Stormwind House of Nobles (Former)

The Stormwind House of Nobles
Lord Speaker	Lord Erich Gottfriend Manstein
Lord High Steward	Lord Maxen Montclaire
Council of Ministers	Fredreck Haltring Robert Sarolan Mairaed O'Callaghan
Website	stormwindhouseofnobles.shivtr.com
Next Meeting	September 5th, 35 AP

The Stormwind House of Nobles is a body of men and women of noble birth from within the Kingdom of Stormwind who collectively form the governing body of the Kingdom under the direction of King Anduin Wrynn. In the years before the First War the House of Nobles enjoyed a great degree of power and authority within the Kingdom of Azeroth, their powers of purse and the loyalty of their men at arms all serving as a check upon the King of Stormwind.

In the aftermath of the Third War and the treasonous acts of several high ranking members of the peerage shortly after King Wrynn's disappearance, the House of Nobles' power was greatly diminished. It would not be until the reopening of the Dark Portal that the House of Nobles was rekindled as a powerful institution by King Varian Wrynn, who enacted the Great Charter as a measure for managing the House of Nobles' power and influence.

Dates, Procedure, & Rules

Schedule

At present, the House of Nobles meets once a month on the second Saturday of every month.

The next scheduled meeting of the House of Nobles is: Septemeber 5th, 35 AP. 

Voting Procedure

Any member of the Lords Temporal, the Lords Spiritual, or the Lords Royal may vote on any matter in the House of Nobles provided that they are physically present.

Proposing Acts

Any member of the Lords Temporal may propose legislation or an act, but any such proposal must be filed in the docket twenty-four hours in advance of the meeting of the House to the Lord-Speaker, who in turn reserves the right to waive the requirement should a dire situation arise.

All votes cast by the House of Nobles are filed as one of three types of laws:

• Laws of Resolution - Require a simple majority to pass. Typically concern matters such as confirming diplomats, electing Council Ministers, and passing minor legislation.
• Laws of Governance - Require a 2/3 majority vote to pass. Typically concerns matters of major legislative importance, declarations of war, and impeachment.
• Laws of the Realm - Require a unanimous of the House vote to pass. Reserved for dire or highly controversial decisions, and almost exclusively involves issues regarding the Great Charter.

Sample Motions

Any member of the House of Nobles may raise a motion at any time. Motions may involve almost any matter, and do not need to be submitted to the docket before the convening of the House. Some examples of a motion are:

• Motion to Reconsider - Sends proposed act on the docket to the Lord-Speaker for further investigation until the next meeting of the House.
• Motion to Suppress - Silences another member of the House and allows for legislation to move to a vote.
• Motion to Amend - Allows a member to propose and potentially vote on amendments to a legislative act.
• Motion to Include - An attempt to add an item of consideration to the docket.

Elections and Impeachment

In accordance to the republican traditions of Stormwind's nobility, the House of Nobles exercises a certain limited degree of autonomy from the King of Stormwind. Every three months the House of Nobles convenes to elect from its number the Council of Ministers, who serve along with the Lord Speaker and Lord-High Steward as the chief functionaries of the realm.

Elections for Council Ministers

Any member of the Lords Temporal may stand to be elected to the Council of Ministers. Once a candidacy is announced, that person need only achieve the majority of the votes cast in a particular election to take office. In the event that no candidate earns an outright majority of votes, the two most popular candidates will participate in a run-off.

Impeachment

Such a Minister or member of the House of Nobles be found to have committed a crime involving the misuse or abuse of his influence or power of office within the House, he or she may be impeached by the House following a 2/3 vote. If the motion succeeds in garnering 2/3 of the present voting body, then the officer in question is formally indicted and must stand trial before an en banc proceeding of the House of Magistrates overseen by the Lord-Chancellor. Should the Lord-Chancellor be the impeached party, then the Lord-Speaker will appoint a temporary minister to the position.

Positions within the House of Nobles

Lord Speaker

Appointed by the monarch to serve as the primary organizer of the House of Nobles, the Lord Speaker is charged with leading Stormwind's nobility by regularly holding sessions of the House of Nobles, ensuring necessary legislation is passed, and handling the day-to-day governance of the realm.

The Lord Speaker is further tasked the right to appoint lessor ministers within the House, scribe writs of lessor life-peerage, maintain the House docket, cast tie breaking votes, and issue executive decrees.

The current Lord Speaker is His Excellency Lord Erich Gottfried Manstein, Baron of Faulkenburg.

Lord High Steward

Traditionally a position held by the last sitting Lord-Speaker of the Realm, the Lord High Steward acts as the temporary guardian of the kingdom in the interim period between the monarch's death or abdication until the coronation of a new sovereign. While the position's power has varied over the generations, the office today is largely seen as on primarily of prestige and sinecure, carrying little actual power. The position has historical reserved the right, however, to dissolve the Council of Ministers and call for a new internal election. This is a power rarely exercised, and usually only under extreme circumstances.

The current Lord High Steward is currently vacant.

Council of Ministers

The Council of Ministers is composed of the three most influential and powerful nobles in all the realm. Elected from among the general body of the House of Nobles by the nobility on a cycle of every three months, the Council serves as the Lord-Speakers chief administrators and governing associates. Since the revelations of Lady Katrana Prestor's betrayal, the Council was also granted the power to directly overrule any decree of the Lord-Speaker, provided they vote unanimously to do so.

Lord High Chamberlain

The Chamberlain is tasked with managing the royal apartments, and plays an integral role in scheduling the monarch's day to day activities. He is also responsible for managing the many diplomats that visit the kingdom.

The current Lord High Chamberlain is Lord Denver de Leifeld, Baron Whitewater.

Lord High Chancellor

The Chancellor is responsible for the efficient functioning and independence of the courts of the Realm. He is considered the body's parliamentarian should a conflict of rules arise.

The current Lord High Chanceller is Lord Glycerius Alexander Titus, Baron Duskshade.

Lord High Exchequer

The Exchequer is responsible for the treasury of the kingdom, as well as accounting for all matters of public funding and taxation.

The current Lord High Exchequer is Lord Philip Blancmont, Baron Blancmont

Types of Sitting Members

For purposes of organization, the house is divided into three sections, for which all of members fall into.

Lords Temporal

By far the most common type in the House of Nobles, these lords are the vassals of the Kingdom of Stormwind that have sworn fealty to the King of Stormwind. These lords are typically landed and are expected to attend each session. (See Stormwind Peerage)

Lords Spiritual

Lords Spiritual are sitting representatives of the Church of the Holy Light, with the leader of this group being the Bishop of Stormwind. The number in this group is commonly limited to seven, with all of them being appointed by the Bishop of Stormwind from the clergy to sit in the House of Nobles.

Lords Royal

The Lords Royal are the immediate relatives of the King of Stormwind, including the Queen of Stormwind. This group represents the King's interest and oversight of the nobility of Stormwind. Most of these members carry the privilege to stop a motion for the King's approval, thus removing it from legislative consideration.

Lords Foreign

With the recent primacy of the Kingdom of Stormwind among the Human nations of the Grand Alliance, nobles from other realms are allowed to sit and speak in the House of Nobles, although they are barred from casting any vote unless they have some recognized claim to a title of Stormwind peerage. A Lord Foreign may be silenced by the mere motion of a Lord Temporal, Spiritual, or Royal.

History

With the fall of Stormwind after the First War the House suffered major setbacks. Nearly all of the House's members had been exiled from their lands as a result of the orcish occupation and, upon returning to their holdings after the Second War, found that much of their power  had diminished. Having to rebuild their holdings and regain much of their lost wealth, their ability to influence practical government over the King's authority waned.

The House of Nobles did enjoy a brief surge in power, however, during the disappearance of King Varian Wrynn during a diplomatic mission to Theramore. With the King missing and the Prince Anduin Llane Wrynn still too young to effectively rule, the dragon Onyxia, disguised as the Lady Katrana Prestor was able to, in conjunction with the House of Nobles, effectively rule the Kingdom.

The elevated power of the House under Prestor, however, would prove to be short lived. When Marshal Reginald Windsor unveiled Prestor as the dragon Onyxia, the influence of the House of Nobles crumbled almost immediately. Already suspicious of the House after the revealing of Lord Gregor Lescovar as a traitor to the Defias Brotherhood, the image of the House was tattered and, with the return of King Varian, its power totally drained.

Current Status

To date the House of Nobles, although still an important function of Stormwind's government, primarily operates in the background of the King of Stormwind. With confidence in the House at record lows and the presence of a strong absolutist monarch, the House is mostly relegated to the day to day bureaucratic functions of running Anduin's vast Kingdom and the passage of basic laws. 

Since the reopening of the Dark Portal, however, the House has experienced a resurgence of influence. With Stormwind's economy dominating within the Grand Alliance, the internal security of the homeland almost as great as it was before the First War, and the steady re-population of the realm, the nobility of the Kingdom of Stormwind has come to once again play a larger governing role.  

Active Members (Players)

Lords Temporal and Spiritual are listed here by name, and title. (Baronets, and life peerages may also be listed here.)

Elwynn Forest

• His Excellency, Lord Erich Gottfried Manstein, Baron of Faulkenburg, former Duke of Eastburg. (Manstein)
• His Grace, Maxen Montclair, Duke of Westridge. (Maxen)
• His Grace, Arminius Manstein, Duke of Eastburg. (Arminius)
• His Grace, Adrian Pliskin, Duke of Havenshire. (Bigboss)
• His Grace, Xavier Morgan, Duke of Veridia. (Xooper)
• Sir Robert d'Tauris, Earl of Forrdham.
• Lord Jonathan De Vries , Count of Mirwood (Jonathan) 
• Lady Vannesira Smith, Countess of Rustridge. (Vannesira) 
• Lord Aurkus Pendragon, Baron of Red Rock (Varredin)
• Lord Drake M. Aedrenn, Baron Aedrenn of Lakehaven. (Aedrenn)
• Lady Katherine Aedrenn, Baroness of Lakehaven. (Dolliah)
• Lord Konrad de Leifeld, 9th Baron of Whitewater. (Everen)
• Sir Abraham Montgomery-Hughes Whittington, 6th Baron Longstreet. (Everen)
• Lord Grayloth McClellan Ke'tar, Baronet of Fairpeak - in shambles, under reconstruction. (Bulise)
• Lieutenant Denver de Leifeld, 8th Baronet de Leifeld. (Everen)
• Lord Stanley Clegg, 4th Baronet de Breslin. (Everen)
• Lord Randolph Wiseman, 2nd Baronet de Kendrickton. (Everen)
• Sir Brian Campbell, 6th Baronet de Bakersville. (Everen)

Redridge Mountains

• His Grace, Edward Ashcroft II, Duke of Stonewatch.
• Lady Theodora Ke'tar, Countess of Highmont (Theodora)
• Sir Grayloth Ke'tar, Earl of Highmont (Bulise)
• Lord Braxton Verdun, Count of Everstill / Lord Alexander Verdun, Viscount of Everstill (Verdunz)
• Lord Pershador Cromwell II, Baron Cromwell of Vindictus Keep (Pershador)
• The Honorable Matilda Claurice, Maiden. (Matilda)
• Heinrich Mellion von Webber, Baron of Fowlbrook (Davoss)

Duskwood

• His Grace, Francis Meldrick, Duke of Crownwatch.
• Lord Meldras Calister, Marquess of Lorynvale, Duke-Claimant (Meldras)
• Lord Fellinx Emeritus, Margrave of Emerglade.
• Lord Levi Morne, Count of Brightbank. (Levimorne)
• Lady Erzsibet Mara, 18th Countess of Myrewood (Erzsibet)
• Lord Glycerius Alexander Titus, Baron of Evershade (Glycerius)
• Lady Raven Ashton, Marchioness of Bleakwood (Bleakwood)
• Lady Sarareith Daggerfall, Baroness of Raven Hill

Westfall

• His Grace, Fredreck Haltring, Duke of Highshore (Fredreck)
• His Grace, Henry Sutton IV, 8th Duke of Newcastle. (Henrysutton)
• Lady Adeleyd Velarius, Countess of Eastfall. (Adeleyd)
• Lord Jacob Whitfield, Baron Whitfield of Westbank. (Isaàc)
• Lord Praetorius Ellerian, Baron of Dagger Hills. (Praetorius)
• Lady Nelany Ellerian, Baroness of Dagger Hills. (Nelany)
• The Honorable Abigail Ellerian, Maiden. (Abi)
• Lord Robert Sarolan, Baron of Strathford. (Sarolan)
• Lady Hildegarde Cromwell, Dowager Countess of Cairnhall. (Maeriann)
• Lady Mairaed O'Callaghan, Baroness of Eastfield (Mairaed/Callaghhan)

Church of the Holy Light

The current Bishop of Stormwind is Alonsus Secundus. His Holiness has seven vacant seats to which he has yet to appoint Lords Spiritual.

Inactive and Former Members (Players)

Elwynn Forest

• Margrave Heida K. Hohenzollern, Baroness of Southeastern Elwynn. (Hohenzollern)
• Lady Rosielyn Gwen Seyfried, Countess of Crystal Lake, Baroness of Lontshire. (Rosielyn)

Redridge Mountains

• His Grace, Baldrec Ashcroft, Duke of Stonewatch - Deceased. (Baldrec)
• Lady Nantala Dovecrest, Baroness of Dovecrest and Duchess of Westwood. (Nantala)

Duskwood

• Lord David Blackfyre, 8th Earl of Blackwood - Deceased.
• Lord Arryc Ashvale, 9th Earl of Blackwood. (Deceased)

Former Members (NPCs)

• Lord Baurles K. Wishock (Assassinated)
• Lord Gregor Lescovar (Assassinated)
• Lady Katrana Prestor (Actually the Black Dragon Onyxia in disguise; Deceased)
• Sir S. J. Erlgadin (Former Count who renounced his title)

Active Members (NPCs)

• Count Remington Ridgewell
• Baron Aldous Lescovar
• Lord Bolten Vanyst
• Lord Ello Ebonlocke

((There are a presumidly large number of members within the House, however, few actually appear as NPCs in WoW.))