Lords in waiting (Themiclesia)
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Lords in waiting (Shinasthana: 侍中, lje′-trjung; singular: lord in waiting) are high-ranking members of the Inner Court of Themiclesia. Until the reforms of 1845, they were one of two groups forming the upper house in the legislative process.
Etymology
The term lord in waiting consists of two Shinasthana characters. The first is a phono-semantic compound with the phonogram lje′ and ideogram "person". The second is a pictogram of a windsock. The root of lje′ has the meaning "to wait", while the windsock has the meaning "middle" because relative to the sock itself, the pole from which it is suspended is always in the middle. The word "middle" refers to the Palace Hall (殿中, denh-trjung) in the royal palace, which is located in the latter's geographic centre. Culturally, the Palace Hall is the seat of the emperor and therefore the political centre of the state.
Origin
While the position of lord in waiting has existed for centuries before the arrival of the Meng emperor in 542, that event made the position politically important. Emperor Ngjon faced a hostile court when he first arrived, mollifying it with the promise of titles of nobility to supporters. Since the nobility are therefore aligned with the monarchy, Emperor Ngjon felt he could confide in the advice of the lords in waiting. By the late 6th century, the lords in waiting were institutionalized as the Council of Lords (侍中省, lje′-trjung-srêng), which held the imperial seal. Since the seal was used to authenticate documents, the Council effectively controlled the throne's ability to communicate with the world beyond. The early Meng emperors in Themiclesia confined themselves to a nominal rulership, hoping for little more than to retain their titles and lifestyle. The Council of Lords therefore took on a conservative character opposed to the Council of Correspondents with its proactive policies.