The Rover King

The ruler of Aperion, the Rover King serves a life term, devoting themselves to the betterment of Aperion and Aperonian life. The position is nearly a millenia old, dating back to Amadeus Flynn.

Title and Livery
The name "Rover King" is an old one, so called because the first king, Amadeus Flynn, was a Rover, and his focus and the focus of his descendants was very much geared toward the betterment of early Rover society. His followers, especially those later established in the Noble Court, were former Rovers themselves, and Flynn was considered amongst them the greatest Aer Rover they had ever known.

In the late Age of Dragons, there existed a king who ruled over much of the Downlands. Once the Indomitus Era began, noted by the rise of air travel as the dominant means of travel, and civilization began to climb upwards into the mountains, the kingdom slowly collapsed, until it remained a tenuous lordship over much of the Downlands and far southern Uplands in the early Blood era. It is possible that the Rover King was called such in order to distinguish their methods from the more Downlands-based kingdom.

During their reign, the King or Queen occupies the First House of the Noble Court, known as the Transient House. The House is always represented by a dragon, though the design of the King's crest changes with every new ruler. The dragon's design is changed when a new ruler is crowned; a new set of three colors is assigned to the ruler, and some element of the Era and, if they were a Rover, their flag, is usually incorporated into the crest with the King's consent. This design is traditionally unveiled at the coronation ceremony.

Selection
Though the Rover King is referred to as a monarch, and Aperion is technically a monarchy, the King is elected to the position. He or she must be affirmed by both the Council and at least seventy percent of the Parliament, as well as approximately 85% of the Noble Court, though it is the Council's vote that is considered the more important one.

At any given time during a king or queen's reign, there are approximately three to ten candidates for succession should anything happen to the Rover King. They are usually sponsored by various members of the Council, though it is not unheard of for guild sponsorship nor even military sponsorship by the Silverwings or the SDF. Those without intimate support of a Council member, though, must be exceptional to consider note. The Noble Court never sponsors a candidate, as it is considered an immense faux pas and can create imbalance in the Houses. There have, historically, been a few candidates who hail from the Court, though they are always sponsored from someone outside the House system. The indentity of these candidates, like the identity of Council members, is kept secret under penalty of expulsion until such a time as the succession of the throne is in question.

The King and the Dread
The King himself does not choose a candidate for sponsorship. This is not a law, but the precedent was established during the early Briar era. The idea behind the monarch's abstinence stems from the need for a monarch with a different viewpoint every time helps to keep Aperion from stagnating and helps to facilitate the changing of Eras.

The closest thing to a King choosing a candidate is the title of Dread. A few historians suggest that the Dread is, in fact, the King's candidate, citing the few Dread Kings that have come into the crown after the quick death of a King or Queen. Those that follow this theory purpot that it was established by Briar King Travers, the first Dread King. The theory does not have many followers, since the parameters that must exist to give it ground go against so many established traditions of secrecy that it is dismissed by most reputable Aperonian anthropologists.

Duties
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