Master Apothecary

"Frost Narcissus" grows easily in the cold north.

Overview

The Master Apothecary is an Imperial title in Wintermark. The Master Apothecary's Garden was commissioned by a motion of the Senate in Winter 378YE. The position of Master Apothecary is a sinecure, requiring minimal responsibility but offering a regular income of herbs.

Responsibilities

The Master Apothecary is expected to use the herbs provided by the sinecure to create potions of use by Imperial troops. While the title itself is national, the responsibilities could easily be interpretted to cover aiding soldiers of any Imperial nation. Further, there is a tacit suggestion that the Master Apothecary could feel empowered to organise other apothecaries to make more potions than are possible with just the herbs from the sinecure.

In addition, if the garden were to be threatened in any way, it would be the responsibility of the Gatekeeper to deal with those threats.

Powers

Bounty of the Master Apothecary

The Master Apothecary receives an income of herbs each season: 6 drams of bladeroot, 5 drams of true vervain, 4 drams each of Imperial roseweald and marrowort, and 2 drams of cerulean mazzarine. Bladeroot and true vervain both prosper in the cold northern hills, but the gardeners struggle to maintain more than a few patches of cerulean mazzarine.

Appointment

The Master Apothecary is appointed by unanimous decision of the Wintermark senators. If a unanimous decision cannot be reached, the title may be appointed by the Senate instead.

The title can be held by a Wintermark citizen. The Master Apothecary has tenure, and serves until they die or step down. They can be revoked by the General Assembly, the Wintermark National Assembly, and by the Assembly of the Nine.

Summit	Elected
Summer Solstice 386YE	Hagen
Summer Solstice 382YE	Kesa Algarsdottir
Winter Solstice 381YE	Kai Dunning
Autumn Equinox 379YE	Freya Kreftinar

Recent Elections

This title is currently held by Hagen. This title has tenure, the occupant may hold the title until it is revoked, they die or they relinquish the position. The table to the right shows the citizens who have been elected to hold this title in the years since Empress Britta died.

Constitutional Note

• The appointment method of this title is unconstitutional, it does not follow a well-worn path
• The title can operate and be re-elected normally
• The title cannot be amended by the Imperial Senate without also addressing the issue of the unconstitutional appointment method

The appointment method of this title has been determined to be unconstitutional following a review carried out by the Constitutional Court. The title ought to be appointed by the members of the Imperial Apothecaries Guild. This status does not impact the use of any legal powers the position has and the title will be re-elected normally. However the title should not be used as an example of a well-worn path for a position with these responsibilities and it would not be possible to make any legal changes to the title (as the result of an opportunity or otherwise) without either addressing the issue of who appoints that title at the same time, or amending the responsibilities of the position so that it was clearly outside the remit of the sodality.

The Master Apothecary's Garden

Calling the sinecure the Master Apothecaries Garden is slightly ironic. Far from a neat, tended, walled cottage garden, it represents a diverse variety of small isolated groves and windblasted hilltops spread across many miles of the rolling hills of southern Kalpamark. The Master Apothecary, and the small number of gardeners who tend the various groves, need good boots and stout sticks at least as much as they need gardening tools.