While Atlas is theoretically governed by a council like the other Kingdoms, the Academy being the government and Cinder referring to Ironwood as a "dictator" makes me think that the Council isn't as powerful as in other Kingdoms. My idea is that the Atlas Council is in conflict with the Academy, both representing different sectors of control that frequently butt heads on who controls what.Here are the heads of the two factions: General James Ironwood, headmaster of Atlas Academy, and Chairwoman Dawn Lumina, the head of the Atlas Council. These two share a mutual distrust and vitriol, which dates back to when Lumina herself was a student under Ironwood. They both have very different visions for how Atlas should be run, and both consider the other a threat. Ironwood sees Lumina as a scheming rabble-rouser who endangers the Kingdom's safety, while Lumina sees Ironwood as an oppressive despot who keeps too many secrets from the civilian government.A short fan fiction story about these two, Iron Gloves, can be found here , and the larger fan fiction project ARGT Dawn can be found here Ironwood, Atlas, and RWBY belong to Rooster Teeth and the late Monty OumDawn Lumina is from my fan-fiction story ARGT Dawn