These are the basic positions within the Colony. Different houses might align them differently or call them by different names, but these are the names used by the Lord and anyone in his presence. Regardless of what a Baron may choose to call someone in his service, all citizens fall into one of the following categories.
The High Court is comprised of those appointed directly by the Lord. The Low Court is everyone else within the system.
The Lord of the Colony holds complete authority over it. The only restrictions to his power are those which he has voluntarily taken on through the laws which he has written. Lord Getroix is the only ruler that most of the citizens have ever known. Having said that, most have never even seen him face to face.
While technically the Lord may stand in judgement of any infractions of his laws, in reality the Sheriff or Barons handle the vast majority of legal cases. The only exceptions being those that are either particularly grievous or involve a high-ranking member of his court. As well, as only the Lord has the authority to exile someone, by default all cases for which that is the punishment involve him at some point.
To manage the matters and running of the Colony, the Lord appoints a number of Alesians to assist him. These positions round out the remainder of the High Court.
The Sheriff has three main duties: to enforce the Lord's laws, to command the Lord's militia, and to maintain the Colony's borders.
The enforcement of the Lord's laws is the context in which most citizens interact with the Sheriff. The exact measure of authority the Sheriff actually wields differs depending on the situation and the exact people involved. In most minor situations the Sheriff actually acts in more of the context of an arbitrator, listening to both sides of a case and determining the correct arrangement. This applies even when either or both of the litigants are unwilling to discuss the transgression. In such situations the Sheriff then also takes on the mantle of hunter to bring the accused citizen to answer for their actions. Considering he is also generally to be their judge, most accused come willingly. In cases involving breaches of more serious crimes or edicts, the right of judgement may fall to the Barons or even the Lord. In circumstances such as those the Sheriff serves the position of enforcer of those judgements.
While each individual house maintains a cadre of knights to protect its members and its interests, those knights can also be called on at any time by the Sheriff for any reason he wishes. They are considered to belong to the Lord and comprise the military wing of his command. Generally though they are only called upon to either assist with bringing in a fugitive or combat the wraith threat. As there are no real threats to the Lord's authority on the island, the only threat to the Colony are the wraiths, which are constantly moving through the Colony. As such, all information concerning the movements of wraiths is expected to be forwarded to the Sheriff's office. Once a nest has been found, the responsibility of destroying it is left to the Sheriff.
The final responsibility of the Sheriff is one that hasn't had to be enacted in decades, that of defending the borders of the Colony and ensuring they remain closed to any Vampire not specifically invited by the Lord. Technically it requires the Sheriff to repulse or expel any Vampire not invited by the Lord. As no foreign Vampires have attempted to cross the borders into the Colony in decades, this aspect of the Sheriff's duties is more symbolic of the structure of the Colony than strategically important.
In addition to calling on knights, the Sheriff is entitled to name anyone to the position of Deputy he wishes for as long as duration as he wishes. The deputy may come from any class and upon assuming the station of deputy assumes the responsibilities and authority of the Sheriff in his absence. Unlike many stations, deputies are not assigned, but requested. The Sheriff cannot force someone to become his deputy, though for most it is such a step up that to refuse would be unthinkable.
The Herald's job is less clearly defined than the Sheriff's. All communications between the citizenry and the Lord is handled through the Herald. The High Court alone is allowed to approach the Lord directly even in his presence all others are expected to go through the Herald. As well, any new laws or verdicts the Lord wishes known are also usually announced via the Herald.
In addition to those duties the Herald is also responsible for acquiring and maintaining the physical Court and for keeping tally of the Alesian's numbers and location. As such, any travel from Victoria or any of the satellite towns must first be registered through his assistant. This is usually mostly just a formality, though one that is always observed in case he comes to believe a citizen is going places they aren't allowed. Transport off the island is strictly forbidden under penalty of exile.
Although at first glance the Herald would seem to occupy a relatively unimportant position, the opposite is actually true. It is through the Herald's eyes that the Lord comes most to understand the will and temperament of his subjects. More than perhaps any other it is the Herald's personal opinions about the courts and their citizenry that form the basis of the Crown's policies. This is the real value of the Herald's presence, and his real power within the Courts halls.
Esquires are members of a house who have been granted the right by their Baron to manage the house's assets. This can mean the influence the house has, its financial assets, or most often, the management of lands. This last aspect of the post is considered to generally be both the most important and the most difficult as exactly what lands a house holds aren't permanently set but rather are in a constant state of flux. This has led to a great deal of competition between Esquires for these most important positions.
Within a house the importance of the Esquire's work cannot be overstated. They serve as the link between the Barons and their vassals and are generally the first to hear about conflicts between vassals of different houses. As such they are often granted the authority to call on a house's knights or order about vassals to protect the house's interests. These are delicate authorities to use and wise Esquires are careful to use only as much force as necessary.
Despite the delicacy the post requires, it is still the Esquire's job to expand the hunting grounds the house controls which often means coming into conflict with other house's vassals and Esquires. Conflict in these scenarios can run the gamut from polite negotiations to the breaking of legs or the stealing of merchandise. Esquires insulate themselves from these unsavoury realities by using knights, vassals, and serfs to enact their strategies for expansion.
The success or failure of these strategies is important for all involved. A well-executed expansion or the repelling of a rival can bring a serf into the sight of a Baron and gain them admittance into a house or solidify an Esquire's position amongst their peers.
n addition to the Esquires, Knights fulfill the other practical requirement owed to the Crown in the form of military service. One Knight is required for every five Vampires in a house. They can either be from the house directly or hired on from the serfs.
Knights serve two functions within the Colony, to combat wraiths and to maintain the control and authority of the Crown, both which generally means assisting the Sheriff or their house's Baron. Knights have another more unofficial job though, which is to help the Esquires defend and expand the house's lands.
In fulfilling their official duties the Sheriff may call upon a knight whenever he pleases, though if it's going to be for an extended period it is customary to send word or a request to the Baron first. Knights who fail in their duties or exhibit cowardice are generally stripped of their station and the Sheriff refuses their service in the future. Sometimes a fine or some other penalty accompanies the dishonour. If the cowardice resulted in a death then exile may occur.
In fulfilling their less official duties knights have to be careful to skirt the edge of acceptable violence and avoid giving an opposing house an opportunity to discredit it.
A sub class of knight is call the Knight-errant. These are generally serfs who have signed on to a house to fight on its behalf in the hopes that they might be able to prove their value to an Esquire or maybe even the Baron. While at first this often seems to be a good idea, the reality is that more Errants die or are lost to wraiths than knights ever are. They are given the most dangerous tasks and are always on the front lines in any conflict. They are granted the least understanding should their actions bring consequences and are often abandoned should they offend or harm someone important. Errants do not count towards a house's population.
An Errant who exhibits disloyalty or cowardice is usually expelled from the house immediately, often with a fine or some other punishment depending on how socially difficult or dangerous their actions were. With no one to act as advocate, if a death occurs it is often treated as murder.
The Shepard is an unusual position in that the identity of the station's holder is unknown to the court as a whole. Not even the Barons know who the Shepard is, otherwise the position would become useless. The Shepard's job is to maintain the Edict of Names by actively searching out information that mortals know. They haunt the feeding grounds and influence centres for hints that the mortals who come in contact with Vampires are beginning to put too many pieces together. For this position to be really effective the person in the station has to be anonymous. Only the Sheriff, Herald and Lord know the identity of the Shepard and it changes often enough that anyone figuring it out over time is unlikely.
To maintain the Shepard's desire to keep their identity secret, should anyone brought to charges by information gained by the Shepard be able to identify who the Shepard is the charges will be dropped against that person and instead levied against the Shepard.
The Sheriff is responsible for choosing the Shepard and changes them at will and seemingly without reason. It is even rumoured that more than one Shepard exists at any one given time.
Technically, everyone except the Lord is a vassal of someone, generally whoever is directly above them in the social hierarchy. Having said that, the term vassal is used either as a derogatory or to refer to someone who is on the bottom of the ranking within a house. This section refers to the station of Vassal.
Vassals comprise the bulk of Vampiric society and represent the lowest rank within that society. While they technically share the same rights as everyone else, in reality claims brought by them to the Sheriff are usually given little heed unless someone of superior rank endorses the claim. The only real exception to this unwritten rule is matters of Edicts, which are always taken seriously.
Most Vassals work towards earning his Baron's favour and eventually being promoted to Esquire. Some opt to take the military course, though those that take this route still start at the bottom of the knights and until they prove themselves are treated little better amongst the knights than Errants, and in some cases even worse.
Regardless of which path they choose though, Vassals are generally little better than their Baron's slaves, or that's often how they feel. They are expected to go where they are ordered and to expand their Baron's resources and security. How they go about doing this is up to each one though, and their effectiveness is usually what separates those destined for promotion from those who aren't. Gifts are also considered an appropriate form of proving one's success and being able to send extra up the chain is a good step in being moved up that chain as well.
Serfs are the lowest class within the Colony. They are the Vampires who do not belong to any House. Because of this they have no advocate and the Sheriff is loathe to listen to complaints from them against other more productive members of society. While the edicts are still an exception to this rule, only marginally; the Sheriff would never take a complaint by a serf seriously without some form of corroborative evidence. Fines levied against serfs for minor social infractions are commonplace.
The real disadvantage to living the life of a serf is the restrictions placed upon the Vampire by the Crown. Serfs may not claim lands or any kind of feeding rights and are always considered to be interlopers if found in someone else's territory. As well, serfs are not permitted to keep thralls and are not permitted to Turn mortals. Some still do, of course, but both childe and sire must be careful not to reveal the truth or both of them will suffer.
Serfs often try to buy their way into a house either with information, substantial quantities of blood or by signing on as a Knight-errant. This is by far the most dangerous course of action and the lives of those attempting such a route is often short and violent. Errants are generally considered expendable, as they are not really members of the society and are therefore not really doing their part to hold back the wraith threat. Serfs tend to disagree with this perspective.
Those with less ambition than to try to join one specific house content themselves to either live on the fringes of society or to take individual contracts from houses or Vassals. These contracts are generally honoured as it wouldn't do to become known as someone who dishonoured one's contracts, especially to someone so lowly as a serf. The less polite reason is that serfs fill the role of discreet service, and that always has a value.