Templars of Meridia

The Templars of Meridia (simply but not strictly referred to as Templars,) are a secular order of previous Soul Shriven during the height of the Planemeld Crisis during the Three-Banners War. Along with the Fighters Guild and Mages Guild of the Second Era, the soon-to-be faction fought a decisive war against the forces of Molag Bal and other forces that threatened to tear apart the civilizations of Tamriel.

Sometime after the end of the Planemeld Crisis, the Templars began withdrawing from the known world anf fell more and more into isolationism yet keeping tabs with the people of the Mundus. After the rise of Tiber Septim, they seemed to have abandoned the people of Nirn, retreating to their realm in their continued devotion to study and practice; the accumulation and preservation of any and all knowledge.

Government
The Templars are known to keep a strict Aristocracy based on an unwritten but well-known principle among all the members, which is addressed directly to initiates that pass the necessary background checks. Hence, only those with the appropriate theory and practical skills may apply to become part of the order, and additional training is needed once one becomes a proper officer of the higher echelons. This has been practiced even before the growth of the order in size akin to a city-state. Promotions are handed out based on merit to civil servants.

Corruption is virtually non-existent in the upper echelons of the Government, and difficult to find even among the lower echelons, due to a combination of choosing the right people, the draconian punishment against corrupt individuals and the general high pay of civil servants to give them enough to spend on all their necessities.

The government of the Templars contains three branches to ensure a system of checks and balances; The Judiciary (consisting of lawyers, judges, and courts), the Legislative (branches of members of Parliament and other various staffs), and the Executive branch that is centered around a council of leaders, not one such as an Emperor/Empress, as well as associated staff.

The Members of Parliament are elected by the people from a pool of prospective, carefully selected candidates, which all have passed the rigorous training to become a proper leader of the people and in turn the order. It is impossible for any normal person to simply stand for election, and in fact attempting such can be considered as a public disruption and lead to a criminal charge, in addition to being a serious capital offense.

The Executive Branch leaders are all drawn from Members of Parliament or the Judicial Branch, and tend to have went through even more training processes. They are internally elected by the Parliament and lesser members do not elect them with votes. Only the legislative branch and the judicial branch, and in very rare cases individuals of certain rank may cast votes for who to be part of the Executive branch. People on the Executive branch serve for up to two terms of six years each.

Lastly, the Judiciary is always appointed by state, and there are no elections. Only when one has the appropriate qualifications may one attempt to join, and every prospective candidate will have a trial period of undefined length where they can be instantly removed if they do a poor job, judged by experienced members of the Judiciary. Only when confirmed do they get a permanent job and full pay.

The State Guard is paid for by the state using taxes, and are well-paid to do their job. Thus it is hard to find corruption within the State Guard, and due to performance incentives, they are motivated to actually do their job at protecting interior peace within the order.

The law courts function differently from other places. Law courts do not directly indict the defendant, and instead only allow for the prosecution to present their side of the evidence, and for a defense lawyer to debunk the evidences. Criminals and suspects do not even know that they are being monitored and evidence is collected against them.

Due to the widespread adoption of innovative mind-reading magic and general use of security devices like image-capturing orbs, it is very hard to get away with crime, and the prosecution will immediately crack down on the criminal and judge them on the spot when their crime is confirmed, with support from the State Guard. Thus, State Prosecutors are trained battlemages, and are also tasked with apprehending the criminals they are to convict. Criminals do not have right to attorney and once a sentence is passed, it sticks.

The laws of the State are reviewed annually, and generally try to balance internal security and freedoms. Considering many liberties are mutually exclusive in an ever-growing multicultural society (in thanks to their ever-constant observation of the Mundus and induction/welcoming of acceptable individuals,) certain freedoms like freedom of speech need to be curtailed in order to give citizens a feeling of safety and security, rather than legalizing lethal force and loosening the definition of self-defense. Murder is a crime punishable by death or life imprisonment, normally the former, and mental disease is not accepted as a defense against a murder charge.

Concerning taxation, the Order uses a progressive tax system under the purview of a combined Judicial and Legislative branch that acts as a monetary authority, but has implemented fixed taxes on vices such as certain drugs, gambling, prostitution and unhealthy foods. This is both to redistribute wealth in a more fair manner, and make sure it is not hoarded by individuals. The government might give tax rebates or additional taxes to various individuals to correct for any inefficiencies that it finds, and taxes can range from none where the poor are concerned to nearly 90% for people trying to simply hoard wealth without contributing back. The average taxation for the highest class is about 30%.

Aid programs carried out by the Order do not focus in directly helping the needy, but rather provide for free education, healthcare, food and such for only the children, who may be taken away and placed into foster care homes. This is because the government doesn't agree on providing a free lunch for the poor or those who decide not to work. The children are therefore taught to be useful, contributing members of society away from their parents who choose to waste their lives away.