NOBILITY, LIFE: Those who have been ennobled for significant service to the Empire carried out at serious personal cost or risk. The degree of service and risk or cost determine the rank given.
NOBILITY, LOCAL: Nobility other than Imperial Life or ruling nobles. These may be named by any ruling noble within @'s fief and will have whatever status the Imperial noble determines. If a nobility or equivalent already exists on a world joining the Empire, those will retain that status as local nobles. While local nobles have no Imperial status, they are generally given the courtesy title of Excellency.
NOBILITY, RULING: Those born to rule Imperial fiefs, except that the first ruling noble in a new fief will be named by the Sovereign. Technically, only the noble and @'s spouse and heir are Imperial nobles, but @'s younger children are treated so as a courtesy.
Inheritance of rule is by strict primogeniture, except in the few fiefs where, by the Sovereign's dispensation, there is some other qualification or automatic disqualification (e.g., Narvonese nobles must be Dragon-Kindred, while Sandeman nobles cannot be warriors). It is also possible, though rare, for a noble to ask the Sovereign to disqualify @'s firstborn for cause, and confirm someone else as Heir.
Should a ruling noble die without an heir, the Heir to the next higher fief takes over until the Sovereign can select a new ruler. If the fief left vacant is a Sector, a Ranger will take the position temporarily.
NOR: Traiti unit of weight, 0.56 kilograms.
NORVIS:
Sector: 21, Traiti Year:
Subsector: A, Homesun Day:
System: Lantra Gravity:
Settled/established: 2193 Axial tilt:
By: Traiti Oxygen:
Satellites: % Water:
Ident code prefix: NOR Continents:
Ruled by:
General: Clan Ch'kara's main clanhome is here.
NOSFERATU PSEUDO-VIRUS: An organism resembling a virus more closely than anything else its first investigators were aware of. It is capable of infecting approximately one percent of the inhabitants of Narvon System and an unknown but much smaller percentage of Terrans; all others are immune. While very few Terrans are susceptible, that small percentage is extremely so, and all so far known have become Bloodmates. Susceptibility is determined by high empathy, though it may be mostly latent until the Change. Narvonese research has shown that a person with a certain rare "marker" gene configuration is susceptible, but until nearly 2600, the reason is not known. A susceptible person subjected to severe weakening (due to illness or trauma) after exposure will undergo physical and mental changes, becoming a Kin or Bloodmate.
It is the degree of empathy which determines whether the Change is to Kin or Bloodmate, with the more empathic becoming the Bloodmates.