Ranks

Titles, classes, ranks, royalty, nobility

In Daleth, the title someone has is very important. It is considered rude to call someone without a title, even if this title is of low value. Only (close) friends and relatives up to the 4th degree (see scheme) use names without title. Relatives through marriage are never addressed without title, except for the person who has married into the family.

Titles can come from royalty, nobility, education, job, or military rank. They differ for the various people living in Daleth. If someone has more than one title, the highest goes first in general. But on a certain occasion, the rank that relates to that occasion goes first. If the Emperor goes to a military parade in his military uniform, he is no longer the emperor, but will be called by his military rank.
Regarding all those titles, all other personal data such as age, gender or breed do not matter. Only those who are equal in ranking can use these to make a difference, although this is often seen as rude, too. Among ex-students, the place where they have studied is important for ranking, but those who have not been in Ildritz University don't think much of this.

The royal ranks

Emperor (empress): the highest rank in Daleth, although the "double emperor" in the United Empires was in fact higher, but a) not in use anymore and b) never accepted by the Council of Arms.
King (queen): after the fall of Overveer, Daleth hasn't had any kings or queens anymore. Sometimes the Lord of Klainskrizzon is called a king. De Weslanan are in name a kingdom, but they don't have a king. The throne is empty. Salamandran used to have kings just before the empires united. Overveer was once a very short-lived kingdom.
Prince (princess): for a short time, De Taycha was called a principality and the Thyngfyrst called the prince. But the Naglani didn't want to have a lower rank than the emperor, so they stuck to Thyngfyrst.
Thyngfyrst (thyngfyrst): the head of all the Naglani-clans. Sometimes seen as nobility, but the Thyngfyrst has no one above him, except the democracy of the clans.

It goes without saying that royalty should have their regalia near them when they can be seen by the public: crowns, sceptres, orbs, mantle... See also the regalia-section.

Nobility of high standing

Nobility comes in many flavours. To make themselves different, many people have asked the emperor to make new ranks and titles.
Here is a list of the official ranks of nobility in Daleth:

The counts of De Weslanan

The counts of the old countries of De Weslanan are called terrynh, with the meaning "those who are true to their land". Originally, they were the men and women who had to report to the king of De Weslanan, who was in fact the emperor (except for short periods of time). The original countries were Ciniz, Dohn, Dernëv and Unvar. Dernëv later got the title of duke with the land, but there are still counts of Dernëv living in De Weslanan.

The counts from Overveer

Like De Weslanan, Overveer had a king (another title for the emperor) served by counts. In Overveer they were called fydrynh. Rhauthuz, Swartiz, Hartegard and Altheizar were all countries rules by a fydrynh. Of course, after the revolution, the titles were no longer in fashion and the nobility disappeared from Overveer, and if not, they were killed. Some old fydrymh families still live in Daleth.

The counts from Salamandran

In Salamandran, the counts were called fydrynh as well, before they became kings.

The counts from De Erflanden

The gavorrynh from De Erflanden are counts like those from Overveer and De Weslanan. However, they are usually ranked a bit lower than the others, because they had less power than the counts of the far away countries - the emperor ruled De Erflanden, and the gavorrynh were just decoration.
Exception was Marèz, where the title was fydrynh, as in Overveer.

Almost all counts wear a sash from right shoulder to left hip in the colours of their banner on official meetings. Some also got an official crown that goes with the title, but it is usually only the females who wear this diadem. Males stick to a hat, although most younger ones don't have hats anymore ("We don't have bald patches to cover, do we?" the count of Lameirvar said). They carry a light, decorative sword when officially in public, outdoors. Carrying weapons indoors is not nice towards the host.

Nobility of lower standing

The Lords are also nobility, but lower on the scales of society. Lords do not have their own land, but are ruled by the counts. But in recent history, some Lords became the rulers of sovereign countries (Vîmeir). In history, most Lords ruled over a city so the count could watch the whole country.

Exception is the Lord of Klainskrizzon. He is the king of the Sudzi, but the Sudzi don't have a word for king and the emperors didn't accept a king in Klainskrizzon.

In royalty and nobility, the title goes over to the husband or wife upon marriage or as soon as the person receives the title, and is inherited by the oldest child, unless the emperor decides different. This means that the younger children get no title at all, unless they marry someone with a title. That made it very popular to marry in the same social class with sometimes the parents arranging weddings even before a child was born.

Lords wear a sash on their hips in the colours of the country they serve. They should wear a hat as long as they are outside on their way to an official meeting. They are not allowed to carry weapons as decoration.

Titles of education

Someone who mastered a study or a craft is a master. A master is thought of as the high nobility of education and can be compared to a count in standing. Those who are still learning, but are no beginner, might be called abthum, but that is not official.
Masters are further, among their peers, classified by the knowledge they have, usually coming with age. These results in "senior master", "junior master" and other names and titles. The masters have been quite creative with it.
The masters of Overveer are not classified as such. They have their own way of being ranked. But when they come to other parts of Daleth, they can be called master.
These titles can not be inherited and are not given to the husband or wife.

Titles by profession

There are not many titles by profession ranking in Daleth.
Noteworthy is Overveer, where royalty and nobility no longer exist and all titles come from the jobs people have in the guild.
The Guildesmaster is the highest rank in Overveer. He rules over the guilds and thus the land. The Crownmaster is the person who is next, he is the guard of the treasury.
Guildmasters are the head of their guild, and they are informed by Briefmasters, the local heads of the guilds. The briefmasters in their turn are the leaders of the masters in a guild. The masters are all master in their profession and owner of a independent endeavour. They have fellows and pupils working for them.
Those who are not in that hierarchy are more or less slaves, but in Overveer they are called servants.
Women are not allowed to enter the guilds, and thus have no titles themselves. They are allowed to use the title of their husband or, if they are not married yet, their father's title. They have every reason to find a good husband with a good rank, and arranged weddings are normal in Overveer.
Those who have free professions, and don't belong to a guild, are forced to sign in with a guild as soon as possible, otherwise they have to give all their income plus a penalty to the local Guildhall and work as a servant to live.

The engineer is a title that is young in Daleth. It applies to all who work with machines, and engineers are master of the machines. They have to be educated to be such a master, but because their work is so different from that of other masters, the new title was introduced. Steammaster is a synonym applying to all engineers working with steam powered engines.

Farmers in De Weslanan are honoured for their work by their own title: abtter. The counts of De Weslanan have decided to use this title because the land can't survive without farmers, only their work -providing food- make all other things possible. "Well, of course, most work is important," the countess of Unvar said on this subject, "but the farmers are usually called names because they stink and are dirty and live outside town, so they don't always know what's going on. Someone calling a farmer stupid should think twice, that's why we want to have them called abtter. It means land worker. You can't pass a farmer without bowing and greeting him with his official title."

The word honourable is used for every working person who does a public job that needs respect. It is not an official title.

Military titles

In the army, many titles are given, many ranks are known. To get a full view of the military ranks, see the army-section. Titles belonging to military ranks can only be used when the person is dressed in the appropriate uniform.

Others

"Sir(e)" or "Madam(e)" is the common title of all persons who deserve respect -which is in fact everyone. The -e is used in some regions and is referred to as dialect, although those who speak that way say it shows more respect with an -e.
Children under the age of 16 without a proper title are addresses as Young Sir or Young Madam.