In the world of Vasagarod, the social structure is not a ladder but a closed, vibrating circuit. The ten factions may provide the borders, but the eight classes provide the blood. To the uninitiated, power seems to flow downward from the gilded balconies of the Aristocrats to the sun-scorched fields of the Farmers. In reality, Vasagarod operates on a principle of Mutual Strident Dependence.
Power is balanced through three distinct "Spheres of Domination." Each class possesses a layer of Absolute Advantage, a layer of Vulnerability, and a layer of Neutrality. This ensures that while a King may order a Peasant’s execution, that same King cannot eat, sleep, or keep a secret without the classes he ostensibly rules.
To understand the inter-class conflict, we must view the eight classes through the lens of their three functional layers: The Physical (Infrastructure), The Informational (Shadow), and The Essential (Survival).
The Aristocrats hold the Primary Advantage over the Defenders, Artisans, and Merchants. They possess the legal right to command armies, commission works, and tax trade. However, they suffer a Primary Disadvantage against the Prostitutes, Knowledgable, and Peasants.
The Aristocrat’s power is purely systemic. They own the "idea" of the kingdom. In the House of Nobles in Kharathuun, a lord may sign a decree that moves a thousand Defenders, but he is a slave to the Prostitutes of the Gilded Lily who know of his treason, the Knowledgable who provide his medicine, and the Peasants who can burn his manor while he sleeps. Their Equality lies with the Farmers; neither can truly destroy the other without collapsing the world, creating a cold, respectful stalemate of "Land vs. Law."
The Knowledgable hold the Primary Advantage over the Aristocrats, Defenders, and Farmers. They control the "Truth." A General (Defender) will not march if a Sage tells him the stars are ill-aligned; a King will grant any concession for a cure; a Farmer will yield his grain to the temple for a blessing.
Their Disadvantage lies with the Artisans, Merchants, and Prostitutes. The Artisan builds the labs the Knowledgable use and can sabotage them; the Merchant controls the flow of rare alchemical reagents; the Prostitute can ruin a Sage’s reputation with a single whispered scandal. Their Equality is with the Peasants. The Peasant sees the Knowledgable as just another master, but the Knowledgable fears the Peasant’s raw, un-intellectualized rage. It is a balance of "Mind vs. Malice."
Defenders hold Primary Advantage over the Peasants, Farmers, and Artisans. Through raw force and the "Law of the Blade," they keep the mines running and the fields protected. They can seize an Artisan’s forge in the name of the state.
Their Disadvantage lies with the Aristocrats, Knowledgable, and Merchants. They are legally bound to the Aristocrats, spiritually/mentally bound to the Knowledgable, and economically bound to the Merchants who pay their wages. Their Equality is with the Prostitutes. In the taverns of Vashi or Rhatalia, the soldier and the courtesan exist in a neutral space of shared trauma and transactional necessity. It is "Force vs. Flesh."
Merchants hold Primary Advantage over the Defenders, Artisans, and Farmers. They are the masters of logistics. A Defender’s sword is useless without the Merchant who bought the ore; an Artisan’s workshop is a tomb without the Merchant who sells the wares.
Their Disadvantage lies with the Aristocrats, Knowledgable, and Peasants. The Aristocrat can seize their assets; the Knowledgable can declare their goods "unholy" or "poisoned"; the Peasant can raid their caravans with a fearlessness that no mercenary can stop. Their Equality is with the Prostitutes. Both deal in the trade of desires and secrets, maintaining a balance of "Gold vs. Gossip."
The Prostitutes of the Gilded Lily and the Rasya hold Primary Advantage over the Aristocrats, Knowledgable, and Merchants. They strike at the ego and the heart. A King’s secret, a Sage’s vice, or a Merchant’s greed are all laid bare in the dark.
Their Disadvantage lies with the Defenders, Farmers, and Peasants. These classes are often too poor, too disciplined, or too angry to be swayed by the charms of the high-end brothels. A Peasant with a torch does not care about a courtesan’s beauty. Their Equality is with the Artisans. The Artisan builds the hidden passages and the opulent chambers the Prostitute uses, a silent partnership of "Aesthetics vs. Access."
Farmers hold Primary Advantage over the Aristocrats, Prostitutes, and Merchants. They control the caloric intake of the world. By withholding grain or "accidentally" letting a pestilence take the crops, they can bring the highest Lord to his knees.
Their Disadvantage lies with the Knowledgable, Defenders, and Artisans. They need the Knowledgable to heal their livestock, the Defenders to stop raiders, and the Artisans to build their plows and granaries. Their Equality is with the Peasants. While the Peasant works the land, the Farmer owns it; they share the same dirt but represent different sides of the same coin: "Ownership vs. Labor."
Artisans hold Primary Advantage over the Farmers, Knowledgable, and Defenders. They provide the tools. Without the Artisan, the Farmer has no plow, the Sage has no astrolabe, and the Defender has no shield. They can "build in" flaws that only they can fix.
Their Disadvantage lies with the Aristocrats, Merchants, and Prostitutes. They are dependent on the Aristocrat’s commission, the Merchant’s distribution, and are easily manipulated by the Prostitute’s social networking. Their Equality is with the Peasants. Both are creators/destroyers of the physical world, balanced in a state of "Craft vs. Chaos."
The Peasants hold the ultimate Primary Advantage over the Aristocrats, Merchants, and Prostitutes. They are the "Infallible Reckoning." Because they possess nothing, they fear nothing. Their numbers can overwhelm any palace, and their rage can burn any trade route or brothel to the ground.
Their Disadvantage lies with the Defenders, Knowledgable, and Farmers. The Defender can cut them down in the streets; the Knowledgable can manipulate their superstitions; the Farmer can starve them by locking the granary doors. Their Equality is with the Artisans. They are the two classes that understand the true weight of a hammer.
The genius of Vasagarod’s inter-caste conflict is that it is a Zero-Sum Game. If the Aristocrats attempt to purge the Peasants, they lose their labor and invite the Merchants to flee. If the Knowledgable attempt to seize the throne, the Artisans stop building their temples and the Defenders stop guarding their gates.
Every class is locked in a "Three-Up, Three-Down" dynamic:
Layer A (Dominance): You control three classes through necessity or force.
Layer B (Vulnerability): You are controlled by three classes through your own needs.
Layer C (Parity): You share a mutual respect or "cold war" with one class.
This ensures that while the "prelude to chaos" hums in the background, no single class can ever truly win. The tension between the pride of the Kharathuun Aristocrat and the desperation of the Gurval Miner is not a flaw in the system—it is the system.
In Vasagarod, power is not held; it is borrowed, bartered, and stolen in a perpetual cycle, as ancient and unrelenting as the flow of the Irya River itself.