The Kingdom of Wallen is a small, but powerful human nation. It was founded by Girard, one of the members of the Triad. Girard was a warrior born and raised in the Wallen Woods, who took inspiration from nature to achieve great feats of arms. Girard became the chosen of Dray, deity of the natural world, and preached her word to all peoples.
Girard was born to a minor noble house outside of the City of Wallen, with little money but a large tract of land. As a boy, he deeply admired the wild Rangers that lived off of the land but his family insisted that he join the military. Girard took every opportunity for field work, preferring the open sky to city streets. When it came time to unite his people, he had to find a way to protect the very different ways of life of nobles, merchants, farmers, and rangers. He created the Great Contract, and pledged his own life as well as that of his descendants to defending those ways of life. The great cities of Hollyport and Darkwood joined, and became Wallena, as did the men of the fields and wilds between.
In theory, the Crown has absolute power. The word of the King is law. The King may act however he chooses in matters legal, financial, and military. In practice, though, the Crown must proceed slowly and carefully, lest it attract the ire of the Advisory Council. According to the Great Contract, the Advisory may nullify any act of the King which violates the terms of the Great Contract. A majority vote is needed. The Advisory can paralyze the Crown into submission, rendering it impotent through repeated nullifications. However, with no power to act independently, sooner or later the Advisory must let up and allow the King to run the realm again.
Since a Faction needs one percent of the citizenry to obtain a seat on the Advisory, there could be as many as one hundred Advisors. In practical terms, there are from one third to half that number. Many citizens register with tiny, niche Factions with no chance of achieving a seat. Several factions fall just short of the one percent threshold. A few popular factions regularly register much more than the required minimum. All of this is reconfigured every ten years during the Census.
On the one hand, the system encourages a diverse range of viewpoints. Since a Faction only receives one vote regardless of the number of registrants, large factions inevitably lose most of their support to smaller groups at the next census. On the other hand, there is a strong incentive to work together. Unless the Factions can put their differences aside, they will allow the Crown to run amok.
The King and the Advisory Council both conduct business in the lordcity of Wallen. The Royal Residence and the Advisors' Palace are both crescent-shaped structures hugging opposite sides of an enormous hill. You cannot see one structure from the other. Sitting atop the hill is a sacred grove of enormous trees called the Cathedral of Dray. The Green Lady's highest clerics are available to advise both sides at all times. It is said that no two trees are alike in the grove, and all of the trees are always both in full flower and heavy with fruit.
Regular, stone cathedrals to the other deities form the core of the city's other neighborhoods, with folk living in Brin's Quarter or Kremin's Quarter, for example. The neighborhoods' architecture and décor reflect their patrons, and a citizen crossing the street can go from red granite carved with apples to black marble hung with purple lilies. The populace recognize the importance of all of the gods in their lives, and count the days by the multitude of holy days and religious festivals.
King Darius Girardine III took the throne as a boy, before learning the political tricks and negotiating techniques that he would need to keep the Advisory at bay (or better, at each others' throats). As a result, he has been a laissez-faire king, content to simply let things continue on as they are.
When each Faction is created, they are issued a charter. The Faction chooses its own method of deciding who will stand, or be nominated, to potentially represent the Faction on the Advisory. Ultimately, the Crown has the right to choose the Advisor from among those who stand. Some Factions offer dozens of potential candidates to choose from, while others give the Crown only a single option. Most Factions allow anyone with enough signatures to be submitted to a committee, which approves candidates to stand.
The Advisors' Palace is anything but. While in theory all of the Advisors may reside here, generally they find better-appointed quarters elsewhere. Originally a modest building, most of its living space has been converted into offices, meeting rooms, lecture halls, dining halls, and private studies. The original, square building of red stone has been supplemented with two sweeping wings. One contains baths, saunas, and several dining areas for the use of Advisors, as well as a modest gymnasium and extensive stables. The other contains the Grand Salon, an enormous hall where the Advisory council can meet and vote. It is large enough to accommodate all of the Advisors while accompanied by a small staff, with plenty of room left for spectators.
Majority Square, in front of the Advisors' Palace, is the frequent site of festivals, markets, and parades. Once a year, in midsummer, a huge crowd gathers and twelve enormous wooden poles are erected. Teams from each of the Kingdom's twelve regions (the duchies of Hollyport, Darkwood, Draketooth, Wooddeep, Clearwater, Far Hills, Eastgate, Fey Point, Grey Fields, Sharwick, Far Fields, and Northland) compete. Each competitor from the team of three has to take turns climbing to the top, then returning to the ground. The winning team is paraded through the city, and has their banner hung from the Palace for the next year.
The Royal Residence is built entirely of a white brick specially made by the dwarves. The entire building is carved with decorations and scenes from the natural world, many painted in bright and realistic colors. The grounds are taken up by extensive gardens, including dozens of groves of trees. In front of the Residence is the Grand Arcade, a three-story, circular enclosure filled with shops and surrounding a wooded park. All citizens have access to the park, which is filled with animals, birds, and even fish swimming in crystal clear pools.