wherein Liz plays with inheritance rules and nomenclature
I build worlds for the joy of it. I am not in the least scientific about it; I am a fantasist at heart, and people interest me much more than orbital mechanics. All my worlds are pretty much like Earth unless I am making a particular point of some sort, and even then, I tend to forget the differences. (For example, there is atmosphere, water, and life on Firsthome's moon. You can see storms move across the oceans and land masses shade from green to brown and back again over the course of a year. But Ekanu does not make a point of watching the moon, so this has never come up and is not likely to.)
What I like best is to do thought experiments on social systems. I like to create groups of people and imagine their history for several centuries or millennia. I like to play with bits of languages and old-fashioned technology.
Usually I start from a vague story idea. Usually that story never gets written, either because it has no plot or because its premise is rendered impossible by the developing rules of the world I build off its bones. I don't mind. I love stories, but there is a reason The Silmarillion and the appendices are my favorite parts of Tolkien's writing.
I mentioned in my previous entry that I had finally figured out the overarching plot gimmick for a story I've been poking at off and on (mostly off) for thirteen or fourteen years. The thing is, while I made very little story progress, I did open the files and flesh out the world and the characters a bit each year. So my files are light on plot and full of notes like this:
Monday, May 17, 2004
The people of the Domains of Killian don't automatically accord lordship to members of the ruling Houses. Only the current ruler is titled Lord or Lady. The next three heirs, by non-gendered primogeniture (disallowing those with defects that would prevent them from effectively managing a domain, or at least choosing advisors to manage it for them), are also designated Lord or Lady, but with a prefix indicating their degree of closeness to inheriting the House Seat. For men, the first in line is called er-Lord, the second ki-Lord, and the third va-Lord. For women, the first in line is called na-Lady, the second ger-Lady, and the third ri-Lady.
This is how it works. Imagine the current ruler of House Ié'mon dh Vourenne, the House of the Wolf (with its stronghold at Vourenne), is a woman named Jailithe Kournay. So she's Jailithe, Lady Kournay, of House Ié'mon dh Vourenne -- or in a shorter introduction, Lady Jailithe Kournay (of Vourenne). Her son Robard is the current heir, so he's Robard, er-Lord Kournay, of House Ié'mon dh Vourenne, or er-Lord Robard Kournay (of Vourenne). Robard currently has no children, so the second heir is his younger sister Aillés, ger-Lady Kournay. Aillés also has no children, so the third heir would be Jailithe's younger brother Asrik. But he's dead, so his claim passes to his daughter Cuillon, ri-Lady Kournay.
If Aillés or Robard has a child, then Cuillon loses her immediate heirship and becomes simply Cuillon Kournay, of House Ié'mon dh Vourenne. However, if Robard dies unexpectedly, then Aillés becomes na-Lady, Cuillon becomes ger-Lady, and her son Asran becomes va-Lord.
Some other regions of Intarre have adopted this nomenclature from the Domains of Killian, but most use a different form, where anyone directly related to the current holder of the House Seat (and possibly also to previous Seat holders, though I am less sure of that) is called Lord or Lady and their given name, while the ruler is called Lord or Lady and his or her family or House name. Bindi Aroon follows this system. For example, Corialdur Ashoma of House Sinnea is Lord Corialdur, since his father and older sister are between him and the House Seat, but Gethen Gendriona of House Chamdal -- who holds his House Seat -- is Lord Gendriona, while his younger sister is Lady Ainu.
I have so much fun inventing stuff like that.
---------------
And on a totally different note, it may finally have cooled off enough for me to get to sleep. Summer. Blecch.
You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth, where there are currently (
comments)
What I like best is to do thought experiments on social systems. I like to create groups of people and imagine their history for several centuries or millennia. I like to play with bits of languages and old-fashioned technology.
Usually I start from a vague story idea. Usually that story never gets written, either because it has no plot or because its premise is rendered impossible by the developing rules of the world I build off its bones. I don't mind. I love stories, but there is a reason The Silmarillion and the appendices are my favorite parts of Tolkien's writing.
I mentioned in my previous entry that I had finally figured out the overarching plot gimmick for a story I've been poking at off and on (mostly off) for thirteen or fourteen years. The thing is, while I made very little story progress, I did open the files and flesh out the world and the characters a bit each year. So my files are light on plot and full of notes like this:
Monday, May 17, 2004
The people of the Domains of Killian don't automatically accord lordship to members of the ruling Houses. Only the current ruler is titled Lord or Lady. The next three heirs, by non-gendered primogeniture (disallowing those with defects that would prevent them from effectively managing a domain, or at least choosing advisors to manage it for them), are also designated Lord or Lady, but with a prefix indicating their degree of closeness to inheriting the House Seat. For men, the first in line is called er-Lord, the second ki-Lord, and the third va-Lord. For women, the first in line is called na-Lady, the second ger-Lady, and the third ri-Lady.
This is how it works. Imagine the current ruler of House Ié'mon dh Vourenne, the House of the Wolf (with its stronghold at Vourenne), is a woman named Jailithe Kournay. So she's Jailithe, Lady Kournay, of House Ié'mon dh Vourenne -- or in a shorter introduction, Lady Jailithe Kournay (of Vourenne). Her son Robard is the current heir, so he's Robard, er-Lord Kournay, of House Ié'mon dh Vourenne, or er-Lord Robard Kournay (of Vourenne). Robard currently has no children, so the second heir is his younger sister Aillés, ger-Lady Kournay. Aillés also has no children, so the third heir would be Jailithe's younger brother Asrik. But he's dead, so his claim passes to his daughter Cuillon, ri-Lady Kournay.
If Aillés or Robard has a child, then Cuillon loses her immediate heirship and becomes simply Cuillon Kournay, of House Ié'mon dh Vourenne. However, if Robard dies unexpectedly, then Aillés becomes na-Lady, Cuillon becomes ger-Lady, and her son Asran becomes va-Lord.
Some other regions of Intarre have adopted this nomenclature from the Domains of Killian, but most use a different form, where anyone directly related to the current holder of the House Seat (and possibly also to previous Seat holders, though I am less sure of that) is called Lord or Lady and their given name, while the ruler is called Lord or Lady and his or her family or House name. Bindi Aroon follows this system. For example, Corialdur Ashoma of House Sinnea is Lord Corialdur, since his father and older sister are between him and the House Seat, but Gethen Gendriona of House Chamdal -- who holds his House Seat -- is Lord Gendriona, while his younger sister is Lady Ainu.
I have so much fun inventing stuff like that.
---------------
And on a totally different note, it may finally have cooled off enough for me to get to sleep. Summer. Blecch.
You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth, where there are currently (
comments)