Oylag Society was a form of goblinoid social organisation in Central Balebu. It originated from older, primitive agricultural societies and pastoralist groups, under influence from Bromal city-focused culture.

The Fundament: Treyne

Oylag was an agricultural, sedentary society built on top of the food production of a large peasantry. Communities of several hundred peasants were grouped into tribes, usually with a small settled center and several satellite villages and farmsteads. The tribe was ruled by a single chief and his family, a petty aristocrat called treyne. Treyne were key to this system, because, in return for tribute of food, work, and duty of allegiance, he gave his people access to agricultural capital such as draft animals or mills, he represented them outwards, and he protected them from threats. The control of a tribe, in fact its very existence, was seen as synonymous with the ruling family; only direct heirs in the sense of Bromal Inheritance were considered legitimate treyne. If a ruling family was lost, the tribe was either destroyed, or it "continued" the line with new members of the same family.

Almost always, treyne were not the biggest men around; there were other aristocrats with more, richer territory, ruling bigger settlements. It was common for treyne to band together under greater nobles, owing them allegiance and support in return for the benefits of large size. These bigger organizations, held together by vertical ties among aristocrats, were called clans, and they acted as sovereign polities in the context of Oylag. Clans usually had one large population center, almost always fortified, which served as the administrative capital and the seat of the ruling family, the pryny. Here the chief was called "lord".

This system could present far more intricacies, with several layers of treyne in between a local aristocrat and the lord, and even clans consisting of several component clans (the usual result of one pryny's conquest of another).

Bromal Inheritance

The precise origins of this inheritance system are unknown, but it was featured in the loose Bromal region and its surroundings.

At the core was direct line inheritance: the eldest son inherited the honors of his parent upon their death. Among trueborn children, precedence went to fertile sons, then daughters, then infertile sons; within these group, the eldest had priority. If the heir was too young to rule, the next person down the list could inherit. The parent could also choose to give their honor to anyone, though sticking within the family descendance was customary. Naturally, people bound to the family by promise or act of marriage were also considered "children" of the parent.

Exceptions could be made, and the importance of peer support, perceived legitimacy, and adherence to the "line" of the title were also important considerations. Thus, a close friend of a ruler with no named heir might inherit over a son in exile.

Councils

Though clans had their lords, they also featured customary political institutions which, though weak, accomplished an essential role. Key was the Clan Council, a great council attended by, it seems, all acting aristocrats and/or their heirs. This was a large body, numbering 200 - 800 people. It was a deliberative institution, with the main purpose of forming a coherent policy between the clan's many component tribes. It also seems to have been able to vote on certain proposals, including going to war and other matters of foreign policy; though the role of proposing such a vote fell to the lord, and the lord could sometimes make such decisions without consulting the council. Its role as an aristocrat-consensus-builder was nonetheless important.

In difficult times, several clans might decide to band together to face a common threat or otherwise pursue mutual benefit. In this case, they formed a War Council, which governed an alliance of the same name. The members of the War Council were typically not lords, but other representatives of their clans; their number was determined by relative power, and the were usually spiritual leaders or veteran politicians. War Councils made decisions which carried great weight, being of higher authority than the lords, though their jurisdiction was usually only in foreign and judiciary matters.

The Role of Officials

There were a number of fixed individuals who held positions of power within an Oylag clan.

Lord. The Lord was a hereditary, fixed position. He was considered the absolute leader of his clan, with ultimate authority to raise and wield its military power, and considerable autonomous authority to make policy decisions. He was, however, still only first among peers; he needed the support of his direct clients, and the broader Clan Council. The clan did have some means of hampering the lord's ability to rule if disputes emerged, and in the worst case the lord could lose the support of his clients and face replacement with a more amenable member of his family.

Clan's Justice. The Clan Council could appoint a Clan's Justice, who served for a one-year term. The Justice had authority to investigate and make judgements into moral matters; he presented his judgements to the Council. Hampering a Justice's job was considered a grave offense, and a Justice's judgement was almost never repealed by the council.

Spirit-Seeker. The Clan Council could appoint a Spirit-Seeker, who kept his position until he renounced it on his own. The Spirit-Seeker was the highest spiritual authority in the clan, with an explicit mandate to represent the entire clan towards the gods and the spirits. This office was usually appointed in times of crisis, when spiritual support was considered necessary. The Spirit-Seeker had a specific reason why he was chosen, and he was expected to give up his office once that goal had been achieved.

Marshal. The lord could appoint a marshal, who served as his commander in the field. It was relatively common for the lord to maintain a standing army for longer periods of time (much more so than a lesser aristocrat), and he could not be in the field commanding it at all times; thus a loyal marshal was a very useful subordinate.

Master of Reserves. The Clan Council, and sometimes individual aristocrats on their own authority (typically tribal), could appoint masters of reserve who had the authority to requisition material goods, mostly food, from the populace. This office was mostly utilized to prepare a settlement or castle for an impending war, or to handle the sustenance of an army.

In all of this, the individual power wielded by individual aristocrats must not be forgotten. They all had the ability to legitimately use force, even against members of their own clan and against the wishes of their council. The muster and command of all the clients of an aristocrat were considered his very own prerogative.