As Piper asks around for information, she is directed to Prince Loren who, in turn, directs her to the library in River East. (He's also quite pleased by her interest. +1 reputation with Loren.)
There, she'll be able to find a few books on the history of the Blood. Which is at once very ancient and very abbreviated. In Draega, it appears as though much of the history has been lost. Books have been destroyed or hidden or forgotten, and the librarians are deeply apologetic. The Cataclysm destroyed the Blood, and wars after destroyed their history. What the librarians and the books can tell her is that the Blood have probably been around for some 80,000 years, perhaps more, and that Draega has been the capital of Hayll for almost all of that time. Personal histories, from the few journals they've been able to find in the rubble of the city, reveal that prior to the Cataclysm, Hayll may not have been ruled by a Queen at all, but a cruel woman with a thirst for torture and conquest. Writers talked around the subject out of fear.
Following the Cataclysm, wars with the landens ensued, including the Great War. The Great War is the source of much of the tension between the Blood and the landens, considering that the landens killed many of the remaining Blood and used the Blood's own less than savory tactics to break young Queens and Warlord Princes, stripping them of their ability to wear the Jewels.
As for laws, the librarians say that the Queens have always set the laws, though they're fairly certain law once existed in a written form. From observation and what little Piper can find, it seems that the laws governing society loosely resemble those of Edwardian England. Social etiquette greatly resembles the same period, and there's also an implication that etiquette is also law. The librarians are happy to explain that the most important law is that the weak yield to the strong, be that in terms of Jewel strength, caste, or social class. They readily admit that when all three are combined, everything gets murky. As they are Blood, however, this doesn't seem to bother them in the least.
no subject
There, she'll be able to find a few books on the history of the Blood. Which is at once very ancient and very abbreviated. In Draega, it appears as though much of the history has been lost. Books have been destroyed or hidden or forgotten, and the librarians are deeply apologetic. The Cataclysm destroyed the Blood, and wars after destroyed their history. What the librarians and the books can tell her is that the Blood have probably been around for some 80,000 years, perhaps more, and that Draega has been the capital of Hayll for almost all of that time. Personal histories, from the few journals they've been able to find in the rubble of the city, reveal that prior to the Cataclysm, Hayll may not have been ruled by a Queen at all, but a cruel woman with a thirst for torture and conquest. Writers talked around the subject out of fear.
Following the Cataclysm, wars with the landens ensued, including the Great War. The Great War is the source of much of the tension between the Blood and the landens, considering that the landens killed many of the remaining Blood and used the Blood's own less than savory tactics to break young Queens and Warlord Princes, stripping them of their ability to wear the Jewels.
As for laws, the librarians say that the Queens have always set the laws, though they're fairly certain law once existed in a written form. From observation and what little Piper can find, it seems that the laws governing society loosely resemble those of Edwardian England. Social etiquette greatly resembles the same period, and there's also an implication that etiquette is also law. The librarians are happy to explain that the most important law is that the weak yield to the strong, be that in terms of Jewel strength, caste, or social class. They readily admit that when all three are combined, everything gets murky. As they are Blood, however, this doesn't seem to bother them in the least.