Cycle of Destiny

Chapter 17 The Hierarchical Dress Code

Before the appearance of the holy magician Odel, the status of folk magicians was so low as to be almost negligible. They were unsystematic, relying on apprenticeship and lacking a unified alliance. These scattered magicians had no fixed abode, usually making a living by fulfilling commissions, crafting magical items, or exploring for treasure; they were simply a group of free individuals pursuing magical power and mysteries. When they saw children with good talent (the exceptionally talented ones had already been chosen by the royal family and the church), they would take the children away to train, but there were only one or two such children at a time, so the lineage could not be expanded.

At that time, the image of magicians in the public eye was that of enchanters.

When talking about enchanters, we must first talk about the Empire's laws against extravagance and the restrictions on clothing levels.

As early as the founding of the Acronos Empire, anti-extravagance laws were in place to restrict the common people's access to clothing. By the time of Acronos III, approximately fifty years after the empire's founding, with its rapid expansion, a portion of wealth had shifted to the common people, leading to extravagant and presumptuous clothing practices that severely impacted the social hierarchy. At the request of the nobility, Emperor Acronos V further strengthened these anti-extravagance laws, hoping to curb the common people's infringement on the privileges of the nobility in terms of clothing.

By the time the nation celebrated its centenary, the Church of Light had emerged on the continent of Acronos, and the Acronos Empire was not spared. With the Church's involvement, merchants, knights without noble titles, and some minor nobles amassed greater wealth.

Furthermore, merchant ships controlled and supported by the Church of Light at that time brought back a large number of overseas luxury goods from beyond the continent. As a result, the clothing fabrics of the nobility increasingly used imported gold and silver velvet and fine silk fabrics. These items were brightly colored, comfortable to wear, and expensive.

People began to compete with each other: newly risen nobles hoped to flaunt their newly elevated status; declining knights hoped to maintain their fading dignity; local merchants and wealthy people hoped to distinguish themselves from commoners and secure their social standing. The pursuit of fame and status became the driving force behind the extravagant fashion of the time. Minor nobles and knights preferred the finest silks and velvets; some slightly wealthier commoners could also wear secondhand noble garments and proudly move about in public. All social classes displayed their skills, creating a cultural shock to aristocratic privilege, disrupting the hierarchical social order, gradually diminishing the class-marking function of clothing, and severely damaging aristocratic privilege.

During the reign of Acronus XII, this extravagance reached its peak. The nobles united to protest this "improper trend" to the royal family, but the power of the Church of Light should not be underestimated. In the numerous confrontations and tug-of-wars, Acronus XII could only be overwhelmed and unable to find a solution.

But the ensuing war gave him an opportunity. Seventy years ago, the elves began to have some military clashes with the Empire, which then escalated into a large-scale war. The elves launched a simultaneous attack on three provinces of the Empire from the north. Under the elf offensive, the Aingrim Line, known as the "impregnable fortress" in the north of the Empire, crumbled like a dead tree before the long-eared elves.

The empire eventually signed an agreement with the elves at the cost of five provinces and paid a large sum of gold in reparations. It was also at that time that the duke's daughter married into the empire, which temporarily stopped the elves from advancing further south.

The entire empire was plunged into mourning. In order to bring glory and power back to the Aknos Empire, His Majesty the Twelfth added a clause for succession by duel to the "Law on the Granting and Inheritance of Noble Titles," directly linking titles to individual strength and greatly ensuring that the empire would no longer have weak nobles.

He also declared: "The stars in the sky, and our celestial body, adhere to their respective positions and hierarchical order. But once the stars deviate from their proper course and move aimlessly, how many disasters and ominous changes will occur! How many rebellions will take place, how many mountains will roar and seas will tsunami, how many landslides and mountains will shift! ... As long as we deviate from the order and tamper with this melody, listen! How many discordant notes will arise, and everything will perish in the struggle."

He added, "The imperial hierarchy has always been our sharpest weapon, and it is the collapse of this order that has weakened the power of the Akron Empire. It is not that the Elven arrows are too powerful, but that the empire's weapons are becoming dull. When this hierarchical order is restored, glory and power will surely return to Akron!"

These words were accepted by most people, the reason for the defeat was found, the public's anger had an outlet, and the church dared not insist any longer. Thus, the Dress Code was born.

The Dress Code is more like an enhanced version of the anti-luxury law.

The Anti-Luxury Law only restricted commoners from infringing on the privileges of nobles in terms of clothing. However, the Dress Code was clearly more stringent. While restricting commoners, it also made requirements for knights and nobles, clearly stipulating the rules that different ranks could wear and could not violate in terms of the color and materials of clothing.

The Dress Code emphasizes that "clothing should serve to distinguish social class. While splendid attire has always been a symbol of the upper class, many people of relatively low social status dress even more luxuriously than nobles. This lack of standardized clothing blurs the distinction between different levels of nobility and poses a significant threat to the social hierarchy. The lack of standardized clothing will lead to the collapse of a sound socio-political order, which can only be established according to people's social status."

This law divided the aristocratic society of Acnos into four dress classes: royal family members; dukes and marquesses; counts, viscounts and barons; and knights.

It stipulated that: the royal family held supreme power and could use purple clothing; dukes and marquesses could use gold velvet, but not purple; earls, viscounts, and barons could use silver velvet, but not purple or gold velvet; knights could only use gold products and were prohibited from using any of the aforementioned velvet materials. For commoners, it was illegal to privately purchase or use gold jewelry.

Its core principle is that one can go downwards, but cannot go upwards and infringe upon the privileges of the upper nobility. For example, a viscount or his family can use silver velvet for clothing, and can also go downwards—using gold products that knights can use as jewelry, but cannot go upwards—not adding purple or gold velvet to clothing.

The creation of the Dress Code pleased the aristocratic class, who were no longer worried about their authority being challenged. Defeat was certainly not a good thing, and it would be an exaggeration to say that it was a blessing in disguise, but no one could deny that they were indeed relieved.

In high society at the time, the most popular saying among the nobility was "time is the enemy." In other words, one of the nobles' priorities was figuring out how to best pass the time. Day after day, year after year, in addition to traveling to various places or attending banquets, more and more nobles enjoyed outdoor activities such as hunting.

This sport has always been regarded by the aristocracy as their favorite sport, bar none.

First, it required a very specific hunting ground. To conduct hunting activities, a large area of ​​land had to be transformed into a permanent hunting ground, providing conditions for galloping on horseback. Commoners who only owned small plots of land to cultivate and sustain themselves had no chance of participating in this sport. This made it almost exclusively the privilege of the upper class, which was very attractive to the nobility.

Secondly, living in the peaceful capital, without the opportunity to fight on the battlefield, their superior knightly skills could only be displayed during hunts. Hunting required the hunter and their mount to be able to quickly pursue and attack, and many hunting expeditions, in pursuit of thrills, would seek out and purchase high-level magical beasts from other places. These beasts were highly intelligent and possessed complex attack methods, posing unpredictable dangers; every year, a considerable number of nobles perished in these hunts. But it was precisely this adventurous and thrilling nature that made the nobles even more fond of this sport. After all, only warriors honed in the crucible of life and death could be considered true knights.

Therefore, only nobles with time, social status, and money could organize this sport, while nobles who could not participate in this fashionable sport were often ostracized by high society.

At the time, a saying circulated in aristocratic society: "If wealth is not displayed, it loses its meaning." Hunting was essentially a form of ostentation; only by clearly distinguishing oneself from other classes could one demonstrate one's superiority. The "Rank Dress Code" was based on this very principle.