The supreme ruler of the city-state of Tephis in Tuten was the mayor. The mayor ruled the city-state of Tephis, along with all of the towns and villages around it, thus making him almost equivalent to the king of a small country.
As such, a mayor only accepted the call of the King of Tuten Kingdom. He also had the right to be elected king.
But, those who could compete for the throne were usually only the mayors of the big city-states. As Tephis was a newly rising small city-state, although its mayor could run for election, he had little chance of becoming a king.
This was especially true since the recent elections had almost all been won by the mayors of the northern city-state of Vansey. After destroying the Batko Empire, Vansey had acquired a great deal of wealth and slaves, thus raising its political status within the Tuten Kingdom. Since that time, eight mayors from Vansey had become kings consecutively!
