Laws and Rules


 * Children below the age of 7 are not considered to even be people by the law.
 * Children will be baptized in their 7th year of life, at which point they are officially acknowledged as citizens of their place of birth and the country. They may also start apprenticeships.
 * At the age of 16 people participate in the Coming of Age Ceremony. From that point onwards they are considered adults and thus fully responsible for their own actions as far as the law is concerned.

Any person is required to follow the orders of a member of a higher social status. The ranking from highest authority to lowest is as follows:
 * King
 * Royal Family
 * Archdukes
 * Archduke Candidates and family members
 * Sovereignty Archnobles
 * Duchy Archnobles
 * Sovereignty Mednobles
 * Duchy Mednobles
 * Sovereignty Laynobles
 * Duchy Laynobles
 * Commoners

Punishment depends on the difference in rank and the severity of the infraciton, but can very often mean death.

This should not be mistaken for the respective ranking of the duchies, since that is a matter of social norms and politics, rather than one dictated by law. An archnoble from a minor duchy disobeying an archnoble from a greater duchy will likely suffer negative consequences, but is not technically breaking the law. A Mednoble disobeying the order of an Archnoble however is and can even result in the execution of the offender, as evidenced by the medknight Shikikoza being sentenced to death for disobeying a direct order by Ferdinand.

An exception to this ranking structure are professors at the Royal Academy who always count as ranking above their current students for the duration of the term, regardless of respective ranks.

Attacks on Ivory buildings constructed from creation magic are treated in the same way as an attack directly on a member of the archduke's family.

Spoiler from Part 4 Volume 4

By decree of the Archduke, for every new book created in Ehrenfest two copies have to be delivered to the archduke's castle.

Entry into the City of Ehrenfest is only permitted to people holding citizenship in the city, children of citizens, non-conspicious commoners who can provide identification and who can write their own name and nobles with a letter of invitation from a local noble or Blue Priest.

Suspicious looking people without any identification can be turned away by the gate-guards at their own discretion.

At times this rule can be further restricted if the need arises, like when the Aub forbid entry into the city without a permit from him personally for the duration of an archduke's conference.

Any and all nobles are forbidden from entering the Ivory Tower without express permission of the archduke himself. This includes members of the archducal family. To enter without permission is considered treason.

In order to be allowed to take on an apprentice, the candidate must have been baptized. The store or workshop also requires the permission of the parents and has to pay a fee to the Merchant's Guild.

Commoners are only permitted to enter the Noble's Quarter when acompanying a noble or when summoned by a noble and are obligated to use the commoner's entrance on the western side of the city.

Spoiler from Part 4 Volume 4

The nobility decreed that after the remodeling of the lower city to add a sewer system, the city had to be kept clean. Out of fear that if the city became dirty again, the Archduke would remodel the city again and wouldn't show them the restraint and mercy of the first remodeling that kept their homes intact, the commander of the Southern Gate suggested to classify littering should be classified as a crime and the other gate commanders agreed.

His suggested punishment was the revocation of citizenship and exile from the city, though it is currently unclear whether the city guard has the authority to decide this on their own or if a higher authority might have signed off on this change.

Only people with a membership in or a permit from the Merchant's Guild are allowed to do business within the city-walls.

Only people who have a Beruf certification are allowed to open workshops.

In Ehrenfest it is expected of girls and women to wear skirts fitting a certain length based on their age. Girls below ten wear skirts to about their knee. Between ten and the coming of age skirts are worn to the shin. Upon becoming an adult women wear skirts that go all the way down their legs, even hiding the ankles. For professions that need the mobility it is acceptable to have skirts that end a fraction above the ankles however.

This societal norm is the same for nobles and commoners alike, though among the highest ranks sometimes skirts and robes are worn that are longer than the age-appropriate skirt-length.

In Ehrenfest it is common for male children to wear shorts when the weather is warm enough for it up to the age of 10. After turning 10 they are expected to cover their entire legs. This custom is the same for nobles and commoners.

As a societal norm it is expected for women to wear their hair up once they come of age. Girls that have not yet come of age are expected to not have hairstyles with all of their hair up. Hairstyles that leave at least some of the hair hanging down freely or in braids are accepted.

This societal norm is practiced in noble and commoner society alike.

To decline or simply ignore a letter of invitation from someone with a higher status within the same profession, while not breaking any law, can still often lead to losing one's job and can even extend to family members.

For example when Myne got a letter of invitation from Corinna, a very important person within the field of fabric workers, not going could easily have resulted in Myne's mother and sister losing their job, despite all involved parties being commoners and neither Effa nor Tuuli working directly for Corinna or even being part of the invitation.

It is common for people of all runs of life to display their status in part by the sleeves they wear. Poor people generally wear clothing with short or very tight sleeves. The higher ranked and influencial a person is, the longer and wider their sleeves get to the point where particularly high ranked and rich commoners and nobles would find it hard to do phyiscal labour without the sleeves getting in the way.

There are only few activities where people of such high status will forgo wide and long sleeves and put on more purpose-oriented clothing, like hunting for example.

An exception to this norm are knights and soldiers who naturally wear tight-fitting uniforms and armour when on duty.