Royce's Random Thoughts

Yep, finally got enough written down to make it worth posting the next part.

( In Which Whitepelt Makes a Persuasive Argument )

Rolas has some very interesting dreams, for which this section is rated R.

( And the plot becomes increasingly dissassociated with the title )

Okay, so I'm moving forward with Altered Trajectory, until I either get inspriration or hit myself hard enough with a hammer to get the plot straightened out for Andrea's Story or Black Hearts. Unfortuately, I've reached a point in the story where I'm going to have to introduce a few more Vulpine characters and I'm getting tired of recycling names I've used before. So I'm reaching out to the intrawebs to get help. Help me by coming up with a name and if I like it, I'll use it in the story.

Vulpine Naming Conventions

Going by what I've observed reading Terinu, Vulpine names roughly follow Western patterns of Personal Name followed by Family Name.

Family Name

Family Names are generally descriptive, either of a physical trait or a traditional job. Canon examples include Brushtail, Softpaw, Whitebrow and Fieldmaster. One assumption with these names is that We the Readers are reading the translation of the Vulpine family name, into a form comprehensible to humans. This becomes important when we get to personal names.


Personal Names

Personal Names are slightly trickier. Going by our two primary Vulpine characters in the comic, Ru Ofanius and Melika, what we're reading is a phonetic recording of their "true" names. But, especially with Ru Ofanius' name, there appears to be tradition adapting their personal names into a format presumably more pronoucable to humans when they're in mixed company. So for Ru Ofanius we get "Rufus", Melika is shortened to "Mel" and so on. The one canon exception is Rufus' lawyer, who goes by the name "Regina". This would suggest a little bit of word borrowing between Vulpine and English potentially.


Canon Examples

Ru Ofanius "Rufus" Brushtail
Bethany "Beth" Brushtail
Melika "Mel" Softpaw
Regina Fieldmaster


Non-Canon Examples

Marturari "Marty" Greycoat
Haz Elin "Hazel" Swiftfoot
Samaneus "Sam" Sharpears

So, if you've got an idea for a new Vulpine name, add it in a reply below!

I'm not sure if the last line works emotionally, but I couldn't think of anything better.

( You knew this couldn't end well. )

Finally done! Hope y'all enjoyed!

( In Which Hazel Talks and Rufus Listens )

Today I managed to pass page 100 in this story, which makes it about 16 pages longer than The Grace of God, the story that originally inspired it.

Ye, gods. If only I could write this much for something I could actually sell.

( In Which Rufus Takes a Stand and Pays a Price )

Just some thoughts on matters that may come up in Spin Reovery.


Canon:

1. Vulpine social classes can be roughly divided into three catagories: Farmer Lords, Soldiers, Commoners. Soldiers act as in interface between the nobility and commoners, allowing a commoner who enlists in the military and performs honorably to have a chance at marrying up.

2. Farmer Lords are the only ones with the legal right to own land in Vulpine space. Everyone else leases from them. Period.

Speculation.

1. Post-Dominion War, the remaining Farmer Lords returned to Vulpine Prime and divided up the land amoung themselves, going by traditional borders when remembered. Otherwise it was the subject of much debate and negotiation. (There may be still hard feelings among the lords who lost out even 500 years later.)

2. That in mind, land sales between Farmer Lords are fairly rare. More often, Lords who want new land generally sponsor colonization efforts on other Vulpine controlled worlds.

3. Farmer lords have no inherent right to tax the profits a commoner farmer or industrialist makes on the land they rent from their lord. Smart Farmer Lords of course have industrial or agro concerns of their own to provide support if their renters start defaulting.

4. In general, Farmer Lords don't just arbitrarily their renters off of land (such high-handedness recalling the practices of their "Wise Masters" during the Time of Subjugation). However it is done occasionally, for matters of "Eminent Domain" such as public works, ect. Defaulting on rents is actually pretty rare (Lords are expected to keep their rents within reason, and commoners usually are part of a Renter Co-op which provides insurance for famlies that are going through financial difficulties and don't want to approach their Lord for aid.)

5. While there is no legal basis for compensating commoners who lose their land, it's a rare Lord who doesn't make sure the commoner families involved are. Otherwise she faces at minimum severe snubbing among her peers for tacky and "Varnish" behavior and possible censure in the Council of Lords. This does give commoners a little leverage when negotiating the situation.

6. Within a single noble House, land is often subdivided. The majority of course belonds to the head of the House, but a Farmer Lord's offspring are usually given control of smaller sections of the House's domain to provide a form of personal income. All rents from the lands go to them and they maintain administartive control, though they are of course not permitted to sell it. Once the land is given, it can be difficult to take back if the offspring resists, requiring a vote on the matter in the Council of Lords. This can be routine, if the offspring suffers a traumatic injury or illness that renders them incompetant, or it can be protracted, painful and legally expensive if they aren't.