Generations/Lore/Realms

Division of Land and Rulership

Different cultures divide and rule the land differently. I am going to employ a simplified and unified format for royalty, nobility, and land division to keep things relatively simple and uniform across similar cultures. I will now go into the royal and noble ranks, and what land divisions they rule over, for purposes of the story, by culture.

Western Rulership

Social Status

The Western Model has the following social classes, from greatest to least:

• Imperial: The emperor and his/her immediate family.
• Royal: The line of nobles with the possibility to inherit the crown, no matter how remote. Some characters who would be nobles from their title may be royals due to bloodlines.
• Noble: The ruling class.
• Minor Noble: Landed lords and knights
• Mayor: A freeman acting as the head of a town.
• Freeman: A non-noble land owner.
• Serf: A landless peasant who lives on another's land, and works it for them. Almost a slave.
• Slave: A person that is the property of another.

Titles

Male Title	Female Title	Neuter Title	Social Class	Addressed As	Description
Emperor	Empress	Empressor	Imperial	Your Imperial Majesty, Your Majesty	An emperor rules over an empire. An empire is composed of multiple kingdoms. Not all kingdoms belong to empires.
King	Queen	Quing	Royal	Your Royal Majesty, Your Majesty, My Liege (only the ruler)	A king rules over a kingdom. A kingdom is composed of multiple duchies. Imperial princes and princesses may rule a kingdom, in which case they are called king, or queen. Kings are greater in status than imperial princes, unless that prince is also a king, in which case they are lower in status.
Imperial Prince	Imperial Princess	Imperial Princeor	Imperial	Your Imperial Highness, Your Highness	An imperial prince is the child of an emperor. They often don't rule over anything, instead they await their time as emperor.
(Arch)Duke	(Arch)Duchess	(Arch)Duch	Noble	Your Grace	A duke rules over a duchy. A duchy is composed of multiple counties. A very large duchy may be ruled by an archduke, who is higher in status than a duke. Royal princes and princesses may rule a duchy, but they keep their title as prince / princess. Dukes are greater in status than princes, unless that prince is also a duke, in which case they are lower in status.
Royal Prince	Royal Princess	Royal Princeor	Royal	Your Highness	A royal prince is the child of a king. They often don't rule over anything, instead they await their time as king or queen. The prince or princess due to inherit the throne is referred to as the crown prince or crown princess.
Ducal Prince	Ducal Princess	Ducal Princeor	Noble	Your Grace	A ducal prince is the child of a duke. They often don't rule over anything, instead they await their time as duke or duchess.
Ducal Prince	Ducal Princess	Ducal Princeor	Noble	Your Grace	A ducal prince is the child of a duke. They often don't rule over anything, instead they await their time as duke or duchess.
Count / Earl / Marquis / Viscount	Countess / Marchioness / Viscountess	Counteor / Earleor / Marquiseor / Viscounteor	Noble	Your Lordship / Your Ladyship	A count rules over a county. A county is composed of multiple baronies. A small county with no baronies is ruled by a viscount / viscountess / viscounteor, which is a lower rank than count. Some kingdoms use the title marquis / marchioness / marquiseor in place of count. Some kingdoms use the title earl / countess / earleor in place of count.
Baron	Baroness	Baroneor	Noble	Your Lordship / Your Ladyship	A baron rules a barony. A barony is generally defined by a town of size and it's surrounding land and villages. Small towns and villages may be within the lands of a large town's barony, and thus under its rule.
Lord	Lady	Laerd	Minor Noble	Your Lordship / Your Ladyship	A lord rules a town that is not large enough to support a barony.
Knight	Knight	Knight	Minor Noble	Sir / Dame / Sir	A knight doesn't rule unless they are also a lord.
Mayor	Mayor	Mayor	Mayor	Your Honor	A mayor is a freeman that rules in villages. They are usually either appointed by the local baron or lord, or they are elected by the citizenry, depending on the kingdom.
Freeman	Freeman	Freeman	Freeman	None	A freeman owns land.
Surf	Surf	Surf	Surf	Peasant, Peon	A surf doesn't own land, and usually works the land for others. They are almost slaves.
Slave	Slave	Slave	Slave	Slave	A slave has little to no rights, and is the property of their master. Not all kingdoms permit slavery.

Regions of Shiar'Elestria

Here are a list of the Empires, Kingdoms, Caliphates, what have you on Shiar'Elestria.

Western Regions

These are the regions in the area of Shiar'Elestria that is designated as "The West". Most use the western rulership model, but not all.

Kingdom of Garia

The Kingdom of Guaria is an old, island kingdom steeped in tradition. They are a significant maritime power, and are a relatively wealthy kingdom. The closest Earth equivalent would be the Kingdom of England.