Court Lady

The qualifications are different from kingdom to kingdom. The details of the other nations are unknown at this time, but here are what they are for Vesa:

• Once a girl turns 16, she may take the annual court lady exam, which is often referred to by those who train for it as the First Test.
• There are no class restrictions on this test; however, lower classes do not usually even make the attempt since having reading and writing skills are mandatory.
• After passing the First Test, an aspiring court lady must then wait until there is an opening, which can take years.
• Once there is an opening, there are new tests to pass:
• A written test to establish an understanding of the basic job role
• A series of aptitude tests to make sure the girl can perform all the required skills
• Assuming the girl passes all those tests, they will then have tea with the five current head court ladies, who will either pass or fail her
• Assuming the head court ladies pass her, the girl will go on to be interviewed by the headmistress, who will either pass or fail her
• Assuming the headmistress passes her, the girl will face her final test: an interview with the emperor's vassal, who will either make her the next court lady or fail her
• It should be noted that if the emperor's vassal fails the aspiring court lady, she may never take the series of tests again even if there's another opening. She is officially disqualified from ever becoming a court lady if she should make it all the way to that final test and fail it.

• In this strictly gendered society, only females may become court ladies
• A girl must be at least 16 years old to take the First Test
• A court lady is aged out when she turns 25
• Reading and writing skills are mandatory, which ends up being a class restriction

• Depends on if one is a Vesian court lady or a court lady from one of the other five kingdoms.
• A Vesian court lady is chosen by the emperor's vassal since it's considered most important that they are loyal to the emperor. The vassal will tell the headmistress, who is then responsible for collecting and appointing the new court lady to the consort she will serve. This is done without fanfare.
• In the other five kingdoms, the details are unknown at this time.

The court ladies are responsible for attending to every need of their consort, including but not limited to:

• Dressing them
• Mending their clothes
• Bathing them
• Doing their hair and makeup
• Preparing their food
• Helping care for any children they may birth
• Seeing to tasks around the consort's quarters
• Doing the consort's bidding outside of her quarters

• All court ladies have the benefit of living in the palace with its many magical accomodations.
• Vesian girls become court ladies primarily to forge connections so they may secure a comfortable financial position outside of the palace. They do this primarily by way of marriage, though there are plenty who take another benefit...
• If a Vesian girl "retires" from being a court lady when she ages out at 25, she is given a small government stipend that she can use to live in Glios' labor district. She will use the skills she's acquired to live comfortably as a single woman - one of the few respectable ways to be so in Vesa.
• The specific benefits the court ladies from other nations enjoy are not known at this time.

• Court ladies wear fine dresses, though never as fine as their consort (or head court lady)
• A jeweled flower worn at the throat signifies them as court ladies
• There are different gems based on which consort a court lady is serving as well, each corresponding to that consort's home region:
• Petria: Ruby
• Umbor: Emerald
• Etha: Alexandrite
• Teshe: Amber
• Ina Isles: Sapphire

• Any court lady can be removed by the following individuals:
• Their consort
• Their head court lady
• The headmistress
• The emperor's vassal
• The emperor
• The head court lady or headmistress must have a reason and petition the emperor's vassal, but all the others may dismiss any court lady for any reason or no reason at all.
• How a dismissed court lady is treated depends on why she's being dismissed, particularly for Vesians:
• If she is sent back to the Lavender Houses to re-test for the role of court lady again one day, it's usually because she is part of a noble family or she was let go for health reasons
• If she is forbidden from going back to the Lavender Houses to re-test, it means she was let go for disgraceful reasons. She will not receive a government stipend, and she will likely have to leave Glios or be forever recognized for her biggest failure.
• It is not known how other nations treat their dismissed court ladies at this time; it is also much rarer for a court lady from another land to be dismissed except for health reasons.

• The court lady role has existed ever since the Treaty that set up the current system wherein each land must send a consort to the emperor in Vesa
• In the early days, each consort only had one court lady she brought with her from her homeland; this role would later evolve to become the head court lady
• In the ensuing decades, an emperor decided the number of court ladies assigned to each consort should be three because he deemed his consorts worthy of having a full staff
• A Vesian court lady was added to each consort's staff after one consort and her court ladies hatched a scheme to assassinate the emperor a hundred years ago; it is well understood, if not spoken about, that all Vesian court ladies are also spies for the nation of Vesa

• Once a girl becomes a court lady, she is basically at the level of nobility, whether she was born to a noble house or not
• In Vesa, it's common to find little girls of all ages and classes playing pretend games where they act as a consort and her court ladies
• How the non-Vesian cultures view the court ladies is not known at this time.