Kingdom of Sol

 Kindom of Sol lays on the Continent of Giants, also known as the western continent. It neighbours the Kindom of Umbria and the Beast Lords of the Southern Lands. It has good economic relation ships with the City of Masks.

The current rulers of Sol are the King Leomer II. and the Monarch Alame. The Monarch is a foreing Princess from the City of Masks.

History
Like many states the Kindom of Sol was founded during the Founding Age. The first settlement founded by the Human tribes now lays in the western mountain ranges of the kingdom, this was the former capital of Sol, Lordmount, now known only as the Necropolis. From this location the humans have spread into the fertile valleys of Sol, pushing out the Giant-kin that had settled there.

Elven Alliance
Sol went into a war with the Giant-kin, who attempted to reclaim their territory. The Chief of humans allied himself with the elven settlements in the north. The Giant-kin were surrounded and were forced to escape into the northern mountains. The alliance between the Elves and Humans is kept alive by the noble house Auranim, the Dukes of Sol and offspring of this alliance. The Elven settlements have mended with the humans after the Giant-kin left, joining the kingdom.

The Crisis
Sol has prospered despite the common raids from Giant-kin of the North and the Beast-folk of the South. However a century ago a catastrophic conflict broke out because of Sol's royalty. The last Queen of Sol was a power hungry tyrant and it was her who caused the Twilight war to break out in Sol. She is now known as the Lich Queen. After the Twilight war the royal house lost much of its power and the nobles are now free to run their domains as they see fit.

The word "Queen" is now considered an insult in Sol because of her.

Rule & Power of Nobility
All nobles may be refered to as a Lord or a Lady in order to ackowledge their noble title. Among common folk this honorific is often transformed into "milord" and "milady". Royalty are a notable exception and should only be refered to as "Majesty". Unless one is directly under the command of the King or the Monarch, in which case they may refer to the Royalty as "Lord" or "Lady", as they are removed from the usual hyerarchy of nobles.

The King
The kingdom of Sol is ruled by a King and is responsible for the relations among nobles and the defence of the kingdom.

The king's wife is called a Monarch, never a Queen, unless one wishes to insult her. The ruler's partner is the head of the Inquisition and is responsible for the internal security of the kingdom.

Duke
The Dukes are diplomats and sometimes generals for the King, they do not have the claim to the throne, but they occupy the highest position a noble can achieve within the Kingdom. Whenever there are uprisings or major cult disturbancies a duke is called to resolve the situation

A member of the royal family that has earned the title of a duke would be called a Prince or a Princess.

Marquis
The Marquis are the generals of the King's army, they are the strategists and the first in line during an attack on the kingdom or a diplomatic meeting with foreign forces. Marquis are required to fund several active military forces, be it armies, guards or magions. Marquis usually get domains that are on the borders with neigbouring countries or domains near or containing major threats, such as a Demon nest.

Marquis is the lowest noble rank able to become a Viceroy, a ruler of a colony in place of a King.

Marquis who hold a territory too crucial for the kingdom or their domain contains a highly dangerous threat are granted an honorary title of a Margrave and they report directly to the king.

Count
Counts are the rulers of large domains and have plenty of vassals under them, especially knights that they can Call to Arms. Despite having a large number of soldiers provided by their vassals Counts are required to fund at least one professional military unit. Counts usually have their residences inside or nearby cities within their domain, this keeps them close to their army as well as to the hub of their other duty, monitoring trade and tax collecting.

Counts that have proven themselves in battles are given the honorary title of Earl, this is usually accompanied by the execution privilege. Earls usually keep a number of professional military units, not just one as their titular duties would require.

Landgrave is a count holding a crucial domain to the kingdom or handles matters of one of many cities belonging to the king. These counts report directly to the king and often also lead his armies as his generals. The Landgraves that handle the different districts of the capital are in charge of the king's guard.

Baron
Barons feed the armies of Sol. It is their duty to gather food and supplies for the armies of the higher nobles. Barons can sometimes be very rich, however wealth doesn't equal rank in Sol.

Barons who have enough resources to hire and supply their own armies, in otherwords barons who's town is becoming a city are called Viscounts.

Knight
Knights are the bulk of the armies of Sol, nobles who hold only a few villages at best. They have the duty to heed their Call to Arms, an order from a higher up to gather their men and aid them in battle. Not obeying this order may result in stripping them of their noble title.

Knights that do not have the duty of Call to Arms are simply called Lords. This duty is relieved usually because they hold no domains, hold a domain which requires their armed forces to stay present or because they are not fit to lead troops to battle. Noble Ladies are of course always excused from Call to Arms.

Titles without domains
It may happen, perhaps through unfortunate coincidences, that a noble loses their domain or leaves a part of it to some of their relatives. In this case the noble does keep his/her title, however their domain may not be sufficient to provide for the duties that are usually associated with the title. In this case the duties of the noble are reduced to what is appropriate of their current domain.

In case they are lacking a domain their duties are reduced to a one of a Lord and no further duties shall be placed on them or their descendants until they regain their domain.

A married noble may refrain from her duties and leave her domain to her husband, unless she is a Monarch in which case her duty as a head of the Inquisition stays. Alternatively they can share their duties over one domain as they see fit.

Sometimes in order to distinguish between nobles with active duties from the ones relieved of their duties the attribute Rightful is added in front of the title.

Crown Jewels
The crown jewels are all said to have magical powers, some possibly date all the way to the Mythic Age.
 * Sword - A broad gladius made of Mythril and Golden Adamantine. Said to be neigh indestructible and always extremely sharp.
 * Scabbard - Made of Unicorn ivory it has the power to shield the wearer and their bloodline from disease and poison.
 * Sceptre - Flanged mace made of Gold Steel with a gem radiating sunlight within the head.
 * Orb - Made of a large dark gem bound by plates of platinum. The wielder can force the people around them to speak the truth.
 * Golden rope - Used during marriages among high ranking nobles (Marquis and up). It heals the couple of all diseases and any mental ilnesses or traumas.
 * Lance - Lance made of Mythril, tipped with a Sapphire. Whenever a new King is crowned their eligibility is tested by this lance. Once the newly crowned King wields the item a mighty griffin comes to their side. Only then can his title be considered legitimate. This griffin serves the King for the rest of their life.