The Tribal Kings
There are five tribes of Denra-Lyr, and they are the Avendahl, Ar Breval, Calewyn, Orgindahl and the Theen. Each of these tribes is ruled by a tribal king, but the method of selecting a king and the manner in which he rules varies between them. Denra-Lyr tend to view men and women as sundered halves of one whole, and so the tribal queen is usually an important position too. Like kingship, however, this varies from tribe to tribe. Finally it should be noted that the method of rulership tends to be quite fluid. What may hold true for one generation may be changed by the next.

The Ar-Breval are the most conservative of the tribes. A tribal king is chosen from amongst the best men of the tribe (usually decided by prowess in battle but wisdom and justice are also considered, depending on the needs of the times). The queen is chosen by the king. These two are coronated in the spring, and rule until the autumn of the seventh year of their reign whereupon they are sacrificed to ensure the prosperity of the tribe. The seventh winter is known as the Winter of Mourning, where it is believed that the spirits of the dead rulers watch over the tribe.

The Orgindahl have a year-king practise too, but in their case the queen continues. She is chosen from a line of women believed to be descended from the earth goddess Isira Alm and are usually the particularly light or dark-skinned Denralians that are held to have magical powers. The queen, then rules for her natural life. Every seven years she chooses a new husband who rules with her until it is his time to be sacrificed. The Orgindahl have a Winter of Mourning too.

The Theen follow a similar practise to the Orgindahl, but in this case the king is only expected to abdicate, not die. A king may be chosen more than once, but not successively. The queen is a constant although she is expected to abdicate when she is no longer fertile.

The Avendahl have taken on many Imperial ideas, and thus what in the previously described tribes would be an advisory council of the more powerful tribal members, in the Avendahl this body has been made into an official parliament, the Lords' Council. The Lords' Council is responsible for selecting a king and queen every seven years, who are only expected to resign and not die at the end of their term. A king and queen may be re-elected for a continuous term, and it is not unknown for the royal couple to bribe their way into a life-long position simply by becoming constantly re-elected.

The Calewyn are the most Imperial in their manner of selection. The king is selected by a body of "priests" called the Dragon's Chamber. Like the Imperial priesthood they are said to select the next kingly candidate based upon omens and portent but in reality it has more to do with bribery and coercion. Thus it is no surprise that the Dragon Chamber has kept the kingship within the same dynasty for the past five generations. The queen is chosen by the king, and she has a more subordinate position than in the other tribes. The king has complete freedom to divorce her and remarry at will. The more traditionalist elements in Denra-Lyr society complain that this is an imbalance in cosmic forces.

The High King
The High King rules over the five tribes, although his remit is meant more to deal with external threats than to settle internal policy. Long ago, the High King would be selected from amongst the five tribal kings by a seven yearly vote by the Kings Council. Nowadays, however, the High King is the king of the Calewyn and the Kings Council has been disbanded. Needless to say this has caused ructions with the other tribes but since the Calewyn are the most powerful tribe there is little they can do. The Calewyn once had Imperial backing to strengthen them but this has since dried up. They are trying for aid from the Merchant's League but negotiations are still ongoing. Meanwhile rebellion continues to brew amongst the more traditionalist tribes.

The Military
Traditionally, the tribal kings would gather together fighting men and women through sheer force of personality. The Denra-Lyr are warriors rather than soldiers and their preferred method of fighting is the skirmish. Imperial occupation left the concept of a professional army which the High King of Calewyn continues to support. The Theen also maintain a standing body of dedicated soldiers, but they can only field some one hundred men.