Subdivisions within the lands of Valte are drawn according to a system evolved from old Kurnish traditions. An early precursor to Valte was ruled by a Khan, who delegated local authority to Il-Khans, as he would generally be too busy campaigning abroad to rule directly. Traditionally, Il-Khans were military commanders only, overseeing a garrison force, with the occasional duty of overthrowing a Khan-appointed governor of the local populace should he stray too far; however, the Great Khan of the original Kurnish Invasion never returned from his conquest, and the Il-Khans eventually did away with the charade and simply became direct rulers, electing a new Khan for the realm from among their own ranks.

Today, the Il-Khans greatly resemble Dukes, if perhaps with a pronounced Kurnish flair. Their position is now considered hereditary and noble, and citizens of their lands are considered their feudal subjects. A key difference between the titles is that the position of Il-Khan belongs to the eldest member of a clan; it is not determined by primogeniture. Sadly, in an attempt to achieve a de facto system of primogeniture, many Il-Khans order secret assassinations of rivals to their son's inheritance.

The divisions of Valte are known as Il-Khanates. Unlike duchies, they are not created by royal decree as divisions of his land; they are whatever lands are held by the Il-Khan's clan. Currently, this concept has been suspended, to avoid the consideration of dissolving the majority of Valtan clans, whose lands are currently occupied.

The official government of Valte is a monarchy, with a King serving as the feudal lord to his subject Il-Khans, and thereby to all citizens of the realm. The King has supreme executive authority, but any decision he makes can be challenged by a Convocation of the Clans, excepting military decisions during times of war.

The Convocation is a deliberation of equals, mediated not by the King, but by the Grand Lady, the eldest woman of all noble clans, who also oversees the election process. The Convocation may be called by any one clan leader, and all others are obliged to attend; his case is made, as is the King's, and then all may deliberate. The process is not bound to any length of time, and ends only when all clans besides the King's and the plaintiff's are in unanimous consent. As such, the process can take a very long time, and can easily be abused as a filibuster of sorts.

Historically, the inconvenience of the Convocation has often been countered by the immunity of the King's decisions during wartime--that is, he simply ensures that he is always at war, in one form or another. Technically, his decisions can still be questioned, but the Convocation must delay discussion until war is over, rendering retroactive judgment. During wartime, the King commands absolute loyalty from every noble and commoner in the realm, on pain of summary execution (or worse).

During said periods of interminable war, it became practical for clans to hold informal convocations, with each clan not represented by its Il-Khan (who was inevitably away at war), but by his highest-ranking aide still residing at home--more often than not, his wife. This convocation would act much as the formal one, taking care of all the tedium of discussion so as to expedite the process of the true convocation, if and when it should be held. Given the near-interminable nature of the King's wars, it would often take years or even decades for the Il-Khans to finally return home, only to find their grievances long since forgotten.

Indeed, with the Il-Khans so far from home, their grievances were rarely due to domestic matters--and disagreements among lieutenants in the field was usually swiftly resolved through combat or the King's justice. Thus, the clan matters generally discussed at informal convocations were raised by the womenfolk themselves...and, inevitably, they tired of the impracticality of waiting for their husbands to return home to represent their clans in matters they knew or cared not of.

The Convocation of Women

And so the Convocation of Women eventually transformed into an official procedure, formalizing the role of the Il-Khan's wife (or, in the rare case of a female Il-Khan, a close female relative) as the clan's representative, and considering all agreements brokered therein to be settled, unless (in a rare occurrence), the Il-Khan later brought up the matter at a true Convocation. This separation of responsibility proved efficient, as it allowed the Il-Khans to wage war continuously, accumulating personal wealth and glory, it rendered the King effectively immune to any legal challenges by his subjects, and allowed domestic matters to be directly settled by those with the most stake in them.

The Royal Convocation

The most important--if least common--role of the Convocation of Clans is to elect a new King when the old one dies. This tradition harkens back to ancient Kurnish rites, differing in one important respect: in centuries, the Convocation has not dared to elect anyone but the King's chosen successor. They retain the power to do so, in principal, but it has been tradition ever since Succession of Atal Khan in the 800s GC--a tumultuous period involving seemingly endless assassinations and civil wars--for the Convocation to rubber-stamp the King's chosen successor, usually his eldest son, or sometimes another male relative.

Notably, it has never been a woman. And so...

The Matter of Kingship

Valte's current king Osman IV, is a subject of the Ahrimid crown, making him a traitor to his realm. As such, the Il-Khans have called a Convocation to elect his successor. However, as noted by the Great Lady, Osman is not dead, and therefore cannot be succeeded. Furthermore, Valte is currently at war (albeit in a long stalemate), so his decisions cannot be questioned...including the cession of his lands to the Ahrimids. Worse still, the Convocation itself is invalid, because the King, as Il-Khan of Clan Aslaney, has yet to arrive in person to represent his clan. This last point is all that has prevented the situation from breaking down entirely; any official decision forcing the Il-Khan's to cede their lands on the King's command would surely result in civil war.

With the formal Convocation stalled, the women's convocation has convened, and has unanimously agreed that Ayşe Aslaney, the King's elder sister, should succeed her brother. Most of the Il-Khans agree in principal, noting her worth as a military commander, but point out her alarming flaw of not being male. Surely the Convocation of Women do not expect the Il-Khans to bend knee to a woman. Those who hold out insist that ultimately, Osman will either be freed to rule rightfully as King, or killed...and then a formal Convocation will be held, resulting in one of their number being elected the new King.

It is suspected that many Il-Khans, especially the newly-empowered clans of Dawn and Steel, feel that this is their best opportunity to make a play at the throne, and are willing to use the realm's precarious state as an opportunity to seize personal glory. It is unknown whether or not they would be willing to cause civil war over it should they not get their way.

In any case, the situation of Valte remains a complicated mess.

The army of Valte consists of those Il-Khans and their forces who rally behind Ayse, daughter of Ibram, the last king. The Il-Khans of Dawn and Steel have not committed their forces to her cause, ostensibly because they wish to honor the king's command to retreat, and await a true peace deal with the Ahrimids that will restore his throne. More likely, it is because they have lost no lands, and wish to allow Ayse's coalition to whittle itself away, hoping they will be able to seize the right moment to take command of the nation's reserves and seize the throne for themselves (inevitably followed by a struggle between the two of them).

Ayse's forces are composed almost entirely of veteran horsemen from clans whose lands are currently occupied. All equally bereft of their birthright, they have little to lose in banding together under Ayse, and have served her loyally in the years since the fall of Anagor.

Ayse's stated goal is no less than the reconquest of Anagor and the throne of her father--she has not explicitly stated if she will liberate or kill her brother if this occurs. This goal would seem to be impossible in her current state, though not entirely due to inadequacy of force. With the Grand Caliph's armies spread thin to contain constant unrest, Ayse has an abundance of options.

The Argentlands

Argenkara, or the Argentlands, remains occupied by the Ahrimids, and is the only land north of the Uppland Crest to be so. It is defended by at least 200,000 regulars, but spread thin enough to be vulnerable to attack by Ayse's highly-mobile horsemen, despite the advantage of the Ahrimid's muskets and cannon.

Ayse's generals are reasonably certain the province could be taken by cutting off the flow of supplies to the garrison. As winter draws near, the armies will not be able to feed themselves without outside assistance, and nature will even the odds. The starved soldiers will be forced to flee their fortresses to hunt and gather, and will become vulnerable to raids and ambush. Eventually, they will either surrender or die to the last.

The morale to be gained by such a victory is not inconsiderable; however, the strategic value of the province is minimal. Retaking the Argentlands would solidify the border between the two, allowing the Empire's current strategy of digging in to double in effectiveness. The only battle line not compromised by the Uppland Crest would be the borders of the Fallen Rock, which would now be encircled. Likely, Valte would be forced to yield there after a brutal uphill slog the Empire can easily afford, and the new borders would be so secure as to tempt a very unfavorable peace settlement.

As such, this is not considered the best option.

Straight to the Heart

With the Fallen Rock province in hand, Ayse has a clear shot to Zafirey and the throne at Anagor. The low, flat lands bordering the Blue Water offer few natural barriers to her movements, forcing the Grand Caliph to strength his mighty armies incredibly thin to form a virtual wall against her. Any effort to try to outmaneuver her would be foolish--even his cavalry are unlikely to keep pace with the legendary Valtan light horse.

And so, Ayse could, in theory, blitz through the Ahrimid lines and mount a daring assault on the capital. Of course, her horsemen are not equipped to mount a siege on a fortified city, even one without proper walls, and even if they were, they would soon be encircled by an overwhelming number of musketmen.

So in what way is this even a viable strategy? Well, the Grand Lady's diplomats have forged a deal with the Duke of Menendras: if Ayse can topple the false King, he will commit forces to back up her claim, demanding a new--and real--peace treaty. Obrith's forces are largely at his command, and the Supreme Potentate has only one condition to allow the Duke to represent Obrith in this matter: Ayse must convert to the One True Faith, and call on her people to do the same.

Ayse's generals predict that, with not insignificant losses, they could perhaps take the castle in a lightning raid, without actually ousting the Grand Caliph's armies from the city proper. And the strength of the Obrin Duke is perhaps formidable enough to warrant a peace settlement. However, the risk is extreme--it counts on a deal that may not come into play, and assumes the Grand Caliph will sue for peace, rather than resuming a war which he was already winning. If any of the pieces don't fall into place, Ayse's life, and those of her lieutenants, is forfeit, and the resistance is doomed.

The Ulden Lands

The province of Uldenkar is relatively weak to assault. Ere winterfall, Ayse's men could pass through the Crest within their own lands, then fall upon the underbelly of the Ahrimid garrison, quickly retaking the fortresses guarding the river Atal. With control of the Atal, they could cause devastating economic harm to the Empire...not to mention Uldenor.

The latter point is one major flaw in this strategy. Such a blow to Uldenor could provoke war from their camp. In the past, Valte had little fear of Uldenor's army--the Crescent Vale is easily defended against Valtan aggression, but the Uldennic people never showed much proclivity to attack lands beyond it, so both were long happy to maintain their border as-is.

Now, with Valte so weakened, and Uldenor's star rising at improbable speeds, the threat is far more real. Even the personal armies of the western principalities--those most harmed by such a strategy--would pose a threat to a force as small as Ayse's.

Uldenor was ostensibly allied with Valte prior to the Ahrimid attack. However, they betrayed their alliance, and even aided the Ahrimids, allowing them to circumvent Valtan fortresses by cutting through Uldennic territory. Since then, Uldenor has played nice with the occupying force, ratifying the so-called "treaty", and gladly paying tariffs and taxes--what few are not covered by sweetheart trade deals--to the Grand Caliph, as opposed to the King of Valte, for use of the River Atal.

But even if it were worth extending the war to include Uldenor, there is another flaw: Brinn's separate peace with the Ahrimids--an actual, legitimate treaty--precludes any military access through Brinnish lands for forces of "rebellion or sedition", which the Grand Caliph extends to cover Ayse's entire army. Thus, they cannot actually access this route without gaining the Brinnish King's approval, or without risking his wrath should they violate his territory.

Despite all of the diplomatic concerns, for pure military value, this strategy is considered the most viable of all.