Honours of the High Kingdoms of Alaxia
Nobility
By birth right
These honours are often bestowed on the person at their birth, or by inheritance.
Monarchical titles
The various types of monarchical titles vary in the histories of each High Kingdom through spelling, pronunciation, official designation, or rank. In Empherias, the monarch was referred to as either the Rijkse, for a male monarch, or the Rijkdottir, for the female monarch. They are named as such to mean the son or daughter of the realm.
Duke / Duchess
The title of 'Duke' for men or 'Duchess' for women is the highest non-royal birth-right honour. Historically, the dukes held significant power in terms of the people on the land, although nowadays dukes may not even own the land they have in their titles.
Viscount / Viscountess
The title of 'Viscount' for men or 'Viscountess' for women is the second highest non-royal birth-right honour. Historically, sometimes the title of 'Count' and 'Countess' was used interchangeably, but were on the same level of prestige.
High Baron / Baroness
The title of 'High Baron' for men or 'High Baroness' for women, sometimes used without the 'high', is the third highest, and lowest non-royal birth-right honour. It is distinguished from the honorary title of 'Baron' or 'Baroness' as it is given through inheritance and not appointed, and may involve some overlordship over land.
By honour
High Royal Marquess / Marquise
The honorary title, 'High Royal Marquess' for men, and the 'High Royal Marquise' for women, is the highest possible honour for any person to achieve through the honours system, though it is still less prestigious than the monarchical titles. It is an incredibly rare title with less than 1,000 people being given the title in history.
Baron / Baroness
Knighthoods
Military appointments
Noble royal courtiers
A noble royal courtier is an honorary title given to close advisers and friends of the monarch whom are favoured and given titles for their service. It is often an out of date title, last being given away in 2498. It is sometimes stylised as an acronym as NRC.
Orders of chivalry
The attainment of these awards grant the person the ability to display their ribbon and to use the short-form acronym following their full name as part of their legal name.