Ksreskézaian society, or Iko, predicates the notion of civilized conduct on the existence of irreducible differences of importance between individuals. Accordingly, it is always possible within the Ksreskézaian context to compare two people and distinguish which one is superior. As a last resort this is done by seniority—the first-born of a pair of twins is considered to be greater in most situations—but for the most part it is mediated through the system of snerkzo (usually interpreted to mean "power from burden"), an all-encompassing scheme of titles and ranks administered by the throne in Tévopío and its viceroy in Wemno.
At the end of the Ninth Empire, thousands of distinct epithets were known to be in use. Each epithet conveyed, at a minimum, the right to be described using it. Epithets could also impart other rights, such as the right to own parcels of land above a certain size, as well as responsibilities, such as protecting the sick or elderly; many significant epithets also imparted taxes. Epithets were also used to dole out punishments, and could override one another depending on their wording and the ordering of the pages in the Great Litany kept by the king. (Misleadingly, this meant that the "highest honour" an average citizen could obtain was actually the death penalty for treason.) At the time of the Vendashro, few epithets in the Litany were uniquely held or pertained to individual locations, with the notable exceptions of the viceroy of Wemno, the reigning monarch, and their consorts.
Slaves and aliens also received titles from the Litany, although the list of slave epithets (the Servile Litany) was mutually incompatible with the list of citizen epithets; the processes of manumission and enslavement both triggered the removal of all existing titles, albeit through different mechanisms.
Authoritative records for epithet status were kept at the Palace Archives in Tévopío and the Viceregal Residence in Wemno, each collection covering individuals on that continent. As an instrument of Iko, the snerkzo system seems to have been an institution more foundational to Ksreskézaian civilization than the actual government itself, as these archives were considered sacred ground and were never relocated, even as power moved between Wemno and Tévopío during civil wars that otherwise reshaped the surface of the planet.
Historically, the epithet system almost certainly was much larger, likely even encompassing deeds, letters patent, and other titles that could only be held by one person at a time. At least one historical account makes reference to an epithet that uniquely indicated the second auxiliary stoker of a certain coal-fired warship, although a literal reading of this passage has been disputed by some philologists as either hyperbole or a misreading. If social control ever became this extremely centralized, then it almost certainly broke down at the end of the Eighth Empire (c. 9306 ksepo) when the throne in Wemno became a figurehead and real power on Ksreskézo was divided among regional monarchies.
Only a small subset of epithets are obligatory—that is, they must be used in polite address. There are over a hundred known obligatory epithets, but many of them are supersessional, i.e., they either cannot be held simultaneously with lesser obligatory, or the lesser titles are not used when a greater one also applies. Formal address, a specific style used when introducing an individual before nobility, requires the full account of all obligatory titles.
At the end of the Ninth Empire, thousands of distinct epithets were known to be in use. Each epithet conveyed, at a minimum, the right to be described using it. Epithets could also impart other rights, such as the right to own parcels of land above a certain size, as well as responsibilities, such as protecting the sick or elderly; many significant epithets also imparted taxes. Epithets were also used to dole out punishments, and could override one another depending on their wording and the ordering of the pages in the Great Litany kept by the king. (Misleadingly, this meant that the "highest honour" an average citizen could obtain was actually the death penalty for treason.) At the time of the Vendashro, few epithets in the Litany were uniquely held or pertained to individual locations, with the notable exceptions of the viceroy of Wemno, the reigning monarch, and their consorts.
Slaves and aliens also received titles from the Litany, although the list of slave epithets (the Servile Litany) was mutually incompatible with the list of citizen epithets; the processes of manumission and enslavement both triggered the removal of all existing titles, albeit through different mechanisms.
Authoritative records for epithet status were kept at the Palace Archives in Tévopío and the Viceregal Residence in Wemno, each collection covering individuals on that continent. As an instrument of Iko, the snerkzo system seems to have been an institution more foundational to Ksreskézaian civilization than the actual government itself, as these archives were considered sacred ground and were never relocated, even as power moved between Wemno and Tévopío during civil wars that otherwise reshaped the surface of the planet.
History
Historically, the epithet system almost certainly was much larger, likely even encompassing deeds, letters patent, and other titles that could only be held by one person at a time. At least one historical account makes reference to an epithet that uniquely indicated the second auxiliary stoker of a certain coal-fired warship, although a literal reading of this passage has been disputed by some philologists as either hyperbole or a misreading. If social control ever became this extremely centralized, then it almost certainly broke down at the end of the Eighth Empire (c. 9306 ksepo) when the throne in Wemno became a figurehead and real power on Ksreskézo was divided among regional monarchies.
Usage
Only a small subset of epithets are obligatory—that is, they must be used in polite address. There are over a hundred known obligatory epithets, but many of them are supersessional, i.e., they either cannot be held simultaneously with lesser obligatory, or the lesser titles are not used when a greater one also applies. Formal address, a specific style used when introducing an individual before nobility, requires the full account of all obligatory titles.
