This human and gryphon are two “Companions” (Æmbælttæ), members of the elite guard corps that protects the ruling Great Tiaka minority of the Tiaka Kingdom, and fights alongside them in battle. (As an aside, gryphons in this setting are sapient, and this one is more like a fellow soldier than a mere mount for the human, though they do still carry the human into battle).

The Tiaka Kingdom emerged from the collapse of the preceding Lohae Kingdom, and, as of the year 1717 A., is the largest kingdom on the West Hirnian Steppe. Their society is divided into three main classes: the “Great Tiaka” (Mazata-Tiaka), who are rulers and warriors; the “Wise Tiaka” (Sauda-Tiaka), who are priests, mages, and diviners; and the “Small Tiaka” (Kaśa-Tiaka), who are commoners, and comprise the vast majority of the kingdom’s population.

These classes almost function as a form of caste system, as class status is tied to specific clans or families (i.e., one clan will be a “Great Clan”, and its members will be “Great Tiaka”). However, they are not completely rigid, as an individual can be adopted into a clan as a reward for their achievements (and hence become a member of a new class), or an entire clan can be granted a new status at the agreement of the other clans.

As an example, Companions like the ones above might be born into a Small Tiaka family, but would be adopted into the Great Clan that they serve upon proving their worth as warriors and becoming Companions.

The usual case for an entire clan being elevated is as part of an integration process for a newly-conquered region. Rather than fully uprooting the pre-existing rulers, the Tiaka will often attempt to recruit them as administrators, giving them a chance to retain some position of authority in exchange for loyalty and subservience to the Tiaka king. If successful, the new clan will be elevated as Great Tiaka and become one of the vassal clans of the kingdom.

The ruling elite is comprised of seven Great Tiaka clans, each ruling a province. These include three clans of humans, two of gryphons, one of great spiders, and one of dragons (the latter being the Arani Aykene tribe that had been expelled by king Aśla).

The Tiaka Kingdom, much like the Lohae Kingdom before it, profits greatly from acting as an intermediary in trade between the Theskai Kingdom and the Land of the Wadanians. They are a major furnisher of slaves to both of these realms, capturing them in raids against surrounding tribes and selling them in great markets at the Tiaka capital in Gikkau. Slaves within the Tiaka Kingdom itself are considered to exist outside of the class system, as they do not have recognized families.

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their name is very similar to æbletærte ('apple tart' in danish) lol