The Canopy Council
The governing body of The Canopy Isles. A council of representatives from 12 islands, but in practice an oligarchy where the voice of the upper islands is overwhelmingly dominant.
Overview of the Governing Body
The Canopy Council is the supreme governing body of The Canopy Isles, composed of representatives elected from each of the 12 major islands. The chamber is located in the parliament hall on Chuten Island.
The Distortion of Stone-Weight Voting
It is nominally an equal deliberative body, but in practice the "Stone-Weight Voting System" allocates decision-making power in proportion to each island's Aether Crystal output and purity — giving the three upper islands (Tenkoku Island, Seiran Island, and Hakuun Island) effective control. Lower-island representatives sometimes self-deprecatingly call themselves "decorations in the gallery."
In recent years, the Council has officially maintained that "the scientific basis for Great Fall omens is insufficient," yet some members have begun secretly exploring cooperation with The Root Realm.
History Tracing Back to the Founding Council
The Canopy Council's history traces back to the "Founding Council" approximately 80 years after The Great Fall. The leaders of the 12 islands gathered then to pledge joint management of resources and collective defense against external threats. However, "external threats" originally referred not to The Root Realm but to acts of plunder between islands. Ironically, inter-island political plundering — unjust toll increases and monopolization of Aether Crystal mining rights — remains the greatest problem to this day.
The Refiners' Guild Sponsorship Council
Outside the Stone-Weight Voting System, the real power belongs to the "Refiners' Guild Sponsorship Council." Ostensibly an advisory body, it can apply strong pressure on council members' decisions by controlling the supply of Aether Refinement technology. Testimony claims this was the first body to demand information suppression when the Great Fall Research Institute issued warnings about Aether Crystal depletion.
Lower-island representatives have formed an informal alliance called the "Low-Sky Alliance," trying to create a counterweight to upper-island dominance. They are seeking the right to negotiate directly with the Root Realm Federation, which if granted would bypass the Canopy Council's mediating function. Upper-island representatives regard this movement as the greatest internal threat.
関連する要素
- The Great Fall Research Institute— The only joint institution established by agreement between the Canopy Council and the Root Realm Federation 100 years after the First Bridge, for investigating the cause of The Great Fall and preventing its recurrence.
- The Mist Trading Company— A secret organization based in The Mist Sea that controls unofficial transactions in both The Canopy Isles and The Root Realm. The oldest organization to profit from the world's division.
- The Root Realm Federation— A federation of seven great cave cities of The Root Realm. Decision-making is conducted through "mycelium voting" via the Memory of the Earth, approximating direct democracy.