Speaker of the Magpies

Overview

The Speaker of the Magpies is an Imperial title created by the Imperial Senate in Summer 385YE. The Speaker of the Magpies is recognised as the primary liaison for communication with the body of artefact researchers known as the Magpies. The title was originally created as a position with tenure and appointed by the Imperial Senate, this was amended to a yearly appointment by the Assembly of Vigilance.

Responsibilities

The Speaker of the Magpies has no particular responsibilities; they serve as representative of the Magpies, and are expected to make themselves available if any of the five Imperial structures wish to communicate with them.

Appointment

The Speaker of the Magpies is a virtue position which is appointed by judgement of the Vigilance assembly each Winter Solstice.

The title can be held by any Imperial citizen. They can be revoked by the General Assembly, the Assembly of Vigilance, and the Assembly of the Nine.

Recent Elections

The table to the right shows the citizens who have been elected to hold this title in the years since Empress Britta died. 

The Title in Play

The role does not provide additional information about events in the Empire, nor allow the player holding it to request special reports or downtime actions. These details are assumed to be below the abstraction layer. The title holder is encouraged to create their own stories about their activities within reasonable limits and to get involved in events appropriate to their title during the game, but they do not have any powers beyond those explicitly listed in the section on powers.

These details exist partly to provide context and character to the role - and partly to allow our writers to use the title as a plot hook. Plot that involves the position will be rare - but all the campaign positions in Empire have these details to create the potential for it to happen.