Potentate World Summit

Once a year, all the rulers of the Potentate nations meet for a two-week to one-month long summit. It’s normally held in Grameria the capital of Emilimoh. It started back after the Great War with Heklis. King Roxorim started it after he’d been from Grameria after Heklis’s defeat for about a year.

This tradition has only gotten stronger since then. By the time of the enthronement in Purerah in the year 2000, the structure of the Yearly Summit had become standardized something no ruling monarch would dare miss.

The first of what would come to be called the Yearly Summit took place in the year 2 in early July. It was held annually in the following years, though not always at the same time of year.

The summit was between the kingdom of Emilimoh, Englaria, and Spearim. At the time, King Roxorim of Emilimoh was the only Potentate ruler at the time. The king of Englaria and Spearim were puppet rulers set up by Heklis. The Custods and King Roxorim decided to prevent more upheaval among the new kingdom of Emilimoh and the already established kingdoms to allow those kings to continue their rule at the time. Keeping in the Custod’s good graces by meeting with them and King Roxorim was used as a means to try to keep their power. (Though this wasn’t enough for King Carlos of Spearim who was killed in his attempt to take over Emilimoh in the year 5.)

The Yearly Summit was held in Grameria until the year 13 when the Custod family along with King Roxorim’s family took an extended vacation. The representatives of Emilimoh were sent in his stead, thus establishing the tradition of always having a high-ranking member of the court attend the Yearly Summit.

In 507 there was a discussion of moving the summit to Nefritra as it seemed more central for most nations, but four years later in 511, a war broke out between Nefritra and Athadina that discouraged the other nations from trusting Nefritra with the responsibility.

The time of the yearly Summit varied until the year 387 when the second week of July became standardized. It has been held from the first workday of the second week of July since that time. The earliest it has ended is two weeks later, but often will go as long as a month.

Each nation has work to do to prepare for the summit outside of preparing for the travel which can be quite a task for many who live far away such as Purerah and Gutchia. The first thing they have to do is decide who will go and who will handle the affairs of the nation while the ruler is gone.

Out of respect for the other nations, normally one of the ruling couple will attend the summit or just the king or queen. For example, both Englaria and Spearim have a tradition of sending their ruling king and his heir. However, this can and often does change for certain needs. The second most common is the ruling couple to attend while the dowager(s) will handle affairs while they are gone. (The dowager is the king or queen who ruled before the current couple. This is standard for most rulers to do when they reach their late sixties.)

The second part they must decide is what they want to bring to the summit in terms of what topics they want to bring before the body of rulers. For example, if they want help getting a trade agreement between themselves and several other nations overseen by the high king or changing borders with the High King’s approval rather than winning lands through conquest that could be contested or overthrown by the Custods or challenged by the High King.

In the months leading up to the summit, the nations will hold many meetings with their court to come up with a plan and set of goals for the summit. The attending member of the royal family will then select who in his/her staff and court they wish to bring as part of their entourage.

As for the royal family setting up the summit there are many things to prepare to ensure safety of travel for their guests, preparing accommodations, security, and schedule. They will often correspond with the rulers planning to attend to help figure out and schedule out the best meeting arrangements. Preparations often will start as soon as the last summit.

Another problem the host often has to prepare for is unexpected guests. Each nation will send at least one if not two of the royal family and 4-10 people in the entourage not including guards. So planning for more people instead of less is easier. This task normally falls to the ruling queen, but can fall to the eldest princess or other courtier the king or queen so chooses.

On rare occasions, the darkmen, who live in the lone peek at the north of Emilimoh known as Dark Mountain, will send a representative to the Yearly Summit. (To learn more about the Religion of Darkmen see: A History of the Darkmen.)

The darkmen’s religion is all about committing acts of evil to gain more dark magic and power. This puts them in constant fights with the nation they are in and nearby. For one to show up at the summit makes all the other attendants nervous. The first time it happened was in the time of King Roxorim. They rarely speak but choose to mostly listen and rarely comment.

Darkmen do not always attend, but when they do more often than not a more intense attack from them will occur within the next five years. In an attempt to make peace with them, the High King allows them to come if they arrive, but they are highly guarded to ensure they do not cause trouble.

The Yearly Summit is an exciting time for those who live in Grameria. All the visitors bring in a lot of business and often times their unique types of entertainment or food to trade and enjoy. It helps promote corporation between all the national rulers.

The Head Custod and Head Keeper will always attend with as many of their people as they feel they need. The Head Keeper will bring as many as ten to fifteen of his/her fellow keepers to help record the events of the summit. The Head Custod as many as he needs to sit in as many meetings as he feels is needed.

This tradition has become a key part of international politics and international cooperation. For some, it is a happy time to see their fellow rulers and often times family as many kings and queens are distantly related. It’s a tradition dreaded and enjoyed by many.