Peerage in Atley

Atley.

"This is the Kingdom of Atley, huh?" This was the first time Artillian had been to Atley. The person whose body he had taken had been born here but knew nothing outside where he grew up. That part of Artillian was buried, but still a bit conscious and he was in awe. Artillian could vaguely sense that he was still in the process of fusing with the previous Artillian. But he was now Artillian Skye of earth. And there would only be one of him.

The duo had appeared at the entrance of another cave at the base of a small hill. A lush grassland revealed itself below the boy. The odd tree plastered here and there, along with some wildlife like deer and rabbits running about. It seemed a bit too utopian for Artillian.

"Artillian, my circumstances are a bit unique so let me explain them. As my student,t it's your duty to understand me well. For starters, I'm the crown prince of Atley, engaged to the first Princess, the firstborn child of King Midas Saxe-Goethe.

I am the son of Duke Cattermole, one of the Three Archdukes of Atley." said Eden casually as if he was speaking of the weather, but to Artillian, this was shocking news.

"The king is willing to give away his throne to someone of a different name?"

Eden smiled as the duo walked through the grassland. "Nobles care more about blood than name, this is especially so in Atley. The Saxe-Goethe are the current Royal Family of Atley, but that has only been so for two generations. Before that, it was the Cattermoles who were rulers, before them the Ferdinands and before them the Bridgewaters. These four families are the pillars of Atley. Their bloodlines carry unique abilities that can complement and strengthen one another. Thus at any point in time, one of the families is the monarch and the others are retainers. That's why Atley works with a feudal System.

Atley is a nation divided into five provinces, most simply named after an ordinal direction. They are the; Northeast, Northwest, Southeast and Southwest Provinces respectively. The fifth and final province, the Central Province, is enclosed and landlocked by the other four.

"Ah so each family has a province," said Artillan after some pondering.

"Exactly, something like that. Let me use the current situation to help you understand better."

Eden grabbed a twig from a nearby fig tree and drew a basic map of Atley. "The Saxe-Goethe control The South East Province, and as the monarchs, the Central Province as well. But the Central Province is neutral in terms of administration to make it easier for other families to take over. That's why no monarchy has complete control in the Central Province, but each family are basically overlords in their territories. We Cattremoles control the Northeast. We are pretty much-unrivalled Kings within our territories.

The next Monarch is determined by the strongest and most talented of the current young generation. I'm far, far ahead of others in my age group in this respect, to the point where I can even compete with others in the previous generation. Hence the king had no choice but to marry his daughter to me and pass the throne to the Cattermoles. That way his grandchild will also have my bloodline.

Noble bloodlines mutate easily. Talents are usually those with extremely beneficial mutations. From my bloodline, I gained a very beneficial mutation that other families now desire. One male and one female child from our union will carry the Saxe-Gothe name to remunerate them for their loss of the crown. Hence they lose power now but gain potentially powerful descendants that carry their name. I will naturally raise them for half their youth, but they and their progeny will forever be under the Saxe Goethe name. But of course, I choose who to give and when."

Artillian was stunned. "That does not sound like human trafficking at all."

"Nobles have control over many things, but never their own destiny." Eden laughed as he finished his diagram. He had labelled all the major cities and written the names of the families and clans that run them. Artillian read it and quickly committed it to memory.

"The structure of nobility, or rather peerage, in our country, is simple yet complex. It is inextricably tied to the cultivation base of that clan's most powerful member. For example, if a family produces a Duke-level powerhouse, they will be given the privileges of a Duke-level family as long as that powerhouse is alive. True nobility that can be passed down will only be given if that powerhouse produces progeny worthy of inheriting the title.

There are nine ranks of peerage and cultivation. In descending order they are: Monarch, Archduke, Duke, Marquis, Earl, Count, Viscount, Baron, and Knight. These are not only peerage ranks but also correspond to cultivation bases with the same name. Within each rank, there are 5 sub ranks, respectively known as Entry, Lower, Middle, Upper and Peak making up for a total of 45 sub-levels.

To level up, each vocation goes about it in roughly the same way. Through the accumulation of energy. For spiritualists to break through the major levels. Let's say from Upper Baron to Entry Viscount, one has to contract a spirit of at least the Viscount level. But we will cross that bridge when you get to it.

Artillian tilted his head in confusion and said, "Wait, don't you mean from Peak Baron to Entry Viscount?"

"There is a reason we call it 'Peak' my student. It's a level of proficiency in cultivation that only a few possess. It is not necessary to reach the 'Peak' of the Cultivation level to progress, but doing so will give you a huge boost as it means you have a sort of 'hidden' sub-level of power. I am currently a Upper Duke. I was a Peak Knight, Baron and Viscount. However, from there all I could do is reach the Upper sub-level. From that point, it became incredibly difficult to reach another Peak.

However, this means I have 3 extra sublevels that most won't have. And the people already call me a once-in-a-millenium genius.

Hence I am what is referred to as a Three-Peak cultivator. The more 'Peaks' exist in your cultivation base, the easier it is to reach higher levels and possibly attain a 'Peak' later on. Anyway, this is all pointless to understand. Just know that you are a spiritualist before anything else. The talk of nobility and ranks will only come once you have mastered your spirit.