[quote]There has always been a Speaker, an anonymous high priest with a mysterious and powerful connection to the Traveler and its Ghosts. In all the centuries of the City's history, the Speaker's great work has never changed - to guide new Guardians, heal the Traveler, and raise our crippled protector from its slumber. [/quote] You bring up a really good point, though. I don't know how they would go about choosing one. Joe Staten, the guy who created most of the lore ideas, probably created the Speaker's role like the Egyptian Pharaohs. The Speaker gets there by an unprovable link (like how Pharaohs were "descendents of gods." Mostly the gods Osiris and Ra), then can do anything in name of their god. I think our current Speaker is incompetent, but then again I side with Osiris and his time traveling Darkness game of chess with the Nine and Awoken.