"Gutterking" is a gender-neutral term used to describe influential gutterfolk in Castleton who oversee the underground activities in the areas surrounding the Mess Hall gates.
There are five Mess Halls, each with its own Gutterking.
Gutterkings are chosen either by a majority vote (of whoever happens to show up at that purification gate on the day it's decided to hold elections; it's not terribly formal) or by the other four Gutterkings. The process is relatively informal, but gutterfolk hold the election of a new Gutterking to be more important than the election of the city mayor. This is probably because the Gutterkings have a much more direct influence on their lives; the atmosphere of a mess hall district is often highly dependent on its Gutterking.
A Gutterking may leave office by either voluntarily stepping down, being ousted by other gutterfolk, or by being ousted by the other Gutterkings.In the case of disputes, all Gutterkings defer to Raphael, the Gutterking of Central Mess.
The current five Gutterkings are as follows.
- Central Mess: Raphael (and his right-hand-man, Shaedra)
- West Mess: Vincent Claverti
- South Mess: Gregorio Sallen
- East Mess: Simmera
- North Mess: Jonathan Murdoc