>A half-breed, as we've seen the term used in the canon (as best >I can remember), refers to a descendant of different Houses. >A god has no House. If Norathar's case represents the norm for such things, then we can assume that Aliera, having unknown parentage, likely has undergone similar genetic screening before being accepted as Heir. Given the aristocracy's obsession with racial purity, I don't think even Adron would be able to get away with claiming "Yeah, my bastard child's mother is a god so you can take my word for her background." and having it accepted untested. Not when you're talking about the Heir and potential Empress. Maybe that's even where her interest in the subject came from. It's probably not neccesarily true that gods have no House. Some of them are Dragaerans who have been "uplifted" either by design or by chance. It may be that the offspring of the gods can be of whatever House the gods wish them to be, or it may just be that Verra is special. Then again, as long as Aliera has ten fingers and toes and isn't covered in green scales maybe the House sees the addition of some divine genes into the pool as a benefit. We don't really know how the average Dragaeran feels about such things or how often the gods have engaged in congress with mortals. >For that matter, neither do the islanders, who are "Dragaerans" in species but not >"Dragaerans" as citizens or inhabitants of the Empire. Suppose Aibynn married (moved in >with, set up housekeeping with... see above) an Issola musician. Would their children be >considered half-breeds? We don't know. Well, this really comes back to the previous discussion of just what it means to be "Dragaeran". Vlad uses the term to describe the species, and Teldra has used it this way also when first introducing Morollan to the idea that he's actually an "elf". Clearly, though, there needs to be some distinction drawn between someone who is a member of a House of the Dragaeran Empire and all of the other "elfs" of the world. The moreso because the Empire is part of the metaphysical underpinning of the world and not merely a very successful kingdom. I'm still waiting for the reaction >from Vlad when someone says to him "But YOU'RE a Dragarean..." As for Aibynn, IMO, he'd be considered a cross-breed himself. Any children would be considered cross-breeds also. However, the only Houses that Aibynn would be able to marry into (that we know about) would be the Tekla and Jhereg, neither of which cares about such niceties. Those two Houses are the genetic melting pots of the Empire, according to Aliera and Kelly. I'd doubt that you can gain entry into the House of the Issola just by playing a mean bongo. Even if Aibynn managed to somehow achieve titles in House Issola and marry his theoretical musician lover, someone would likely challenge the purity of any children much as Norathar's parentage was challenged. The end result would almost certainly be expulsion of the child from the House. If our theoretical Issola loved Aibynn enough to bear his children, it seems more likely that she'd voluntarily live with him as a Houseless Dragaeran and not even try to pass off her children as being Issola themselves.