Traditions
There are a few traditions I mentioned in the tribes segment but it’s worth mentioning them again.
Marrying the land. This is something that the Children of Avristar who are suited for the priesthood, the brotherhood or the sisterhood are expected to do. It’s a call to duty, one that trumps the call to oneself. Think of it as patriotism, fighting for your country, representing your country, etc. etc. Back in ancient Ireland, a true king was one who married the land, who was chosen by the land, and was therefore its sovereign.
Sovereigns of Avristar are chosen by Avristar. In this case it’s Lord Istar and Lady Atara. I went with Lord and Lady to avoid the King and Queen wordage. I’ve played A LOT with words with this book, what I’ve wanted to call people to stay consistent, and this is how it’s all turned out. The Lord and Lady of the land are considered the highest positions other than the spirit of the land itself. They are there to protect and guard the land and to monitor its inhabitants.
With all the trouble Kaliel and Krishani cause you’ll see why and how this is important later on.
Elvens don’t fall in love. This is something I actually forgot to mention in the earlier versions and it later became clearer. Both Kaliel and Krishani are elven, elongated ears, pale white skin, white hair (Kaliel) and impossibly tall (Krishani) The way an Elven heart works is simple, duty first, marriage when the land grants it. Usually what happens is elvens marry through arrangements by the land itself. If Avristar provides a mate for them, they accept it as a gift.
Avristar doesn’t exactly give Krishani to Kaliel or vice versa, causing yet another problem in this little utopian world.
The Journey to the Great Oak. On Avristar, the trees have a voice, the animals chitter chatter, the winds whisper, everything is so alive (think Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian) The Great Oak is the oldest tree in Avristar and its wisdom is beyond measure. There’s not much else known except that the Elders take guidance from the tree just as much as they take it from Avristar herself. Each of the adepts (kinfolk) from Amersil and Evensess have to go to the Great Oak to receive their parable. They have to figure it out by their 21st birthday when they are expected to marry the land and go to the Lands of Men.
Age of maturity on Avristar is 21 technically, but some of the kinfolk have taken as long as 24 to figure out the parable.
Immortality. Elvens, feorns, fae, shee, centaurs, everyone on Avristar is immortal. The type of immortality is longevity. They are impervious to death so long as they don’t get their heads chopped off or something fatal like that. They won’t wither and die out. It’s very rare and unheard of for death to occur in Avristar.
Krishani being the Ferryman and having dreams about death after being brought up in a land that’s never suffered the pain and grief of death, is another aspect of the story to throw yourselves into.
War. Avristar is a Land of Peace. You’ve heard me discuss Lands of Men, Lands of Beasts, Lands of Immortals and Lands of Chaos, well, Avristar is a Land of Peace. This means that there is no civil war, no conflict, no battles or long standing tension with other realms. They are in peace with everything around them, and one with the universe. The only enemies they have are enemies that are common to every other land across the stars. In FLAME OF SURRENDER it’s been thousands of years since the Valtanyana were locked in Avrigost and their threat removed. (Sure go back to HP, go back to Voldemort why don’t you?)
And that’s it. I think you know everything about AVRISTAR that I know, and I hope that you can fall in love with the place as much as I have.
Recap of the first 6 of this blog post series
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
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