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Jul. 22nd, 2009
(Very probably boring)
The mage-lords of the Allotment (or, as it is formally known, the Kingdom of Antarion) realized very early on that a growing noble class on a fixed parcel of land would encounter political tension above and beyond the usual. The division of land, therefore, was a matter or very keen concern.
Firstly, the kingdom was divided into sixty-four Baronies, each a square with sides sixteen miles long. As some of these squares consisted of far more water than land, the solution was not perfectly equitable, but it sufficed. In the four outer Duchies- Sunfall, Coldreach, Woodsedge, and Southcrest- there were fifteen Baronies each, and every three Baronies formed a County. In Heartscore, the central Duchy, there were four Baronies, each its own County- an arrangement no-one objected to, as the reduction in land was matched by an elevated importance - Heartscore held the Royal Palace, the House of Lords, and was the cross-roads for all trade in the Kingdom.
A series of compromises handed down allowed for each Barony to be further subdivided into four Baronetcies, if the Baron so wished, but the grant of a Baronetcy was not an inheritable title- on the holder's death, the land reverted to the Barony. Baronetcies were the province of dissatisfied younger children, or untitled political allies.
Inheritance was a very closely regulated matter. Any one noble family could hold only one title, from Baronetcy to Duchy - upon marriage between noble lines, one of the two families formally disinherited their child, so that there was no way to be heir to more than one parcel of land. While every liege controlled taxes and legal arbitration within their land, and held certain other prerogatives ensuring a Duke was a far grander position than a Count, and a Count than a Baron, every titled lord or lady held one equal seat in Parliament. Should a lord be unable to travel to Heartscore when Parliament was in session, they or their liege-lord could appoint a voting proxy. In the unlikely event that a family produced or named no heirs, and a title fell vacant, the King or Queen had dispensation to grant it where they would.
Mage-lords were required to demonstrate an aptitude for magic before their eighteenth birthday; or be disinherited - though it was common for the prouder families to disinherit at fourteen or fifteen, as a means of saving face. Any child of common birth who demonstrated a spark of magical talent was, by law, adopted into the household of a local lord, and their parents handsomely compensated.
...Man, is it going to be difficult to exposit this in the book a piece at a time, without lecturing.
The mage-lords of the Allotment (or, as it is formally known, the Kingdom of Antarion) realized very early on that a growing noble class on a fixed parcel of land would encounter political tension above and beyond the usual. The division of land, therefore, was a matter or very keen concern.
Firstly, the kingdom was divided into sixty-four Baronies, each a square with sides sixteen miles long. As some of these squares consisted of far more water than land, the solution was not perfectly equitable, but it sufficed. In the four outer Duchies- Sunfall, Coldreach, Woodsedge, and Southcrest- there were fifteen Baronies each, and every three Baronies formed a County. In Heartscore, the central Duchy, there were four Baronies, each its own County- an arrangement no-one objected to, as the reduction in land was matched by an elevated importance - Heartscore held the Royal Palace, the House of Lords, and was the cross-roads for all trade in the Kingdom.
A series of compromises handed down allowed for each Barony to be further subdivided into four Baronetcies, if the Baron so wished, but the grant of a Baronetcy was not an inheritable title- on the holder's death, the land reverted to the Barony. Baronetcies were the province of dissatisfied younger children, or untitled political allies.
Inheritance was a very closely regulated matter. Any one noble family could hold only one title, from Baronetcy to Duchy - upon marriage between noble lines, one of the two families formally disinherited their child, so that there was no way to be heir to more than one parcel of land. While every liege controlled taxes and legal arbitration within their land, and held certain other prerogatives ensuring a Duke was a far grander position than a Count, and a Count than a Baron, every titled lord or lady held one equal seat in Parliament. Should a lord be unable to travel to Heartscore when Parliament was in session, they or their liege-lord could appoint a voting proxy. In the unlikely event that a family produced or named no heirs, and a title fell vacant, the King or Queen had dispensation to grant it where they would.
Mage-lords were required to demonstrate an aptitude for magic before their eighteenth birthday; or be disinherited - though it was common for the prouder families to disinherit at fourteen or fifteen, as a means of saving face. Any child of common birth who demonstrated a spark of magical talent was, by law, adopted into the household of a local lord, and their parents handsomely compensated.
...Man, is it going to be difficult to exposit this in the book a piece at a time, without lecturing.