Heortling hitches.

From: Alex Ferguson <abf_at_cs.ucc.ie>
Date: Fri, 21 Sep 2001 13:39:10 +0100 (BST)


I have a couple of "Orlanthi clan life" questions for the proverbial panel. All opinions and ideas solicited, canonical or otherwise.

The tribal kingship. How feasible is it to "depose" or "persuade to step down" a king? My mental picture is that it's certainly possible, pragmatically, but that it would be harder than voting out a clan chief, due to the greater formality of ritual involved. (Not to say, the greater amount of political horse-trading.)

Now, on a more (in)delicate matter... Let's suppose a clan has a tradition of keeping thralls. (I know, boo, hiss.) What's the legal position of having "relations" (in the Clinton sense) with non-free persons? What if one fathers a child on a thrall -- does one have a moral or legal responsiblility to raise the mother from thralldom? (The implications of coercive procreation, even if only coerced "by implicitation", are not only a question of dubious taste, as I appreciate, but do in principle seem rather un-Orlanthi as regards their thoroughgoingly Dim view of rape.)

Cheers,
Alex.


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