Editing Valkor (section)

=Social Order=

Under the laws of the Templar Kingdom of Valkor, only a Templar can own land and that land is inherited by the eldest male direct descendant. He becomes Khan, and his son will become Khan on his death. 
 
If there is no son, the land will pass to the eldest daughter (if she is of age), and to her husband upon her marriage. If the daughter is not of age, or if there are no children, the man’s wife will become Khatun until such time as a ‘proper’ heir is identified.  
 
In the provinces, a landowner has the title of Khan or Khatun, and reigns as a complete monarch.
 
The laws of the Valkor kingdom require that Khans take care of all persons in their province, but they rarely do so. They give little consideration to reported crime, they are more likely to behead all persons involved, and levy increased taxes on the remaining family members.  The punishments that the Khans (and Khatuns) distribute to the lower classes tend to be cruel, straightforward, and often collective. 
 
So the common folk hesitate to bring matters to the khan's attention, they have learned instead to settle things with the village elders. Troublemakers and peace breakers are brought under control by "stocks and sticks" where the guilty party is confined to wooden stock and the villages offered the opportunity to take their revenge with their choice of thick and thin sticks.  
 
Sectarians have slightly more leeway than the general population, but only so long as they do not interfere with secular politics. The Templars value the sects because they are useful for maintaining the peace of society.  However, if sects do begin to intervene in earthly affairs, they will very quickly arrive at the end of their rope, which usually means that they will be hanging by the neck of it in some tall spruce.