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 are either property-based or honorary. But regardless of the exact title that one holds, very frequently the person would expect to have the generic title of "Oora" be added to their name when addressed by the commoners. During official ceremonies and high society events, a person's full title and full name would be used.

Title	Description
Veraa /vɛ'rɑyɑ/	An owner of a pōnta, the largest administrative unit of a state. A Veraa that serves in a Court of Ooron may be granted the title of Grand Veraa. Typically, the gole also holds the title of Grand Veraa, but sometimes a higher title of Veraa Majestic is used. Veraa is a high noble title.
Pōntim /'pɔːntiːm/	An owner of a quarter of a pōnta. Grand Pōntim is the owner of at least half a pōnta, but less then whole. Most murdon are also going to be granted the title of a Pōntim. Pōntim is a high noble title.
Mosse /'mɑsɛ/	An owner of a small estate, typically referred to as township.
Broga /'brɑgə/	A permanently-hereditary breakable title usually granted for military accomplishments. Most broga will be entitled to an estate, usually in the form of a mansion. Broga is the lowest noble title.

Tarnarian oora titles can be permanently-hereditary/temporary-hereditary and breakable/unbreakable.

Temporary-hereditary titles

Temporary-hereditary titles are titles that diminish with each generation. For instance, an individual may be granted a Broga III title. The children of Broga III will all receive Broga II titles, the children of Broga II will become Broga I, and finally their children won't have a noble title anymore.

A temporary-hereditary title becomes permanent if an unbroken chain of 4 consecutive generations hold the title. This is achieved if children of a Broga III or Broga II are rewarded with a title that resets their title back to a higher number, this providing the family with a claim to permanent nobility. An individual who is able to demonstrate that their parent, grandparent and great-grandparent held a title of oora is then effectively ennobled permanently.

Temporary-hereditary titles have been a feature of Hogloh vy Aanua from the start, possibly originating in Western Dantria, and exact reasoning behind the invention is unknown. Throughout history various explanations have been produced. Some believe that such limited inheritance limits the expansion of nobility and helps further reduce social mobility, which might be desired by the ruling class. Another argument makes the observation that such limited access to nobility motivates temporary ooron to be more useful to the gole, since they are eager to earn a permanent ennoblement for their family.

In practice, temporary-hereditary titles are usually granted to commoners when the gole wishes to make them a prime, which is a high nobility title applied to members of the royal household. A rank of prime requires the person to hold an oora title to begin with. In these cases the gole first ennobles the commoner with a temporary-hereditary title, usually a broga, and then elevates them to a Prime.

The standing of temporary nobles, while might expected to be lower to that of "true nobles", is frequently offset by their achievements: it takes a lot for the gole to want to make a commoner a prime of their household. So, someone receiving a Broga III would be very famous and powerful, possibly making their children famous and powerful as well. Even children of a person holding a Broga I title would be better off than most others of their social class, and frequently would find ways of either marrying into a noble family or at least serving important nobles and gaining much influence and wealth.

Soseeroh Mlogoh, for example, was the Grand Prime of the Chamber under Modosoh Dolysoh. She was considered to be the most powerful courtier of her time, but she held a mere Broga I title. Nevertheless, she was feared and respected by other ooron.

Breakable and unbreakable titles

Breakable titles are titles that multiply when inherited. If an individual holding a breakable title has 5 children, all 5 of them inherit the title.

Unbreakable titles can either be inherited by a single descendant or else split between all children, but its power gets lowered. That latter mechanism is usually applied to property-based titles, as it splits an estate between several people. However, there are cases when even an honorary title is also diminished.

If the family cannot decide who inherits an unbreakable title, it may go into abeyance until the dispute is settled. In case of a Veraa, a disputed title typically transfers the pōnta back to the gole.

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".