Nobility of the Land
The Nobility of the Land, known colloquially as the aristocracy, is one of the Pillars of Moray. They are the hereditary landowners of the Queendom, whose feuding fiefs were united by Vivienne I Hydrax when she forged the Pact Royal with her divine consort, The Antlered King. The Nobility are broadly separated - albeit largely by the members of the aristocracy themselves - into the Old Blood and the New. Families of the Old - or True - Blood can trace their dynastic line back to the founding of the Queendom, and look down somewhat on the 'New Blood,' those families who were more recently granted the estates of extinct or disgraced lines.
Most aristocratic families are headed by a baron, but seven earls and three dukes control larger areas through networks of vassalage, as well as their own large estates. It is a point of some dissatisfaction among the aristocracy that they share their domain with an officer of the Court who outranks them in all legal matters.
The class of landed gentry known as Knights of the Blood hold local castles and petty fiefs in fealty to the barons. Unlike the Queen's Riders, the Knights hold their styles by heredity, although their children may earn the rank of banneret through military service.
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