The Complete Organizational Structure of the Circle

 

The Summarized Circulion Hierarchy

The Circle was first founded under the Great Unity Accord  of 128 AF. However, the Circle would take it present day form after the Second Wittenheart Conference in 157 AF, when, following the War of the Banners, the rival factions of the Guildsman Society and the Order of the Crown of Branches would merge with the Circle and create a singular entity to oversee the Folk, with the sole purpose of ensuring the preservation of their race. Their founding principles being "Sanctuary. Prosperity. Industry."

Under the amended Accord of 157, the Circle would establish the Five Institutes in order to handle the administrative, academic, judicial, defense and financial components of their newly founded behemoth. The Institutes would be governed under the Table of Institution and Governance, which would become known as the Lower Table, for it would be under the direct control of the Table of the Great Houses, the highest authority of the Circle, which had its seats passed down through the eight founding families of the Circles through hereditary succession. However, it is worth noting that under the powers provided by the Accord and its subsequent amendments, the Institutions retain a fair degree of independence in order to function without Great House oversight, such precautions were taken in the name of bureaucratic efficiency. Though, the Great Houses retain the right to impose their will on the Institutions in any manner that they see is beneficial to the preservation of the Circle. 

Parts of the Great Unity Accord of 157 AF discussed in this page.

 

The Institute of Administration 

The Institute of Administration was founded under an amendment to the Great Unity Accord titled, the Articles of Civic and Baronial Power, which established Boroughs as the broadest administrative unit in the Circle. Each of the eight Boroughs that the Circle could influence (excluding Great Borough) would be ruled over by a Great House. Under the Articles, each Borough would be split into Hamlets. The control of the Hamlets would be assigned to newly created 'Noble Houses', which were established under a subsection of the Articles known as the Charter of Nobility, which defined Noble Houses as an extension of Baronial power and gave the Great Houses the right to appoint and remove Noble Houses at a whim. Once appointed, the title and powers of those Nobles would pass down through their families in hereditary succession. 

The Charter outlines some of the powers and duties of the Nobles thus:

"...Appointees granted the esteemed position shall henceforth carry the rights to dictate matters of finance in their domains under the condition that it be in service of the people and in accordance with the Circulion Code. They shall be granted the right to command officers of the Circulion Army in instances where they must defend their domain from human hostility and instances where they enforce the law amongst the residents of their respective Hamlet. They shall be granted the right to make localized decrees in matters of trade so long as it remains adherent to the Circulion Code. They shall be granted the right to grant and seize the assets of individuals in the name of the Circle under the conditions outlined in the Circulion Code. They shall have the right to delegate duties to only qualified individuals. They shall have the right to draw income from funds allotted by the Treasury and from private sources subjected to their respective laws...

...In return for such privileges as those that have been listed in this document. Appointees to the title of  Noble shall be held to standards befitting their station. They must adhere be beholden to the Circulion Code of Law like any commoner. Their authority shall be limited to the borders of their domain. They shall be barred from engaging in any violent or unlawful action against their subordinates, their peers or any individual protected under the Circle. They shall be held liable for their own signature. They shall be held liable for the failures of those to whom they delegate their authority. They shall be held partially liable for damages caused by individuals acting under their command. They shall be held partially liable to unlawful actions committed by members of their house. They shall be held responsible to the maintenance, expansion and preservation of their assigned Hamlet. They shall engage in not acts bearing a conflict of interest..."

...Any potential violation of the above standards such result in the appointee having to face inquiry in the Circulion Chief Court. Any appointee found guilty shall face the removal of their title and their family's right to the title alongside penalties outlined in the Circulion Code of Law..."

These rights and duties remained largely unaltered during the decades that succeeded the signing of the Great Unity Accord. The Noble Houses remained under the direct control of the Great Houses. During this early period, communication between the houses remained dependent on an informal system of personal relationships dubbed 'The Web of Whispers'. Under this system, access to the Barons remained restricted to individuals whom knew them personally. This led to certain Houses and individuals gaining immense power via their proximity to the Circle's highest authority. These individuals would be dubbed 'Arch-Nobles', 'High-Nobles' or simply 'Noble Secretaries' and their system of gaining influence via association to the Barons. Many outsiders considered this system of favoritism and social networking to be unsustainable and blatantly corrupt. Throughout the years, several riots by the commoners, the Guilds and even less powerful Noble Houses occurred inside the Hamlets regarding this issue. Fortunately, in the year 211 AF, Jon Byrs, a Lawyer and a member of House Byrs of Curtiston in Anglemore Borough, alongside the Tribunal of Law-Makers under Chief Law-Maker Tolbert Sommer would bring forward an amendment to the Charter of Nobility, expanding it to include two new layers of hierarchy to the Institution of  Administration. It would gain intense support from the Circulion populace and would be passed into law by Great Houses in the spring of 212 AF. 

The 212 AF Amendment to the Charter would redefine the regular nobility as the Court of Lesser Nobles, and it would keep their rights and privileges largely unchanged. However, the Amendment would establish a Court of Higher Nobles in order to govern the lesser nobility, and it would outline the some of the rights and duties of the higher court thus:

 "...the court shall consist of eight elected officials, each a member of a Noble House and each selected via election from their respective Boroughs. Once elected, they shall be granted rights befitting their station and they shall be beholden to standards more stringent that their lesser court...

...They shall be granted the right to overrule the judgement of the Lesser Nobles in all matters that do not violate the latter's ability to govern their domain...etc.

...They shall be granted no exceptions to the Circulion Code. Their terms as Higher Nobles may last no longer than eight years per election. They shall engage in on acts bearing a conflict of interest. They shall be held liable for their own signature. They shall be held partially liable to any crimes committed by their inferiors under their supervision. They shall be responsible for the flow of information between the Circle and the Lesser Court of their respective Borough. They shall be responsible for appropriate resource allocation, record keeping, feud resolution and oversight of the Lesser Court of their respective Boroughs...etc." 

Finally, in order to secure the hierarchy, the Amendments would establish the Office of the Grand Nobilier. Previously, the Grand Nobilier was a title bestowed via Great House appointment of candidates brought forward by the Nobility. The title came with no other purpose aside from representing the the Institute of Administration in the Lower Table as a figure head, and many considered it to have no formal authority over the regular Nobility. Furthermore, the importance of the post seemed to sink deeper into irrelevance following the death of the first Grand Nobilier, Norman Arthouse, in 181 AF. All this, coupled with the fact that it too was subject to imbalances of the Web of Whispers meant that Byrs and Sommers considered the role to be riddled with possible corruption. And thus they established the Office of the Grand Nobilier and define it as thus:

"The Grand Nobilier shall be subject to the direct jurisdiction of the Table of the Great Houses in similar fashion to that of all the seats in the Table of Institution and they shall be elected via a majority vote of the Court of Lesser Nobility, pending Baronial veto. Only individuals who have previously served on the Court of Higher Nobility may be eligible for the post and they must not hail from a House who serves on the Higher Court during their tenure...

...Once elected, the Grand Nobilier may stay in their position until they choose to resign on their own behest, until they are dismissed by Baronial Decree, or until they reach the age of sixty at which point they shall be ordered to retire..." 

Under the new Charter, main task of the Office of the Grand Nobilier and the Court of Higher Nobles is to prepare a document known as the Circulion State Report, a document, presented every forty days, containing records, reports and news of all seventy two Hamlets, their respective Noble Houses and other institutions operating under the Institute of Administration. This report is considered key to the operations of the Lower Table. In later years, the Guildsman would also be included in the creation of this report. 

In order to fix the issues caused by the Web of Whispers system, the new charter also created the Department of Confidentiality, a special sub section of the Postman's Guild under the direct control of the Office of the Grand Nobilier. The Department would be in charge of monitoring and recording all letters sent by any official working under the Circle. They would also create the Standards of Confidentiality, a list of laws and records regarding a system of strictly regulated codes and letterbox networks differentiated based on various levels of secrecy. These include the Higher-Circulion Official Confidentiality Act and the Great House Confidentiality Act. As time went on the Department would even handle the postal needs of organizations like the Gratousy and it would become notorious as one of the most secretive departments in the Circle, its very existence being omitted from most public media and solutions to its codes being restricted to very specific individuals under strict vows of secrecy. 

 The Institute of War 

The Institution of War, the successor to the Soldier's Guild, was first created under the section of the Great Unity Accord called the Articles of Defense, also known as the Gatenberg Articles, due it's foundations being made up of a manifesto authored by Cecil Gatenberg prior to the Second Wittenheart Conference. It was Gatenberg who had first proposed the idea of a unified Folk army back in the year 144 AF, and in his manifesto, The Necessity of the Sword, he would outline the importance of the Folk people having their own armed forces in order to defend against the threat of the human government. In the opening pages of the Articles he states thus:

"...it is imperative that we, the scions of the Arylmoor, stand firm and mighty against the hammer of oppression and death wielded by our foes. It is of utmost importance that we learn from the times that proceeded us, the times we were made to constantly flee to ever changing sanctuaries, the times we were hung from gallows and the times we were made to face brutal fire and relentless barrages. In light of all this, we once again learn to forge our own swords..."

He would go on to define the various roles of the military which included law enforcement, the preservation of the Folk from humans and the protection of the rights of citizens that would be later be further defined in the Circulion Code. As the first Treasurer of the Circle, he would dedicate the largest of percentage of the Treasury's funds (roughly 25%) towards the army through the Circulion War Fund. He would also create and define the titles of the Commander-General and Council of the Boroughman, the two highest ranks in the Institute of War.

Though, despite his extensive efforts, many would point out that Gatenberg's original documents contained a lack of detail regarding the internal workings of the Circulion Army, including elements such as a code of conduct, specialized divisions and efficient chains of command, all elements present among the ranks of the Hunters and other human forces. Gatenberg, a member of the Banker's Guild, had no expertise in such fields yet his articles would still be included in the Accord when it was signed in 157 AF. Luckily, the issues present in his founding documents would be addressed after the signing by Fredrick Heartworth, the first Commander-General of the Circulion Army.

In the fall of 158 AF, Heartworth and his associates, all of whom had fought during the War of the Banners, released the Heartworth-Jacobson Papers, a set of documents written by Heartworth and his protege Ulysses Jacobson with the help of Harry Molderman, a retired veteran of the War of the Banners and Heartman's predecessor as Head of the Soldier's Guild. The Papers themselves would be broadly defined into two distinct parts. The first being the Constituition Code, which detailed the internal chain of command, specialized divisions for Medicine, Mechanics, Intelligence, Logistics and Offense, regulations regarding the size of military units, etc.

According to the Constitution Code, the new Circulion Army would have ‘Companies’ as its most basic unit, a system that had previously been utilized by the Soldier’s Guild. Each Company, commanded by a Captain and a Vice-Captain, would consist of five to twenty Companymen of multiple divisions. Above the Companies are the Commanders of the Hamlets, of which there would be one for each Hamlet. In accordance with the Charter of Nobility, they and the Companies that are assigned to them remain subordinates of the Nobleman. However, at the same time they remain under the absolute jurisdiction of the Boroughman, who reserve the right or overrule the Nobles in matters concerning the Army.

For the Council of the Boroughman, the Code assigns each of their own office consisting of mostly non-combative staff, or Officers, from the Intelligence and Logistics Divisions led by the Secretary of each Borough. Each office has a corresponding sub-office in each Hamlet of a given Borough in order to maintain a direct line of communication between the main Boroughman of a given Borough and its Hamlet Commanders. Finally, at the top of the hierarchy is the Commander-General of the Circle and his respective office, which is similar to the Boroughman offices.

The Circulion Military Hierarchy

As for promotions, the Code stipulates that a soldier may only receive a higher rank if they have served in the rank directly below it beforehand so as to ensure that properly qualified individuals advance into the upper echelons of the Circulion Army. Promotions may be handled by a given soldier's direct superior or any superior above them. This applied to every title except for the Commander-General, who is selected by the Great Houses from the existing Council of the Boroughman.

The other half of the Heartworth-Jacobson Papers is called the Honor Code. It was written as a comprehensive code of conduct and instructed members of the Circulion Army on how to conduct themselves and the way they must treat their subordinates, their superiors, their fellow citizens and how they must treat all perceived enemies of the Circle. Almost immediately after it's publication it became controversial for its insistence that soldiers of the Circle should refrain from using violence against or executing regular human citizens, without the permission of the Boroughman or their superiors. Critics would cite that this rule had the potential of causing catastrophe in time sensitive situations in which regular humans may be involved. Yet despite this, Heartworth would insist that such a rule was necessary in order to prevent unwanted deaths. In the end, Heartworth and Jacobson would amend the rule, making it so that the Commanders of the Hamlets had the power to give execution orders on regular human citizens and that unordered executions were excusable under extreme conditions. 

Once Heartworth and Jacobson's final version of the Honor Code was published, it was a adapted into the greater Circulion Code of Law and the process regarding future amendments came under the influence of the Institute of Law.  

Shortly after the Circulion Army was established, the Great Houses would create the Order of the Gratousy by breaking apart and reforming an older group known as the Brotherhood of the Crown, which had served one of the Circle's enemies during the War of the Banners. The main purpose of the Gratousy was to protect and execute orders sent directly by the Great Houses. From the beginning, Barons such as Daywin Demon would express the need for the Gratousy to operate independently from the rest of the Institution of War in order to make sure they stay under their direct influence. However, there was some opposition to this idea, with many scholars and Guildsman accusing the Great Houses of attempting to engage in armed authoritarianism. In order to quell these accusations and to maintain peace in the newly unified Circle, the Great Houses would agree to limit the membership of the Gratousy to no more than eight companies consisting of a total of two hundred and forty men (as opposed to the Circulion army's proposed ten to twenty thousand). The Gratousy would also be subject to the moral restrictions of the Honor Code however they would still remain completely independent from the rest of the Army, being funded and controlled entirely by the Barons. In the end, the separation of the Gratousy from the rest of the Institute of War a officially cemented under the Gratousy Sovereignty Agreement of 157 AF.

Throughout the Circle's existence, the army has remained the largest of all the Five Institutions.  

The Institute of Knowledge 

The Institute of Knowledge, successor to the Historian's Guild, was established under the Articles of Edification, first written by Nelia Penhouse, the first High Archivist of the Circle, and some senior members of the Guild including Marcus Cornworth and Augusta Olstowick, The Articles would outline the purpose and functions of the Institute, these include the preservation of knowledge, the advancement of academic endeavors and the education of the masses. In order to achieve this the Articles would establish three separate but inter-connected entities, the School of Scribes, the Order of Scribes and the Order of the Intelligencia.

The School of Scribes makes up the foundation of the Institute of Knowledge. Its headquarters was based in Demonum Borough alongside its a superior establishment, the College of the Intellegencia, though unlike the College, the school would have a twenty four different branches spread across the eight Boroughs, with each Borough having three schools covering all nine of its Hamlets. This "3:1 Rule" was established under the Circulion Education Edict No.1, when there were less Hamlets that there are at present. This edict also orders that any child over the age of 15 shall be legally required to attend the School or face consequences in accordance with the Circulion Code of Law. 

This edict also establishes the line of progression that all Circulion children must undertake. According to the edict, all students enrolled in the School must partake in four years of academic study till the age of nineteen, after which they would be required to choose a specific field of study. Those who partook in trades or occupations such as banking, metal working, acting, or law would be enlisted as apprentices in the Guilds while those who decided to partake in fields that serve a more academic function are enlisted as apprentices in the Order of Scribes. Alternatively, students have the option to enlist in the ranks of the Circulion army starting an year prior to their final year of school. 

In order to govern the schools, the Articles establish the Order of the Scribes under the Circulion Education Edict No.2. In this edict, the purpose of the Order is described as thus:

"...To attend to the matters of teaching and guiding the future scions of the Circle, this edict established the Order of the Scribe, whose members shall be tasked with performing the solemn duty of educating the heirs of the peoples of the Moor. They shall be bound to this duty no matter the circumstance, and they shall carry it out in an unbiased manner without failure or hesitation..." 

While the spreading of knowledge remains the Scribe's main purpose,the edict also establishes minor duties that the Order must perform. In addition to being teachers, Scribes act as the lower administrative staff of the Institute of Knowledge. These other roles are usually performed by apprentices or junior members of the Order, with them being responsible for the daily upkeep of the school, acting as internal messengers, performing record-keeping duties, performing secretarial duties for both Scribes and Intellegencia, etc. An apprentice of the Order is usually not considered a true Scribe until about three years after their enlistment, after which they are initiated officially. Similarly, a Scribe is not considered a contender for a post at the Order of the Intellegencia until they have served at for at least a decade, with exceptions being made only for individuals of exceptional talent. 

Above the Order of the Scribes in the Order of the Intellegencia, which was established under the Circulion Education Edict No.3. Unlike their lower organization, the Intellegencia were established for the purpose of preservation of existing knowledge and history as well at the pursuit of new knowledge previously unknown. Unlike the School, which as twenty four branches across the eight Boroughs, the College of the Intellegencia has only one location, which is in Demonum Borough next to the Hamlet of Penford, which is partially named in honor of Nelia Penhouse. The College itself remains the largest singular archive in Circle and among the largest collections of knowledge in the entirety of Hatlynshire, with it contents contained everything from the minor academic texts to original copies of Folk texts dating back to before the Flight. Moreover, despite its name, the Order of the Intellegencia share the college premises with their sister organization, the Tribunal of Law-Makers. As such the archive also contains the original copies of the Great Unity Accord.

The Order itself is generally divided among various fields of academic study such as the fields of astronomy, philosophy, mathematics, etc, though these divides remain an unofficial product of College culture rather than a rule established under the Edict. Moreover, like the Scribes and even the Historian's Guild that preceded them, the Order employs a strict seniority based hierarchy, with new members serving a similar purpose to those of the apprentices present in the Order of Scribes. Aside from that a majority of the Order is dedicated to performing academic research and imparting their knowledge onto the Order of the Scribes. Only the highest ranking members of the Order perform tasks of great importance. These include the Commission of Investigation, a edict-mandated panel of order members dedicated to reviewing and confirming new academic discoveries. There is also the Office of the High Archivist, headed by the Secretary of the High Archivist, which is considered the administrative heart of the Institution of Knowledge. Finally, there is the title of the High Archivist, a rank granted via baronial appointment of a candidate chosen via an internal vote carried out by the Intellegencia. The individual appointed to this post acts as a representative of the Institute of Knowledge in the Lesser Table and is often considered the intellectual head of the Lesser Table. The High Archivist can either be removed by baronial decree or be forced to retire once the individual reaches the age of seventy, with the only other method of removal being voluntary resignation.

By the final years of the War of the Banners, when the Great Unity Accord was nearing completion, Penhouse and her associates raised concerns about Great Houses interfering in what was meant to be an institution dedicated to the relentless and free pursuit of knowledge. Their concern was seemingly justified during the Second Wittenheart Conference, when the Great Houses strong-handed the Guildsman Society into giving up it's independence as a part of the Circle through threats of conflict. Fearing that their academic freedom was at risk, the first members of the Order of Intelligencia alongside the Tribunal of Law-Makers had prepared a contract called the Oath of Objectivity and presented it to the Great Houses during the conference. The contract stipulated that the Great Houses would be forbidden from hindering or attempting to influence the Institutions of Law and Knowledge, citing conflicts of interest. They would be sworn in a sacred oath to uphold objectivity in matters of history and law. According to the records preserved within the College, the first person to actually sign this oath was Norman Arthouse, who then requested that the oath be expanded to include the Nobility, as they too may carry conflicts of interest. His request was granted the oath was amended. However, the Great Houses initially refused to sign the contract, though seeing as they did not want two Institutions of the Circle to oppose them so soon, they agreed to negotiate the terms of the Oath. Their talks, which were held in the background of mounting public pressure from their new subjects, ended with the Great Houses retaining some of their powers, such the ability to dismiss any member of the both institutions while still agreeing to the majority of the oath’s conditions including remaining objective and fair in both academic and legal affairs. With that, the Barons signed the agreement and it was formally included in the Articles of Edification. 

Yet, despite this, many still debate as to whether or not the Great Houses have stayed true to their oaths, though evidence of any wrongdoing has never been presented.

The Institute of Law

The Institute of Law was established under the Articles of Peace and Justice, with its main purpose being to uphold law and order within the Circle. Similar to how the Institute of Knowledge was established by expanding and reorganizing the already existing Historian's Guild, the Institute of Law was established by expanding the already existing Lawyer's Guild. However, unlike the Historians, who were not major contributors to the Guilds in terms of income or influence, the Lawyer's Guild was considered one of the most integral parts of the Guildsman Society. Therefore, in the Guildsman Integration Accord, which stipulated which Guilds the Circle could fully integrate into its system and which they must allow to operate as independent entities, that the Lawyer’s Guild must not be integrated. However, the Great Houses did not agree to this initial accord presented by the Heads of the Guildsman Society, and after several negotiations and coercion the G.I.A was amended and signed, allowing the Lawyer’s Guild to partially integrate itself into the Circle and become the Institute of Justice, which was then subsequently headquartered in the College of the Intellegencia.

According to the Articles and the G.I.A, the Lawyer’s Guild itself would remain as an autonomous body under the jurisdiction of the Circle, it would retain its right to recruit members by itself and receive funding from the Treasury. However it’s members would lose the ability to create new laws that would be applied to every Circulion alongside losing the power to change or amend the existing Circulion Code. These powers were handed over to the Tribunal of Law-Makers, a body consisting of Guild Members promoted to the position via appointment by the Chief Law-Maker, who must select appointees from candidates with recommendations from both the Guild and the Tribunal. 

Aside from administering the Institute, the main purpose of the Chief-Lawmaker is to act as a bridge between the Tribunal and the Table of the Great Houses. Appointed in a similar way to that of the High Archivist, the Chief-Lawmaker and his office fulfill the duties of revising and finalizing laws proposed by the Tribunal before presenting them to the Great Houses for approval or rejection.  

The members of the Tribunal act as the judges in judicial courts set up throughout the seventy two Hamlets, with each court having several appointed judges in order to cover the different fields of law mentioned in the Circulion Code. These Hamlet Courts were established to handle the matters of the common folk and have the lowest authority in the Circle's judicial system. Above them are the Borough Courts, of which there are eight. These courts are utilized in cases where the accuser or the defendant belongs to either the Nobility or the upper sections of the Circle's hierarchy or in cases where individuals seek to overturn the ruling of a Hamlet Court. Above the Borough Court lies the High Theater of Justice, the highest court in the entirety of the Circle. The High Theater is presided over by the Chief-Lawmaker and is reserved for cases that could either result in changes that may impact the entirety of the Circle, cases that could result in a change to the Circulion Code of Law or for the purpose of overruling the decision of a Borough Court.

Finally, at the heart of the Institute of Law is the Circulion Code of Law. Members of the Institute are required to take an oath to defend and uphold the Code no matter the cost and the Code itself remains the single largest component of the Great Unity Accord. Humphrey Portley, one of the co-authors of the Code, described it as "The iron foundation of the Circle's great and mighty fortress." It consists of rules and procedures regarding every aspect Circulion life, everything from the rights of ordinary civilians to the laws regarding petty theft and the limitations of the power of the Great Houses. Hence, to the common folk, the Institute of Law remains the most respected of the Five Institutions.

 The Institute of Finance

The Institute of Finance, otherwise known as the Treasury, is considered by many to be the heart of the Circle itself. Established under the Articles of Wealth and Stability written by Cecil Gatenberg and Calvin Hatly, the Treasury was made for the sole purpose of allocating funds in order to carry out the operations of the Circle. Like the Lawyers Guild and the Historian's Guild, the Treasury was made through the partial integration of the Banker's Guild under the Guildsman Integration Accord. Unlike the other institutions, the Treasury acts in a way similar to a corporate entity, with it having the ability to enter agreements and conduct business on behalf of itself instead of the Circle as a whole, though this special privilege is rather undermined in the Articles, which prevent the Treasury from engaging in any profit-making activities.  

The source of the Treasury's funds is the Great House Conglomerates, companies founded during the later years of the Red Century and the New Industrialist Movement or some time after the War of the Coin. All of which are currently owned and operated by the Great Houses. These companies include:

1. The Hatlynshire Bank
2. The Hatlynshire Steel Company
   
3. The Venshire Medicine Company
4. Everton Entertainment Corporation
5. Morrow Mining and Commodities Co.
6. The Morning Rail Company
7. The Angelmore Press and Paper Company
8. The Bernstein Food and Land Company

All these companies and their various subsidiaries and holdings are managed under the House Holding Company of Hatlynshire (H.H.C.H), an entity whose shares and directorships are shared equally among the Great Houses. The allocation of funds to the Treasury from the profits of these companies is stated  in the Funds and Governance Agreement of 158 AF, first signed between the Great Houses and Cecil Gatenberg before being ratified by all subsequent Treasurers when they ascend to the position. According to the agreement, all profits generated by Conglomerates are sent through the H.H.C.H before being distributed 60-40 between the Circulation Treasury and the Great Houses. 

The Treasury then uses the funds in order to create an annual budget, dividing the money between seven funds which are operated by the Sub-offices within the Chamber of Book-Keepers in collaboration with the highest offices of the other Institutions. These funds include:

1. The Treasury Fund (10%): Used to fund the operations of the Circulion Treasury and the Intuition of Finance, headed by the Treasurer and the Chamber of Book-Keepers. 
   
   
2. The Circulion Reserve Fund (20%): A reserve fund where part of the budget is stored in case of deficit or emergency. Funds are not stored physically in this regard, rather they are invested by the Treasury through the Hatlynshire Bank into various assets and investment funds in order to maintain non-liquidity and to keep the money outside of government observation.
    
3.  The Circulion War Fund (25%): A fund directed towards the Intuition of War, handled directly by the Commander-General of the Circulion Army and distributed throughout the Boroughs by the Boroughman. Funds usually go towards the maintaining of the armed forces and the procurement of weaponry and the funding of various other operations.
    
4.  The Nobilier Fund (10%): A fund directed towards providing the Noble Houses of the Hamlets and their domains with the funding required for defense, civil maintenance, welfare and general function. This fund is handled by the Grand Nobilier before being funneled downwards through the Institution of Administration. 
    
5. The Scribe's Fund (20%): A fund dedicated to the maintenance of the School of Scribes, the main educational intuition of the Circle and the College of the Intelligencia, each run by its own order. Funds are handled between the Treasury and the High Archivist alongside their personal assistants and secretaries. This fund is directly strictly towards the Institution of Knowledge.
    
6.  The Law Fund (10%): Dedicated to the maintenance of infrastructure and personnel under the Institution of Law with the exception of the Lawyer's Guild. Provisions for the Chief Law-Maker, the Tribunal of Law-Makers and all Circle appointed judges are included in this fund. 
    
7.  The Guildsman Fund (5%): Dedicated to the functioning of the Guilds and the supporting of their members. This fund is also handled by the Intuition of Finance and it is the lowest fund by percentage due to the Guild's primary source of income being fees of membership provided by the Guildsman from their occupations in companies owned by the Great Houses or by various other parties. 

How Money Works in the Circle

 

It is key to note that all regulations and legislation regarding the fiscal policy of the Circle is handled directly by the Institution of Finance with the aid of the Institution of Law, although the latter is simply an advisory entity in the matter. Perhaps most notably, the Circle has maintained a consistent policy of charging no direct or indirect taxes upon its citizens relying solely on the Great House Conglomerates, the Circulion Reserves and other smaller means of income. 

The only noteworthy department of the Circle that remains independent of the seven funds provided by the Treasury is the Order of the Gratousy, which, despite being a part of the Circulion Army, remains independently funded directly by the Great Houses.

Due the highly organized monetary system of the Circle, the true size of the H.H.C.H in terms of market share, equity and revenue remain confidential, only known by the Heads of the Great Houses who also retain Directorships in the holding company as hereditary post. However, many have speculated that the H.H.C.H is the single largest private commercial entity in Hatlynshire. Perhaps second only to the government's own Great Enterprises, though some are argue it is even larger. Whatever the case, the profits generated by the H.H.C.H and the Great House Conglomerates (aside from recessions and moments of crisis) has consistently been able to maintain the Circle nearly five hundred years. 

  

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