Zundrbarian Pillars of Law

Zundrbarian Law is based off of the Five Pillars established by Baldrick Sootbeard in +0, based off of the ideas of the 500 Zundrbarians. Zundrbarian Law was changed greatly in +1504, which the abolition of the Church "Pillar," which was formed artificially in +500 after the death of Baldrick. The Parliament "Pillar" was also decreased in power, with the power of religious freedom being given to the people, and the power to govern themselves was given to the people, instead of having them elect a parliament.

The Five Pillars
The Five Pillars of the Zundrbarian Law are the base foundation for the different governance of Zundrbar. It allows certain punishments to be dealt with by different branches of the Zundrbarian society, and also dictates the amount of authority each part of society holds over Zundrbar as a whole.

The Five Pillars are: The Common Law- which is centered around the authority the people have in Zundrbar, which is the largest amount of authority, The Aristocrat Law- which is centered around the authority the Landed Aristocracy has in Zundrbar, which is the smallest amount of authority, The Guild Law- which is centered around the authority the Gulids have in Zundrbar, The Parliament Law- which is centered around the power the elected parliament has, which is very small, and the Royal Law- which is centered around the Prince holds.

Previously, the Five Pillars were known as the Six Pillars, and included an additional pillar for the Church of the Titans. However, after the Nonconformist Reformation and the dissolution of the Church of the Titans, the freedom of religion was granted to citizens by Sven Sootbeard, and a separation of Church and State was established. Additionally, the Parliament was destroyed in +1504 after a scandal involving numerous parliament officers being under the payroll of the Church, in exchange for harboring and hiding Church officials, as well as the same said for bank individuals. The power of the parliament was destroyed, and granted down to the citizens, which included voting on legislation, and large amounts of power was taken away from the House of Aristocrats as well, in favor of giving it to the citizenry.

History & Origin
The formation of Zundrbar in +0 was mainly to form a settlement with varying beliefs than the rest of the Kingdom of Ironforge. Baldrick Sootbeard was tired of the injustice Dwarves faced at the heels of the leaders- the Mountain Kings, they styled themselves as. In addition to creating a new economic system based off of the Zundrbarian School of Economic Thought, Baldrick Sootbeard also created a new system of laws, in which most power was handed over to the people, with a small amount given to the landed aristocracy. Additionally, to ensure the ability for the citizenry to receive large amounts of power, the House of the Parliament was also created for legislative purposes.

Steadily, the balance of power in Zundrbar began to change as the Church and State both gained more power, alongside the large financial powers- specifically the investment branches of the Ankoer Bank. This balance of power was finally determined with the Reforms of +1504 by Sven Sootbeard, during which many officials of the corrupt Church of the Titans were executed, along with prominent officials from the Ankoer Bank. Finally, reforms were made which destroyed the parliament and the church governance over Zundrbar after Sven Sootbeard was charged with high heresy by the final leader of the Church of the Titans, and attempted to be captured by church military forces. Sven then gave power from the aristocrats and the parliament to the people.

House of Aristocrats
The House of Aristocrats gained the majority of its power in the rule of Bjorn and Magnus, who were monarchial thinkers and leaders. The House of Aristocrats was made up of the clans granted nobility by the Prince of Zundrbar, or through a vote of the citizens. The House of Aristocrats has largely diminished in power since +1800 after the deaths or fleeing of many of the aristocratic and noble families. Now, only one aristocrat clan remains- The Ironbeard Clan.

House of Commons
The House Commons has currently gained the majority of the power in Zundrbar, voting on important economic issues, as well as social issues. For example, if a bill has been proposed by a guildmaster to raise taxes on the citizenry, then the tax law must be voted in by the citizens. Only in the case of extreme emergencies can the guildmaster pass a bill to the prince who can immediately have it approved, such as if there are no finances left in the coffers of Zundrbar.

The House of Commons is made up of all the citizens in Zundrbar, who come together for moots whenever there is a new bill being proposed.

House of Guildmasters
The House of Guildmasters holds the second largest power in Zundrbar, and primarily governs over business transactions, however does wield some amount of power over how criminals are punished. For example, if an outsider were to come into Zundrbar and attempt to steal something that could be directly linked to the guild (for example, a glass forged by the Engineering Guild), the guildmaster of the guild directly linked to the object would be responsible for the punishment of the criminal. However, if a Zundrbarian has to the be punished, the guildmaster will choose a punishment, and there must be a vote at a moot.

Royal House (Prince of Zundrbar)
The Royal House- the Sootbeards, holds the least amount of power in Zundrbar, and primarily governs over operations outside of Zundrbar, such as the establishment of trading posts, which Ghlafferge Sootbeard has assumed control over. The Royal House has never held large amounts of power due to a lack of sympathizing with the system of the Kingdom of Ironforge, in which a small group of individuals, or in historical cases- a single individual, holds all the power, as demonstrated in the disastrous War of Three Hammers.

Previous Houses (Church+Parliament)
The House of the Church was dissolved following the Nonconformist Reformation, which proved the church to be a corrupt entity, which falsely accused many of comitting heresy. During its existence, the House of the Church primarily looked over religious crimes- for example, if there was a case of heresy being comitted, the Church would determine the punishment. Following the Reforms of +1504, which included the separation of Church and State as well as the freedom of religion, Sven Sootbeard destroyed the Pillar of the Church with a near one hundred percent civilian majority vote in favor of the bill, as well as large support from the House of the Aristocrats.

The House of the Parliament was dissolved following the Reforms of +1504, which decreased power from a council type setting, to more of a civilian decision making process. The destruction of the House of Parliament also drew power away from the House of Aristocrats, which were given to the House of the Commons- the law governed by the citizenry.