This has been bugging me for a while, since I haven't been able to find a real-world comparison for Gridania's quasi-system of government... until I thought of one last night. What do you guys think of this comparison?

In the pre-kings history of Jewish society, God was the monarch and considered the supreme ruler. Offending God was considered life-threatening. God's law was administed by the priests of the clan of Levi. On occasion, when things got out of hand, God would send a judge to resolve a particular problem and restore order.

Now:
Replace "God" with "the elementals";
Replace "priests" with "conjurers";
Replace "the clan of Levi" with "padjali heritage"; and
Replace "a judge" with "one beckoned by the Wood".

Anyone care to nit-pick?