The Grand Princesses are the hereditary rulers of the maritime city-state of Ǣdyihòzh. Their ancestors gained the position through economic means, and in many ways their rule is maintained in the same fashion: their popularity arises from their role as guarantors of prosperity. Not only do they maintain social order, but also the conditions in which anyone, by hard work or cleverness or luck, can seize their desired prize.

After all, Ǣdyihòzhis would say, is that not the whole purpose of social order?

The Grand Princess formally rules “by the will of the city”. It is important to note that this phrase does not, in Ǣdyihòzhn, necessarily refer to the inhabitants, who while part of the city are not its whole being. It is instead intended to convey that her rule is demanded by all its aspects: its history, its past and continued prosperity, its very spirit of place. It is, in essence, a statement that the rule of the Grand Princess is part of the very fabric of Ǣdyihòzh, and inseparable from it; the two are one and cannot exist apart, any more than a body could survive with its heart removed. (That her role is also approved by the gods goes without saying.)

The current Grand Princess is Èdnam.

To be eligible to succeed as Grand Princess, one must be female, and must descend in female line from the heroine Peirèm and her only daughter Kæltam. In the event of a failure of this set of bloodlines, the Council of Magnates may choose a successor from among their own number. Considering the large number of Kæltam's descendants, there appears to be no imminent danger of this occurring.

While there are no formal qualifications for the role, the heirs of the Grand Princess are expected to be fully informed on the political and economic state of Ǣdyihòzh, and to be trained in the arts of manipulating both.

For much of the title's existence, there was no specialized method for determining who would become Grand Princess; from the days of Kæltam, who first claimed the title essentially by fiat, it was passed from mother to daughter according to Ǣdyihòzhis custom, in which the daughter at the age nearest to majority (three cycles) would be her heir, with no provision for daughterless rulers. After the troubled ascension of Toshlik, who was almost exactly as far above the age of majority as her sister Ayhyam was below it, one of her earliest priorities was the promulgation of a law to regulate and clarify the succession. From that point onward, the heir to the title has been decided more or less automatically by this law, and she succeeds immediately upon the end of her predecessor's reign.

As things currently stand, the heir to the present Grand Princess Èdnam is her eldest daughter Kæltam. However, assuming that Èdnam remains alive for long enough, the status of heir presumptive will move to each daughter as they all age, remaining with whichever one is closest to her age of majority: currently these are her second daughter Ūlkam and her third daughter Tōghyem.

Following Tōghyem is Kovrik, the only daughter of Èdnam's deceased younger sister Ōzhdinem. As Èdnam has taken the unusual step of formally adopting Kovrik as a daughter, Kovrik will be heir in her turn for a period before any future daughters of Èdnam; had she not been adopted, she would not become heir unless all of Èdnam's direct descendants died.

Following Kovrik and any future daughters of Èdnam are the latter's elder sister Hakhṑrik and her descendants; currently she has five daughters and one granddaughter. After this is Ayhyam, the younger sister of Èdnam's mother Toshlik, and her descendants; then Toshlik's next eldest sister Sòrzhik and her line, then the line of their sister Peirèm (Peirèm herself being deceased), then their eldest sister Kevlik and her descendants.

(While descendants of one of Toshlik's aunts are also extant and are technically eligible for the Horn of Peirèm under the current law, their strident opposition to both the law and to Toshlik and her descendants means that their accession would almost certainly cause political upheaval were it to be achieved; it is, perhaps, just as well that there are some 45 other heirs likely to stand between them and the Horn.)

The Grand Princess is the ultimate ruler of the city of Ǣdyihòzh, its citizens, and its subjects; moreover, the foreign policies of Ǣdyihòzhis vassals are directed from her palace.

The Grand Princess has no enumerated responsibilities; she is the territorial overlord of the city and its associated domains, with which she may in theory do as she likes, and her title signifies nothing more or less. However, in practical terms, she is responsible for the day-to-day governance of Ǣdyihòzh, for appointing and coordinating its officials, for tracking and maintaining its treasury, for decreeing laws, for directing its military and its diplomatic relations, for fostering business. Most of this is done with the input, if not the actual approval, of the Council of Magnates.

The lifeblood of Ǣdyihòzh is fees. Fees to use docks, fees for storage space, fees for licensing businesses and guilds - but above all, the tolls on ships, passing through the Giant's Gate, the narrow passage between the Inner and Outer Abethine Sea. While most of the fees go directly into the treasury, by ancient convention the Grand Princesses receive one eighteenth of the proceeds for their own use. Therefore, in the absence of extremely unwise spending, they are among the wealthiest individuals in the world.

Also set aside for the use of the Grand Princess is the Principal Palace, a low but sprawling and luxurious edifice of marble that extends nearly a full quarter of the way around the top edge of the Great Sinkhole and which houses her, her family, her many servants, and most of the government apparatus that does not involve localized offices.

Fine clothing and expensive accessories are a frequent accompaniment of the rank, but not inherent to it. The main token of office, as it is throughout much of the former Imperial sphere, is a horn: in this case, the Horn of Peirem, made of brass and silver, long and curved after the fashion of a ghyṑl tusk - modeled, it is said, after a now-lost original wrested from its owner's mouth by Peirèm herself. It is attached to a finely woven and embroidered baldric, from which it hangs when worn; the Grand Princess is expected to wear both horn and baldric on ceremonial or highly public occasions. The weight of the instrument has been a quiet complaint of the Grand Princesses since it was manufactured.

The banner of the Grand Princesses is a ship on the sea, with red sails. Each successive Grand Princess has tended to personalize the design in a different way; in the case of the incumbent, Èdnam, it also depicts a takma, wings spread, hovering above the waves and preparing to cast a spear at a fish. This is a reference to Èdnam's name, which is derived from the Ǣdyihòzhn èdun, 'short spear'.

While some political theorists hold that the Council of Magnates might have the influence to depose a Grand Princess, there is no legal basis for doing so and the maneuver has never been tried. It is generally felt that the risk of civil strife and disruption of business would not be worth the trouble, since members of the Council are all fabulously wealthy and powerful as it is and the Grand Princesses have taken a certain amount of care not to change that for any of them… at least, not without the connivance and participation of all the rest of them. As a result, a Grand Princess only departs office upon death.

The ancestor of the Grand Princesses was Peirèm, the captain of a privateering vessel that entered the service of the city soon after its independence from Uzhidam in 52 Cloud. Her predations were bold and wide-ranging, but she was cunning enough to come out of them with significant spoils, from which she was wise enough to spend liberally on the city and its inhabitants. By the time of her death, Peirèm had become a local hero, an Ǣdyihòzhis equivalent of Robin Hood.

Kæltam was the only daughter of Peirèm, and inherited her mother's remaining wealth. Kæltam was more comfortable in an office or council chamber than on a ship, but she had a number of loyal brothers who were happy to continue sailing their mother's ship on her behalf while she looked for other ways to increase her wealth and influence. This she did with impressive single-mindedness, building an ever-expanding fortune through a combination of commercial savvy and complete lack of scruples, until she was able to buy out nearly the entirety of the harborfront district - docks, warehouses, toll facilities, inns and taverns all became hers. The cost was staggering, but it delivered near-absolute control of the city into her paws, and forced the other shipowners to bend to her will (and pay her fees) or be effectively barred from doing business.

In the cycles since independence, Ǣdyihòzh had been ruled essentially as an ad hoc plutocracy - wealthy families bought and sold influence as they needed it, or indeed (often being or employing pirates of one stripe or another) stole it outright. Having become the supreme plutocrat, and having her mother's reputation to back her up, Kæltam was able to impose a certain amount of legal structure on the city, much to the relief of those without enough money to spend on defending their own interests. Eventually, she felt comfortable in formalizing her position, and proceeded to assign herself the title of Grand Princess, which she and her heirs carry to the present day.

Although theoretically absolute rulers, the Grand Princesses have thus far been wise enough to recognize certain practical limits. Kæltam's immediate heir, Ōzhdinem, noting that the expansion of the economy relied on people other than herself having a major stake in the city, instituted the Council of Magnates to allow certain individuals and families of economic value to have a say in government. While curbing any enthusiasm by the magnates for thoughts of regime change, it has ever since required the Grand Princesses to undergo a constant and delicate balancing act between the interests of the privileged and the commons; pay too little heed to the magnates and they might unite against the throne, but pay too much and they might very well run roughshod over a populace that was unlikely to be happy as a result.

The current Grand Princess Èdnam, it is widely agreed, is despite her relative youth one of the most accomplished performers of this balancing act ever to hold the position, though this assessment might be colored by the somewhat legalistic and pro-magnate leanings of her mother Toshlik. Between this and her continuance of her mother's rather assertive approach to foreign relations, Èdnam is a popular monarch in most quarters, and her position seems secure.

The public at large tends to think of the Grand Princesses as their protectors and benefactors more than their rulers - while of course they do make laws, it is thought proper that they do so mostly in support of those functions. This may provide an insight into the Ǣdyihòzhis view of government, which is that it should know when and when not to stay out of the way.

But because the Grand Princesses have historically been competent at this, they are generally popular; people are content with them, if not actually pleased.

1. Kæltam (62-71 Cloud)
2. Ōzhdinem (71-76 Cloud)
3. Toshlik (76-82 Cloud)
4. Èdnam (82 Cloud-present)