Office of Noble Registry

Office of Noble Registry
Banner
Caption	The purple banner of the ONR.
Status	Active
Headquarters	Ereben
Founded	148 BY

The Office of Noble Registry (“ONR”) is likely the largest Office of Bormar. Based in the city of Ereben, the ONR is responsible for coordinating the multitude of Lords and Ladies of Bormar to act in accordance with the First House. Its headquarters is a single massive building whose upper levels house dozens of offices and workspaces for the Registrars and their small army of scribes and clerks, while its subterranean levels house an incomprehensible number of administrative documents dating back to Bormar’s founding. It is not uncommon for the ONR to have a presence in Bormar’s cities or larger townships, as this Office provides the crucial role of assessing the wealth of a holding’s Dwarves so that only the most deserving is elevated to noble status by the First House.

History

Pre-Bormar Nobility

Today, Bormar’s nobility is a relatively simple concept. Lords and Ladies administer holdings, and First Lords and First Ladies administer the nation. However, this has not always been the case, and before Bormar’s ascendency one would find all manners of rulers in the Mar Mountains.

Kings and queens, overseers and yanka, dukes and chiefs, and even isolated pockets of democratically elected consuls and representatives could be found ruling the Dwarves of old. Each had different means of rising to their position, be it wealth, blood, or heritage, but there was little consistency between one domain and the next. While this was changed with Bormar’s dominance of the Mar Mountains, it was a long time coming. Over the centuries, other means of leadership fell to the wayside in favor of rule based on the most capable Dwarf. It was not long until this became commonly measured by a Dwarf’s wealth, with others seeing this as the only true way to compare one Dwarf’s capabilities to the next. So, while Bormar was certainly the nail in the coffin to these archaic forms of rule, it had been a shift more so in culture than in politics and was frankly more of a “rubber stamp” than an official proclamation.

The First Act of Nobility

The nature of Bormar’s political system–often described as a meritocratic plutocracy–was agreed upon at the nation’s founding with little controversy. However, as the nation grew the First House ran into recurring problems efficiently implementing the system over Bormar’s ever-expanding realm. Simply put, there were simply too many holdings to assess and too many nobles to communicate with for the First Lords and Ladies to personally handle. While they did so in the nation’s first century, successive administrative headaches were slowly but surely worsening. In 148 BY, the First House passed the First Act of Nobility, which charged the newly created sub-organization of the Office of Noble Registry with administering the nation’s noble system. In the beginning, the Office–known commonly as the ONR–was given three tasks: assess a holding’s population to determine the wealthiest Dwarf, record the vital records of the nobility (name, age, time in office, etc.), and preserve this information for eternity. Over time, the ONR eventually began facilitating the secure delivery of information between Bormar’s nobility and the First House, developing the color-coded letter system that is in use today.

Organization

The ONR has several thousand Dwarves operating throughout the nation, but in a curious bit of irony, the exact number is unknown, even to the ONR’s highest administration, let alone the First House. This is due to the Office’s policy of recruitment which allows sanctioned Registrars to employ and dismiss unsanctioned operatives as they see fit.

For example, a Registrar arriving in a holding for an assessment will typically employ a small team of local Dwarves to assist them. After the assessment is finished and the Registrar is moving to their next assignment, those Dwarves in his employ will be dismissed, having been paid a modest but respectable wage during their work. Due to this fluid recruitment scheme, the ONR’s numbers are never particularly consistent, especially when considering that some Registrars require only one or two helpers while others prefer a team of over a dozen locals. So, while it may never be known for sure, the ONR is more likely than not to be the largest Office of Bormar.

At the top of the ONR’s bureaucratic pyramid sits the First Registrar of Bormar. The First Registrar is tasked with ensuring that the Office’s duties are accomplished and reports such successes directly to the First House.

Letter System

The ONR’s communication system has been extremely successful for what is admittedly a very simple concept. Every letter sent from the First House to a Lord or Lady of Bormar is written on a piece of paper or parchment that has been dyed a particular color, with each color explaining the subject of the message within. Each letter is written in black ink, with the exception of those pertaining to legal or military matters, which instead utilize a rare white ink on stark black paper to demonstrate the seriousness of the situation.

Green - Notices

● “Lord Valhn has succeeded in his bid for a position in the First House and shall now be known as First Lord Valhn. An assessment of the Harbohr holding will be initiated to find his replacement.”

● “Let it be known that the 20th day of this month shall be declared a national holiday where each Dwarf shall be paid double their normal rate!”

Yellow - Administration

● “A shipment of wheat is requested to the Julnoor Province on account of their poor harvests.”

● “It is so ordered that you provide a full statement of your accounts as there has been a discrepancy in your tax and tributary filings.

Red - Urgent

● “An outbreak of Black Quiver’s disease is growing at an alarming rate, and it is so ordered that all holdings will close their borders from caravans to limit its spread.”

● “A mine has collapsed three holdings over, and we are ordering your holding’s most skilled miners and excavators to leave immediately and assist in the rescue efforts.

Black - Legal & Military

● “A warband of Grol is heading to Raun’Ka’s pass, and your molir is ordered to march to its defense.”

● “You have been accused of ruling your holding as a tyrant, and the Office of National Investigations has opened a case to investigate these claims. The officer who has delivered this letter is acting with the full authority of the First House and is to be treated as a First Lord or Lady.”