Kardian Earl

The lowest ranked of the landed peerage, Earls are granted Estates to govern. These are often cities, towns, castles and their surrounding villages. For example, in the Barony of Lyrosia, the port city of Daelan is an Estate. Kardia City is not considered an Estate, as it is the seat of the King. There are no Estates that contain or even border the Bridgestone Ruins.

There is an average on twenty Estates per Shire, and each Earl is answerable to his Marquis, though he may appeal to his Count or even his Baron if he feels he has been wronged by his Marquis, though he'd better have some fairly compelling evidence of such. Should either a Count or a Baron feel that an Estate is being mismanaged, they may remove the Earl from his governance. A Marquis does not have this privilege, though he may certainly advise his Count to look into the Earl in question (or simply present evidence) as a prelude to removal.

Two Earls cannot marry and maintain control of their Estates; one must give up all claims to his or her Estate before they wed. Nor is it possible for the same individual or his lawful spouse to control both an Estate and a Shire.

Though Earls technically rank higher than Lords and politically rank higher than Viscomptes, many wealthy and well-connected nobles socially outrank Earls, though Earls with very wealthy Estates (such as Daelan) are an exception to that. Many Earls are first- and second-generation nobles, causing those with better pedigrees to look down on them. Earls are likely to be distant relatives or acknowledged bastards of Counts, younger offspring of Marquis, and wealthy commoners who married a Lord or Lady may become Earls. A newly landed noble takes his name from the land he has received. Thus, the Earl of Daelan's family has taken the name Daelani, though he can trace his lineage back to the Lyrose Dynasty. This minimizes confusion, otherwise it would be impossible to refer to one Earl Lyros without getting him confused with countless others. Families do keep extensive genealogical records to prove their heritage and descent. Should an individual become the Earl of a newly created Estate, he may grant his name to the Estate as long as there is not another another Earl of the same name in the Barony. Also, should he choose to use the same familial name as a Marquis, Count, or Baron, he must be a direct descendent of the highest ranking member. For example, should Earl Daelani's son receive the gift of a brand new Estate, he may not name the Estate Daelani, nor may he keep the name Daelani for himself, as there is already an Earl Daelani. Nor may he style himself Earl Lyros, as he is not a direct descendent of the Baron Lyros.