To be fair, you’d be expected to adopt a distant cousin or at least someone from nobility so there would still be A bloodline.
Though the goddess complicate stuff because there’s clearly some ‘sacred bloodline’ thing going on.
At least with the IRL Roman Empire (both OG and ERE) adopting a dubiously related successful general officer as an heir was a fairly standard practice. In fact I go so far as to say it generally resulted in the better Emperors overall.
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Yikes is born in purple ring a bell here? We have goddess bloodline in the story so we are not talking about the good adopted heir we are talking about bloodline heir, so a matriarchal empire that have widespread believe of goddess bloodline would like adopted children? That doesn’t make any sense.
You see empress in this story? Did she married because of love? The answer is NO, she marry because she need a heir, a bloodline heir.
It will be same with MC.
There is no sacred or Goddess bloodline in the story. The Empress and the Senate before the Empresses rose to power bore the title of Vicegerent of Gaia, but that was a title conferred by the Church, not blood.
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Again those that say adoption is legitimate successor then you guys have no in depth knowledge about hereditary rule, cousin is eligible for inheritance outside main title.
Emperor have their own demesne normally is the duchy where the capital is and they might have secondary title as kingdom something below the Emperor title.
For example Emperor Basilleus of Byzantine he is also King of Thrace and Duke of Thrace and owner of county of thrace and owner of Constantinople.
Other beside “Emperor” Is secondary title, so cousin only eligible for title not connected to main title land, like Emperor have land in Antioch then this can be passed to cousin if emperor will it.
The main title only can be passed to firstborn if equal inheritance then it can be passed to any gender if cognatic can be passed to male first of there is male children even if that children is not first born and vice versa if the inheritance is prioritizing opposite gender.
Having adopted children can lead to problematic succession it may not be instant but later can be used for casus belli for war it will be the same as emperor doesn’t have any children, adopted children is counted as one of powerful vassal in succession and since it’s vassal that inherit then other powerful vassal could also claim that title.
While this no longer MC problem since MC obviously already dead this doesn’t seem like MC is successful in attaining the throne and hold on to it.
It maybe not important to those that doesn’t have significant family name but those that have significant family name will flip seeing how people dismiss how important the bloodline is.
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Our Empress is claiming this bloodline, church is powerful in this era, coronation is head of religion giving power to rule to head of state (Emperor/King) which make them legitimate in the eyes of people especially those that follow that church religion, by not having coronation meaning there is no ordained claim to rule the crown will have low legitimacy and can be seen as heretic/rogue ruler by the masses.
This is the way it is, it’s not my rule it is historically goes like that.
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Meh im in a bit of a foul mood at the moment so sorry for in advance if i come across as rude or what ever.
Firstly and more importantly you do realize what ya just said to the author correct? When they have the right to do the story as they see fit.
Secondly the game is inspired by history that doesnt make it the same as history from the real world which is also something that can be debated in anycase.
Not arguing the specific points you made just saying that its full depth doesnt matter at all if the author wishes to go a different route.
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Ehh I am not offended at all, you can scroll above this originally just started as suggestion to lower MC age to 35 so both male and female MC can have chance to have a heir since this story is about power and holding on to power, because 40 is cutting it close really for women especially in those era of Roman Empire.
Beside I am also taking note from what author trying to tell in the story and expand it from there, won’t go to tangent here since I already explain it above.
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History is good inspiration for fiction, but it shouldn’t be a rigid rule to stick as close to our historical canons as possible.
A lot of things we take for granted about our past have been disfigured by time and interest. Things were never as clear-cut, simple and omnipresent as we are led to believe. Especially not across the span of Earth and across all ages.
Personally I like stories that deviate from historical “norms” and get creative with our perceived rules, bend or break them entirely, that makes for interesting settings.
I have absolutely no problem with Azan’s setting or other parameters of the story personally. Though I see no issue with having the opposite opinion, I think it’s important not to directly contest her on her choices when they aren’t unbelievable or illogical. If there’s an argument to be made it shouldn’t be confrontational but constructive instead.
Azan stated that MC having children (or more children) wouldn’t be part of the story, and the debate should stop there.
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Crazy that a fictional story loosely based on the real world created by someone doesn’t strictly adhere to their real life counterpart
Adoption was extremely common practice among Roman elites, especially among those who for whatever reason lacked a ready male heir. One has to assume that goes double for this matriarchal edition of the empire, where career oriented women might commonly put off having children. There’s no reason why the MC couldn’t adopt a chosen heir assuming they serve as materfamilias (or are exercising those powers, if male), it’d be historically weird if it wasn’t an option.
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Adoption has fallen by the wayside in recent Iudian imperial succession, but it’s not viewed as particularly less legitimate when a head of the household (or ruler, in this case) has no other direct heirs. I should also say here, I believe I’ve mentioned this before, but the MC does have siblings that will cameo later in the story. There’s nothing stopping them from adopting a niece or nephew to be their heir which would be seen as perfectly acceptable.
There aren’t really secondary titles like that, which aren’t bundled with the imperial investiture or personally held prior to the ascension to the throne. Julia, for instance, has certain estates in the Province of Hevernica from which she hails that she can dispose of as she sees fit, and those would go to her children, or nearest relative if she had none.
However, the Empire passes by hereditary succession only by tradition and custom, not by law. That is why Julia made Augusta Co-Empress, so that upon Julia’s death, Augusta will automatically and instantly become Empress Regnant due to her being the sole remaining member of the imperial title.
This was the same case for the Byzantine Empire which you’ve mentioned, I should say, where the legality of taking the throne by force was no less than taking it from your father. The precedent was that the best fit man should inherit, not just by blood as many times did happen.
In the case of Julia’s violent rise to the throne, she needed to kill the remaining holders of the title, Aite, Invidia, Tristitia, if she ever had a hope of legitimately sitting the throne. Once that was done, she cemented her informal legitimacy by claiming herself a continuation of the Galerian dynasty due to her husband’s status as the only child of the Empress Isuara’s (mother of Empress Scilla) eldest daughter, and Augusta’s (at least supposed) descent from him, which Julia claimed made her the proper heir to the Galeria Ursina branch.
But that principle of primogeniture only persists in the absence of a direct will of the Empress, I should say, where they could even have designated another family member or adopted someone posthumously (Hi Octavian!) which is not unheard of.
Except there is no divine bloodline, and the religious titles held by the Empress are only by the whim of the Church, which is obviously a very powerful entity. Bloodline descent plays a huge role, don’t get me wrong, but when one has no further heirs, it is accepted in Iudia to adopt a niece/nephew/cousin or even some other person entirely if those branches don’t exist.
Historically, sure, but I made my story about Iudia, not Rome or Byzantium, for a good reason. I like to take inspiration and cues from history at times, but other times I go in different directions entirely. At the end of the day, this is a fictional fantasy setting.
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Okay, now I don’t know if I’m actually onto something or I’ve drunk too much coffee today, but I will present my take on the new information we got from Chapter III about that ever-mysterious ancient civilisation.
All of the new information we get about the ancient civ comes from Darius. This lad is really interested into whatever ancient civilisation came before (I can relate). So much so, that he studied the writings of a so-called mad sage named Khafra from Seyet (aka not-Egypt). Khafra was also really interested into said ancient civilisation (can relate) , and somehow managed to decipher their language (fully or partially, not clear).
Darius got his writings and seems to be capable of understanding a great deal of the language. He asks the Prefect to “help” him translate a text, which is clearly a test from our Pharian Prince to see if we are as interested as he is in this ancient stuff. If you manage to decipher it (you need to be a nerd/Scholarship Prefect), you get about four words, those being: enemy, fifth sector and attack.
What do those words mean? It’s quite easy to see the implication that said ancient civilisation had an enemy that attacked it and most likely led to it demise. So we get confirmation that it was not a natural or self-inflicted disaster that struck it, but rather an external force (unless they created said problem unintentionally).
What strikes me as rather odd is the “fifth sector” part. This sounds rather…modern, no? I understand its use here in the administrative sense, akin to a district ,region and so on. The word sector, in an administrative sense, has been used only from the 18th century onwards.
It’s also quite clear that the ancient civilisation that built the towers in Kyro is the same one in Seyet. We haven’t gotten the distance between Seyet and Kyro, but I assume the two be quite distant from one another.
So, to conclude, we have an ancient civilisation with advanced technology (remember Kyro towers), with a vast area of influence (at least from Kyro to Seyet), and which possesed rather modern terminology (sector). Additionally, we know that its downfall was brought by an “enemy”, most likely.
I could go on and say that the founding myths of the Church of Gaia can fit quite nicely in this possible history I pieced together here, but that is a subject that would take a looooooong post, and this is already quite long, so I will stop here.
Also, Khafra is the name of the Pharaoh that build Giza Pyramid Nr. 2 in the 25th century BCE. Ancient times, advanced technology and pyramids, hmmmm… Aliens?!
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An enemy implies a fight but not necessarily external, rebels or a civil war will also mean an enemy (I’m sure we will have to deal with some in the game) and before everyone follows the alien theory in Khafra’s text, it says that only humans have lived on this world
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I did take into account the internal factor
I was really vague and didn’t develop the possibility enough, I will admit. Although, it does reflect my greater feeling that the threat was external. Usually, an internal threat, be they rebels or some other anti-social element, would be branded as “traitors”, “betrayers”, or plain simple “rebels” — since they are going against whatever state they fight against.
Of course, the powers that be do think of the subversive elements that rise up against them as “enemies”. However, rarely do they officially or commonly call them that. They are an internal threat, certainly, and so of a different nature than, let’s say, an enemy state.
If whatever Darius read was written by a representative of the ancient civilisation, be they a soldier or a high-placed leader, I would be inclined to believe they would address a potential rebel groups as either “Traitors”, “Rebels” or any other pejorative word that would indicate their subversive nature.
Bold of you to assume that anyone other than I actually believes in potential Aliens in this IF. That was more of a jest than anything else. It is far more likely that our dear author simply makes use of names that correspond to the civilisation the in-game area is inspired by. (From the Giza trio, Khafra is a far better sounding name than Khufu the Toy Brand and Menkaure the Spaghetti Recipe, my opinion).
One needs to only look at the Galerii family tree to find Plutarch, Antipater and Varius, to name the more recognisable ones. Great historical names applied to the civilisation inspired by the Greco-Roman world of Antiquity.
Coming back to the Aliens thing. I believe it to be something like 1% chance of it being Aliens. At the end of the day, I am a firm believer in Occam’s Razor — the simplest explanation is often the correct one. Far easier for an ancient, more advanced civilisation to be present in the story, than Aliens from who-knows-where coming and doing Annunaki stuff like its an episode of Ancient Aliens at History Channel.
The fact that I entertain this outlandish possibility is the result of the days where I have a little too much time on my hands.
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What part of this is fantasy the only fantasy here is matriarchal rule, there is no magic so far it’s a lie concocted by the religion it’s equivalent of real world greek fire.
From what I read this is heavily inspired by Roman Empire pick some policy from different era.
I never said adoption is not legitimate it is less legitimate than own children, beside who take Empire to give it to someone else because adopted children is not your dynasty.
All I am suggesting it is unfair for setting 40 of age.
Some probably like the idea of adoption another dislike the idea it just how I feel it is.
If you like to adopt go adopt some would like their own to run the show.
Not some deadbeat niece or cousin.
Is it my fault for interpretation like that? We know this whole divine bloodline business is bs, but people in those world didn’t know the masses the common man didn’t know that, they think Empress is bloodline of God which common in that era.
Can’t blame people for taking reference from the material you’re heavily leaning against.
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Octavian disagrees (alongside a procession of other adopted emperors).
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We’re only at the third chapter, and there may yet be elements of this story that are quite out of the ordinary, perhaps even fantastical, as I did allude to in the hook at the very start of the story.
I’m not blaming anyone, I just wanted to explain why I made the decisions I did for the story. The MC’s age is 40 for the reasons I have outlined above, which I believe are good ones. 40 is about the youngest I could make the MC, in fact, for the elements of the story to work as well as they should. All I ask is patience for the story to play out further.
If the question is just simply, “I would like my character to have a biological child to rule the Empire,” that path is already implemented in the game, though I suppose not quite as you’ve explained what you’d like me to implement. Even if the MC was 5, 10 years younger (which wouldn’t work for my story), the scope of the story would not allow for a child to be born and raised, except perhaps in an epilogue.
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Not going to lie, I have the feeling adopted emperors are better. Just look at the Five Good Emperors, it’s even in the name.
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First of all, the author is free to use, misuse or alter any real concept, history, or character they want. That’s the nature of fiction and creativity. I believe adoption was a valid method of imperial succession in Rome, especially if their were no biological heirs or the adopted heirs were considered more powerful politically or better suited temperamentally to rule. Adopted heirs usually grew up with their adopted parents and had far closer relations with them than their birth parents. They were for all intents and purposes children of their parents. Nobody really cared about the blood but familial affection and political sympathy. However, regardless of your opinion on adoption in Rome, the author is free to do what they want on the subject, just like they did with gender roles.
To the contrary, it looks like what you’re describing is a desire to have biological children, rather than a criticism of historical accuracy. That’s a narrative critique on what you want the story to be. The author has made the argument that a non-noble advisor is unlikely to quickly climb the rungs of power and that this was the usual age for someone to be in this role after significant experience. If you’d prefer a younger character in that role, there are almost certainly stories in that vein of a younger political figure. Or you are free to write your own, if you so choose. However, the author decides what they want their characters to be. You can constructively comment on why you believe the author should change this, but the author is in charge of the narrative progression.
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