Difference between revisions of "Dominion Era/Tretallë (Government)/D'Cilaneti Tivirë Di'Tretallë/Lineality"

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{{LoreToStats|Dominion Era|Tretallë}}
 
{{Infobox tretallë}}
 
{{Infobox tretallë}}
 +
Foremost of the requirements to accede to the [[Dominion Era/Tretallë (Government)/The Ivory Throne|Ivory Throne]] of the Dominion, is, as with any other monarchy, that of lineage. It is necessary, as far as public opinion and the law are concerned, that a prospective heir to the Throne of one of the most influential and powerful empires of the time, be of the right descent in order to properly manage the governance of the Dominion's many realms.
 +
 +
== Lineality in the Early Dominion ==
 +
During the first three thousand years of the Dominion (''ca.'' 1-2993 Y.D.), full inheritance of the Throne was possible, and the requirements for such were relatively simple. As descent in Tretalleri society is matrilineal, the Throne can pass from mother to eldest child with no restrictions. However, the waters were rather muddied by the fact that the [[Dominion Era/Tretallë (Government)/The Imperial Trinity#The Pale Imperator|Imperator]] could be male as well.
 +
 +
If a male weds during his reign, and has child by his consort, this child cannot accede to the Throne. This is true save for in three very specific circumstances. The first of these circumstances is far less desirable than the other, for it requires that the Imperator's consort be his eldest sister. While the [[Averrë Nenn|Faith of the Nine]] does not have doctrine specifically condemning the act of incest, it is certainly frowned upon as improper due to established wisdom that incest can bear severely malformed children.
 +
 +
The second circumstance is more amicable to all parties involved. If an Imperator finds himself with a male consort, who is brother-spouses with the Imperator's eldest sister, any child that the consort bears with the Imperator's sister is considered the Imperator's child as well, but more importantly, the child is the Imperator's sister's child. The third is very similar, albeit it results in a more tenuous claim to the throne.
 +
 +
In the third scenario, the Imperator has entered into a polygamous marriage, with a female principal spouse, that once again involves his eldest sister. The tenuousness of the child's claim to the throne in this scenario stems from a legal doctrine called "The Right to Clanhood" that allows a female spouse(or primary spouse in a polygamous marriage) to declare the desire to be shorn from her House and Clan in order to establish her own. In this scenario, all other female sister-spouses in the marriage must either consent to the establishment of a new House and Clan and sever ties to their old ones as well, or to exit the marriage but remain in the relationship as paramours. Because the Imperator's eldest sister may at any time be ejected from the marriage or cut her ties to the old House and Clan, the claim to the throne of a child produced in this arrangement is transient at worst, and thus, far less legitimate than the first two circumstances.
 +
 +
Outside of these situations, the only way that a male Imperator may pass the Throne to someone else is by giving it to his eldest nephew or niece by his eldest sister—his closest living relative traced by line of descent that is not of his own generation.
 +
 +
== The Wars of Ascension ==
 +
{{main|Dominion Era/The Wars of Ascension|l1=The Wars of Ascension}}
 +
Near the end of the first three thousand years of the Dominion (''ca.'' 2993 Y.D.), then-Imperator [[Filiren a'Noren]], sole surviving child of his mother, Veltari a'Noren, who had passed her throne to him, died of natural causes—leaving behind an empty throne with no legitimate heir apparent to take it. Unfortunately, despite measures taken two centuries before his death, when his last living sibling died, his mother was unable to produce another child and left the Dominion with no recourse for its leadership. The mounting tensions before Filiren's death, which had been a rather peaceful prelude to the vicious conflict that would follow, only served to further inflame those who wished to seize the Throne for themselves.
 +
 +
The vacuum of power that Filiren left in his wake sparked the great and bloody conflict that would go down in the annals of Tretalleri history as the [[Dominion Era/The Wars of Ascension|Wars of Ascension]]. A war that raged for three decades, the Wars of Ascension threatened to tear the Dominion apart before the world ever knew its full glory. Ultimately, it was a young man, not much more than a boy, by the name of [[Zovynnë a'Devytorë]], a soldier of the [[Dominion Era/Tretallë (Organizations)/The Ivory Guard|Ivory Guard]] promoted to the post of [[Dominion Era/Tretallë (Military)#The Lords General|Lord General]] during the war, that seized the Throne for himself on the eve of the [[Dominion Era/Tretallë (culture)#The Day of Bones|Day of Bones]], thirty-two years after the beginning of the war (''ca.'' 3025 Y.D.).
 +
 +
Though throughout the history of the world, the trend for leaders after times of conflict has been less than flattering, the rise of Zovynnë a'Devytorë to the Ivory Throne was in fact a blessing in disguise for the Dominion. Three important things about Zovynnë quickly fixed him as the solution to the problem both in the eyes of historians and scholars, and in the eyes of the public. Foremost was the fact that Zovynnë was the sole nephew of Filiren's consort Korenn a'Devytorrë—a man who entered the Imperator's life rather late, and was 150 years younger than the Imperator. Furthermore, Zovynnë was the son to the then-[[Dominion Era/Tretallë (Nobility)#The Ladies Superior|Lady Superior]] of [[Dominion Era/Tretallë (Nobility)/Ferindë Devytorë|House Devytorë]]. His great-grandmother had stepped down decades before, and his grandmother had died commanding the defense of the Ivory City's perimeter during the war. These connections cemented Zovynnë's claim to the throne as the most passable of his competitors, though it still remained technically illegitimate.
 +
 +
The second factor that allowed for Zovynnë's rule to be relatively stable was the fact that the public ''adored'' him. He was well-loved by the people, especially within the then-much-smaller borders of the Dominion's heartland because he was able to keep his competitors from even coming close to the Imperial capital, thus protecting all its commoners. Finally, and perhaps most notably, Zovynnë, in the early days of his rule, demonstrated wisdom far beyond his age, and was able to construct a strong foundation upon which the Dominion that exploded in power over the next handful of millennia could be built.
 +
 
== The Law of Lineality ==
 
== The Law of Lineality ==
{{#lst:Tretallë (Government)|lineality}}
+
It was in his wisdom that Zovynnë recognized that in order to prevent something similar to the Wars of Ascension, that the solution needed to be twofold in order to fulfil the matter of proper blood as well as the vacuum of power that could be left should an heir be absent. To this end, Zovynnë proposed two things to his advisors: the establishment of the Twin Courts to take over the governance of the Dominion should the Throne be empty, and a law of succession that would ensure that whether or not a biological heir is present, that there would be a set framework that would ensure that only a specific person could accede to the throne.
{{Flavour text quote
+
 
|style = text-align:left;
+
The Law of Lineality and the Twin Courts, as the measures would come to be known, rose from Zovynnë's suggestion. The seed that Zovynnë planted at the beginning of his reign grew and was refined in order to be both effective and culturally sensitive, in that the new laws respected the time-honoured traditions that already existed in the Dominion. It was on the day of the ninth celebration of his accession to the throne that Zovynnë made his proclamation, the text of which is perhaps one of the most well-preserved in the archives of the Dominion.
|title = The Law of Lineality
+
 
|title_align = center
+
The full text of the proclamation that evolved into the Law of Lineality is as follows:<includeonly><section begin=proclamation_text />
|quote_marks = no
+
<p>I, Zovynn&euml; a'Devytor&euml;, Imperator of the Dominion and her Ruler Absolute, do hereby proclaim in the name and by the authority of the Stranger, that from this day forth, the Divine Right to Lay Claim to the Throne, heretofore granted only by direct lineage to the Imperator, shall be bequeathed solely upon the children of the Woman who sits upon the Throne. If however, it shall come to pass that a Man is seated on the Throne, He shall not bequeath the Divine Right to His progeny, regardless of height of birth and influence of mother. This shall be so for the bond between Father and children is neither as sacrosanct nor as inviolable as that between Mother and daughter.</p>
|infobox_in_page = yes
+
<p>Let it be known that the Stranger has revealed to Me a divine decree. Should a Man be Imperator over our vast and grandiose realm, or should a Woman leave Her Throne vacant and without heir apparent, that the Divine Right to Lay Claim to the Throne shall be bequeathed wholly upon and ''only'' upon the children of a first daughter, who is child to a third daughter, who is child to a ninth daughter, who is of the Blood of the High Houses of the Realm. Furthermore, the Stranger demands that Imperator among these children shall be named and raised to the Throne and Crown only through trial judged adequate by the Twin Courts, and that such a trial must test not only the mettle of the children, but also the strengths of their heart, mind, spirit, and conviction. For so long as there exists no child that succeeds the trial of the Twin Courts, there shall be no Imperator upon the Throne, and the governance of the Dominion and all her holdings shall fall heavy upon the shoulders of the lords and ladies of the Twin Courts.</p>
|quote_text = {{sup|1}} From this day forth, the Divine Right to Lay Claim to the Throne<br />{{sup|2}} shall be bequeathed only upon the daughters<br />{{sup|3}} of the woman that sits upon the Throne,<br />{{sup|4}} but should, instead, a man be sat upon the Throne,<br />{{sup|5}} he shan't bequeath the divine right to his children,<br />{{sup|6}} for the Stranger has decreed that<br />{{sup|7}} should a man be the Imperator of our vast realm,<br />{{sup|8}} the Divine Right to Lay Claim to the Throne<br />{{sup|9}} shall be bequeathed only upon the children of a first daughter<br />{{sup|10}} of a third daughter of a ninth daughter<br />{{sup|11}} of the blood of the High Houses of the Realm,<br />{{sup|12}} and that King or Queen among them<br />{{sup|13}} shall be named by trial to test<br />{{sup|14}} their strength of heart and of will.<br />{{sup|15}} They and only they<br />{{sup|16}} shall be known as the heirs presumptive&mdash;<br />{{sup|17}} no other without regard of Blood or creed.
+
<p>It is they, the children of lineage thus declared, and ''only'' they that shall be known by the title of ''Heir Presumptive.'' No other shall be given this grand and privileged station, without regard to wealth or height of birth, nor purity of blood or conviction of creed, nor lineage or merit.</p>
 +
<p>Such has it been proclaimed, and such shall it be written, and such shall it become law by the authority granted Me by the Stranger and the blessings of the Nine. This I proclaim and uphold in truth, virtue, and wisdom, such that our glorious realm shall not ever again face destruction as iniquitous and terrible as it has faced and thwarted because of greed and hunger for power."</p>
 +
<section end=proclamation_text /></includeonly>{{Tretall&euml; Proclamation
 +
|proclaimant = Zovynn&euml; a'Devytor&euml;
 +
|subject = On the Inheritance of the Ivory Throne
 +
|day = Eve of the Day of Bones
 +
|length = sixth
 +
|moon = highest
 +
|season = light
 +
|year = 3034th
 +
|text = {{#lst:Dominion Era/Tretallë (Government)/D'Cilaneti Tivirë Di'Tretallë/Lineality|proclamation_text}}
 
}}
 
}}
  
 
== The Torch-Bearers ==
 
== The Torch-Bearers ==
It turned out that these Laws were enough to prevent the abuse of the Throne. The creation of the Twin Courts solved the problem of the vacuum of power and enabled the throne to remain vacant for longer periods of time while the Houses competed among themselves to fulfil the Law of Lineality. Prior to the creation of the [[Tretall&euml; (Government)#Oath upon the Shard|Oath upon the Shard]], on three occasions in the long history of the Dominion, female Imperators and their daughters attempted to abolish the system in order to establish a dynastic rule in the Dominion.
+
{{main|Dominion Era/The Torch-Bearer Wars|l1=The Torch-Bearer Wars}}
 +
As the years passed, it became more and more apparent that the Law of Lineality was insufficient to solve all of the problems of descent. Historians note that in particular, the provision allowing for the Throne to be passed down from mothers to daughters proved to be the catalyst for three periods of harrowing civil war within the early Dominion. The creation of the Twin Courts solved the problem of the vacuum of power that caused the Wars of Ascension and enabled the Throne to remain vacant for longer periods of time while the Houses attempted to fulfil the Law of Lineality. However, prior to the establishment of the [[Dominion Era/Tretallë (Government)#The Oath Over the Shard|Oath Over the Shard]], there did not exist a physical barrier to acting against the interests of the Dominion.
 +
 
 +
During the early dominion, on three separate occasions, female Imperators—or more specifically, their daughters—attempted to abolish the system of Lineality and the Twin Courts in order to establish an autocratic dynastic rulership in the Dominion. Each time, civil war engulfed the heartland in flames.
 +
 
 +
The first Torch-Bearer Imperator, [[Valaren a'Diren (Imperator)|Valaren a'Diren]], came into power a hundred and twenty three years after the death of Zovynnë in Y.D. 3279, and the first Torch-Bearer civil war happened in Y.D. 3291 Though she was deposed by [[Keýra a'Callan (Imperator)|Keýra a'Callan]] just before the centennial of Y.D. 3300, Keýra's daughter, [[Ordanen a'Callan (Imperator)|Ordanen a'Callan]], found Valaren's philosophy compelling. Soon after her mother's mysterious death in Y.D. 3460, Ordanen made a bid to establish a line of succession for her daughters and any future female descendants of her line. Ordanen's civil war ended during the middling moon of Y.D. 3472, which ended with her execution and the restoration of power to the Twin Courts.
 +
 
 +
Some eight hundred years passed between the second Torch-Bearer war and the third. During this time, the lessons taught by the previous two Torch-Bearer wars were taken to heart by the Twin Courts and precautions were established against the wars happening once again. However, Valaren's philosophy about the inherent superiority of feminine rule, became romanticised by certain sects of Tretalleri society. It was simple misfortune that [[Lisarna a'Dovyndë (Imperator)|Lisarna a'Dovyndë]] happened to be involved in one of these sects early on in life and was directly in line for the Throne.
 +
 
 +
Believing the philosophy of Valaren to be superior to the principle of Lineality as established ''by a man,'' Lisarna attempted to do what Valaren and Ordanen were unable to do. Her attempt to establish a dynasty began with the Highest Moon of the Season of Light in Y.D. 4103, but did not last through the Moon—thanks to the fact that the Twin Courts were prepared for the insurrection.
 +
 
 +
Lisarna hanged by the hands of her own regretful mother on the Third Day of the Third Length of the Lowest Moon of the season of Darkness in Y.D. 4103, a most inauspicious day. In the years that followed, the Twin Courts, spurred on by the people of the Dominion who were tired of the infighting, voted unanimously to abolish the provision in the Law of Lineality allowing for the Throne to be passed down from mother to daughter.
 +
 
 +
Furthermore, the divisive Valareni sects were dismantled by the Grand Rookery. In addition, women were barred from obtaining the Ivory Throne in order to appease religious leaders and a large portion of the populace as it was clear that female imperators had thrice-insulted the Stranger-given right to rule the Dominion. As a compromise, the Twin Courts decided that the Court of Crows will forevermore be governed by the Ladies Superior of the Great Houses.
  
Three times the empire was wrought in the flames of civil war, and three times, the Imperators were torn down. In the following years, the people of the Dominion, headed by their leaders in the Twin Courts, decided to abolish the provision in the Law allowing for the Throne to be passed down to daughters, and ejected women from eligibility for the Throne in exchange for establishing them as the permanent seats on the Court of Crows.
+
All the legislation that was established by the Twin Courts during this period was affirmed by the next Pale Imperator to take the throne in Y.D. 4521, [[Rasan a'Diren (Imperator)|Rasan a'Diren]]. Redeeming the name of his House and his Clan, Rasan led the Dominion into a period of prosperity that lasted all his life and even into the years beyond it.

Latest revision as of 20:10, 1 January 2016

This page discusses a part of the lore of the Dominion Era Tretallë. If you are interested in seeing the Tabletop RPG stats associated with this race, visit: Tretallë (Stats).

Dominion Era Tretallë
Bone Elves
Istfet, The Strangers, Invaders, Deathriders
Tretalleri-Insignia.png
Imperial Standard of the Tretalleri Dominion
Land of Origin
Termallte dominion territory.png
Continent of Origin Termalttë
Homeland Teýrivellë
Capital Ifatallë Cselvë
Racial Lore
Language Tretalleri
Characteristics Tretallë (Characteristics)
Culture Tretallë (Culture)
History Dominion Era
Government Tretallë (Government)
Military Tretallë (Military)
Stats Tretallë (Stats)
Racial Relations
Allies None
Enemies Elledynnë
Neutrals None

Foremost of the requirements to accede to the Ivory Throne of the Dominion, is, as with any other monarchy, that of lineage. It is necessary, as far as public opinion and the law are concerned, that a prospective heir to the Throne of one of the most influential and powerful empires of the time, be of the right descent in order to properly manage the governance of the Dominion's many realms.

Lineality in the Early Dominion

During the first three thousand years of the Dominion (ca. 1-2993 Y.D.), full inheritance of the Throne was possible, and the requirements for such were relatively simple. As descent in Tretalleri society is matrilineal, the Throne can pass from mother to eldest child with no restrictions. However, the waters were rather muddied by the fact that the Imperator could be male as well.

If a male weds during his reign, and has child by his consort, this child cannot accede to the Throne. This is true save for in three very specific circumstances. The first of these circumstances is far less desirable than the other, for it requires that the Imperator's consort be his eldest sister. While the Faith of the Nine does not have doctrine specifically condemning the act of incest, it is certainly frowned upon as improper due to established wisdom that incest can bear severely malformed children.

The second circumstance is more amicable to all parties involved. If an Imperator finds himself with a male consort, who is brother-spouses with the Imperator's eldest sister, any child that the consort bears with the Imperator's sister is considered the Imperator's child as well, but more importantly, the child is the Imperator's sister's child. The third is very similar, albeit it results in a more tenuous claim to the throne.

In the third scenario, the Imperator has entered into a polygamous marriage, with a female principal spouse, that once again involves his eldest sister. The tenuousness of the child's claim to the throne in this scenario stems from a legal doctrine called "The Right to Clanhood" that allows a female spouse(or primary spouse in a polygamous marriage) to declare the desire to be shorn from her House and Clan in order to establish her own. In this scenario, all other female sister-spouses in the marriage must either consent to the establishment of a new House and Clan and sever ties to their old ones as well, or to exit the marriage but remain in the relationship as paramours. Because the Imperator's eldest sister may at any time be ejected from the marriage or cut her ties to the old House and Clan, the claim to the throne of a child produced in this arrangement is transient at worst, and thus, far less legitimate than the first two circumstances.

Outside of these situations, the only way that a male Imperator may pass the Throne to someone else is by giving it to his eldest nephew or niece by his eldest sister—his closest living relative traced by line of descent that is not of his own generation.

The Wars of Ascension

Main article: The Wars of Ascension

Near the end of the first three thousand years of the Dominion (ca. 2993 Y.D.), then-Imperator Filiren a'Noren, sole surviving child of his mother, Veltari a'Noren, who had passed her throne to him, died of natural causes—leaving behind an empty throne with no legitimate heir apparent to take it. Unfortunately, despite measures taken two centuries before his death, when his last living sibling died, his mother was unable to produce another child and left the Dominion with no recourse for its leadership. The mounting tensions before Filiren's death, which had been a rather peaceful prelude to the vicious conflict that would follow, only served to further inflame those who wished to seize the Throne for themselves.

The vacuum of power that Filiren left in his wake sparked the great and bloody conflict that would go down in the annals of Tretalleri history as the Wars of Ascension. A war that raged for three decades, the Wars of Ascension threatened to tear the Dominion apart before the world ever knew its full glory. Ultimately, it was a young man, not much more than a boy, by the name of Zovynnë a'Devytorë, a soldier of the Ivory Guard promoted to the post of Lord General during the war, that seized the Throne for himself on the eve of the Day of Bones, thirty-two years after the beginning of the war (ca. 3025 Y.D.).

Though throughout the history of the world, the trend for leaders after times of conflict has been less than flattering, the rise of Zovynnë a'Devytorë to the Ivory Throne was in fact a blessing in disguise for the Dominion. Three important things about Zovynnë quickly fixed him as the solution to the problem both in the eyes of historians and scholars, and in the eyes of the public. Foremost was the fact that Zovynnë was the sole nephew of Filiren's consort Korenn a'Devytorrë—a man who entered the Imperator's life rather late, and was 150 years younger than the Imperator. Furthermore, Zovynnë was the son to the then-Lady Superior of House Devytorë. His great-grandmother had stepped down decades before, and his grandmother had died commanding the defense of the Ivory City's perimeter during the war. These connections cemented Zovynnë's claim to the throne as the most passable of his competitors, though it still remained technically illegitimate.

The second factor that allowed for Zovynnë's rule to be relatively stable was the fact that the public adored him. He was well-loved by the people, especially within the then-much-smaller borders of the Dominion's heartland because he was able to keep his competitors from even coming close to the Imperial capital, thus protecting all its commoners. Finally, and perhaps most notably, Zovynnë, in the early days of his rule, demonstrated wisdom far beyond his age, and was able to construct a strong foundation upon which the Dominion that exploded in power over the next handful of millennia could be built.

The Law of Lineality

It was in his wisdom that Zovynnë recognized that in order to prevent something similar to the Wars of Ascension, that the solution needed to be twofold in order to fulfil the matter of proper blood as well as the vacuum of power that could be left should an heir be absent. To this end, Zovynnë proposed two things to his advisors: the establishment of the Twin Courts to take over the governance of the Dominion should the Throne be empty, and a law of succession that would ensure that whether or not a biological heir is present, that there would be a set framework that would ensure that only a specific person could accede to the throne.

The Law of Lineality and the Twin Courts, as the measures would come to be known, rose from Zovynnë's suggestion. The seed that Zovynnë planted at the beginning of his reign grew and was refined in order to be both effective and culturally sensitive, in that the new laws respected the time-honoured traditions that already existed in the Dominion. It was on the day of the ninth celebration of his accession to the throne that Zovynnë made his proclamation, the text of which is perhaps one of the most well-preserved in the archives of the Dominion.

The full text of the proclamation that evolved into the Law of Lineality is as follows:

Royal Proclamation of the Imperator
Zovynnë a'Devytorë 
On the Inheritance of the Ivory Throne

Spoken on this most auspicious of days:
the Eve of the Day of Bones of the sixth length,
In the highest moon of the season of light,
In the 3034th Year of the Dominion.

I, Zovynnë a'Devytorë, Imperator of the Dominion and her Ruler Absolute, do hereby proclaim in the name and by the authority of the Stranger, that from this day forth, the Divine Right to Lay Claim to the Throne, heretofore granted only by direct lineage to the Imperator, shall be bequeathed solely upon the children of the Woman who sits upon the Throne. If however, it shall come to pass that a Man is seated on the Throne, He shall not bequeath the Divine Right to His progeny, regardless of height of birth and influence of mother. This shall be so for the bond between Father and children is neither as sacrosanct nor as inviolable as that between Mother and daughter.

Let it be known that the Stranger has revealed to Me a divine decree. Should a Man be Imperator over our vast and grandiose realm, or should a Woman leave Her Throne vacant and without heir apparent, that the Divine Right to Lay Claim to the Throne shall be bequeathed wholly upon and only upon the children of a first daughter, who is child to a third daughter, who is child to a ninth daughter, who is of the Blood of the High Houses of the Realm. Furthermore, the Stranger demands that Imperator among these children shall be named and raised to the Throne and Crown only through trial judged adequate by the Twin Courts, and that such a trial must test not only the mettle of the children, but also the strengths of their heart, mind, spirit, and conviction. For so long as there exists no child that succeeds the trial of the Twin Courts, there shall be no Imperator upon the Throne, and the governance of the Dominion and all her holdings shall fall heavy upon the shoulders of the lords and ladies of the Twin Courts.

It is they, the children of lineage thus declared, and only they that shall be known by the title of Heir Presumptive. No other shall be given this grand and privileged station, without regard to wealth or height of birth, nor purity of blood or conviction of creed, nor lineage or merit.

Such has it been proclaimed, and such shall it be written, and such shall it become law by the authority granted Me by the Stranger and the blessings of the Nine. This I proclaim and uphold in truth, virtue, and wisdom, such that our glorious realm shall not ever again face destruction as iniquitous and terrible as it has faced and thwarted because of greed and hunger for power."

The Torch-Bearers

Main article: The Torch-Bearer Wars

As the years passed, it became more and more apparent that the Law of Lineality was insufficient to solve all of the problems of descent. Historians note that in particular, the provision allowing for the Throne to be passed down from mothers to daughters proved to be the catalyst for three periods of harrowing civil war within the early Dominion. The creation of the Twin Courts solved the problem of the vacuum of power that caused the Wars of Ascension and enabled the Throne to remain vacant for longer periods of time while the Houses attempted to fulfil the Law of Lineality. However, prior to the establishment of the Oath Over the Shard, there did not exist a physical barrier to acting against the interests of the Dominion.

During the early dominion, on three separate occasions, female Imperators—or more specifically, their daughters—attempted to abolish the system of Lineality and the Twin Courts in order to establish an autocratic dynastic rulership in the Dominion. Each time, civil war engulfed the heartland in flames.

The first Torch-Bearer Imperator, Valaren a'Diren, came into power a hundred and twenty three years after the death of Zovynnë in Y.D. 3279, and the first Torch-Bearer civil war happened in Y.D. 3291 Though she was deposed by Keýra a'Callan just before the centennial of Y.D. 3300, Keýra's daughter, Ordanen a'Callan, found Valaren's philosophy compelling. Soon after her mother's mysterious death in Y.D. 3460, Ordanen made a bid to establish a line of succession for her daughters and any future female descendants of her line. Ordanen's civil war ended during the middling moon of Y.D. 3472, which ended with her execution and the restoration of power to the Twin Courts.

Some eight hundred years passed between the second Torch-Bearer war and the third. During this time, the lessons taught by the previous two Torch-Bearer wars were taken to heart by the Twin Courts and precautions were established against the wars happening once again. However, Valaren's philosophy about the inherent superiority of feminine rule, became romanticised by certain sects of Tretalleri society. It was simple misfortune that Lisarna a'Dovyndë happened to be involved in one of these sects early on in life and was directly in line for the Throne.

Believing the philosophy of Valaren to be superior to the principle of Lineality as established by a man, Lisarna attempted to do what Valaren and Ordanen were unable to do. Her attempt to establish a dynasty began with the Highest Moon of the Season of Light in Y.D. 4103, but did not last through the Moon—thanks to the fact that the Twin Courts were prepared for the insurrection.

Lisarna hanged by the hands of her own regretful mother on the Third Day of the Third Length of the Lowest Moon of the season of Darkness in Y.D. 4103, a most inauspicious day. In the years that followed, the Twin Courts, spurred on by the people of the Dominion who were tired of the infighting, voted unanimously to abolish the provision in the Law of Lineality allowing for the Throne to be passed down from mother to daughter.

Furthermore, the divisive Valareni sects were dismantled by the Grand Rookery. In addition, women were barred from obtaining the Ivory Throne in order to appease religious leaders and a large portion of the populace as it was clear that female imperators had thrice-insulted the Stranger-given right to rule the Dominion. As a compromise, the Twin Courts decided that the Court of Crows will forevermore be governed by the Ladies Superior of the Great Houses.

All the legislation that was established by the Twin Courts during this period was affirmed by the next Pale Imperator to take the throne in Y.D. 4521, Rasan a'Diren. Redeeming the name of his House and his Clan, Rasan led the Dominion into a period of prosperity that lasted all his life and even into the years beyond it.