Moving Along the Socio-Economic Ladder in Brevoy

Despite Brevoy's rigid social traditions, a person does not necessarily remain in the caste they are born into. It's much easier to fall than to ascend, however. A noble caught in a scandal, reduced to poverty, or otherwise disgraced might find themselves moving from their ancestral home to another region where no one recognizes them and trying to find work as a commoner.

While less common, a person can climb the pecking order through a combination of hard work, loyalty, great deeds, gaining honor, shrewd business deals, flattering those above them, cultivating contacts, strategic marriage (whether of themselves of of their children), sponsorship from, adoption by, or apprenticeship to a higher-ranked person, sexual favors, fame, and luck. An oft-cited example is a good, brave soldier being knighted and granted a minor title and lands by the lord he fought for, though many civilians climb the ranks through business ambition. Many Brevan folk-tales tell of simple commoners who through sheer tenacity and heroism turned the heads of nobles and gained lands, titles, and a marriage into a noble family as well.

An even greater (and rarer) honor is to be bestowed "brethrenhood" by someone of a higher station, in which they publicly elevate you to the status of an equal, but this must be met by approval from their peers, or else they risk disgrace. Typically, a person will be groomed in proper mannerisms for their new station before such an honor can be safely bestowed.