Steward

Overview

Over a hundred years ago the Oaken Accords were signed by the Prince Artourious Bordevar and the great Warpriestess Jaladene of the Arcadian Frost. The Accords afforded great freedoms and dignities to the commonfolk of the Princes would-be Kingdom. Stewards are the culmination of this pursuit. Leaders of the Common people of Bordevar, Stewards fill roles such as town mayors, merchant leaders and guildmasters. They are both protectors of commoner dignity and the challengers to noble control. By seeking power, they protect the common people.

Need:

Commonfolk Band

Stewards are the elected leaders of groups of Bordevarian Commonfolk. They are supported by their bands and protect their bands from the meddling of the nobility. While not all Stewards may be the bands leader, they are often involved in advisory and quartermaster roles.

Shouldn’t:

Nil

Stewards have a wide variety of skillsets, all are welcome.

Costume Marker:

The Honoured Oak

The image of an Oakleaf is common among Bordevarian peasants but particularly so for Stewards. It represents hope, honour, and history for common people and is commonly found on Stewards garb as pins, patters, talismans or heraldry.

History:

When Jaladene of the Arcadian Frost blocked Prince Artourious Bordevar from leaving his ancestral home, she did it with an army of common people, rallied by their Stewards. These elected leaders knew that they had to stand for their people and protect them from the predation of the power-hungry nobility that would seek to punish the layfolk who have served under House Bordevar as revenge for the actions of the previous King. By standing their ground with his son and demanding assurances in exchange for their loyalty, they changed the path of Bordevar forever.

The Oaken Accord ensures the freedom of the common person so that they will never be indebted or tied to the land again. It created free townships, which allowed the Commonfolk to raise their own funds and in doing so created social mobility within Bordevar. It also created precedent for the common folk to sit upon the Ducal Council and be a part of the management of this new nation.

With these new powers, it was always suspected that these would be a bards trick and that the nobility would never seek to follow through. They could not risk a military crackdown, the new burgeoning kingdom could not survive a peasant rebellion. But the gradual disenfranchisement, economic controls, and political power brokering of the nobility could reduce the Oaken Accords to nothing but a fantasy.

In order to combat this, those initial stewards who followed Jaladene knew that they would have to seek and retain the power to protect the common people. They created a series of apprenticeships where intelligent young people would be tutored in the ways of politics, economics and leadership. These Stewardships ensured that the common people have good representation in all things, and that the nobility will always have competition in matters of political, economic or social importance.

In the current day, to call yourself a Steward is to be recognised and trained and skilled negotiator, a wise leader, and a cunning opponent. You pursue power and wealth partially for its own sake, for each title and coin held by a commoner balances the scales and ensures that Bordevar as a nation can continue to function.

Three Things Stewards Are:

Dedicated Leaders

To be a Steward is to work hard to support other commonfolk and yourself. Stewards should be driven, informed and socially skilled.

Ambitious in all things

The core goal of Stewards is to pursue success in support of the Oaken Accord. By ensuring that common people are powerful, you ensure that they cannot be abused. You should be seeking out areas for you and your people to succeed in at all times.

Studied and Skilled

A steward should be an intelligent character that knows their fields. They need not be traditionally booksmart but they should be an expert on issues and trades that are relevant to their people.

One Thing Stewards Aren't:

Revolutionaries, yet.

The implicit threat of the Stewards is against the nobilities, but this is in pursuit of a unified and functioning Bordevar, not a general overthrow of the nobility. Stewards ensure that the system works, not that it will be destroyed.