Editing Landsoftheblacksea:Main Page/realms/athervon (section)

= Culture & Society =

Athervon’s social hierarchy follows the lines of authority, wealth, and command, all of which ultimately terminate in the power of the monarchy.

The most respected social strata of Athervonian society goes by the collective name ''Le Haute Noblesse'', and is comprised of the titled, landed nobility.  This includes the Ducs, Marquis, Comptes, Vicomptes, and Barons of the realm.
Below them are the Gentry (''Les Petite Noblesse''), which is further stratified into the landed nobles (''Chevalieres'') and then the non-landed nobles (''Ecuyer'').

It is important to note that while wealth is respected in Athervon, it does not superscede station; poor but nonetheless landed nobility (Ducs, Comptes, Marquis, Vicomptes, Barons, and Chevalieres) with a name of historical significance will generally have superior social status; Ecuyer who were formerly landed Chevalieres but who lost their lands to debt, war, or other problems generally follow next in the social hierarchy.  Below these formerly landed nobility will come the Ecuyer who never possessed land in the first place – the nouveau rich merchant or craftsman whose familiy has recently been granted a the station from the King in return for generous donations to the treasury or other services.  

In this respect, Athervon draws a striking contrast with the neighboring Kingdom of Veniri, where social strata in the same situation would be completely reversed, with wealth deciding the order of things.  But both agree that wealth and land is the best combination – one that is at the top of the hierarchy in both Kingdoms.

Members of the clergy and associated orders of the Holy Faith (''Le Ordonné'') form the next most desired social circles.  The subdivisions here follow the hierarchy of the church itself, with the Archprelate at the top, his Archbishops, Bishops, Abbots, and so on down the line.  The lines between the true nobility and the higher ranks of the clergy of the Holy faith is not necessarily black and white to begin with.  For example, the Archprelate of the Holy Faith is generally held as a peer to the most powerful Duc in the Kingdom.  These lines can be further blurred when Church leaders have noble titles conferred upon them (e.g., the Archbishop of Avis Armois has traditionally also held the title of comte du Armois Province).

Below the clergy are Merchants and skilled Craftsmen who have no titles.  Collectively this group is ''Les Guildhomme''.  The subdivisions within this group are a mixture of rank, responsibility, and reputation within the various craft and merchant Guilds that hold sway in the cities, not to mention raw wealth.

Below the Guildhomme are the unskilled laborers and farmers – collectively, ''Le Serf'' – who form the bulk of the population of the countryside.  While financially speaking most folk of this class are technically poor, Athervon is a fertile land with generally good weather patterns and seasons, and it is unusual for there to be mass starvation or similar plights.  The life of folk in this strata of Athervonian society is hard, but not necessarily brutal, and more often than not, reasonably long if they survive childhood.

The lowest “class” of Athervonian society, ''Le Déchu,'' is, unsurprisingly, formed by criminals and those who make their living outside the law.  It also includes those who served their time and have been freed, but are visibly marked by the punishment for their crimes (branding, taking of fingers and limbs, and a number of other disfigurements are all tools in the inventory of the King’s law enforcement establishment).

== Non-Humans ==

Athervon is dominated by humans in terms of racial composition, and humans are members of all the social strata listed above.  
Halflings are the next most common race in the Kingdom; Halflings are never found within the Nobility or Clergy of the Holy Faith, and thus generally would top out social advancement within the Guildhomme at best – but of course they can also be found in as laborers, farmers, and criminals.  

After Halflings, Gnomes are the next most common demi-human race in the Kingdom.  Within human social circles, Gnomes never rise about the Guildhomme.  But Gnomes also keep to their own social compacts amongst their own kind, and one that is but a mid-level merchant in the Guildhomme might be considered nobility within Gnomish circles (or, just as often, a criminal).  Gnomish social organization is a mystery to most humans, but so long as their practices stay within the lines of the dominant human constructs and they follow the laws of the Kingdom, no one pays much attention to their internal relationships.

Half-Elves are rare in Athervon, and primarily found around the borders of the Thornwood, to include Avis Inia itself.  They suffer the same social limitations as Halflings (with a single unique exception of there being exactly one Half-Elven Prelate within the hierarchy of the Holy Faith, a recent and highly controversial decision within the church).

Half-Orcs are to be found sparingly in Athervon, typically in areas that are bordered by wild lands where their forebears reside, such as in the foothills of the Iron Mountains or the borders of the Dire Fens; they are generally shunned by humans in the countryside; but in the major metropolitan cities such as Avis Inia or Avis Armois, they are able to find work as laborers or bouncers or criminals.  A few half-orcs have managed to rise into the Guildhomme as either smiths, armorers, butchers, or other craft that their lineage provides them with unique skills in.  More often than not, they end up falling into the laborer class, or worse, the criminal caste.

Dwarves are quite rare in Athervon, and generally speaking are passing through more than living permanently among the humans.  Exceptions are rare, but an occasional expatriate or exile from the Dwarven realms can be found, particularly if one looks carefully within the major metropolitan cities.  Those few Dwarves that choose to live amongst the humans will never rise beyond the Guildhomme, but just as rare would be to find one that has not achieved that rank, given Dwarves generally superior skills at mining, smith work, brewing, and other craft that humans place great value on.  Those dwarves that fail or choose not to work in the Guildhomme generally opt for criminal activities rather than simple labor or (worst of all!) farming.

Finally, full-blooded elves are the rarest of all within Athervon.  They can certainly be found passing through, similar to dwarves, but permanently settling down is rare indeed.  The generally hostile stance of the church to non-Humans devolves into outright persecution in the case of Elves, primarily due to their perceived inherently magical nature, which associates directly to witchcraft and heresy within the church.  Those elves that do decide to swim against these cultural currents and reside amongst the humans typically will take some care to disguise their most overtly elvish features when out in public, and they too will not rise above the Guildhomme – although, similarly to Dwarves, this class will find the bulk of them.  Elves are not known to settle as farmers or laborers, and while there are no known Elvish criminals practicing in Athervon, that surely does not prove they do not exist.

== Customs ==

Members of the Landed nobility will sometimes append the Province that they hail from to their last name (e.g., , Auguste Bourseiller du Fonde), as sometimes the diaspora of a family can spread to far-flung regions, and the realm has seen wars where the appended Province name was the only thing separating the two sides.  This tradition is not followed uniformly throughout the kingdom – some families have never grown so large as to make the distinction, and others simply choose not to.

All of the members of both the Haute and Petite Noblesse are addressed as Lords (''Sieur'') or Ladies (''Dame''), thus the phrase ''Mon Sieur'' (my lord) or ''Ma Dame'' (My Lady).  Members of the Guildhomme are addressed as ''Messier'' (men) or ''Gentillesse'' (women) by each other and those of lower social status.  The lower classes are not entitled any address, although in most polite society where the actual status of people is not completely clear, the protocol is generally to use the address of the Guildhomme at a minimum, just to be safe.  Use of the address for the Noblesse in cases where there is uncertainty is permitted, so long as any who are not entitled to it do not allow the misperception to continue intentionally.

Clergy are entitled to be addressed in accordance with their rank; His Holiness for the Archprelate; His Eminence for the Prelates; His Excellency for the Archbishops; Father Abbott or Mother Abbess for monestary leaders; Reverend or Father for the rank-and-file priests of the Church; and Brother or Sister for the rank-and-file monks and nuns.