Pact Days: Family Trees #ValespianPact

So I ran out of topics... *gasp*

I knew it would happen. I've been putting all my time into writing or editing, and not much else. So far, I've blogged about each of the species that make up the parties/planets of the Valespian Pact. I've shared some of the maps (which the land mass details continue to grow). And I have also shared the character illustrations. I haven't made any more sketches or worked on old ones, so there isn't any help coming from that corner. 

I went on Facebook and asked for topics. Some great ideas were thrown at me. But since I asked yesterday and the blog post for Pact Days is supposed to go up today, I'm going to pick one of the easier topics suggested since I have so little time. I would like to get this post finished so I can get back to writing on Constant. :)

From Samantha Derr, one of the quick suggestions was 'family trees'. Now, I'm not going to lay out a family tree but talk about the extended family for Ashari and Valdor.

Mar'Sani live about 300 summers. Both Ashari and Valdor are roughly 60 summers old. With them being so young and their people living so long, where is their extended family? If they had been around at any of the events that occurred in Alpha Trine or Striker, I would have mentioned them. In Striker and speaking in generalities, I did mention there was a relative who was watching over Atlainticia when ALL the royal family was off gallivanting around the galaxy. 

For the most part, the extended families aren't around and it's not because they don't get along. They do, very much so, but they have lives of their own. Unlike some prominent families in our world, Mar'Sani aren't known for their family names or houses. They do not ride the coattails of deeds of the family. They must make a name of their own. This is why Mar'Sani don't use surnames. Sohm'lan's last name is Myrmidon but he isn't called Warlord Myrmidon, he is Warlord Sohm'lan. No one cares what noble house he comes from. Noble houses are about expertise, not a group of people from the same bloodline. No one cares who his father or mother is. Surnames show bloodline but it is only important when one is looking for a mate and not for the reason you think. Simply because they are careful of inbreeding. At one time, there were very few Mar'Sani and they needed to be careful with mixing bloodlines. Now that there are many more people, checking surname lineage is a formality but still important. So, Sohm'lan's name is his own and Mar'Sani spend their life building their name through their own deeds and accomplishments. 

Since the Mar'Sani work to build who they are and their own sphere of influence by their own deeds and accolades, they often break away from the core family to forge their own path. They keep in touch and come to help when their help is needed but because there is no power sharing in a family name, they often do no stay close but venture out looking for their... niche. 

So, of course Ashari and Valdor have extended family, parents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and even grandparents and great grandparents. They are all making their own way through the world, and there isn't any resentment that their families don't stick close. Mar'Sani have an independence about them that doesn't suffer from not having relatives close by. Sometimes they have family that come to visit or vice-versa but it's also all right if they don't visit at all. 

The one thing that I really like about this practice is it makes people stand on their own. Today we have power families whose names carries weight or means something: the Kennedy Family, the Hilton Family, the Walton Family, the Rothchild Family, House of Saud, the Slim Family of Mexico, the Bettencourt Family of France. The people of these families are looked at differently just because of their family names. Then imagine being related to or even carrying the same name of someone who became infamous and ruined a family name: Manson, Hilter, Judas, Rosenburg, Bundy. Or being considered 'that good-for-nothing so-in-so's kid' and trying to break away from the name that has tainted you even though you are an innocent party. In Mar'Sani culture, only you can ruin your name, and you are also the only one that it affects, but you are the one who can bring it back from ruin. 

Well, I hope you enjoyed the topic, weird as it is. If you have suggestions for topics, feel free to leave a comment and I will try to accommodate all suggestions (as long as they aren't spoilers for future books.)

Thank you for stopping by and reading!!