From BluWiki

Since the disappearance of the Scarlet Empress much of the decision-making power in the Realm has fallen to the Deliberative - a legislative body created by the Empress centuries ago which has largely been only able to act as an advisory board in the past. The Deliberative has often been referred to as "the Empress' Two-Ring Circus" by detractors both in the Threshold and the Realm. However, since her disappearance, the Deliberative has begun claiming governing powers previously retained by the Empress.

The Deliberative has two parts: the Greater Chamber and the Lesser Chamber.

Greater Chamber

The Greater Chamber of the Deliberative, whose members are all Dragon-Blooded Dynasts addressed with the title of Senator, proposes all legislation and opens all debates. Recently, the Greater Chamber has claimed powers that include the setting of taxation levels, conscription of troops and the drafting of laws. In the past it was requried that the Dynast must have served in the bureaucracy of the Realm and have held a military commission in the field in order to attain the position of Senator. However, recently the Greater Chamber presented the Regent a list of new candidates that did not meet the past requirements - however, Fokuf accepted all fifty.

Lesser Chamber

As opposed to the makeup of the membership of the Greater Chamber, the Lesser Chamber of the Deliberative has relatively few Dragon-Blooded and most of those that are are Outcaste. The members of the Lesser Chamber, which bear the title of Deliberator, outnumber the Senators by at least four to one and are drawn from the ranks of mortal patricians, merchant classes of the Realm as well as younger sons of the native rulers of the satrapies.

Few Deliberators were appointed to the position by anyone but the Empress and there have been no appoitnees to the Lesser Chamber since her disappearance. They are mostly powerless, with their only function being the approval or rejection of laws proposed by the Greater Chamber. The charm of this tedious process lies in the degree to which the debate drags on. The Deliberators debate each and every bill in a melodramatic display that resembles a cross between a shadowboxing routine and stand-up comedy.