Generations/Lore/Realms
< Generations | Lore
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 ones own monarch) | 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 Royal Highness, 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. Some kingdoms have a separate region which princes rule over called principalities. In kingdoms with principalities, said principalities are composed of several duchies. In those kingdoms the rank of prince is always greater than the rank of duke. |
| 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.
Northern Regions
- Nortlund (Northern Rulership Model)
- Nortlund Orcs (Orcish Rulership Model)
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.
- Ælfinhiem (Elven Rulership Model)
- Garian Orc Lands (Orcish Rulership Model)
- Kingdom of Garia (Western Rulership Model)
- Eudresian Empire (Western Rulership Model)
- Noxsylvania (Western Rulership Model)
- Hob Hills (Hobbit Rulership Model)
- Darzha'Mael (Western Rulership Model)
- Veldebrunt (Gnomish Rulership Model)
- The Long Sands (Desert Tribal Rulership Model)
Southern Regions
- Jungle Tribe Lands (Jungle Tribal Rulership Model)
- Misyr (Southern Rulership Model)
- Southern Orc Lands (Orcish Rulership Model)
- Ice Tribe Lands (Ice Tribal Rulership Model)
Middle Eastern Regions
Eastern Regions
- Horse Tribe Lands (Horse Tribal Rulership Model)
- Eastern Orc Lands (Orcish Rulership Model)
- Zhongguo Empire (Eastern Rulership Model)
- Nippon Empire (Eastern Rulership Model)
Dwarven Regions
- Mithril Mountains (Dwarven Rulership Model)
- Lonely Mountains (Dwarven Rulership Model)
- Dragonspine Mountains (Dwarven Rulership Model)
Aquatic Regions
- Atlantica (Merfolk Rulership Model)