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Constitution
National Symbols
The Golden Crane, the Seven Towers, the Thousand Lakes.
Foundation
Malkier is among the oldest of the modern nations, as it was one of the first to rebuild in the aftermath of the War of Hundred
Years (994 FY - 1117 FY). According to the little history that survives from that period, the governors of Hawkwing's five
northern provinces formed a treaty to create a group of stable nations that could preserve the peace and defend against the
Shadow. These nations have come to be known as the Borderlands.
Malkier's first king was Shevar Jamelle.
Government
Malkier is an elective monarchy, a state where the king or queen is elected to the throne instead of inheriting it from their
ancestors. In Malkier's particular case, the Great Lords select a king from among their ranks through the simple method of
laying colored rods onto a Crowning Stone. Whoever has the most rods cast for him assumes the throne for life.
On election, the Malkieri king swears an ancient oath that goes as follows:
"To stand against the Shadow as long as iron is hard and stone abides.
To defend the Malkieri while one drop of blood remains.
To avenge what cannot be defended."
By way of contrast, the Malkieri Queen is not elected to her position, but obtains it through marriage. Nevertheless,
she has the same power as her husband, and the same responsibilities.
However, this account of how Malkieri government functions does not explain how Akir and Leanna were able to consecrate
Lan as the new king of Malkier by themselves. Was an emergency council held at which the Great Lords voted for a successor
to Akir? That seems unlikely, given the chaotic nature of the situation at the time. Was Lan perhaps the only child of the
Great Houses, and thus the only successor to the throne? Again, that seems unlikely, given that most noble houses breed soon
and often. Can the rules of succession be changed in an emergency to allow for a king to pass his crown to his son? This answer
seems most likely.
Nevertheless, by strict Malkieri rules, Lan is not the king of Malkier, as no rods have been cast to elect him.
Royal Symbols
The King of Malkier is known as Lord of the Seven Towers and Dai Shan, which is the Old Tongue for a Diademed Battle Lord.
He also adds the royal prefix al to his name, as in al'Akir Mandragoran. He is given the Ring of the Malkieri Kings, depicting
a crane above a tower, and the power-wrought Sword of the Malkieri Kings, which dates back to the Age of Legends.
The Queen of Malkier adds the royal el to her name, as in el'Leanna Mandragoran.
Customs
Carneira
The carneira custom is one that many non-Malkieri find strange and even immoral. The term is derived from an Old Tongue word
meaning "first." In this particular case, it refers to a person's first sexual partner.
Among the Malkieri, sexual initiation is ritualised, part of the transition from childhood to adulthood. As such, a carneira
is an older, more experienced man or woman who will introduce the adolescent to sex. A woman will choose her carneira; a man
will be chosen by his.
In male sexual iniation, the young Malkieri incurs a debt to his carneira that he has to repay. As a symbol of this, he
gives her his daori, a braid of the long hair that he wore as a child and that he cuts off on attaining manhood. In the future,
she can call on him at any time and he is forced to serve her for as long as it takes her to unbraid the hair, a process that
can last hours or even days depending on the woman in question.
It is possible for both men and women to marry their carneira, but it is considered disgraceful to have a sexual relationship
with or to be a carneira to another member of the carneira's immediate family.
Courtesies
Among the Malkieri, it is considered inappropriate for men to look women directly in the eyes.
As with most Borderlanders, Malkieri men do not bow, but touch the hilt of their sword and then their heart. Similarly,
Malkieri women touch their forehead, their lips and then their heart.
Hadori
The hadori is the braided leather band worn by Malkieri men to hold back their hair. It is a marker of adulthood.
Ki'sain
The ki'sain is the spot of paint that a Malkieri woman wears upon her forehead as an indication of her marital status. Specifically,
an unmarried woman wears a blue ki'sain, a married woman wears a red, and a widowed woman wears a white. It represents a pledge
that she will dedicate or has dedicated her children to the fight against the Blight.
If the morphological similarities are any indication, the ki'sain may have historical links with the keseira worn by Andoran
women. If so, the latter seems to have lost all significance except as a marker of rank.
Marriage
Malkieri marriages are always arranged by the individual's closest female relative, generally, his or her mother.
[Speculation: A Malkieri woman seems to take her husband's family name as an addition to rather than a replacement of
her maiden name. For instance, Edeyn introduces herself in full as Edeyn ti Gemallan Arrel. By analogy with Faile ni Bashere
t'Aybara, ti would be the marker that indicates her husband's family name. The collapsing of ti to t' is linguistically typical
in the case of double vowels.]
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