Alvyrnian Nobility

The Alvyrnian Peninsula is home to the pointed men, both Cyleis and Elideis, and serves as the heartland for their continent-spanning Empire. Each culture has its own traditions concerning governance and social strata, but in general, most subscribe variously to the idea of nobility; that privileges, incomes, and titles may be hereditary, and passed down from sire to offspring. This is the case on the peninsula. In general, a noble holds land and the serfs on it, and this land will pass to his or her firstborn offspring upon abdication or death. However, governance in Alvyrnia is not entirely reliant on hereditary nobility. People may be appointed by the Imperial Monarch, his or her councillors, or even high-ranking members of the bureaucracy to oversee lands, specifically for purpose of Imperial taxation and levying. Of most note in this system are major cities, which, while they are often owned in parts by various nobles, are directly overseen by councils of appointed bureaucrats who ensure operations run efficiently and sufficient tax from trade makes its way to the capital.

The Alvyrnian nobility, in a word, despises the bureaucratic system, which is a recent institution that came about roughly at the same time as the Empire's founding. Bureaucrats may be anyone, even commoners, and take away power and potential incomes from the nobility, whose power has correspondingly shrunk. Nonetheless, nobility is a powerful institution, that still controls much of the day-to-day activities of the citizens in the Empire's heartlands.

Dynasties
Nobles are organized into dynasties; lineages of people who are claimant to a title by descent from its first lord. Often, lords of land have more offspring than they have land, so many eventually become lesser dynastic branches; courtiers in the halls of their landowning cousins. Certain dynasties are ancient and famed, and may enjoy many titles and incomes, but others are recent and significantly less well-endowed. However, all noble families technically are afforded the same rights; so a minor noble may stake claims and conquest the same way a major noble would- though of course, he or she would have to be correspondingly more clever to make up for the lack of resources.

Nobility-Du-Court
Certain noble dynasties that have eyes on Imperial politics have become nobles-du-court; that is, they have left their ancestral seats to instead live in the Imperial Palace. These nobles are called ladies or lords du-court, and generally appoint councillors in their absence, such as cadet nobles or castellans, to tend to their actual holdings in a form of regency. Making a home in the Imperial Palace allows any noble to grab the attention of the Imperial Monarch- or at least, to try to. The Palace, as a resort, is a vicious political jungle, full of scheming minor and major nobles, most of whom are from the Alvyrnian peninsula- though others may come from much further away. The secret to a successful betrothal, or claim, or petition is never what you know- it's who you know. And the most important people to know are always in the capital.