Dashski’s court, in its bizarre mimicry, exposed the emptiness of real gentry. Dashski had some appointed aristocrats, dressed in the splendor of nobility but with no true ties to any duchies or lands. They were wealthy merchants, the same sort as those who arbitrarily were not allowed through the manor’s gates, and the same sort as Dashski himself. They playacted as though high birth was a costume to be donned and doffed at the whim of their ruler. Their manners were off, too, sycophantic but not subservient, treating Dashski as a more successful equal rather than a Gods-ordained leader. When they gave him advice, they didn’t waste time pretending to chastise themselves for daring to have an idea before their lord. I found it quite jarring, at first. The rules were nonsensical, with court
