In the land of Handon marriage and partnership is everything, it determines your future of not only you but all those that will come after you. Marriage is the ultimate sign of trust and the majority of the legal system is devoted to writing up vows for the altar. Through this system alliances are made,subjugation is enforced and names rise up and fall by the matters of the heart and cold shrewdness of the mind.
The wise King Merin has stepped down from his throne on his 99th birthday to allow an upcoming new generation to obtain the seat. While a king can only be male, his authority and power spreads both to the queen and her house. Between the 10 houses an arena of personal happiness, distant love, power, politics and ambition will sprung into existence. Each man must gain the support of as many houses and popular commoner vote as he can from each land to claim the title of king. The brides to be dance with the young lords in a shuffle of obligations, duty, desire...and ruin.
---------------------- A quick spiel on marriage:
Marriage in Handon is so important that the idea of a divorce doesn't exist in their language. So important that to have an affair of leave a married partner is considered to be a crime equal to homicide. It is more a legal and cultural process than a religious one although some houses may have religious aspects tied to it, that has little baring on its societal impact.
Working on a strong communal reputation, marrying "down" can earn you a spiral into a weaker family name. Marrying a criminal can move that stain onto your house, as you have sworn to abide them in all things. Vows are carefully tailored, serious and binding contract. While Marriage can assure an alliance, a prince or bride can be married off for the purpose of pushing a vow that effectively turns the other house and it assets in service to the first house.
Because of this, in Handon society it is considered normal to have double digit children in noble families."love" is still meant to be purpose and motivator of marriage and a house can't force it, even with arrangement because a declaration of disinterest more or less ends any chance to get engaged, this is a play of face. Many know most marry for political reason but to pretend it is no reason but pure love is a deep insult which can destroy a reputation.
The fate of the future houses and king is determined by the whims and wishes of a league of young adults.
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Handon
Handon is an large land mass to Rival America, Texas and Africa combined, connected only by a small narrow path called "Grey Valley" to another, much smaller kingdom inhabited primarily by a league of species that didn't want to live in human dominated society:
Gariang
While Handon is prosperous in food, supplies, trade, cities and culture the neighboring community has struggled due to a series of volcanic eruptions that destroyed most of their budding towns and reduced their farm lands barren.
Handon itself is magical. Most people can do magic or use magical items for mundan task such as levitating books or making a broom sweep by itself but actual dangerous or useful magic such as healing or necromancy requires decades of training at an academy in their respective lands to ever be able to use to a competent level. If you tried to use proper magic without training you'd more than likely hurt yourself than anyone else. Mages and Sorceress regularly have numerous scars from even monitored and controlled lessons in their fields.
Kings and Queens
Kings are the ultimate authority over the land and when they die it is traditional for the queen to step down too, residing from them in the Widows Castle with a cut from the treasure to ensure a happy and full life. Even a widowed queen is powerful and supremely rich but it is considered bad manners to try and marry her within 10 years of the Kings death.
When with her king the Queen takes his place when he is away as it is expected for the crown to lead wars at the generals camps. Travel to handle land issues personally, aid the poor and be in person to hear problems when he can. In times of turmoil the Queen can expect to more or less be the person at the throne, making all the large over sight decisions with her only restriction being any policy the king himself has made. One, is a close and deliberate choice while the other assume a more traditional governing seat.
but this is most the time not and the case and the king can be expected to perform a traditional role on a chair most of the time.
There will be 10 house spots. I will allow players to make their house, lands and cultures. These can be any species except but traditional angels and demons don't exists. The more creative with your house, their land and their species the more chance I will accept you.
and there will be 1 Gariang spot will must be played by a none-human. The more ODD and monstrous this character is the better chance it will be accept for the Gariang spot. As long as it's not so monstrous it's silly. We don't need a acid bleeding xenomorph trying to marry someone.
IF somehow the whole entire RP goes on and there is no queen for the king. The RP will have one final section where the king must pick a bride.
I will be expecting at least two paragraphs for posting and will need at least 6 players to start. The male to female ration dosen't need to even for this to start.
