Editing Sarrukh (section)

====Organization====
While the three great empires thrived, the sarrukh were organized into several great clans that lived in relative peace with one another. The clans that commanded the most troops and held the most political pow er ( by virtue of either wealth or social standing) made up the leadership structure. The acting leadership body of each empire was called the Sh’arrim and consisted of five to eight sarrukh drawn from the great clans. This group elected an emperor, called a kudzar, from its membership. The Sh’sarrim from the three great empires occasionally came together in Okoth to form a council called the Kazim, but that body had authority over the entire race only when a unanimous vote could be achieved.

The khuzdar provided spiritual, strategic, and social leadership for the rest of the sarrukh. The two most famous khuzdars were Ghiz’kith, founder of Mhairshaulk, and Pil’it’ith, the albino sarrukh who drove Ghiz’kith from Okoth. Pil’it’ith ruled Okoth until its fall, then used powerful magic to prolong his life into the modern day. (Pil’it’ith remains the leader of the Okothian sarrukh, but he no longer wields any authority over the sarrukh in Serpentes or Anauroch.)

Sarrukh law, which was administered by judges known as kleigmasters, was strict but flexible. Penalties were stiff, and the burden of proof fell to the accused rather than the prosecutors. The sarrukh disliked jailing citizens, so the preferred methods of punishment were death for more serious crimes and disfigurement for minor ones. Incarceration occurred only when the leaders felt that the offender had something important to contribute to the realm, despite his crime.

Penalties were assigned on a case-by case basis for greater flexibility, but the system became corrupt over the years. The same crime might result in death for one defendant and only disfigurement for the next. In any case, even the highest-ranking kleigmaster could be bribed into setting free the worst-offending defendant if enough money changed hands.