Lord Commander
The Lord Commander is the leader of the Song Dominion, both in government, culturally and - in some people’s eyes - spiritually. None have higher authority within Song’s borders than the Lord Commander, save for the next person who has enough social influence to supplant the current leader.
History
There has been a Lord Commander in Song since the end of the 40 Year Empire War in 727 A.E., when Adyos Endatia, Grand Admiral of the Song Fleet, effected a bloodless coup, displacing and exiling the civilian leadership with the support of a large portion of the populace.
As the decades passed, the military's influence spread throughout all of the Song Dominion, until it was no longer possible to reasonably separate where society began, and the military ended. The entire society was armed, and all able-bodied adults were required to serve a two-year stint in the armed forces. Private militias, loyal to the State, were formed to defend the Dominion, usually composed of small fighter craft with perhaps a corvette or even destroyer anchoring that cell. The Lord Commander, whoever it may be at the time was lionized and was considered not just the peoples' political and military leader, but in many ways a spiritual leader as well, embodying the best of the strength, resilience, and will to power that marks the Song Dominion.
The system of selecting the Lord Commander slowly changed as well, until it arrived at today's system, wherein citizens gain Influence by performing actions that help the Dominion and can then spend that Influence on a Challenge to replace the Lord Commander with a new one. The more useful that citizen is, the more Influence they have, and thus the more say in appointing a new Lord Commander.
That is, however, the only direct say the citizens of the Song have, for the Dominion believes in unity of purpose and unity of mind. Near-total power is exercised by the Lord Commander, at their discretion, though an incompetent or corrupt Lord Commander is likely to find themselves quickly replaced by the powerful amongst the citizenry.
A timeline of Lord Commanders
Adyos Endatia - The First Lord Commander
727 A.E. - 803 A.E.
At the end of the war, the economy of the Song Dominion, like the Celestine Ascendancy, was ruined. Famine swept through parts of the Dominion, and in order keep order, their battered military asserted control and supplanted the formerly-civilian and heavily-corrupt government in what is officially known as the Restoration.
Endatia had been a hero in the Empire War and was easily the most-admired person in the Dominion at the time. The people had had enough of the grasping, petty nature of politicians and were glad to see a strong leader who would do what he had to to protect and elevate the Song Dominion. So the military took control, displacing and exiling the civilian leadership with the support of a large portion of the populace. In joining the role of the military and the government, a new, supreme position in the Song Dominion was created: the Lord Commander.
Of course, not everyone supported Adyos's rise, and for the good of the Dominion, those who felt the need to carry on about their dissatisfaction, especially in public, were soon silenced or left the Dominion, for Scatterhome or elsewhere.
Endatia looked at the surrounding landscape and saw himself an island in a dark forest filled with predators. First and foremost, of course, was the Celestine Ascendancy, though they'd been as weakened as Song were by their protracted struggle, but there were any number of civilizations that might choose to strike, from the Vonikin Krel to the Fatar or Selassians to the ever-lurking threat of the Ishvana and its subject peoples.
He and his advisors believed that they must, immediately, begin to rebuild the power of the Dominion, and that nearly any sacrifice was acceptable if the end result was achieved. Piracy, or "strategic confiscation" became an unofficial policy and, as the Dominion grew stronger, an official one. Unions were outlawed, as were mass protests. Slavery was legalized, and became the standard punishment for those engaged in open dissent against the office of the Lord Commander, for what better way to signal oneself a traitor than to stand in opposition to the Hero of the Dominion?
Time passed, and eventually Adyos died of natural causes. Who would supplant him as Lord Commander? He had never established a succession plan, preferring to let his lieutenants fight amongst themselves for his patronage. It is here that the root of the Song Dominion's modern form of government took hold.
It was decided that all military officers would have a say in choosing the next Lord Commander, but instead of anything so egalitarian as one-person-one-vote, each officer would, according to their rank, receive a different number of "votes" to cast in what became known as a Challenge. Under this rough system, the next Lord Commander was selected - a female Ry'nari admiral named Henar Kelaka.
The second Lord Commander - Henar Kelaka
803 A.E. - 835 A.E.
A Ry'nari Admiral in the Song Military, Henar Kelaka was the first Lord Commander after Adyos to be officially selected by the "Challenge", a rough system of voting by which the leaders of the military were given a number of votes equal to their rank. Henar's administration was a rocky one, as the first 'peacetime' military leader, but her cool head and seemingly endless patience were instrumental in establishing a solid foundation for the faction, and many of the precedents she set are still followed by the government to this day.
The third Lord Commander - Tangadon
835 A.E. - 880 A.E.
One of the only Decheerans to rise to the rank of Lord Commander, Tangadon's reign of leadership was considered relatively quiet for a faction often beleagured by war and conflict, boasting many years of peace, socio-economic growth, and planetary conservation. The Song Restoration Society was founded by Tangadon's order. Ultimately, the Lord Commander's interest in, and sponsorship of, the brilliant young soldier, Martias Arrarax, led to its own downfall.
The fourth Lord Commander - Martias Arrarax
880 A.E. - 908 A.E.
Coming to power in 880 A.E. as Lord Commander was Martias Arrarax, a Nusrizan special forces commander. With a well-deserved reputation for efficient ruthlessness, Martias was also willing to "deal dirty". Under his administration, the Song Dominion agreed to underhanded deals with rival factions, deployed military forces on civilians, and was at least partially responsible for the instigation of a revolutionary uprising in the Celestine Ascendancy. He was Lord Commander from 880 A.E. until he was assassinated while sleeping by a Fatar shapeshifter in 908 A.E.
The fifth Lord Commander - Veria Quaeos
908 A.E. - 922 A.E.
Amaian Lord Commander Veria Quaeos - Rose to power in 908 A.E., offering the people of the Dominion a fierce and diplomatic leader throughout the end of the third Empire War. Her life was cut short by the W'hoorn militia in 923 A.E. after peacekeeping efforts between Ry'nari and Celestine leaders went awry.
The sixth Lord Commander - Kitty
922 A.E. - 923 A.E.
The first W'hoorn leader of the Song Dominion, Kitty, was a controversial choice for many, especially the R'ynari of the Dominion. However, she started her reign with a rousing inaugural manifesto, which addressed many concerns and questions, going on to have a successful, yet short-lived, term as Lord Commander.
The seventh Lord Commander - Mairon T'rvati
923 A.E. - 926 A.E. Mairon T'rvati, the first Jin Lord Commander, successfully challenged Kitty only five months after her appointment as Lord Commander. He offered the Dominion the stability and practicality it needed so much, even his opening address being modest and professional:
Greetings Dominion,
I appreciate the vote of confidence, and am writing this post in order to give everyone a general overview of the planned changes for the coming months. The first of these changes will be to rework our current divisions, adding in one group to focus on education, and another specifically for internal security, to allow our military to focus on expansion.
A second change is to address the concerns I have heard regarding the way we appoint the leaders of our divisions. I intend to introduce a system of competitions, varying between the different divisions, to test the skills of potential applicants and ensure the best of our city rise within it.
If you have ideas on bettering our Dominion that have not been heard so far, be sure to send me a message explaining your thoughts.
For the glory of the Dominion,
Lord Commander Mairon
Mairon retired in 926 A.E. and supported Sythiorn as his challenger.
The eighth Lord Commander - Sythiorn
926 A.E. - 929 A.E.
Decheeran leader of the Dominion's Argent Legion, Sythiorn, challenged Mairon's leadership in 929 A.E. with a compelling pitch addressing the faction. He was successful and led the Dominion for three years until a successful challenge by Vega T'rvati.
The ninth Lord Commander - Vega T'rvati
929 A.E. - 965 A.E.
Lord Commander Vega Trvati knew she would follow in her family's footsteps by serving the Dominion faithfully. Her relentless drive to push both the Song Dominion and herself to optimal efficiency left very little semblance of the once starry-eyed officer that led many assaults on Fatar infiltration cells. Her devotion to the Song Dominion would eventually lead her to the absolute seat of power, one built on the backs and bones of any potential threat, even entire tribes, and in 929 A.E. she challenged Sythiorn's leadership with a call to arms so inspiring that even the most apathetic of Dominion hearts were said to have felt some degree of factional pride and motivation. Vega Trvati is one of the longest standing Lord Commanders of the Dominion, having served for thirty-six years.
Justice and Order is met out by the strong, therefore we must be the strongest. We are only as strong as our weakest parts, so let us band together in Unity. We will ally with none, the Dominion has always endured and will continue to do so. The Song Dominion will not officially work with any other faction except in a case of another Ishvana war as we will operate and rule within our borders as we please and will not compromise or negotiate on our principles.
The Song Dominion embodies Unity and Strength. We must Unify in our PURPOSE and Unify our MINDS as we face the coming storm.
For Dominion Unity and Purpose,
Lord Commander, Vega T'rvati - 929 A.E.
The tenth Lord Commander - Picram
965 A.E. - Present
Lord Commander Picram successfully challenged the stagnancy of the Dominion on a platform of reform, and immediately set about the task of revitalizing the government. Its even temper, patience, and wisdom helped to build a truly powerful society for soldiers and citizens alike, with the institution of Squads to provide mentorship to promising new recruits (including its own Clockwork Leaves), an administrative overhaul, civic commendation reform, and War Cabinet reform which saw the empowering of the Pax Justicar position and the creation of the Morale Officer position. Its reign also saw the completion of the generations-old effort to restore the Subrosa Palace to its former glory, and an industrial boom as next-gen autorefineries and factories were developed and launched.