Noble Ranks and Clan Law

The aristocracy is a crucial institution of civilisation and the Realm, creating a hierarchy at the very top levels of society that in turn provide an example for emulation.

Noble Ranks
The noble ranks are as follows:
 * Ruler of the Realm - the pinnacle of civilisation, beloved of the heavens, ruler of rulers.
 * King - a King rules an independent state, most often a large one; the small ones mostly used to be large.
 * Prince or Duke - the two titles are equally ranked, but with a crucial difference. A Prince always has a King above him, and is in turn directly descended from kings. A Duke, on the other hand, is sovereign - he rules, like a king, but over much smaller duchies.
 * Earl - mainstay of upper nobility or sworn houses
 * Viscount
 * Baron
 * Noble-born - people who are noble-born but have no title are said to have 'fallen off the tree', though that phrase doesn't say how far 'off the tree' they are. They are often still viewed to be nobles as long as they are less than three generations removed.

Clan Law
Ranks can be hereditary, in which case they form part of the primary inheritance and are by default passed on to the oldest son of a wife. Thus, on the death of Garon, Viscount of Ahun, his oldest son Meke will be promoted to become a Viscount.

The rest of the children automatically have their rank 'descended', that is dropped one rank from their father. This continues until they fall off the tree.