Peerless Scarred

*"Remember, these people are Peerless Scarred. The best of the best. Cream of the crop. Each one of them has killed, and each one of them still plots for power. No matter what finery they might wear, no matter what substances in which they might indulge, they are warriors. And they do not suffer threats - they remove them."*

- Cromine au Karn to his friend and ally Judus au Sejanus, during the Last Fury's Masquerade

Peerless Scarred are a social subset of the gens *Aureate*, and is used to mark some of the Society's most elite Golds. All Peerless are easily recognizable by their Scar - a long, thin wound running below the right eye. With Peerless Scars only obtainable through elite graduation from an Institute, or from earning a battleScar in wartime, Peerless are a rare breed - standing imperiously above any Gold who has not yet earned the honor.

## Obtainment

As one of the major things separating Pixies from true Conquerors, the Peerless Scar is famously difficult for most Golds to obtain. Only those who have graduated the Institute, and have excelled beyond even their already skilled comrades are granted the honor of becoming Peerless. Those who would seek a battleScar find it no easier; only a special few are considered worthy of giving Scars - namely ArchGovernors, Imperators and Olympics - and spectacular feats are generally required to impress these powerful individuals.

With entry into the Institute already so rare, and the inherent challenges with earning a battleScar, Peerless number far fewer than their Unscarred counterparts. Yet in the military hierarchy of the Society, where a mere Centurion is the highest rank an Unscarred can receive, there is little other option for advancement - the Scar must be acquired.

## Social Limitations and Potential Failings

Despite the rarity of Peerless compared to regular Golds, in upper echelons of Aureate society, a Peerless Scar is practically a requirement - it is the barrier to the higher levels of the military, and even those hoping for Governorship or other civilian postings will be hard pressed to do so without it. Amongst the Two Hundred Houses - especially the most powerful, such as Carthii, Sejanus, Grimmus, Ignis, and Votum, to name a few - it is exceedingly rare for a member of the main line to lack the Scar, and for an Unscarred to become heir of the house would be nearly inconceivable.

Although the Peerless Scar was originally created to separate the strongest Golds from the weakest, an argument could theoretically be made by some that it is no longer a good measure by which to judge Aureates. Indeed, in recent centuries, the title has become somewhat over saturated. Nearly everyone of note (and plenty who are not) can claim the Scar, and while it does generally still prove to be the mark of a decent soldier, there have been of late several notable events, in which "Peerless" nonetheless acted with the composure of Pixies, with the severity ranging from being acting as the equivalents of Pinks and being overly submissive, to openly thanking others for harm they inflicted upon oneself. Still, the vast majority of Peerless remain acceptable, and there has been no action of yet to increase the standards.

## Population

Peerless Scarred number approximately 132,486 as of the last Board of Quality Control Census (pre-Lion's Rain). This puts them as only 0.003% of the forty million Golds in the Solar System, marking them as the elite of the elite.