kerrytys

Kerrytys is a fictional term used in worldbuilding and speculative fiction to refer to a holistic framework for social governance, ethics, and knowledge exchange. In its in-world usage, kerrytys corresponds to a practice of communal decision-making that emphasizes transparent deliberation, ritual accountability, and the integration of practical skill with moral reflection. The term typically denotes both the methodology of governance and the body of customary laws that guide it.

Etymology: Kerrytys is a constructed word; within the fiction it is said to derive from an ancient language of the northern highlands, though no real-language basis exists outside the text.

Practice: A kerrytys system centers on a rotating council, a public ledger of rulings, and a set of coded obligations known as the kyrae. Deliberations are moderated by a scribe, and decisions require broad consent rather than simple majority. The philosophy stresses long-term stewardship, ecological balance, and accountability to future generations.

In narrative usage: Kerrytys is often invoked to explore themes of governance, memory, and legitimacy, and appears across several works in a shared fictional universe. The term has been adopted by game designers for tabletop rules to denote a similar governance framework in roleplaying campaigns.