Ivrat

Language: Vardin

Dialect: Standard Vardin Dialect

Gloss: Household

Definition: the cultural, traditional, and legal entity of the Household

Cultural Notes: Ivrat is one of several Vardin words that is frequently translated into English as "House" or "Household" with a capital letter. There are houses and households, but there are only six Vardin Households that all natives of Vardin are "out of," that is to say, born or married into.

Ivrat refers to the body of cultural rules and traditions, as well as all written Household laws and historical precedents, of a Household. When one refers to the Household with this word, it refers to the cumulative weight of all decisions made by or with the authority of the Household and refers to the will of the Household. It is the responsibility of the men of the inheriting House to guard ivrat, just as it is the responsibility of the women of the inheriting House to care for the needs of the members of the Household.

Vishet: The Royal Household is made up entirely of maenet, or baselines. The will of the Royal Household is the will of Vardin. Only the inheriting House, or the royal bloodline itself, takes the surname of Visheté, meaning "out of Vishet." All other natives of Vardin that are not under the protection of a katchen Household refer to themselves as Vardené, meaning "out of Vardin."

Vishet ivrat is the law of all the land, socially and politically. It is the Royal Household that decides what traditions and cultural choices are within the law and what laws pertain to which social decisions. This extends to katchen (the Gifteds) and maenet (the baselines) alike.

Haila: Haila ivrat differs from traditionally katchen Household ivrat in that it is extremely rare and discouraged for legal, unbound marriage to be entered into. Hailaré, or members of this Household, are frequently on the front lines of battle and are also frequently rothnen , or born bonded. This leads to high fatality rates and can create tremendous problems with succession as outlined by Household laws for marriage. Household laws for bonding, which is an irrevocable biological process and legally considered a marriage, allow for greater flexibility with succession choices and options. Hailaré regularly prefer bonding to marriage and expect to split their children along the Household lines of the parents.

Haila is also a Hunter Household. All children are generally trained in the Hunter lifestyle and develop close bonds with their trainers. Due to their high fatality rate, it is not uncommon for young adults to be orphaned completely, in which case their training bonds often serve as substitutes for the parental bond.

Mereta: Mereta ivrat involves an extended period of child seclusion, during which the children are trained in the use of their manifested Gifts. They have a much lower maenet to katchen ratio and can afford to lend their katchen out to other Households much more regularly. They also discourage Hunting to any katchen under forty years old.

Calai: Another Household that deals frequently with dragons, they train their children from a much earlier age to be battle-ready. Calai is a Hunter Household; however, they have a low fatality rate and are much more traditional in demanding legal marriage in addition to biological bonding, whenever possible. Loyalty to the Household is paramount. They have a high number of rothnen and encourage marriage and bonding between rothnen. This results in fewer and later marriages, which prompts a much stronger holding onto the children that are born.

Allyón: Allyón ivrat also calls for a more intense seclusion period for children, but later or no Hunter or battle training. They tend toward more mental Gifts, which allow hands-off handling of their Guardianship responsibilities. The Household encourages a strong understanding of the water, diplomacy, and the sciences. It is rare for a bound and grown member of the Household to not be highly educated and a member of some sascheta, or nonHousehold organization.

Britak: Formerly the Royal Household, Britak is still given to study and furnishes most of the members of the Queen's Guard. Members of Britak are trained in being highly flexible and lendable and are much less traditional in their interpretation of Household law.