Twins
From FiranMUX
Contents |
Overview
Twins are an abomination. This ancient taboo is ingrained into Firans, most of whom believe that allowing twins to live risks invoking the wrath of the gods. Quite what is wrong with twins is up for debate - some believe that twins are both soulless, that one has a soul and the other does not, or that they share a single soul. Whatever the reason, the vast, vast majority of Firans hate and fear twins.
Many believe that the origins of anti-twin prejudices stem from the birth of the gods Drik and Eesha: while the latter represents love and all its positive aspects, her brother is the god of hate, and feared throughout the realms.
The Birth of Twins
Most twin births are, quite simply, never heard about. It is considered prudent for the mother to kill one child at birth and never announce that she bore twins. Sometimes, twins are spirited away and given up for adoption. Some whisper that women who do this are connected to the notorious Lanesh Regime: one such example would be Lady Resaria Didoron, a convicted Lanesh member, who was revealed to have given her son Gustan, twin of Izzen up for adoption at birth.
Occasionally, twins are both acknowledged and allowed to live. This is, however, very, very rare, and generally only happens in very well-respected noble households: a middle class or common family who announced the birth of twins would be met with mobs. Elianos and Sabine had a pair of acknowledged twins; so did Eve and Zarid. It would be hard to imagine less-powerful people being allowed to keep twins.
The announcement of twin births is nearly always met with rioting.
Known Twins
There are, or were, several known sets of twins in the realms:
- Solgarik and Vahlgellan Elianik: the sons of Elianos and Sabine, they both died in somewhat mysterious circumstances; many attribute Solgarik's early demise and Vahlgellan's failures as Ranivor to their status as twins.
- Zeysani and Nydiam: the twins of Eve and Zarid, they would both become Clan Leaders. When Zeysani died, Nydiam prematurely aged by several decades.
- Gustan and Izzen Didoron: Both of these men died young - Izzen as Didoron nobleman on the battlefield, and his secret twin brother Gustan - later found and ennobled - as a guard, killed in the line of duty.
- Zaridos and Lianos Elianik: a meteor heralded the birth of these boys, who were not just twins, but the twins of twins, having been born to Solgarik and Zeysani. Lianos was hidden for most of his youth, returning to the city only as an adult; the chaos of the Eagle clan might be considered their fault.
- Diamia and Ibina: when then-Eagle Clan Leader Nydiam announced that his wife Ibania had bore him twins, there were riots, with Ibina ending up dead. This would lead to the Eagle Civil War that resulted in Nydiam losing his throne.
- Meliha and Sahla: Meliha roused the public's attention in 32 AU when she claimed that her lips and fingernails had turned silver as a mark of Unot's displeasure with the people allowing twins to live, and that they should be ritually slaughtered. Later, it transpired that the real Meliha had been killed many years before by her sister Sahla, who had then assumed her identity. For a time during this trial, anti-twin sentiment reached fever pitch.
- Tuelli and Tuelin Istariniad: there were riots at the Istariniad Mansion when it was revealed that these children, claimed by their parents Garis and Anala to have been born a year apart, were actually twins - this came after their daughter-in-law Amelita publicly announced that she had given birth to a separate set of twins. Tuelin was killed, and Tuelli would later be rumoured to be quite insane due to her fainting spells and convulsions. Anti-twin mobs came to her funeral.
- Corlana and Morlana Emista: born to Moona, the Ticanee wife of the notorious Coran, these twins were threatened at birth by a man named Guhtik, but were allowed to live and quietly raised. Corlana would later be sentenced to death for murder, believed by many to be quite insane.
- Bannos and Lannos: the hero Bannos had an identical twin brother - but as his lineage is often forgotten, or at least kept quiet, this may well have passed from most people's memories by now. Lannos had a brief moment of infamy during the Exodus.
There may well be other twins alive in the realms - but they would be wise to keep their status quiet.
Twins and You
Unless a character is specifically sheeted otherwise, it can be assumed that they hold to the normal Firan prejudices regarding twins - that is to say, they hate and fear them. This prejudice can seem difficult to play, given that there are often twins in power, and it would be grossly unwise for a character to approach, say, Diamia and accuse her of soullessness to her face. However there are lots of opportunities for twin-haters to roleplay appropriately:
- Whenever something goes wrong, blame the twins in power! Not to their faces - just like you wouldn't blame any leader to their face - but feel free to grumble with your friends about how the Eagle clan wouldn't have descended into chaos were it not for the twins, that Vahlgellan was a lousy Ranivor who brought the realms to the brink of disaster thanks to his birthright, and so on.
- Conversely, whenever something goes right with a twin in charge, you might still view it with suspicion - sure, it looks like things are okay for now, but is that evil twin just luring you into a false sense of security?
- Speak to your religious leaders about twins - who can explain the magic and mystery better than priests and priestesses? Ask them about the theological origins of twin-hatred, and for advice on how to cope with twins in society.
- Pregnant? Head to the temple to pray for a single birth - you might want to enlist a priest's help.
Other Cultures
It is believed that the Shamibelians revere twins, considering them to be a sign of strength. Twin births do not occur naturally in the Ticanee people, so they are perhaps even more feared in that clan; there have been cases of Ticanee women producing twins, but only if they or the father had some Firan blood.
Triplets
Occasionally, rumours surface of triplet births...but these are even more closely-guarded than twins, and rare enough that they are not often discussed. Triplets would likely face the same issues as twins, though - perhaps worse.
