Editing Gnolls (section)

=== Merit, Worth, Leadership ===
Gnoll society is, at its core, a meritocracy. The custom of exchanging gifts, the concept of putting aside both personal gain and inter-tribal strife at the drop of a hat in favor of aiding the species as a whole, the strong focus on honesty, integrity, and paying one’s debts - it’s all an expression of one specific core concept: ''Worth''. Individuals gain influence by having worth in the eyes of their peers. Those with the highest worth generally become leaders among Gnolls.<ref name=":17" /> And just like how an individual Gnoll has worth to their tribe, each tribe has worth to the species as a whole.<ref name=":39" /> The tribes with the highest worth, again, become leaders - they are the ones that everyone listens to at the gathering of tribes, letting them steer the future of all Gnolls into the direction they consider best.<ref name=":39" />

Generally, Gnolls are matriarchal, and most leaders and figures of influence are female.<ref name=":35" /> But merit and worth are regarded higher still than this tradition, and as such, males can also become leaders.<ref name=":35" /> If a male is clearly a better leader, and has brought much fortune to the tribe, then even the nominally more dominant females will defer to his worth. [[Urksh]] of the Stone Spears tribe was a male Gnoll chieftain,<ref name=":9" /> as was [[Kerash]], the legendary warrior-chieftain who some outsiders had called the first ‘King of the Gnolls’.<ref name=":27" /> [[Bekia]], a female Gnoll in [[Magnolia Reinhart|Magnolia's]] employ, used to be a chieftain but screwed up in some way and got ousted from her tribe.<ref name=":72">[[Chapter 6.68]]</ref>

There are few, if any, structures beside worth that determine social rank and leadership. A majority vote is not recognized as a valid decision-making method, as it would sidestep the concept of individual worth.<ref name=":67" /> Similarly, there is no such thing as a Gnoll nobility.<ref name=":55">[[Chapter 4.43]]</ref>If a tribe has lost their Chieftain and has no candidates to assume leadership, older tribes will safeguard them until one emerges. They will not appoint a Chieftain to avoid risking a poor candidate.<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2022/10/12/9-20/ Chapter 9.20]</ref> No Gnoll is regarded as better than others merely by virtue of their birth. Gnolls are also firmly opposed to the idea of slavery<ref>[[Chapter 4.06 KM]]</ref> - the concept of putting another person to work for your own gain and not giving them recognition for their efforts runs counter to the concept of worth.

City Gnolls have trouble achieving leadership roles in Drake society, as they usually are a tiny minority, and Drakes tend to be possessive and racist. In the Drake military, Gnolls are rarely ever promoted.<ref name=":28" /> And in civil administration, Gnolls do not get any official representation. This even includes cases like Liscor, where the merchant guild’s interests are represented by a Drake who has less mercantile prowess than some of the (here quite significant) Gnoll population.<ref name=":40" /> However, in democratic systems, City Gnolls tend to do better. In Pallass, one has managed to get elected as senator.<ref name=":52">[[Chapter 5.54 (Rewrite)|Chapter 5.54]]</ref> And when Liscor held a surprise election for its ruling council, Gnoll candidates won the popular vote in four out of eight districts.<ref name=":67" /> Even there, though, the incumbent Drakes managed to trick them out of one of those seats.<ref name=":67" />

This lack of official representation, combined with their social inward focus, has led City Gnolls to form unofficial “shadow councils”, which administrate Gnoll affairs in secret.<ref name=":6" /> These councils consist, again, of those Gnolls who are considered to have the most worth. Officially, City Gnolls defer to Drake laws,<ref>[[Chapter 2.26]]</ref> but effectively, they govern themselves. It is not the most well-guarded of secrets, as some Drakes in high-ranking positions are well aware of these structures.<ref name=":18" /> But then again, those [[Olesm Swifttail|Drakes smart enough to pick up on it]] are usually also smart enough to see the value in their existence.