The Regent's Court

The Regent governs the realm, and the Regent's Court is where that governance happens in public: reports are taken, grievances heard, charges tried, judgments delivered, envoys received, and the Crown's word given before witnesses. Realm law is administered by the Regent, and crimes against the realm are tried before him, with consequences final (Law & Order).

It is a mortal hall. When the Celestials enter it, they come as honored visitors who outrank everything in it the moment they choose to speak, but the court itself remains the mortal Crown's. What belongs to the gods, appointments, ratifications, removals, and divine judgment, is not done here. It is taken to the Celestial Court.

• The Regent convenes it. Court sits on a standing cadence, Mondays on the record, and the Regent may call it at any hour when judgment or crisis demands. Precedent, March 5, 2026: "I intend to call court tonight and deliver the final verdict."
• The Hand hears it first. Before the realm is summoned, the Hand is told. "I wished you to hear it from me first, before the realm."
• The realm is summoned openly: bells and criers. The Court Bells carry the call, and royal couriers carry it into every establishment, tavern, tea house, and docks, so commons and nobles alike can attend. The Regent's own reasoning, March 5: "The people deserved to know."

The division of the hall is exact, and it has held at every recorded session.

• The Regent opens. He sets the tone and the themes, and no more. March 9, 2026: "Welcome all, Large and Small, High borne and low alike. As always, tonight we are all equal to hear the words of the Crown, and for the Crown to hear yours."
• The Regent hands the floor to the Hand, every time. "Lady Hand, the court is in session" (March 2). "Lady Hand, the floor is yours" (March 9). "Lady Hand, the Court is now yours" (June 8). The running of the room, order, speakers, protocol, and agenda, is hers.
• The Hand directs; the Regent decides. Speakers are called by the Hand. Motions, judgments, and the Crown's answers come from the Regent.

1. The Regent's opening address, and the candor standard: "candor is not merely welcome here. It is required... The Crown does not fear truth. It fears only silence." (March 9.)
2. The floor passes to the Hand.
3. Reports of the Small Council, each officer in turn, called by the Hand. (April 13.)
4. Declared business of houses, envoys, and guests. "Proceed with any declared business, the Crown is listening" (April 13). An enemy's envoy is received only on earned standing: "you have bled for the Realm. You have earned this audience. Not absolution." (June 8.)
5. Motions and votes, made from the floor, confirmed by the Regent, conducted under council law. (March 16.)
6. Trials and judgment, when scheduled. The full judicial form is codified on The Regent protocol page, set at the trial of March 2 to 5, 2026.
7. The Regent's closing word, and adjournment. "Court is adjourned. Remain vigilant, remain steadfast, and remain true to your duties." (March 9.)

• All stations attend, and all are equal in being heard. The voice of a farmer weighs with the voice of a prince when the realm is being governed. (March 9.)
• Interruption is contempt. "Enough. You interrupt Court." (April 13.) Threats are contempt from anyone, including council members: "No member of this council may act without explicit permission." (March 2.)
• Armed force in the hall answers to the Regent alone. An armed body entering uninvited is challenged, ordered down, "By order of the Regent. That supersedes any directive you've been given," and removed if it refuses. (March 5.)
• Guest right binds the court. Envoys and consulates of every house stand under the Crown's protection in the Capital. (March 5.)
• Hostile and seceded powers are excluded. "They are no longer members of this council... nor invited to its proceedings." (March 16.)
• When the gods visit, the court yields the moment they speak, and the mortal Crown's authority resumes when they are done. (February 9.)

• It does not fill or strip Small Council seats. The seats are the Celestials'; appointment and removal run through the Hand to the gods (Small Council Appointments). The Regent's part in court is endorsement and petition, never conferral.
• It does not speak for the gods. Celestial decrees enter this court only through the Hand's mouth, and bind the Regent as absolutely as anyone: "it is beyond my authority to deny it." (April 13.)
• It does not replace the Celestial Court. The State of the Realm, blessings, appointments, ratifications, removals, and divine judgment belong to the court of the gods.

• The Governance of the Rookery Isles: the Regent governs; the Hand runs court and council meetings.
• Law & Order: realm law administered by the Regent.
• The Regent: the full judicial form and the office's powers and limits.
• Roleplay Log: the sessions of January 12, February 9, March 2, March 5, March 9, March 16, April 13, and June 8, 2026, where every rule above was played.