| Description: | The Imperial government's only deliberative body. It has few powers and rarely exercises them. In theory, the Moot includes all Imperial nobles of baronial or higher status, but most nobles do not find it convenient to travel to Capital, and so many of those seated hold proxy votes. Large blocks of these votes can be wielded by a single influential noble.
Technically, the Moot is supreme in the Imperium, but its power is extremely limited. In practice, its deliberations are advisory to the emperor, and he is wise to heed them. The Moot has only one power: to dissolve the Imperium. When this power is brought to bear, it compels compromise between opposing factions.
When an emperor dies, abdicates, or otherwise becomes unfit for office, the Moot becomes important as the validating body for the new emperor. It has the power to examine the qualifications and credentials of the heir apparent and, in unusual situations, to reject him.
The Moot holds its sessions in the Moot Spire, which is the tallest building on Capital. By tradition, the Spire is the only building allowed to tower above the Imperial Palace, which is 4.25 kilometers away. Elevators with gravitic compensators can speed visitors from the bottom to the top in 18 seconds. At the top of the Spire is the High Moot, where select committees hold the most private deliberations.
In the resulting turmoil after Strephon's assassination, Prince Lucan ordered the Moot dissolved for a year in an effort to prevent any infiltrators from convincing the Moot to approve the usurper Dulinor's claim to the throne. |