Empress Teleri

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Called: the Pious

Early life and Election

Teleri of the Summerdance Striding spent most of her life as a successful broker, negotiating trades between Steadings and later between nations. She became a Senator in 74 YE and used her natural aptitude for brokering trades between nations to build a solid base of support within the Senate. She was elected by a small majority in 77 YE.

Reign

Once Empress, Teleri used her influence to partake of the Imperial liao. She was guided on her vision by Simon Kingstoke, Cardinal of the Way. There is no record of the vision she saw, as neither the Marcher Cardinal nor Teleri ever spoke of it. However, from that day, the Empress used her skills and influence toward increasing the remit of the Synod to care for the spiritual well-being of the Empire. Together they encouraged the priests appointed to the post of conscience to participate fully in the Senate, rather than viewing their role as purely ceremonial. They also worked hard to ensure that the rights of clemency, sanctuary and witness were treated with the appropriate respect.

It is during her reign that the Synod first begins to find a role for itself in Imperial politics, using their political, rather than simply spiritual, powers to full effect. The role Assembly of the Way as a facilitator and enhancer of the other assemblies is cemented during this time, as well as the right of the throne to claim the first potion of Imperial Liao for it's own use, or the use of a favoured individual. Using that right, Teleri would go on to utilise the visionary substance several more times, but no record of any of the visions remains.

Under Teleri, the Synod's constitutional responsibilities were interpreted as permitting powers such as revocation; the Marcher general Hereford holds the dubious honour of being the first to be removed from his Imperial office for gross offences against Prosperity and Ambition. This caused quite a stir, and the Senate immediately moved to try and block the revocation, and this interpretation of the constitution, only for the Empress and the entire Imperial Synod to descend on the Senate chamber en masse. The Assembly of Nine indicated that the General Assembly was in righteous accord - not only would any attempt to reverse their decision be unconstitutional, they would immediately employ their power of veto to block the Senate.

Tense negotiations ensued, during which the constitutional right of the Synod to actually use the powers it possessed was explained in detail. The Senate took some time to get used to the idea that the Synod was not merely a ceremonial body, but a house of their peers who absolutely intended to use their powers in pursuit of their remit. Over the next few years a major 'house-cleaning' took place in the Senate and among the Generals, as a commitment to Virtue (or an appearance of the same) was finally accepted as an important requirement for high office in the Empire.

Outside of her role in support of the Synod, Empress Teleri’s reign is generally regarded warmly as unexceptional.

Death and Legacy

Empress Teleri stepped down from the Throne voluntarily in 91 YE as the rigours of age began to catch up with her. She made a final pilgrimage to the Necropolis and passed away peacefully in her sleep. She is interred in a beautiful tomb set at the centre of a sprawling garden laid out in the pattern of the sevenfold labyrinth.

Over the next few centuries, the power of the Synod would wax and wane, but it was under Empress Teleri that they first found the strength to assert their power.