The Kerndom of Noreska

The Hyrd system:

Noreskan Society is a complex system of elected law enforcers, judges, and law makers known as the “peerage” this system is based on the number of “hyrds” any individual lord oversees. For clarity we will first cover the terms used by the Hyrd system:



Nor: Someone who is NOT part of the protections and securities of the Hyrd system but is protected under the Law of Common good.
Gel: A free person protected under the Law of Common Good, who is willing and able to bear arms in defense of the Ternord. Gels do not own land, but pay “ration tax” each year to have access to the granary, school system, and hospital system, and own a weapon to stand in a militia if called upon. Gels also typically live on “freeland” acres of land attached to a Lord that is set aside for urban development.

Hyrdman: A Hyrdman owns a Hyrd, 16 acres of land that he has full rights to and ownership of. A Hyrdman is protected under the “Law of Common Good” And the next level of the Brodanii Legal structure, the “Law of Rights” A Hyrdman becomes a beneficiary of the “Law of Rights” by paying 2 taxes, the fourth tax to his lord, and the duties of the Hyskarls, which is another ¼ of his produce to feed the standing army of Hyskarls. A Hyrdman is considered part of the peerage, and has a vote in selecting his immediate Lord.



The Peerage is the political system that the brodanii ascribe too. It is a hierarchical elective system governed by a set of 5 different levels of law codes. Each level of the Law applies only to those who meet the responsibilities demanded by those laws, and gives rights and privileges to those who do so.



The Peerage is defined by the following titles:



Hyrdman/Hyskarl: The lowest level of the peerage, these individuals may vote for their immediate Lord only, and nominate individuals from among their number to serve in the position of Earl and Sharearl.



Earls: Nominated and elected by their peerage, which includes the Hyrdmen and Hyskarls they would oversee, the other Earls that would be their peers, and the Lord they would pay allegiance to.



Sharearls: Nominated and elected by their peerage, which includes the Hyrdmen, Hyskarls and Earls they would oversee, their fellow Sharearls, and the lord they would pay allegiance to.



Fens: Nominated by the Sharearls and fens, elected by their peerage which includes the Hyrdmen, Hyskarls, Earls, and Sharearls they would oversee, their fellow Fens, and the lord they would pay allegiance to.



Granfens: Nominated by the Fens and granfens, elected by their peerage which includes the Hyrdmen, Hyskarls, Earls, Sharearls, and Fens they would oversee, their fellow Granfens, and the lord they would pay allegiance to.



Terns: Nominated by the Granfens, Fens, and other Terns, elected by their peerage which includes the Hyrdmen, Hyskarls, Earls, Sharearls, Fens, and Granfens they would oversee.



Kern: Nominated and elected only by the Terns, the Kern is a Tern that oversees the forign policy and commands the right to call upon and lead all Terns in defence of the nation. The Kern also serves in the Council of Crowns.



All positions are elected for life, upon death no more than 4 nominees can be presented, each nominee must have the endorsement of one member of each level of the peerage below them. They must also present testimony, written or verbal, of their quality and capability to perform the task they are seeking to perform. This means displaying the 14 virtues of rulership as prescribed by the Laws of Privilege, the third level of brodanii law. Once the Nominees are accepted by the peerage, the election takes place, each level of peerage grants 1 vote. This means the following:



Hyrdman get 1 vote

Hyskarls get 1 vote

Earls get 1 vote

Sharearls get 2 votes, as they are both Sharearl and Earl

Fens get 3 votes, as they are Fen, Sharearl, and Earl

Granfens get 4 votes, as they are Granfen, Fen, Sharearl, and Earl

Terns get 5 votes, as they are Granfen, Fen, Sharearl, and Earl



In the case of a tie, the vote is postponed a day, debate among the peerage continues, and another vote is taken the following day. Votes are counted by public decree and show of hands, there are no secret ballots, everyone knows who everyone voted for and why they made their selection. It is against decorum to speak negatively of any of the nominees, as it is expected that to even be presented as an option, they are worthy to some degree. Doing so can have you dismissed from the vote for a breach of responsibility.



A note on Gender roles: In Brodanii society, a man and woman are legally identical. Once married they count as a single family unit, under the name of the victor family. It is the holder of the title that gets the vote however, name and relationship mean nothing. A Husband cannot gain two votes by having his wife also vote, or vice versa, as only one of them would hold a hyrd. It is possible for the Husband to hold a Hyrd, the Wife to hold a Hyrd, and as such count as 2 seats in the peerage, but this is very rare, and ultimately they both still have only 1 vote each. The spouses and children of Peers do not have any say in the peerage, unless they are also peers by their own right.



The various levels of the Peerage are defined by the number of Hyrds, Hyskarls, and other peers beneath them:



An Earl: 20 Hyrds, 8 Hyskarls.

A Sharearl: 40 Hyrds, 16 Hyskarls, 4 Earls

A Fen: 60 Hyrds, 24 Hyskarls, 4 Sharearls, 4 Earls

A Granfen: 80 Hyrds, 32 Hyskarls, 4 Fens, 4 Sharearls, 4 Earls

A Tern: 100 Hyrds, 32 Hyskarls, 4 Granfens, 4 Fens, 4 Sharearls, and 4 Earls.



This means that a Tern is overlord over the following:

His Ternord

His 4 Granfens, and their Lords

His own 4 Fens, and their Lords

His own 4 Sharearls and their Earls

His own 4 Earls

All together a Tern Presides over:

His Ternord

4 Granfens

A total of 20 Fens

A total of 100 Sharearls

A total of 500 Earls.

----



The Number of Hyrds, and therefore Hyrdmen can increase or decrease depending on the availability of land. All Lords maintain a certain ammount of “Freehyrd” which is land that remains unworked, or open for temporary rent or use, and a few sections of “Burgsthyrd” which is land set aside specifically for urban development. The exact amount of land available to each lord is less important than their number of Hyrdmen. If a Earl exceeds 30 Hyrdmen, his Earldom will draw the attention of the Peerage, either for being split into a new Earldom, Divided among Thrains, or promoted to a Share. This process is repeated up the chain of the Peerage.

The Legal System:

There are 5 levels of Brodanii Law, each applies to a certain section of society, and comes with rights, privileges, and responsabilites. If at any time one is found under the law to be failing their responsibilities, they lose their rights and privileges. At each higher level, any person is expected to uphold every level beneath them consecutively with their current station.



The Law of Common Good: This is the first and most essential level, the Law of Common good defines what is and is not acceptable in Brodanii society at large. The only requirement to be protected by and held responsible for upholding the Law of Common Good is to be a living, non-demonic person. The Law of Common good establishes thing such as the illegality of murder, theft, and other violent crime, as well as defining the expectations applied to anyone in any Ternord at any time. Regardless of citizenship, peerage, or even ignorance of the law, everyone living is held to the Law of Common Good.



The Law of Right: This level of Law applies to any who own land or station in a Brodnish Kerndom. Its covers the taxation, duties, privileges, and responsibilities of any land owner, it also applies to Hyskarls who hold station but no land.



The Law of Privilege: This level of Law applies to Earls and above, and covers the expectations of Lordship, the responsibilities of Lordship, and covers the rules and governing principles of the Privileged elected, and how they can be removed if found guilty. It also covers the requirements for a judge, and the number of judges each level of the Peerage can appoint.



The Law of the Terns: This level of Law applies only to Terns and Kerns, and covers the expectations of High Lordship, the requirements and duties to the People overseen, and the responsibilities to the Kern and the Nation at large. Terns can be called to account by any three Fens or higher if their rule is considered in breach of the Law of the Terns



The Council of Crowns: This level of law applies only to the Kerns of all Brodnish Kingdoms, and it covers the interaction, expectations, and duties of a Kern. This law also informs diplomatic and courtly expectations. When a Law is passed among the Council of Crowns it must be accepted by ALL of the Terns of ALL of the Kerndoms of the Brodnish.
---

Additional political offices:

Dommer: Judges appointed by the Local Lord to oversee trials and adjudications in his name.
Reeve: Appointed from among the Hyrdmen, responsible for administration when the Lord is away
Bailif: numbers elected by the gels and nominated by the Hyrdmen, enforce the law but may not kill without just cause.

When appealing to the law, A Citizen must contact any Dommer, or the Reeve, or the Lord himself via letter, or by making a public appeal in the great hall. Doing so, the matter will be addressed in no less than 1 month, or else the individual in question receives consolation pay of 100 marks each week until the matter is addressed. 

Criminal trials are done as immediately as possible, and evidence must be submitted within 1 week of the arrest. If guilt cannot be conclusively proven in 2 weeks, then the court is adjourned, and the accuser must pay the legal fees. A trial can be recalled up to 1 year after the verdict for a re-trial, after thus, the matter is permanently closed. 

Military Rank Structure:

Kern: Commander in Chief of the combined Armed forces
Tern: General of combined armed forces
Granfen: Equivalent to a colonel in the field
Fen: Equivalent to a captain in the field
Sharearl: Equivalent to a lieutenant in the field
Earl: Equivalent to a Seargant in the field

Thrain: Unique rank, may act as a Seargant or standard soldiers
Hyskarl: While an elite soldier technically, and capable of commanding Bondyr when called upon to do so, Considered a "standard" soldier 
Njordsker: A sailor on a ship, Much like a Hyskarl
Karling: A Recruit who has not passed his 7th year of duty.

Bondyr Ranks:

Marshal: Leads a division of Bondyer between 1000 - 5000
Captain: Oversees a Regiment off 500 Bondyr
Q Major: Leads the Quatermaster Corps
Quartermaster: Dedicated the management of supplies, logistics, and communications: Divided into groups of 100 led by Q Majors
Castellian: Leads a Platoon of 40 Bondyr
Bondyr: Standard Rank and file

---

Military Doctrine:

Bondyr: 
The Bondyr form the line of battle, operate artillery, and construct defenses. The Standard policy of the Bondyr when deployed is to construct a earthworks fort, and if in range, begin to shell the enemy line while laying mines, digging tunnel networks, and qurters. Once the battle line is in place, the Bondyr move to half-way positions to remove enemy defences, install forward supply posts, and remove enemy land mines. Their chief purpose is to prosecute the war directly. And when possible support strike opperations. Bondyr will intentionally draw fire, launch flares, and make noise to draw attention away from Hyskarls so they can make the kill. 

Hyskarls: 
The Hyskarls perform deep strikes, using sabotage, ambush tactics, and infiltration. During daylight, they hide, or support Bondyr formations, at night they skirmish with the enemy, and utilize terror tactics. Hyskarls operate in small groups, and use horn calls to communicate attacks. These horn calls are also designed to frighten the enemy, not every attack is preceded by horn calls unless multiple Hyskarl bands are targeting a single area. All Hyskarls own a horse, and may use these horses for mobility when it is tenable. Hyskarls carry explosive charges, and focus their efforts on key defensive structures, officers, supply depots, logistical lanes, and most importantly, getting behind the enemy line where they can do the most damage. They steal messages and uniforms for the expressed purpose of infiltration and sabotage. When captured Hyskarls often fight to the death, if somehow collected they are trained to withstand torture, and feed mis-information to the enemy. To remain hidden between lines, Hyskarls dig redoubts in the earth if possible, or construct blinds and ambush points if not. 

Primary combined Arms Goal: 
In any situation, the Bondyr want to draw the most attention, and the Hyskarls want to be behind the enemy line.