The caste of nobles is the highest in overall rank in Lirith Kai; membership in this caste is hereditary in almost all cases. It is possible for the Emperor or certain other officials to ennoble a commoner, but this is fairly rare, and the title granted is usually not inheritable by the children of the citizen so honored. (Note that whether of foreign birth or not, the person so honored must be a citizen of Lirith Kai; no non-citizen may hold a title or an officer's rank in the army.)

In Lirith Kai there are seven ranks of nobility. The "honor" or rank of hereditary nobility is considered to belong to the family as a whole rather than only to the one person currently charged with maintaining that honor in the eyes of the world (the non-hereditary rank of liran belongs solely to s/he who earns it). Members of a noble family who aren't the official title bearer or "head of the family" are entitled to be addressed as "sir" or "lord/lady", whichever is appropriate to the rank, should they wish it, but the other particular privileges of the titled person are not theirs, specifically, they may not raise and maintain troops. Although most who actively bear a title in Lirith Kai are men, there is no law forbidding women to do so. The rank-titles are neuter, they are the same whether the bearer is male or female.

It is possible for a lineage of exceptional ability to enter the ranks of the nobility from the bottom with the first, non-hereditary title and work its way up over the generations by the outstanding quality of its members. It is in the highest degree unlikely that such an advance would occur during one lifetime, regardless of whatever great services the person in question might perform.

The title granted to Advanced Gladiators is a new and separate category of nobility, which will be described under non-inheritable titles.