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Aba ‘sire’ Parent who functions as the head of the family.
age of consent The lawful age of consent is thirty summers, and Deira are prohibited from engaging in sexual relations beforehand. An adult Deir who beds a minor even if the act is consensual will be charged with rape. The law does not apply to minors bound in wedlock or taken as concubines. The former most often occurs when a binding is contractual or arranged. The latter is nigh conjugal in nature and thus ensures a young Deir will not be basely treated and will remain in good standing in society.
age of majority The legal coming of age is thirty-five summers. At thirty-five, a Deir is considered a full adult and no longer subject to parental rule or guardianship. However, in the case of underage sovereigns, Herune and Viarla in Ylandre, guardianship is shed at the age of twenty-two to prevent overly lengthy regencies that in ancient history often resulted in the reluctance of the regent to return authority to the lawful ruling lord and thus led to ruinous power struggles.
Ama ‘father’ Parent who functions as the principal caregiver of the family.
ar Designates the surname of a married Deir’s spouse if the Deir concerned does not change his own name upon marriage and the spouse’s family is the more socially or politically prominent, e.g. Riodan Leyhar ar Essendri.
Ardan North Continent hereditary monarch or potentate.
Ardis An Ardan’s consort.
ariad ‘beloved’ An endearment.
blueblood Pertains to the Aiseni nobility—non-sovereign Herune, shire-lords, barons, their families, and untitled aristocrats such as the children of younger sons with no title to pass on. The latter are often called the lesser aristocracy. The term is sometimes applied to the upper gentry as well.
by-blow An illegitimate child
Citadel Official residence of the Ardan of Ylandre, it is located in the capital of Rikara.
courtesy title A title that has no legal validity. It does not confer official authority over persons or territory. The only non-royal titled Deira who wield jurisdictional power in Ylandre are the Herune and Viarla. The most common courtesy titles are Lord and Master. The former is applied to (1) the consorts, sons, and brothers of fief-lords and shire-lords and (2) barons and their spouses. The latter is applied to (1) the sons or brothers of fief-lords and shire-lords when they are addressed informally, (2) untitled aristocrats, (3) Deira of high professional rank such as teachers, physicians, diplomats, community leaders, and renowned artisans and (4) members of the gentry.
Deir Member of the race of hermaphrodites that populate the world of Aisen.
dyhar High honorific applied to Deira of noble blood or high-ranking profession.
enyr ‘True Blood’ A Deir whose antecedents kept their breeding with the gelra to the barest viable minimum and thus retained much of the physical strength and endurance and most of the mind gifts of the Naere.
fane district a small administrative division of the Veresian church administered by a district priest. Each fane district has a center for public worship.
fane marriage or fane binding Marriage solemnized in religious rites preferably in a church or temple. A fane marriage can only be ended by the death of a spouse.
gelra Native race of Aisen with whom the Naere systematically bred and eventually supplanted.
gentry The gentry class is divided into two: the upper gentry and minor gentry. The upper gentry is composed of the serle or baronets and the landed gentry, that is upper-class commoners who possess large entailed estates. The minor gentry are less well-off and do not own property beyond their homes and the land on which they stand. Some work for a living but always in respected professions, e.g. council elders, craftspeople, healers, military officers, solicitors, and teachers.
handfasting Marriage solemnized in civil rites. Handfasting is the only form of Deiran wedlock that can be ended by divorce or annulment.
Heris A Herun’s consort.
Herun North Continent ruling noble. Herune govern fiefs and sovereign domains.
heyas A common expletive.
il Designates the birthing parent’s surname when an illegitimate child carries his biological sire’s name, e.g. Dylen Essendri il Teris.
Inception Term for the period of engineered racial evolution wherein the colonizing Naere bred with the native gelra, which led to the emergence of the present-day Deira.
leman Concubine.
ley-silver Plain silver.
min Diminutive form of address applied to a Deir of junior years or station. Usage warrants mutual familiarity whether familial, platonic, or professional.
mirash A conception suppressant.
Naere The Deira’s race of origin.
Oda ‘grandfather’ Grandparent who functioned as principal caregiver of his family.
Opa ‘grandsire’ Grandparent who functioned as the head of his family.
royalty Pertains to a sovereign head of state and the members of his immediate family, i.e. his consort, children, brothers, and first-degree uncles, cousins, and nephews.
sedyr “Half Blood” Deir whose antecedents bred indiscriminately with the gelra during the Inception, which resulted in the diminishment or disappearance of many of the characteristics of the Naere in succeeding generations.
serl ‘baronet’ Non-noble holder of the lowest hereditary North Continent title.
soul-binding or soul-mating Eternal marriage that remains binding throughout soul-bound Deira’s life cycles. The soul-mated are wed to each other even in death and instinctively seek each other in their succeeding reincarnations. A soul-bound Deir calls his partner his soul-spouse or soul’s mate.
subsidiary title A title of authority or honor held by most Herune, but is not used to identify these lords due to their concurrent holding of a higher title. As such, the title can be borne by the heir apparent until he succeeds his sire. Generally, the subsidiary title of a Herun is Viarl but before the restoration of the title in Ylandre, it was Thein or Baron.
templar Extraordinarily mentally gifted Deir.
thar Formally designates the House name of a Deir of noble birth who goes by a different clan name or surname, e.g. Yovan Seydon thar Essendri.
thein ‘baron’ Nonruling member of the North Continent nobility.
tir Conjugal term used to introduce a bound Deir’s birth surname if he takes his spouse’s surname, e.g. Lassen Essendri tir Idana.
tyar General honorific for someone of higher years or station or whose profession warrants more than general courtesy.
Viarl North Continent noble ranking below the Herune and above the theina. They have jurisdictional authority over their regions or shires. Viarla whose shires are located close to their country's borders are also called marcher lords.
Vierl A Viarl’s consort.
viratha ‘Imprinting’ A process by which a Deir ensures that his concubine cannot have sexual relations with another partner.