The Vayan Class System

Long before the Federation of Vay was established, the Dimira people upheld a highly stratified culture with distinct social classes that reflected one's origins, profession, education, and abilities. When the Federation of Vay united Vay Proper, Auria, Caelus, and Cethandir, four Dimira population centers, the new nation was unambiguously Dimira in culture—though with a significant Zaimaris presence, an already kindred culture that further assimilated by taking on the Dimira class system early on in those two groups' intermingling—and so the Dimira class system was codified into the Federation's laws from the beginning.
Once the class system became official, citizens of the Federation were mandated to bear an arcane mark indicating their class status. Departments for tracking citizens' class, processing re-classing requests, and renewing class marks sprung up in the four Vayan metropolises, and now that an individual's class was more visible than ever, intensifying the already-complicated systems of status-based etiquette that characterized Dimira culture. The class system and the intricate codes of etiquette that grew up around it became defining features of the Federation of Vay as the young nation became a member of the Circle of Nine.
The class system survived for more than 700 years between its establishment in the early days of the Federation and its abolition in 718 YC by the New Federal administration. By the time of its abolition, the class system had already weathered significant adversity, largely due to the Severing: the administrative breakdown that followed meant that the formerly robust system of class assignment and mark renewal more or less ceased to function throughout the Federation. The Severing struck a blow to the system in other ways, as well: many citizens' class marks, products of arcane magic, faded in the time shortly after the Severing, and the breakdown of major cities disrupted the power and privilege of the (largely urban) elites. Preserving the class system would have been a difficult task post-Severing, but as it quickly became clear that the New Federal administration stood firmly against the existing Vayan hierarchical power structures, the future of the system was obvious: the Severing started the destruction of the class sytem as an institution, but the New Federal administration moved quickly to finish the job. On 11 Sunsummer 718, the class system's time as a legally-codified feature of Vayan society came to an end with the ratification of Proposition 19.

The Four Classes

For as long as the class system was mandated within the Federation, it consisted of four classes: patriars, mercenars, proletars, and carcerars. These were classes that had existed culturally for centuries prior to the founding of the Federation of Vay, but the legal implementation of the class system cemented their boundaries. Under the Vayan class system, class was determined primarily by occupation; as such, one's class could change throughout one's life. Other factors such as scholarship, magic use, marriage, wealth, and adherence to the law could also modify one's class status. The classes were as follows:
Patriars were the elite class of Vayan society, and they were marked by a golden rhombus-shaped brand upon the forehead. This social class includes the high arcanists—powerful mages granted patriar status by virtue of their arcane might—as well as the landowning families of ancestral wealth that make up the de facto aristocracy. Additionally, those handpicked for the highest government positions, such as the consuls, were almost always patriars before their ascension to those roles but inevitably became patriars in those roles. Patriar status granted certain legal privileges, such as the right to receive audience with government officials—up to and including the consuls—should they request it, expedited government approval of business deals, access to the best Federal universities, and exemption from government drafts.
Mercenars were the upper working class, and they were marked with a violet upward-pointing triangle-shaped brand. Guild artisans, business owners, scholars, soldiers, and minor mages constitute this class. Mercenar status granted certain legal privileges, such as expedited government approval of business deals, and it imposed certain rights of the state over an individual, namely that mercenars could be drafted to perform paid work for the Vayan government for up to six workdays per year. Exemplars (humans magically created and modified to serve specific purposes, found almost exclusively in Vay Proper) were also counted within this class, though they were marked with turquoise triangles pointed down, rather than the upward-pointed triangle of a mercenar's brand.
Proletars are the lower working class, and they were marked with a vertical blue line. This class makes up the majority of Vayan society: they fill many roles in society, working as clerks, farmers, secretaries, cooks, messengers, builders, gardeners, and more. Proletar status imposed certain rights of the state over an individual, namely that a proletar could be drafted to participate in government-sponsored research projects, so long as their role in the research is judged "minor, undemanding, and unintrusive" and does not require them to be away from home for more than a day at a time.
Carcerars are the lowest class, and they were marked with a red circular brand. People judged to be non-participants in lawful society, such as criminals and vagrants, make up this class. Carcerar status imposed numerous rights of the state over an individual, including that a carcerar could be drafted to participate in government-sponsored research projects without the same restrictions as proletars. As a result, nearly 70% of subjects in Vayan Department of Research-funded experiments were carcerars, despite carcerars making up less than 2% of the population.

[Left to right, the brands associated with patriars, mercenars, exemplars, proletars, and carcerars.]

Class in Dimira Culture

As the legal implementation of the class system sprung out of a feature of Dimira culture, it was in many ways a standardization of an imperfect and regionally-variant tradition. Class informs countless features of social etiquette, such as the honorifics and titles that one uses to address others and how individuals behave to each other in settings of all levels of formality. For instance, propriety dictates that one must address an individual of a higher class using an honorific such as "Madam," "Master," "Mave," or an occupational title like "Captain," "Director," or "Professor," unless or until given express permission to do otherwise. As a result, class colors almost all aspects of interpersonal interactions within Dimira society, and Dimira folk are often viewed by others to be hyperattentive to subtle matters of status, honor, and etiquette.

Regional Variance in Class Culture

Precise understandings of class vary regionally as much as etiquette does. Social conventions and traditions differ in each of the four urban centers of the Federation. Vay Proper is generally considered the cultural standard for the Federation, so the other cities' class cultures are generally measured against Vay Proper.
Auria, for instance, has a local class culture that recognizes an additional three social classes beyond the four legally prescribed classes: the servusars, perceived to be below proletars but generally marked as such, a class which includes those who work in positions of domestic servitude, excepting highly-skilled domestic workers like butlers and chefs; the operar, perceived to be above proletars but generally marked as such, a class which includes non-guild artisans—such as those who practiced a trade outside of their primary profession—and guild artisans' apprentices as well as builders and other skilled tradesfolk; and aristars, perceived to be below patriars but generally marked as such, a class which includes members of minor landowning families with a low political profile.
Caelus has a large agricultural sector that makes use of legions of undead laborers, and its farm workers often practice minor necromantic magic to enable them to control the undead laborers. As a result, Caelus classes its farm workers as mercenars, regardless of whether any farm worker's individual magical ability would get them counted as a minor mage.
Cethandir, by contrast, has an unusually large and wealthy professional class. Cethandirans distinguish between "high" and "low" mercenars, affording some greater social prestige and deference depending upon their profession and their status within that profession. While Cethandiran class etiquette is neither as complicated nor as robust as Aurian etiquette, the two are alike in that they superimpose additional layers of nuance over the legally-prescribed class system.

Class Post-Abolition

The class system was a social fact in Dimira society long before it was written into law by the Vayan government, and it will inevitably continue to inform social dynamics after its abolition. Class shapes the way that Dimira folk relate to each other and interact with one another, as one's class communicates the amount of respect and politeness one is owed by others. The arcane brands made class more visible and thus easier to discern, but Dimira folk are often able to estimate a person's class by other means: clothing, bearing, behavior, occupation, surname, and dialect can all be giveaways of one's social class, and for ages prior to the codification of the class system, these tells were the primary way for one Dimira individual to discern another's class. As such, the dissolution of the legal class system does not eradicate it as a social fact within Dimira society, and indeed, it will likely continue to shape relationships within Dimira society. The New Federal administration recognized as much in Proposition 19, their declaration on the abolition of the class system. "Regardless of the potential persistence of the class system within the culture," Proposition 19 concluded, "ending the severe and particular hardships that result from the Federal enforcement of the social hierarchy is a cause worthy enough to justify its abolition."