Oora

Oora /'ʊrɑː/ (pl. Ooron, Uron), spelled as Uroh before the second revolution, is a noble. The title of Oora is usually translated to "Lord", and is a member of a gole's court and/or trusted circle in a broader sense. Most courtiers of a monarch are Ooran.

Oora titles are hereditary and rank immediately below royalty, enjoying a higher social status than the rest of the classes. Tarnarian hereditary tradition lacks gender preference and titles are typically inherited regardless of the gender of offspring. However, while some titles are permanently-hereditary, a whole class of titles are only temporarily-hereditary and there exists a complex set of rules that regulates the proper movement of titles along the lineage.

In writing nobility tended to incorporate Jabi into their names, replacing some vowels with their Jabi equivalents. For instance, a family name of Moly would be spelled as Moleek, where the last three letters are written using Jabi script. The name is usually concluded with a silent letter, traditionally the letter "k". An oora might also be granted the right to officially ennoble the naming of their estate, giving the bukkean geographic name a Jabi treatment, for example Koalderood.

Oora privileges

Ooron enjoy a set of privileges that creates a chasm between them and all other non-royal classes.

An oora is not expected to perform any manual labor, unless it is in a military or religious context. Ooron typically live off of an estate.

An oora can be appointed to virtually any high position in society. For instance, although a Jeenor is a position usually attained through an illustrious army career, any Oora can temporarily or permanently be appointed as Jeenor on the order of a gole or a murdoh.

An oora can also serve in the court of Ooron, which is the administrative arm of the royal court, although eligibility for such a position is not determined in a straightforward manner and depends on many factors, not the least of which is wealth.

Throughout the first and second revolutions ooron were generally allowed to not only have significant private armies, but also engage in armed feuds. These private wars were in some regions strictly regulated by the monarch.

Oora ranks

Ranks within the ooron are numerous and can be divided into honor-based titles and wealth-based titles, as well as permanently-hereditary and temporary-hereditary. All these categories are equally important in principle, but their importance and extent may be different in different contexts.

Wealth-based titles are based around the amount of land one is entitled to. The principal title is that of a Veraa, who is the owner of a very significant part of land called "pōnta". Each gole's claimed territory is divided into pōntas.

Oora of land

Oora of land is the oldest Oora rank that dates back to the first revolution and the State of Asdoh, with possible links to Western Dantria. It effectively gives its holder total control of a piece of land, coupled with complete obedience to the gole. The latter means that a perceived betrayal gives the Gole the power to revoke the title and any control of a piece of land that comes with it.

Interestingly enough, however, the Gole cannot cancel the title itself. This has to do with the Gole Assent, which is the three promises that formalize the justification of Gole's power to his nobles:

• The Promise of Justice
• The Promise of Stability
• The Promise of the True Path

Gole Assent's literal phrasing is that these promises "explain gole's power".