Landia Nobility

The nobles of Landia are considered as the cream of the elite and the highest ranks of society, second only to royalty.

Description
The nobility is patterned after Feudal Europe during the Middle Ages and is composed of rich families or clans. Each clan oversees an area or territory, as well as rule over the inhabitants by providing protection and collecting taxes. These groups are normally led by the head of the household or a high-ranking knight.

Overview
The society structure is very much like Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries, in which families who have vast land holdings or military power, are considered as the nobility. Members of a noble family are normally wealthy, highly-educated, well-versed in terms of social conduct and etiquette, and are either involved in politics or military affairs. Those who live on their lands, known as peasants or commoners, become subject to the laws or regulations enacted by the noble who owns the lands. Due to the number of monsters, bandits and other perils, many commoners prefer to have the protection that is offered by the nobles. In exchange for that protection, they pay taxes or labor under them.

Through this relationship, a noble can amass more wealth and resources, thereby becoming more powerful and elevate his standings among the other nobles. At times, this can become extremely exploitative as the commoners can greatly suffer under the tyrannic rule of a cruel or uncaring noble. As is it often the case, the common folk have little to no choice.

Nobles have played a pivotal role in the history of Landia and especially in the formation of the Kingdom of Friedonia.

Elfriedonia/Friedonia
In the Elfrieden Kingdom, the nobility has been painted as mostly a shady and corrupt group, with many of them conspiring with the Principality of Amidonia after the war some fifty years ago. A great number of them were rooted out during the reforms of the newly-appointed King Kazuya Souma. This caused them to flee Parnam and take refuge under the rebelling general Georg Carmine during the One Week War. However, this turned out to be a plot to gather them in one place, thus allowing Kazuya to arrest them for treason and have them executed. The conspiracy of secretly dealing with Amidonia was exposed during the negotiation to return Van, thereby putting the royal family of Amidonia in a bad light in front of the Gran Chaos Empire.

The corrupt nobles who were not caught during that period decided to lay low and wait for another opportunity to topple the young king. However, Kazuya's newly-formed covert ops group, "The Black Cats" secretly began observing them and gathered evidence against them. These nobles were later executed during the trial of Castor Vargas and his daughter Carla.

Though Kazuya had succeeded in clearing out the majority of the corrupt nobles, thereby changing the course of history, this did not end the trials of the nobility. He would later enact a law in which all nobles would be judged based on how well they managed their lands, rather than by lineage or how they performed in battle. This caused many heads of families, and lesser knights to desperately search for individuals who could read, write and do arithmetic. As a result, even slaves and prostitutes who could read and do math, were given positions of importance as magistrates, thereby improving their standards of living.

Notable Nobles

 * Moltov Juniro
 * Siena Juniro
 * Ivan Juniro
 * Ludwin Arcs
 * Glaive Magna
 * Halbert Magna

Principality of Amidonia/Friedonia
The nobility in the former Principality of Amidonia were put into a difficult position when their country lost the One Week War and Van became an occupied city. As a result, they along with the people of Van, were given a taste of personal freedoms and the opportunity to express themselves, thanks to Project Lorelei. As many of the nobles considered the new ruler Julius Amidonia, as incapable and incompetent, they began to think that they had to defend their lands on their own. As a result, they began hiring mercenaries and built up their own personal armies.

This lack of confidence in their new sovereign came to a boiling point as a large uprising occurred in the northwest. The noble there refused to help the starving people and his own army quickly abandoned him. Consequently, the noble was forced to flee and demanded that Julius lead his army to put down the rebellion. During this conflict, many other nobles started their own rebellions for various reasons. This eventually led to the overall collapse of the Amidonian government and eventual annexation of the country by Elfrieden.