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Message: <blockquote data-quote="gizmo33" data-source="post: 2280231" data-attributes="member: 30001">Well, your Waffen SS analogy IMO was very creative and something I would have never thought of since my mind tends to stick in the medeival period for examples of things.  So as far as peaceful transfers of power - I'm not an expert on political history by a long shot (I tend to be more interested in social and cultural things as IMO they are more applicable) but I can't think of an example of a peaceful transfer of power like that in a monarchy.   Actually, there's the "shogun" situation in Japan - and perhaps that's a close fit.  I don't know much at all - but my basic impression is that the shogun was the chief general with actual power while the emporer became a figurehead with religious authority (as a descendant of the Sun Goddess).  Since the rulers of your main kingdoms seem to be at the head of religious organizations, perhaps something like that could happen - a powerful military leader takes control in an effort to provide stability (perhaps in an effort to prevent a civil war in the Overkingdom) while the former ruler maintains the theoretical rulership and favor of the gods.  I'd have to Google for the exact details.  My impression is that an Elector is a greater noble (duke).  There are a fixed number of electors and they have their positions as a result of heredity - perhaps in some ancient time when the 6 most powerful chiefs of the kingdom decided to join together for mutual defense, they chose one of their number to be king, and the 6 original chiefs claimed for themselves and their decendants the power of "elector".  It's probably a matter of custom/law, for example and that Duke of SuchandSuch is always an elector.  Some of the Dukes of Germany, AFAIK also possessed titles that were household positions in the royal household.  For example - one of the Dukes was the "Royal Cupbearer".  I can't imagine a Duke doing a lot of cup-bearing if they're busy ruling their own lands, but I supposed the position had some sort of customary honor associated with it.  I don't know of the facts of the election - if the Electors were rubber-stampers or if they had actual power, and what happened if a king were chosen from a different family.</blockquote>

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