Finding Parents

Passing through the Portal of Fate forges the soul for greatness, but it also creates some very substantive obstacles, one of which is the fact that your memory has many holes. Some people may face the challenge of finding the lost familial threads of his or her life. This is not an easy task as even your parents may not easily recognize you, perhaps because of actual physical alterations or perhaps because reality itself has slightly shifted as the Fates spun your destiny. Whatever the case, if you think you've found your parents, you must go through a period of time where you consider whether these people are indeed your parents, and where they consider if you indeed are their lost child.

In order to have a hope of finding your parents, they must be married and willing to consider whether you are their child. If they are not bound together in marriage, the emotional, spiritual and psychological boundaries set by the Fates themselves will make the task impossible. The parents you find may be your parents by blood or the ones who raised you. They could be couples of different races or even a same sex couple. That is for you to discover. Once the consideration period has passed, which takes about one Lusternian year, this couple will forever be your parents so use this time to consider wisely.

If you think you have found your parents, one of them must, in the presence of you and the other do FAMILY CONSIDER <child>, and the consideration period will begin. During the next Lusternian year either parent or yourself may FAMILY REJECT <PARENT|CHILD> if any of you come to the realization that this was a mistake. Both parents must be married to each other and, of course, at least a 13 year span must be between you in age. Parents may only consider one child at a time. Any child considered must have spent at least 75 Lusternian days awake in the realm before they have enough experience to make a decision as to whether this is truly their family.

Founding Families

You and your spouse may FOUND FAMILY <name> at the Hall of Records for a fee of 25,000 gold. Only a couple with a family name may find their children. Your children will take on your family name. You can use the CONFIG command to always show your family name.

An alternative method of forming families requires two siblings rather than a married couple. First, they must form a bloodbond and recognize each other as potential siblings. Similar to considering parents, bloodbond siblings must consider each other as their memories are fogged by the Portal of Fate.

Once bloodbonded with another, the siblings have a minimum of 24 months to consider whether this is a true bloodbond. No other relationship can be entered during this time of intense examination, such as an engagement or considering parents. Either of them may break the bloodbond at any time.

If after 24 months, they feel that they are truly siblings, the bloodbonded may then found a family together in exactly the same manner as a married couple. Once the family is founded, the siblings are then free to marry and have children as members of their family. Both siblings are considered founders of the family

Siblings of Progenitors

If you are the progenitor of a family, you may BLOODBOND WITH <person> to bring new siblings into the family as progenitors. During the next 24 Lusternian months, any of the other progenitors may FAMILY REJECT <person> AS SIBLING to break the bloodbond. After the period has ended, another progenitor must FAMILY ACCEPT <person> AS SIBLING to bring them fully into the family as a sibling. This can only be done for the progenitor generation, and all others must be considered through parents (siblings with parents do not get to pick their family, after all).

Some Family Commands

FAMILY STATUS will show the status of your close family.

FAMILY RELATION <person> will show your relationship with another, if it exists, up to such distant relations as a second cousin or great aunt or uncle.

FAMILY TREE <family|person> will show the family tree by generation for families or the family status of another.

Lesser Houses/Banner Houses

If a family grows to 20 or more active members, then that family will be considered a "Bannerhouse" or Lesser House, which confers upon them a news section and family aetherwave. Lesser Houses may also elected a family head and gain limited honour. The most notable feature of Lesser Houses are that they may pledge to other Lesser Houses or Great Houses, and 1/4th of their active family members will count towards the total of their pledge House for determining whether that family is a Great House or not.

Great Houses

Great Houses are those families which have risen to the status of 50 active members or more. They are accorded special privileges and esteem. With this status, however, comes the Great Game of Houses - each family competing for position, prestige, wealth, and influence.

The family members of a Great House attempt to bring honour and respect to their family, while simultaneously bringing shame upon other families. Bannerhouses are able, to a lesser extent, to gain and lose honour, but they can never become the Most Honourable Family.

The Head of a Great House is elected via popular vote of the active family members. In this election, the vote weight of a member is determined by their generation in the family, up to the third generation. Founders have extra weight in these elections.

Once seated, the Head of the House may manage the affairs of the Great House. He or she has the power to exile and welcome back exiled family members in times of need (such as family members who bring too much shame upon the family name). They may also choose to align the Great House with a particular city or commune, which requires the approval of the ruling council.

Family Honour

Those Houses with great enough honour may appoint a House member to the ruling council of their city or commune, to represent them in the affairs of the realm.

One House, above all others, is considered the most honourable House in the Basin of Life (listed in POLITICS). If this House is aligned with a city or commune, the prestige of the House will increase the culture of that nation. Additionally, members of this House are more influential in ego battles and debates of any kind, as their words are supported by the weight and reputation of their family.

Gaining and Losing Honour

Honour is gained by...

• Holding elected seats of power. This honour is gained naturally over time.
• Winning a ranked arena spar against a member of another Great House
• Honour is only won if the losing family has equal or greater honour to your own House's. There is no honour in defeating a weaker House.
• Offering at the shrines of the family's patron.
• Village influencing on behalf of the city or commune with which the Great House is aligned.
• A family member triumphing in the arena combat rankings.
• Accepting new members into the family.
• Welcoming disowned family members back into the House.
• The family being accepted into a city or commune.

Shame is brought upon the family by...

• Decaying naturally over time, as without new deeds even the most renowned families fade into obscurity. (Natural decay will not take a family's honour below 0.)
• Losing a ranked arena duel against a member of another Great House
• Honour is only lost if the other House gains honour from the duel.
• A member divorcing or rejecting the family.
• Disowning a family member.
• The family leaving or being kicked out of a city or commune.
• A family member leaving or being kicked out of the city or commune with which the family is aligned.
• Killing denizens that are loyal to the city or commune with which the family is aligned, including its guilds, villages, and other aligned territories (notably Nil, Celestia, Moonspirit, and Nightspirit).
• Killing any person who is not a city, guild, or order enemy of the family member who killed them.