Nobility

Despite  Imperial  occupation, the vast majority of the people on the continent live under some variation of the feudal system- whereby a lord controls land, and the peasants on it, and provides both security and justice to all within his realm. Theoretically.

In actuality, the systems vary from place to place, but the idea remains the same- that a single group of people may have access to privileges, land, and titles through inheritance, that are restricted for the normal populace. In the case of war, he or she may  levy  their smallfolk to form an army, which then becomes the noble's warforce; thus eliminating the need for standing armies. The generic title of Lord may be used across the entire continent, but the truth is that the ranks of nobility are a world within themselves; burgraves and marquesses, lairds and marcher lords, landed knights and dukes, prince-electors and palatines, just to name a few. Each culture has their own systems of government and titles; a  Man of the Sea  might be titled Margrave, and be responsible for the defense of the border lands, while an  Elideis  might be titled Chatelain, and be responsible for the keep and maintenance of a single holdfast. There are too many titles to list easily.

In each province of the Empire, the nobility holds its own courts. Under the Archducal system, the Archduke is still responsible for the noblemen in the region, who are his sworn vassals. The Kingdom system is similar; the Kings, like the Archdukes, confirm the rights and privileges of their nobles and oversee rule. However, in the case of Governorates, nobles often form disparate factions, all grudgingly paying respect to their bureaucratic overlords. Their cohesion, as well as their rights to land and styles, depend on which province they're in. In the  Naziki  provinces, Beys (Naziki lords) are allowed to continue with their ancient systems of tribe governance, as long as they pay tithes. In the  Lands of Blood , nearly all the chieftains of the  Yakmaki  directly oppose the  Imperial Military's  occupation, and are thus treated as outlaws without legitimate rank nor rights in the eyes of the Empire. In  Puchnya , the eradication of the noble classes was so complete upon the invasion of the Alvyrnians that nobility has never risen again, and instead elected bureaucrats have entirely replaced nobles. Some noble families still exist in the latter, though they are unlanded, and their old "ranks" of nobility are little more than titles and styles without real privilege.

''For reference, the old Kingdoms of Men use what are seen in the real world as German medieval stylings, the Elideis and Cyleis use French medieval stylings, the Karkovoi use Slavic or Russian styles, the Giants use Scottish or Gaelic styles, and the Naziki use Turkish styles. Reference to real-world wikipedia should prove illuminating in the case of any confusion.''