> Even if those ancestral relations were wholly fictive, they still
> indicate that some degree of relationship with the deceased line
> of Arim the Pauper. Tarsh's problem IMO was that every bigwig with
> a battalion could claim a similar degree of kinship.
Problem? Problem!? That's the *beauty* and *strength* of kinship in a primarily oral society, *ITS SOOO VERSATILE* :). This stuff must happen all the time. Kinship logic often works in reverse: if someone is useful to you or acts in a particularly friendly manner, they *must* be kin, and a few evenings round the hearth will quickly sort out the relationship (even if it is stretched, mangled or even completely fictive). :)
And at higher levels, succession is an instrument of politics, and will *always* be abused. Who's the proper ruler of Britain then? Any Scots out there? :)
A Mischievous John
When evil is afoot, and you don't have any arms, you gotta use your head. And when evil is ahead, and you're behind, you've gotta get off your ass and do the legwork. But, when you can't get a leg up, you gotta be hip, you gotta keep your chin up, and kick some butt...
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