Perhaps two of the most compelling aspects of King Asilas’s power structure were his two Houses of Lords. Traditionally, Lords have always been men. However, in Asilas’s circle, the greatness and influence a person possessed was never based on their gender. The king’s two most influential and powerful people in the New Kingdom of America were Lords Jeremy Oreb and Ana Patricia Shelley. Asilas never made the distinction between a person’s gender in determining their overall abilities, and thus gave both men and women the title of “Lord.” The king was also not persuaded to overlook any person based on religion or lack thereof. He merely looked at a person’s character, their trustworthiness and, above all, their loyalty to his cause.

In old styled monarchies, Lords were essentially owners and overseers of land and territory. The Lords of Asilas’s High Council, however, had very specific functions in addition to territories they were responsible for. Generally, Lords allocated the duties of keeping checks and balances to their subordinates, who in turn allocated responsibilities to their appointees. Asilas did not want to meddle in the affairs and decisions his Lords made, as they pertained to overseeing the mechanisms of the kingdom and its governing apparatus. The king only intervened if reports revealed irregularities that undermined his goals and standards –of which his most trusted friend, Lord Quintin Capone was very hawkish about. This freed the king to focus on larger objectives while simultaneously granting enormous power to the Lords of his High Council.

The Lords of the High Council consisted of two Houses: The House of Morale and the House of Terra. The number of Lords (originally 8) of the two houses had to be increased (which happens in season 2), as some dramatic changes occurred in the Great War Asilas referred to as the “Revolution.” Lord Hannah Samuel was traveling from Bermuda to an American base in Northern Africa when the military plane she was traveling on was shot down by unknown forces. Her death enraged the king, who then sought to learn the country of origin of those responsible for her death. Lord Capone reminded the king that vengeance was God’s and that avenging Lord Samuel was not part of his ultimate plan. But soon, in another turn of events, Lord Jackson was kidnapped in Moscow, where he was meeting with his team designated to oversee the restructuring of Russia. Jackson was being held by members of the Monster Group in an undisclosed location and the king was regularly sent videos of Jackson being tortured in an attempt to exploit any sentiments he may have had –and to weaken his state of mind. Ultimately, the king reacted to these two tragedies (and the exponential expansion of the kingdom) by expanding his High Council. He replaced Lords Samuel and Jackson and added four more to the council, making it 12 Lords. They were:

  House of Morale 

• Quintin Capone (the king’s most trusted friend, but a womanizer and alcoholic)
• Jeremy Oreb (the king’s most trusted military mind and commander in the king’s absence, but had sadistic tendencies)
• Mary Ruth (a widowed attorney, who was obedient, strong, and totally devoted to the king)
• Mark Desta (an Evangelical Leader whose knowledge in spiritual matters made him a favored Lord and the king often visited him and his family at their home -until Asilas learned he had a secret love child)
• Peter Hemingway (a fisherman for most of his life, Hemingway later earned a degree in philosophy and wrote many books -some of which were the king’s favorites)
• Simon Kananaios (Asilas admired Simon’s zealous nature against the Monster Group, and helped the king taper his blood-thirst)

   House of Terra

• Ana Patricia Shelley (3^rd in line for command in the king’s absence and Asilas’s trusted confidant -her bisexual lifestyle was never a factor for the king –in fact, the king lusted for her)
• Traci Roberts (Oversaw advancement in science and technology from a medical perspective –and was overly fanatical in her work)
• Vanessa Banks (Oversaw the financial state of the kingdom and was the mother of Asilas’s future daughter-in-law, Monica Banks)
• Alberto Vargas (Oversaw Mexico and the entire Latin American region and was deeply trusted by Asilas -even though Vargas was a staunch atheist)
• Andrew Richards (A very ambitious African-American lawyer who was once believed to be linked to the Chicago Underground Network terrorist group, but had since disavowed any relations with people having an anti-government agenda. He was also the half-brother of Peter Hemingway of the House of Morale)
• Isabella Jones (Oversaw social media and communication affairs related to the king and the entire Kingdom -she was also the youngest member of the High Council at only 35 years old, and fiercely devoted to the king)

With the death of Lord Hannah Samuel, the gender balance was tipped in favor of men with a 7-5 tally. However, King Asilas was not one to look at such things and purposefully even the gap simply for the sake of doing so. It had to matter and it had to be for the betterment of the kingdom. As it was, the 5 women on the High Council were undoubtedly the most powerful women in the entire world during King Asilas’s reign –especially during the “Revolution.” It was believed by many that the war was being won largely because of Lord Ana Patricia Shelley and her brilliant, but ruthless strategies. The king loved her and often struggled with his desire to possess her romantically. She was his equal in more ways than anyone else on earth. Shelley was a true warrior, a military strategist, a deeply rational and philosophical thinker –which made Asilas long for private moments when they could explore each other’s minds. They were so much alike, Dr. Ezekiel warned Asilas of the explosiveness of their chemistry, but Asilas could hardly stand the notion.

All of the Lords of the High Council could express their own views on any matters pertaining to the upkeep of the kingdom and the success of the king’s mission. The High Council was never an echo chamber and often the Lords would disagree with each other and the king –and were often overruled. The point of the High Council was never to hold the king accountable or to override his decisions, but rather to give the greatest people (in the king’s opinion) in the kingdom a place to voice their ideas, concerns and objections to the king’s plans in order to make any adjustments when needed. They also were crucial in keeping the business of the kingdom in running order so the king could concentrate on other things –mainly destroying the Monster Group and preparing the world for the inevitable war with the reptilian race known as the “Drax.” The ultimate showdown with the true enemy of mankind would undoubtedly take all the best minds working together to achieve victory. And the best minds were never determined by gender or anything else. In fact, the more King Asilas contemplated the rules of traditional monarchies, the more he wanted to do things completely opposite of how they functioned. Asilas hated the royals of the world and probably enjoyed having women “Lords” to further jab at their traditions, protocols and history. For all of the king’s faults in his demeanor and tyrannical methods, the people of the kingdom loved him –and the Lords of his High Council were loyal to him to the death.