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Family
Family
Family connections are critical to the Dyrlings. They maintain their family
tree in personal "Books of Kin".
If a child's parents die, the child is adopted by their nearest living relatives
and raised as their own child. A cousin, an aunt or an uncle will happily raise
a child as one of their own. There are no "Street Rats" among Dyrlings.
Sometimes, the worst happens and all of a child's near family are slain. In
this unhappy time, a family in the village or town will raise the child until a
more distant relative can be found. If no closer relative exists, the child is
raised as a member of the adoptive family. No child goes uncared for in Telrae.
Families are bilinear, meaning that children are considered "closely related" to
both their mother's and father's families.
The Book of Kin
The book of Kin contains a detailed family tree. All families in Telrae keep
at least one copy, sometimes several at once. It is exhaustive, tracing the
family back to its origins. These are cared for and treasured as heirlooms. Some
copies are nearly as old as Telrae itself.
Whenever a child is born or a son or daughter married, a new section is added
detailing the new addition to the family--and more when children are born
When a child comes of age and leaves home, she is given a carefully written copy
of the Book of Kin, usually made by her mother or older syster. It usually
falls to the females in the family to maintain the books of kin. But bachelor
and widowed men will keep it every bit as scrupulously as the women do.
Copies of the Books of Kin for all the families in all of Telrae are kept in the
Capital city. These are considered to be an authoratative account of the
relations between each and every Dyrling. As such they are binding in cases of
custody, property ownership, probate and many legal matters.
Needless to say, any falsehood found in a Book of Kin is considered a rather
serious matter.
The Book of Kin is also used as the final arbiter in the
Six Degrees of Kin Game.
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