...the thing about the Golden Hart is that while it may select the sovereign, it does nothing to force the people of Aldis to abide by this decision. (...) It is entirely in the hands of the people of Aldis to look at the sovereign the Golden Hart has appointed and go "no, we reject this choice" and appoint someone themselves while someone with a golden crescent on their forehead fumes impotently.
They don't do this, though. They don't do this because, give or take a few unfortunate incidents, the Golden Hart's choices seem to have worked out for the best. The Golden Hart's choice for sovereign is entirely a matter of trust.... The Aldin people trust that the Hart chooses someone who will lead them with justice and fairness, prosperity and wisdom, and so far that trust has been rewarded. The people could appoint their own sovereign any time they wanted to if they felt that they could do a better job of it, and they even still have the Blue Rose Scepter to check if someone is aligned with the Light or not (once), but I think characterizing Aldis' government as "profoundly undemocratic" overlooks that it's ultimately the will of Aldis' people that the Golden Hart choose their sovereign.
They don't do this, though. They don't do this because, give or take a few unfortunate incidents, the Golden Hart's choices seem to have worked out for the best. The Golden Hart's choice for sovereign is entirely a matter of trust.... The Aldin people trust that the Hart chooses someone who will lead them with justice and fairness, prosperity and wisdom, and so far that trust has been rewarded. The people could appoint their own sovereign any time they wanted to if they felt that they could do a better job of it, and they even still have the Blue Rose Scepter to check if someone is aligned with the Light or not (once), but I think characterizing Aldis' government as "profoundly undemocratic" overlooks that it's ultimately the will of Aldis' people that the Golden Hart choose their sovereign.
