I assumed that if a person wins their way into a House (for Houses which have a method for this) that they would be considered a full member of that House, and therefore their children would also be considered members (assuming the other parent was a member, of course), even though those children would carry genes normally associated with another House. > >A half-breed, as we've seen the term used in the canon (as best=20 > >I can remember), refers to a descendant of different Houses.=20 > >A god has no House.=20 > > 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. > > > > > > =20 >