Society


 * Pairings are state-mandated.PrinceKnightess.jpg
 * Not considered a legal unit unless Pairing
 * Unpaired peoples = Shade
 * Formal title for magic users = Kizier (from caesar)
 * What if they're not just considered a legal unit but the the "sorceress" is legally unable to make decisions because they're "unstable"
 * Occasionally Kiziers can keep the magical households for their widowed Tharii and or siblings, or whatever.
 * somebody who doesn't have a knight would have good reasons to consider faking it.
 * Formal title for fighters = Tharii (from spatharios)
 * Pairing events happen with the solstice
 * Each Wave has depreciating returns
 * Wave One: Age 16 - 18
 * Wave Two: Age 32 - 35
 * Wave Three: Age 64 - 70
 * Tharii/Kizier is considered the standard dynamic and couples do go against it but it's kind of risqué
 * long, elaborate Season of introductions
 * Like Regency courtships / Old South coming of Age Parties
 * Huge Dance elements in courtship
 * Huge coming of age events if you become Paired you are legally an adult
 * Having lovers outside of Pairings are common
 * One person can love their partner and not be loved back
 * They can loathe each other
 * They can think each other is "meh"
 * Any combo works
 * You could have the incredibly sappy Pairs and then the ones that can barely stand being in the same room unless they're fighting a common enemy.
 * You communicate with your Pair telepathically
 * Talking takes work
 * One couple got it right away and they LOATHE EACH OTHER
 * This can suck big balls
 * if you lose your bond tragically it can be very traumatic
 * Could be a serious problem if you were legally and emotionally tied to them
 * Some people may do anything to get that feeling back.
 * This is true even if you kill your Partner
 * You murdered your Pair because you didn't want to be legally subservient to them but then you MISS THEM AGAINST YOUR WILL
 * Like a psychic vampire. You might "use up" your partner.
 * On the upside, society literally doesn't believe you can murder your Pair. So you don't get charged, you just suffer. You can't get charged, you're literally not a person who can be responsible. In the same way women used to not be charged with crimes because they were presumably doing it at the behest of their husband.
 * SCAM ARTISTS ABOUND
 * Myths about how if you don't find your bond by x age it's not as strong
 * there are ways to fake the bond if someone hasn't found theirs yet
 * once you've had a successful bond you can sort of replicate it
 * Shades tend to get thrown into convents/schools/homes
 * Madame Cross' School for Mismatched Youth
 * if you hit 18 age without meeting your Tharii, off you go to school where you are taught coping methods and basically cared for until you finally meet a Tharii or become a teacher.
 * If you're widowed and lose your Tharii then you can go to a home for Broken Pairings
 * outside the Formal Empire there are presumably countries where the pairs don't happen and they must think it's incredibly weird
 * Some sort of hippie commune where everyone is paired with the WHOLE WORLD
 * "life is my bondmate"
 * poly is most common but some people are more literal and celibate
 * Tharii pre-bonding can have a frat-like existence if not paired in their first wave
 * This results in homoromantic (like with like) ballads specifically about Tharii
 * And homoromantic Tharii relations are considered a good thing to have, provided they are not putting their Tharii "buddy" first once they get a Kizier
 * Though they can put them first in some things, sort of Tharii bonding "poker nights"
 * However, if you are a Tharii that leads another Tharii astray so that they neglect their duties to their Kizier... uh oh
 * There exist no ballads for similar pre-bonded Kizier relationships, because they are not taken seriously as what Kizier would value a relationship with another over their destined Tharii?
 * Idealized Kizier characteristics are small hands and feet, slim waists, long hair.
 * This is not found very often. And some of the actual "most desirable" Kizier can have none of these characteristics if they are powerful enough.
 * Or if they are charismatic enough
 * Idealized Tharii characteristics focus on physical strength and tactical intelligence.
 * This can result in more dexterity focused Tharii being considered the equivalent of "effeminate"
 * Very rarely, a Tharii can have an adverse sensitivity to magic
 * Their pair can Make It Work with a lesser sensitivity to their type, but can still give them a headache
 * For those rare cases, they often aren't believed to be sensitive, as Tharii Are Strong and that's just not real come on