All men are not born equal.
This is the unifying truth of The Aristocracy, those who are of the higher class. I've noticed in my time ruling Illyria and even in my earliest days on Serenno that the members of the elite seem to believe that this is a truth that applies to them indiscriminately. They truly believe that because you were born with silk along your shoulders and fine cloth in your bed threads that you are greater than those that fate has placed below you. It truly is a laughable notion.

In my youth I would have agreed. In fact, I would have ardently fought to defend this belief. Noble birth & Honored blood. They are two factors that many levels of Aristocracy in the galaxy believe to be paramount to the success of an individual.

In a perfect world they would be right. When has this galaxy ever been anything close to perfect?

Those with prestige and privilege have a single great advantage. It should be their prerogative to use this advantage to bring those around them into even greater heights than that of their forebearers. This in turn will place advancement at their own feet. However, this is not the case. The members of the Aristocracy would rather live sedentary lives, gaining no laurels of their own and merely releshing in the hard earned honors of their ancestors. In time this breeds an air of complacency. The Noble blood has gone bad and like a wilted flower in a garden it no longer belongs and must be pruned.

Failure. The unwelcome reality of most men, most ambitions.

Still, where some men have no wish to advance those around them others have proven to be too ambitious or too foolish.

So what does this ambitious fool do? He bleeds himself dry. Pouring his wealth and prestige into every sad vessel that crosses his path. By the time he is nothing more than a broke fool with a once-proud name those who once held him in esteem only find his name brings a sour taste in their mouth. A poor Noble is a useless man.

Not unlike the game of Echecs, life has proven to be an intricate scheme of successes and failures. You must pick your victories and you must pick your losses, for both will come in plentiful amount.

This is why the blood of the Aristocracy must be thoroughly and often washed. Very few men have the capacity to act as Judge, Jury, & Executioner and these are merely the shallowest of aspects within the elite. In fact it is easier to say that few will ever possess the capacity to handle the duties of that which must be done. After all...


All men are not born equal.