The Magistrate
In the days of the Spring Empire, the magistrate in each town and village was appointed by the prefect of the region. There is, of course, no prefect in these days; your grandmother and grandfather can remember the last magistrate so appointed, but when he died there was no one to name a replacement except the people of Solano themselves.
The current magistrate was not exactly appointed democratically. The most respectable and well-off members of the community gathered in the magistrate's villa to discuss which of their number should be elevated to the post. In a small irony, however, it soon became apparent that none of them enjoyed the favour and support of a majority, and the respectable men and women of the town were forced to settle on a compromise candidate - the quiet and devout priestess Zhao, a tiefling woman now in her late fifties.
Zhao is a woman of few words, speaking plainly and without the flowery courtesies of an imperial traditionalist but also without the uncouth mannerisms of a farmer or a miner. Her skin is dark, a brown-black that makes her seem in stillness like an ancient wooden carving; her teeth, horns, and nails are a dull red-brown like dried blood. She is devoted to the Virtuous Way of the Spring Empire, but does not condemn or begrudge the other faiths of the town.
The only real complaint anyone in Solano has about Zhao's tenure as magistrate stems from her religious convictions. While the Virtuous Way was never a pacifist faith, there was always a strong current of such sentiment among some adherents, and Zhao's personal faith derives from teachers of that tradition. Some of the most well-off ladies and gentlemen of the town fear that Zhao's lack of enthusiasm for the recruitment and training of the town militia will have severe consequences sooner or later; she has governed now for so long and so well in all other respects, however, that they could not replace her. Without the magistrate's encouragement and support, enthusiasm for militia service has dwindled - barely more than a dozen men and women still regularly practice the prescribed drills. Zhao herself remains quietly sure that the Virtuous Way will protect her people.
The current magistrate was not exactly appointed democratically. The most respectable and well-off members of the community gathered in the magistrate's villa to discuss which of their number should be elevated to the post. In a small irony, however, it soon became apparent that none of them enjoyed the favour and support of a majority, and the respectable men and women of the town were forced to settle on a compromise candidate - the quiet and devout priestess Zhao, a tiefling woman now in her late fifties.
Zhao is a woman of few words, speaking plainly and without the flowery courtesies of an imperial traditionalist but also without the uncouth mannerisms of a farmer or a miner. Her skin is dark, a brown-black that makes her seem in stillness like an ancient wooden carving; her teeth, horns, and nails are a dull red-brown like dried blood. She is devoted to the Virtuous Way of the Spring Empire, but does not condemn or begrudge the other faiths of the town.
The only real complaint anyone in Solano has about Zhao's tenure as magistrate stems from her religious convictions. While the Virtuous Way was never a pacifist faith, there was always a strong current of such sentiment among some adherents, and Zhao's personal faith derives from teachers of that tradition. Some of the most well-off ladies and gentlemen of the town fear that Zhao's lack of enthusiasm for the recruitment and training of the town militia will have severe consequences sooner or later; she has governed now for so long and so well in all other respects, however, that they could not replace her. Without the magistrate's encouragement and support, enthusiasm for militia service has dwindled - barely more than a dozen men and women still regularly practice the prescribed drills. Zhao herself remains quietly sure that the Virtuous Way will protect her people.