There are three classes, rigidly stratified within the population of Volaire. The aristocracy, the citizens, & the peasantry. Overall, the aristocracy compose of 5% of Volaire's population, while the citizens comprise another 8%, & the peasant class make up more than 83% of the population. The remaining 4% consist of outsiders. This of course does not account for the transient population, which fluctuates the number of bodies in the asteroid cluster that is Volaire.
Aristocrat/Nobility
The aristocrats are the ruling class, whose strictly patrilineal membership is archived upon the pages of the Book of Names, guarded carefully in the Golden Temple of Waukeen. Exceptional circumstances exist for new admissions, usually when an entire family is wiped out. An additional exception exists among male papermakers of the Artoa district: those who marry an aristocratic woman ensure that their children enter the aristocracy.
As the men of the noble families can pass on their membership, their political value is tightly understood, which has led to an inflation in dowries such that a number of seemingly ideal marriages don't happen at all because neither family can afford each others' dowry (see below for the groom's dowry). Volaire has stepped in with a legal limit on dowries to not exceed in value 500 times the annual salary of a manual labourer, though it's clearly possible for this restriction to see some circumvention. Ultimately, there is a surplus of unattached bachelors & many an unwed noblewoman joins one of Volaire's convents.
Dowries & Magic Rings
While the marriage ceremony itself is certainly expensive in a noble family, the lion's share of a marriage's expense is the dowry. Volaire's own culture has a nuance that needs to be included. One, the bride retains/regains the dowry in the event of the husband's death, regardless of any additional endowments in said groom's will. Secondly, the groom's family is expected to provide the wife an enchanted item, typically in the form of a ring. Variations exist, typically as an amulet or tiara, but exceptions do exist. In one wedding, the patriarch of the Vincere family bequeathed the wife wedding gauntlets of ogre power.
Citizens/Middle ClassAristocrat/Nobility
The aristocrats are the ruling class, whose strictly patrilineal membership is archived upon the pages of the Book of Names, guarded carefully in the Golden Temple of Waukeen. Exceptional circumstances exist for new admissions, usually when an entire family is wiped out. An additional exception exists among male papermakers of the Artoa district: those who marry an aristocratic woman ensure that their children enter the aristocracy.
As the men of the noble families can pass on their membership, their political value is tightly understood, which has led to an inflation in dowries such that a number of seemingly ideal marriages don't happen at all because neither family can afford each others' dowry (see below for the groom's dowry). Volaire has stepped in with a legal limit on dowries to not exceed in value 500 times the annual salary of a manual labourer, though it's clearly possible for this restriction to see some circumvention. Ultimately, there is a surplus of unattached bachelors & many an unwed noblewoman joins one of Volaire's convents.
Dowries & Magic Rings
While the marriage ceremony itself is certainly expensive in a noble family, the lion's share of a marriage's expense is the dowry. Volaire's own culture has a nuance that needs to be included. One, the bride retains/regains the dowry in the event of the husband's death, regardless of any additional endowments in said groom's will. Secondly, the groom's family is expected to provide the wife an enchanted item, typically in the form of a ring. Variations exist, typically as an amulet or tiara, but exceptions do exist. In one wedding, the patriarch of the Vincere family bequeathed the wife wedding gauntlets of ogre power.
Citizens are barred from political office, but they do serve in bureaucratic positions. While this means none can wield executive power, that is not to say they're powerless. The appointment of a judge can be measured in months, yet their support staff will have been in the same positions for years, wielding considerable experience & institutional memory. Membership is matrilineal, with an additional exception: proving to the city that both your mother & grandmother have been residents of the city with none of them being manual labourers allows for one to gain citizenship. The traditions of marriage, while similar to that of the nobility, are not as socially enforced.
Peasants/Lower Class
Collectively, citizens & aristocrats make up less than 12% of the population of Volaire. The next social class down, & by far the largest, are the peasantry. Peasants are the people who live & trade in Volaire have no formal political rights to speak of. Certain subgroups have their own privileges. Workers for the Armament (where Volaire produces its star ships) provide a ceremonial guard to the Rao as well as a number of prominent members for various public events, & the Foreman of the Armament is achieved through merit rather than birthright or even appointment of the Senate.
Outsiders
Outsiders, those without real position in the social hierarchy, make up the remaining population as long-term residents of various demographics. These include (but not solely consist of) foreign merchants given leave to live in Volaire (usually as a quid pro quo with the merchant's homeworld to allow for Volarian merchants to live & operate abroad), Athasians, & slaves. Slavery was abolished approximately thirty years ago in Volaire, but some number of foreigners from worlds that retain the practice have been given a special dispensation (in the interests of diplomacy) to have their slaves accompany them in the city; but this permission is at a cost of greater supervision & must provide a minimum quality of life to said slaves.
Please note, these classes are one of political representation. While aristocrats are predominantly wealthy, there certainly exist poor ones. Most of the merchants are members of the peasantry, but wield economic power that puts some of them higher than many patriarchs. One's separation from each other is ultimately just a social one, rather than geographic, as space is at a premium among the multistory buildings packed on the asteroids of Volaire. Barring the ghettos of the Athasians, a single neighborhood can hold the full range of social strata, with nobles living adjacent to peasants.
Gender Roles
It is the view of the Sikato Church that women be concerned with matters of the material plane. This has led to skilled artisans, engineers, soldiers (except knights & similar positions of command), & doctors to be predominantly performed by women. Female convents, which are frequently 75% upper class, are some of the best known martial dojos in the Mondrian system. Women of the upper class generally retain influence over their dowries, leading to them frequently co-partners of the marriage & generally wielding considerable power. Additionally, women are expected to (at minimum, if not outright lead) participate in the political negotiations between families, generally acting as the ultimate deciders of who marries whom & how dowries are arranged (controlling the destiny of the family is a very material concern).
Men are viewed as masters of people & the mind, leading to them holding the role(s) of leadership & scholarly pursuits. Positions of authority are nigh-exclusively male, especially within the political positions (bureaucratic positions, held by the middle class, are more egalitarian, though still favoring men) of Volaire's government or the ecclesiastical hierarchy of the Sikato Church. While martial prowess is not frowned upon among the menfolk, it is expected that they practice those of more meditative or performative nature, or in accompanying positions of leadership such as generals or knights.
Professions associated with the peasantry have no expectations of gender; be it labourer, infantry/militia, merchant, performer, servant, & even adventurer. In many ways, peasant is the person's gender, leading to such activities as to hold neither masculine nor feminine connotations.
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