Ranks of the Delhren

This article is intended to support the Batu and Baray storyline of fiction.

Unsurprisingly, there is considerable overlap in the military and mercantile ranks of the Delhren. At times it is difficult to tell where a military appointment ends and a mercantile position starts – and vice-versa. Similarly, the difference between ‘marine’ and ‘soldier’ is immaterial: all militarily trained personnel are expected to fight onboard ships or on the plants upon which Delhren finds itself unable to execute peaceful diplomacy.

At the top end, a mercantile admiral is identical to a naval admiral, a mercantile Captain identical to a military (naval) captain – the only difference between perceived effectiveness, influence and hereditary position. However, at the lower end of the heirarchy, there is some cohesiveness to be had.

Vardinari & Domari troops

Given their training and equipment, the elite vardinari are considered senior to domari and a domari centurion may find themselves reporting to a vardinarii Decurion.

Trooper–>
Lance–>
Sergeant (of a squad)–>
Decurion (several squads/Leader 2)
–>Centurion

Then to Commander and up to Captain as per shipboard officers, below.

Vardinari personal bodyguards often wear purple cloaks with blue-turquoise armour and burnt orange trim; other vardinari wear blue-turquoise cloaks with armour so dark a shade of purple it almost seems black but retain the burnt-orange trim. Domari troops often retain their brown impact cloaks but wear uniforms otherwise in the house colours.

Shipboard

In general, spacehands are known by their job role (tech, engineer, gunner, loadmaster, etc) with ‘Senior’ added for the equivalent for ‘Lance’, and ‘Sergeant’ used for the more senior roles. If no job is being referred to, or for those with no specific jobs, the terms ‘Spacehand’ or ‘Trainee’ is used.

Ships and Senior Officers

Ensign (shipboard)–>
2nd/1st Lieutenant (shipboard)–>
Commander (may command a small ship like a survey or message vessel)–>
Captain (of frigates or larger)–>
Commodore–>
Admiral

Aboard a ship, the officer commanding is always referred to as ‘Captain’, irrespective of rank. Given 1st lieutenants are often given command of patrol boats, this can become confusing to the uninitiated, but ius a tradition the Delhren intend to uphold.

Note that a general is an anachronism in such a combined forces situation.

Tamalair (Ferals)

Neophyte (barely trained youths, typically)–>
Warrior–>
Huscarl–>
Elder/Chief–>
Chieftain, Warchief, Laird or jarl*

*Teh exact title depends from where on Tamala the Ferals were recruited.

Any ferals used by the house typically retain their own clothing or replace it with uniforms in house colours.

Household

The most senior rank in the varda delhreni is the Vard, the current most senior person (Doma) of the senior clan (domas). They and their senior advisors within the domas all take the honorific surname Delhren to indicate they are members of such an influential clan.

Senior members of the varda delhreni from other families often retain their family name, though they are entitled to suffix their surname with the varda‘s. The recently disgraced security chief, Jarain Tridethe, being one such, elected to retain his domas name (technically being Jarain tridethei) as an expression of power in his own family.

The current ruling domas is the Tsulmar, the Vard therefore being ‘Vard Ordaichen tsulmari delhreni’ or ‘Ordaichen tsulmari Delhren’. Similarly, his most infamous nephew, Prince Batu, is formally call ‘Prince Batu tsulmari delhreni’ or ‘Batu tsulmari Delhren’.