Clan High Honors
Clan High Honors are a form of commendation granted to those who, whether citizen of the Cobalt Protectorate or not, perform a great service for a clan of the Protectorate or the Protectorate as a whole. High Honors is the greatest recognition that the government of the Cobalt Protectrate can bestow.
Requirements
Clan High Honors can be bestowed upon any sentient creature, though in practice it only applies to human, human-adjacent species (such as Lepidosians, augmented animals, and HLAI (Human-Like Artificial Intelligence). Such an individual could be rich or poor, civilian or government-employed, of any religion, race, sex, or creed, living or dead. Indeed, Clan High Honors have been awarded posthumously on a number of occasions, as the sorts of heroic deeds carried out by recipients may often be those which involve self-sacrifice in the course of protecting others.
Appointment
Clan High Honors may be bestowed by the unanimous consent of the Clan Lords local to the hero to be honored. While it is thus possible for a single individual to recieve more than one set of Clan High Honors through continued service to the interests of more than one clan, in practice, the several clans will compete to be the first to recognize a great hero for any single heroic deed and the rest will simply voice their assent; to get more than one set of High Honors requires more than one great deed.
Benefits
Aside from recieving their own supplemental (or brand new) vitreous vitae (see Accoutrements & Equipment), those who recieve Clan High Honors become instant celebrities within their clans with all the benefits that that entails. Honorees become well-respected, entrusted with greater responsibilites, and considered more desirable by the opposite sex. They are often sought as advisors and public relations faces for powerful members of clan society, as their reputation preceeds them.
For citizens, the reciept of Clan High Honors always counts as a bonus to one's Merit Score as delineated in the Code of Evermorn. Citizen recipients thus have a greater opportunity to influence clan politics or even participate in the sortition to become Clan Lords themselves. For non-citizens, the recepit of Clan High Honors also constitutes an official clan sponsorship for the purpose of the usually very sringent Protectorate naturalization process.
It is a common misconception that it constitutes a 'get out of jail free' card for the honored individual if they redeem their vitreous vitae while being pursued for a crime. Rather, by becoming a citizen of the Protectorate, the individual falls under the purview of Protectorate's laws, rights, and responsibilites - specifically those of the clan that honored the recipient. Thus, the honored individual (and new citizen) might fall under different legal jurisdictions and avail themselves to Protectorate legal resources by timing their assent to citizenship. In the entire history of the Protectorate, this 'loophole' has only been used twice and with questionable degrees of success at evading the consequences.
Accoutrements & Equipment
Upon first recieving High Honors, the awardee is given a personalized vitreous vitae by a representative of the awarding Clan Lords. A vitreous vitae a crystalline, hexagonal tile roughly three inches edge-to-edge and a half inch thick with an intermediate layer of laser-optical and synthetic DNA data storage volumes. Vitreous vitae are the official records of a citizen of the Protectorate's personal information and accrued merits. For the recipient of High Honors, it serves the same purpose: if brought to a Hall of Vitreous Vitae, the vitreous vitae of someone given it through High Honors confers instant Protectorate citizenship if not already possessed. This is also one of the only ways outside of marriage for a Protectorate citizen to permanently change their clan affiliation, as it is otherwise patrilineal.
Grounds for Removal/Dismissal
Because of the stiff requirements involved and the selection bias inherent in the proceedings, Clan High Honors have never been revoked in Protectorate history and are highly unlikely to be removed in any event. Direct treachery against the Protectorate or the awarding clan, as set forth in the Protectorate legal doctrine, is one of the only ways to lose High Honors; other nefarious deeds result criminal proceedings, not the loss of previous High Honors unrelated to the incident. High Honors can also be revoked if the act honored is proven fictitious or the honored individual commits a capital offense (including murder and slavery).
Type
Civic, Honorific
Source of Authority
Unanimous consent of the Clan Lords
Length of Term
Permanent unless removed (see Removal or Dismissal)
Related Locations
Related Organizations
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