Almost every culture has a base set of laws and traditions that are more or less universal. Exact definitions may vary, but for the most part theft, murder, and who owns what are generally well understood. When someone says that they are a soldier, farmer, or noble, usually people know what they mean. It is usually the exceptions, not the rules, that make cultures unique.

In Shildaria, no one who isn’t a noble can own a horse. From the most modest plow horse to the war horse to the youngest colt, they are one and all owned by the aristocracy. People may be granted the use of a horse, either by compensating the noble who owns it, or as some sort of gift, but this is exclusively at the discretion of the nobility. This is the primary method of taxation in many cities and towns, although sales taxes are also common.

The death penalty is also common in Shildaria as a method of punishment. Even crimes like theft can result in execution. Maiming, such as the removal of hands, feet, and the like, has been outlawed as punishment. Every noble is responsible for keeping the king’s peace. Jails are expensive to keep and maintain, but they don’t want every minor infraction to result in death, so fines are much more common than incarceration. Only those who are destitute are likely to find themselves in jail.

Unlike other countries, there are no family names in Shildaria. Each child has a given name, but their last name is based on their birth gender, where a girl’s last name is her father’s given name with an -ia at the end, and a boy’s last name is his mother’s given name with an -ius at the end. For example, a man named Varus and a woman named Talia have two children, a girl named Marna Varusia and a boy named Cornix Talianius (n’s can be added to make names more pronounceable).

Women come of age and are considered to be adults at eighteen, while men only come of age at twenty-one. Only then are they allowed to marry. Arranged marriages are common, but people may marry for other reasons as well. Because there are no family names, no one changes their names when they get married, as parentage is the important designation.

There is no concept of joint property. There is a litany rules concerning which part of a household is owned by the husband and what is owned by the wife. The complexity of the rules is astounding, as they continually need to clarify who owns what. This is vitally important as the male children will inherit the mother’s property and the female children the father’s. If there are no children of a particular birth gender, then all of the property is divided among the other children. So, if a couple has a daughter and five sons, the daughter would inherit all of the father’s property and the sons would divide the mother’s.

As with everything in Shildaria, there are special rules when it comes to inheritance of horses. Both men and women are allowed to own horses, assuming they are considered nobility. When they are married, some couples will keep their herds separated for ease of inheritance. Most, however, will mingle their herds in order to enhance their breeding stock. In these cases, they will brand or otherwise mark the mares as to who owns which. All foals born to a mare is owned by the owner of the mare. This means that noble title is effectively passed down from father to daughter and mother to son. Stallions and geldings are divided equally between husband and wife.

Next week I’ll be discussing my writing and how things are coming along with my next books. I’ll see you next Thursday!