> The Volsaxi are part of the Hendreiki tribe but reject the Pharaoh.
The Hendreiki "tribe" should be called a nation - even its four tribes are the size of a federation of tribes under a prince/warlord in ordinary Orlanthi terms.
> The other Hendreiki tribes accept the Pharaoh and so Heortland has
> two kings.
Volsaxar itself is somewhat undefined. The 30,000 Volsaxi of the three Whitewall tribes are only a third of the Heortling population of Volsaxar. They have a tribal confederation similar to the Sartarite city rings, probably thanks to Tarkalor's meddling with the trolls. The southern inhabitants of Volsaxar might be centered on Smithstone (I assume that this is a city about the size of Backford) and Karse, as much as Heortlings can be said to be centered on a place.
> I don't believe that the Volsaxi "rebellion" (which is over
> a century old from what I've heard) was a period of constant
> fighting. I think it was more of a case of intermittent
> conflict with only one or two serious attempts to subdue the
> Volsaxi. At the time of the Pharaoh's disappearance, I like
> to think there was some sort of truce.
The Whitewall Volsaxi rebelled against the Kitori domination (which may have been imposed by the Pharaoh).
> Much of the politics of Heortland currently hinges on the status
> of King Rikard. I've heard contradictory statements on whether
> he is an Aeolian or not (first he was, then he wasn't, now it
> seems he is).
Rikard is a Seshnegi warlord. As king he did become head of the state church. Whatever his personal agenda, his underlings took action on their own.
John Hughes argues with Alex
> I'd be pleased if you could expand on these sources. ROTO spells out clan
> exogamy and *clan-level* incest taboos explicitly.
ROTO states that clans are exogamous - which may well read that they are not restricted to wives from their own clan. The incest references refer to forbidden clans. There is nothing to indicate that intra-clan procreation is necessarily incest, as long as bloodlines are kept apart.
Remember that the Quivini are ultra-conservatives, and the triaties and similar taboos stem from this fact.
Evidence isn't that hard on ROTO...
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