With Beltaine Eve, May begins, April and the A to Z Challenge ends

We are almost to the first day of May, once we pass through Beltaine, signally the change from Spring to Summer in the old Celtic calendar.  But for the Romans May (Maius in Latin) and was named after the Greek goddess Maia, maybe, who is associated with Spring.  So, what theme would you like to see for May?  Spring and nature?  The fae and faerie?  Something else?  Let me know and I will try to accommodate.

As should surprise no one at all, April’s writings were primarily for the A to Z Blogging Challenge, which I am pleased to say I completed, again.  So, the posts for April, 2021, were:

Zamindars and the Zamidari System in the Sea of Stars (A to Z)

While the dragons rule the Sea of Stars they usual do so at some remove, it is the rare dragon who is interested in the minutia of actually governing, most enjoy the pomp and splendor of their occasional visits and the tax revenue and that is quite as much as they wish to be involved.  To call most dragons claws off rulers would be the best description.

But some seek a greater degree of control working more closely with the states they rule.  Some appoint Satraps, governors, to oversee the way their lands are ruled.  Other take a more direct hand and appoint the ruler directly, these are the Zamindar, their power comes directly from their appointment with the implicit backing of draconic power if they are not obeyed.  Usually, the Zamindar are free to rule their land as they see fit as long as the proper taxes are paid to their draconic patron and the Imperium, and some rule as tyrants, others try to work with the local systems and a few go native.  The record of success depends on how much support the new Zamindar can count on and how much they are willing to accommodate the wishes of their new subjects . . . needless to say, it can be a very short career but a very profitable one to those who survive.

Succession is theoretically at the whim of the dragon, but a successful Zamindar can usually angle for a successor of their choice, often someone in their family, a spouse, child or even more distant relative.  For the dragon, success is what usually matters, if someone wants to build an empire, that is fine as long as the tribute keeps rolling in.  Some dragons fear that successful Zamindar will build rival power base to that of the dragon ruler, move them around and find replacements for those who have died from distant lands, all to ensure they are not being plotted against.  This general this sort of maneuvering causes so much political and social disruption that plots against the dragon are almost inevitable but the disruption makes it difficult for such groups to organize (especially as dragons are notoriously difficult to kill) and the constant changes make the place poorer and so they have less resources with which to rebel.  Perhaps there is some method to such rule but it is not kind nor efficient to the ruled.