[OOC] Tuait'Tekem // Ranking System

[Tuait-Tekem Guardian]

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.[Royalty & Nobility].

• The ..... class divide in the Tuait’tekem is not what it once was. It used to be that the non-nobles were severely less educated than the nobility and were the ones to do all physical work around the pride. The nobility took the lion’s share of the food and never went to war unless they desired to, living lives of luxury compared to the lower classes. Meanwhile the uneducated non-noble ranks needed them to keep their government and religious needs fulfilled. Now the pride is much smaller and now rogue blood is so prevalent there are no class restrictions on how high a lion can climb in the ranks and all cubs are educated to some degree regardless of being noble or not. Being nobility now is considered an honour only and comes with a duty to help the pride flourish, rather than with a privilege over others.

[•] ..... King: Ruler, patriarch


In ..... the Tuait’tekem, it is believed that the god Ra appointed the god Osiris to be the ruler of mortals on earth but Osiris was murdered and now rules in the underworld instead. Ra, in his wisdom, chose to appoint a new ruler from amongst the mortals themselves – the Pharaoh – and put a spark of his own divinity within the mortal. This is a form of Ra known as Jua and passes from a Pharaoh to the next in line upon the Pharaoh’s death. This makes the Pharaoh not only the ruler of the pride, but also considered a god within a mortal body on earth. Thus a Pharaoh may rule as he wishes and while the Vizier and High Priest help run the pride, it is the Pharaoh who holds the real power behind them.

This is usually a male rank but very rarely a female will become a Pharaoh rather than a Queen, wearing a false mane and taking on the spark of Jua as their male counterpart would. Regardless of sex, the Pharaoh are the only lion/ess allowed to marry more than once at a time and it was once common for a Pharaoh to have both their Queen/Consort as well as a pawful of lesser wives/husbands.

[•] ..... Queen: Matriarch


This ..... is the title given to the head wife of a male Pharaoh. They hold a high position and range from being the beloved of their partner to a diplomatic choice. Either way they are well respected in the pride and are almost always of noble birth. Royalty descends through the line of the Queen’s side of the royal partnership – it is her cubs with the Pharaoh who will be in line for the throne, not the cubs of any lesser partner. They are expected to be well versed in the ways of the pride and are important political and religious figures.

[•] ..... Consort: Patriarch


This ..... is the male equivalent of a Queen, the head husband of a female Pharaoh. This is a rare rank, for female Pharaohs are rare. It is the cubs that they sire that will be in line for the throne, not the cubs sired by any lesser husband. They are expected to be well versed in the ways of the pride as their female counterpart and are equally important to the pride.

[•] ..... Crown Prince/Princess: Heir, future ruler


The ..... heir to the throne is chosen from amongst the cubs of the Pharaoh and their head partner -- usually this is the eldest male cub or if the eldest litter is all female the eldest female. However in the pride’s past there have been elder children of either sex who have been judged unfit to rule that have been passed over in favour of more suitable younger children.

If the chosen heir is male, the cub is raised from birth knowing their duty and what lies before them. When the heir is female they have a choice to make when they come into their throne. To become a Queen and take a mate who is both worthy and willing to be Pharaoh himself or much more rarely they can choose to become a female Pharaoh themselves.

[•] ..... Prince & Princess: Social adviser, diplomat, scout, recruiter


This ..... is a title a cub keeps for life if they are born of the royal pair - not of the Pharaoh and a lesser partner, in which case they are not given the title. These lions are high ranked and well respected, and are usually prime examples of their pride. They can choose to follow whatever career they wish and are well educated, more so than any other cubs (extra politics lessons) in part because they have a duty to their pride and in part because they may be called upon to step up as heir. Sometimes they used to be arranged to wed royals from other prides to form bonds with allies.

[•] ..... Untitled Nobility: Hunter, huntress, cubsitter, guard, teacher


There ..... are two types of nobility who do not have official titles/ranks that reflect that status and instead are called their chosen career’s title. They are however thought of as nobility and would benefit with a good education and the same freedom of choice when it comes to career rank.

The children of a Pharaoh and a lesser partner (any partner besides their Queen/Consort) are not titled Prince/Princess – they only are granted that title if the Queen/Consort’s line is entirely wiped out and their mother is promoted to being the new Queen/Consort.

Any descendant of siblings of a Pharaoh will have no special title. They are however the usually the children of a Prince/Princess and so would be considered of a noble line, even though they have no title.

 

[Tuait-Tekem Guardian]

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.[The Government & Pride Members].

• These ..... are the lions who keep the pride fed, safe and who educate and help look after the young ones. Once, anyone below the rank of Scribe was considered lowly by the noble ranks. Now it is recognised just how valuable these ranks are. Without them the pride would die out and their culture would perish.

[•] ..... Vizier: Advisor, administrator, right-paw lion


The ..... Vizier is the Pharaoh’s right paw lion when it comes to the day to day running of the pride. This is a very important position and the Vizier is answerable only to the Pharaoh. The Vizier helps hold the hunting, war and education systems together and is expected to act as an impartial judge when needed. While the Pharaoh holds the power and is head of the pride, the Vizier’s job is to help see that everything rules smoothly administration-wise.

[•] ..... Scribe: Teachers, historians, astronomers, scientists


The ..... scholars of the pride, these are the historians, teachers, astronomy and scientists of the pride. These are intelligent individuals who either further their own fields of study or help pass their knowledge on to the next generation. Once these lions were all of noble birth or of middling class but now any lion who has the right stuff can be a scribe. They have a longer more specialized education than other ranks.

[•] ..... Artisan: Dancers, singers, crafters


What ..... is a temple without singing, dance, fragrance and beauty? These are the craftsmen of the pride. Artisans tend to specialise in song and dance in worship of the gods or to specialise in making things such as basic artwork, jewellery, fragrance and makeup. Either way they are very much restricted in style by strict artistic rules and ritualistic patterns that have been around for generations. They both preserve the old ways and use the old movements and styles to create new ones to pass on themselves.

[•] ..... Hunter/Huntress: Providers


The ..... most common rank of the pride. These are the lions provide for the pride and are well versed in the survival skills needed to survive out in the desert. When the Vizier calls for there to be a hunt, they set out towards the Chione in search of food. Once this was a rank reserved for “commoners” but now they are treated with much more respect and have access to an education, which they didn’t before. The Hunters teach all cubs basic hunting and survival skills to compliment their classroom education.

[•] ..... Guardian: Warriors, defender, sentry, patrol


The ..... Guardians are the pride’s soldiers and scouts. These lions generally live the lives of a Hunter in peacetime but they keep sharp their own special skills - the art of war and the way of warriors. They can be called upon to protect their pride, guard other members or to serve as soldiers when needed.

[•] ..... Nannies: Caretakers, escorts


The ..... Nannies are lions who look after the Youths of the pride when they are neither at lessons nor with their own parents. This is considered a very very important job for there are many dangers out there for unattended Youths and because it frees the time of parents to attend their own rank duties.


[•] ..... Youth: Cubs


All ..... creatures between cub and adolescent are called Youths. Unlike some prides, Youths do have their duties in the Dawnwalkers – while much of their time is still devoted to games and play all cubs are to be educated until adolescence. In the classroom with Scribes as their teachers they learn the basics of their pride’s culture – some history, some religion, some crafting and some science. Outside the classroom, they are also taught hunting and survival basics by the Hunters.

 

[Tuait-Tekem Guardian]

[ Tuait'tekem ] -•-[ We Believe ]-•-[ Mythos & Religion ]-•-[ Customs ]-•-[ Landmarks ]-•-[ Rules ]

[ Relations ] -•- [ Members ] -•-[ Ranks ] -•-[ Joining ] -•-[ RP Log ]

.[Religious Ranks].

• Generally ..... considered the heart of the Pride, the religion of the Tuait’tekem affects all aspects of their lives and it is so crucial, so vital to their pride. Their Pharaoh is considered the highest priest of them all and a living god within a mortal body – their science is rooted in myth - they order their lives around the sun and it’s god. The priests who attend the gods are highly respected and their profession has a knock on affect on all others. It was once said that all the other ranks exist to support the religious ranks existence. Sadly though, there are few priests and no artisans currently in the pride.

[•] ..... High Priest/ess: Secondary religious leader


The ..... Pharaoh is the head of the religion within the pride but this lion is the second in line. As the stand in for when the Pharaoh is occupied elsewhere, the High Priest can lead religious practices of the pride and is in normal circumstances the only other pride member to walk on the sacred island in the temple lake (the innermost room in the temple used to have this importance to humans) or in the various shrine’s inner sanctums. As well as looking after the religion of the pride, the High Priest also helps with the smooth running of it, is in charge of the other Priests and helps advise the Pharaoh in religious matters.

[•] ..... Priest/ess: Temple keepers, witness


The ..... duties of a priest can take many forms. They have their religious duties – purifying rituals, attending births, attending ceremonies and various other mystical occupations. They can be seers, astrologists and healers besides. They look after visiting gods as well as giving prayers and offerings up to the unseen ones. They give spiritual guidance and comfort to those who wish for it. They past down the religion of the pride from generation to generation and are the only rank save Gods, the High Priest and the Pharaoh that are allowed to use magic. However when not attending to the religion of the pride they usually have a normal home life. They are very much allowed to have a partner and have a family.

[•] ..... Acolytes: Death priests


Priests ..... who over see the death rites. 99% of the time, they live the lives of normal priests. 1% of the time, they will need knowledge that only they possess to see to the needs of the dead.