Council

The Council consists of the Colony's Second, elders, and envoys. They advise the Captain on major decisions and act for the good of the Colony.

Description
The Council is made up of the Colony's Second, elders, and envoys. The Second is the leader of the Council, while elders are considered higher in rank than envoys. They advise the Captain, and have the power to overrule a Captain's orders if they feel they are not acting in the best interest of the Colony - such as leading rangers on dangerous missions or pointless battles, or rejecting the Captain's choice of Second.

When rangers retire from active duty, they may join the Council, acting as trusted advisors. Only Seconds, envoys, and rangers who have retired can join the Council. Envoys are minor members whose voices matter the least, though they still have some say in how the Colony is run.

Depending on the Colony, herbalists and their opinions may be included at varying levels of power. For example, in Field Colony, herbalist opinions are considered on par with those of elders; in Oak Colony, herbalists have the authority an envoy would have, or less.

Elders are usually members of the Council unless they strongly oppose the position. Some are more involved in the Council than others - for example, Yellowflower, an Oak Colony elder, is a very pushy Council member - though her mate and fellow Oak Colony elder Birchwhisker usually sleeps through meetings.

Along with the position of Second, the Council is considered a safeguard for the unexpected death of a Captain. Envoys are another safeguard if both the Second and Captain die at once, as they have been trained specifically for the task and have the necessary leadership experience. This is not ideal, though this has never happened within living memory.

Trivia

 * The Council put in place to make sure the Captain didn't have too much power.
 * Whether or not the Council has always been effective at keeping its Captain in check is a conflict that will be explored in the story.
 * The Council has no direct parallel of inspiration to the Warriors series.