Contests of strength or of ballots, the right of prophecy or of blood, under the rule of law or in the throes of revolution, by happenstance or the culmination of a lifetime's scheming, there's a story behind every leader's ascension. In this thread, though, we don't care about that. Here I ask you to explore a topic less covered, yet just as important, for all (those of you whose nations are ruled by the omnipotent and immortal aside) who rise to rule will someday leave their station behind and give way to the next, and the next, and the next. This is a question not about beginnings, but about endings.
How do your nation's leaders end their reign? Do they let go of power only as it slips through their lifeless fingers- and if so are they old and infirm, or do they meet a more violent end? Do they choose to stand down, leave because the law says they must, or are they driven out? If their regime meets its fate at the ballot box, is it the will of the people or a shadowy hand which sealed it?
Feel free to answer the question in a way that works for the number of leaders your nation has gone through. If it's a short list get specific! If there are too many to count feel free to generalize, but give an interesting example or two. If you haven't lost a leader yet, how do you foresee it going down- and how does your leader hope/fear it will end? If your leader is omnipotent and immortal... well, I can't really help you there.
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In the early days of Old Xanthal, leaders tended to stick around until they died, or at least until they were too old and tired to manage- the nation's founder famously served for over forty years. Kawikani Hohki lived to walk away from the ruins of his regime only to die as a common citizen in the violence of the civil war which followed. Fina Liu, the first and last Empress of Xanthal, left her power and her life behind in spectacular fashion- shot by her own general, she fell through the window of her top floor office and had several seconds to contemplate what had led her to this before the pavement ended what a pistol began. After the dust had settled in the Empire's wake Xanthal began to elect its leaders, but power remained centralized and without term limits Presidents mostly left when they wished to leave, or when forces within their own government pushed them out.
During the Age of Disunion an orderly succession was the exception- most of the territories that once made up Xanthal were ruled by the right of might, and a leader who miscalculated or chose the wrong moment to be off his guard could be considered fortunate if his position were all that he lost.
Modern Xanthal is a functioning Republic, and its Triumvirate of executives are selected by the public every six years on a single ballot from which the top three take office, but of the ten who have come and gone since the current Constitution went into effect more than half have chosen their time to leave rather than wait to be voted out. After shepherding an orderly transition from the provisional government, Fredrick Dahy decided to enjoy his twilight years out of the public square. Yatzil Omsai saved the right wing from a likely shutout by dropping out of the 2364 election to avoid splitting the vote three ways. Eiko Oishi took a creative approach to prolong her legacy: after handily winning re-election she simply declined to take office, appointing a hand-picked successor to serve the term in her stead, effectively giving her protégé the advantage of incumbency without the bother of needing to first win on her own. The tactic was so effective that Marcus Woessner emulated it in the very next election, deciding to burn out rather than fade away by reversing a shutout of the very sort Omsai had prevented the previous election. In the face of falling support and failing health, Teanin Kisnash decided that four terms was enough. Mia Libby, for her part, took the high road and declined to seek her party's nomination to avert a power struggle following a political merger.
Four Triumvirs have lost a vote. The tide of unionist sentiment which rose in the wake of terrorism did not last long enough to purchase a third term for Hail To Glory, who finished solidly fourth in 2352. Regina Arai's defeat was less dignified: having taken office on the back of a deeply unpopular compromise and held it with the dead albatross of a rapidly failing party around her neck, she limped to a sixth place finish in 2388 and promptly retired from political life. Carrie Anders struggled to a fourth place finish in the contentious election of 2382- the victim of hardening attitudes which favored her more authoritarian challengers- but like the Phoenix rose again and reclaimed her office six years later, becoming the first in Xanthalian history to serve non-consecutive terms in the executive branch. Her comeback was short-lived: after another fourth-place finish in the next election, she decided to find more reliable employment. Yukari Mizushima was voted out not by the people, but by her own caucus: after three terms and with the Federation expanding rapidly, she and her supporters ultimately failed to convince her party that experience was preferable to fresh blood and they selected Tossej Zusv to represent them in the 2394 election instead.
