Marriage and Matrimony in the Sea of Stars (A to Z, M)

Continuing to discuss the ways that families exist and are created in the Sea of Stars, you can refer also to Draconic Bloodines and Bastards and Kinships.

The dragons rarely bother with such firm commitments among themselves, their relationships with other dragons tend to be passionate and brief, or contractual and brief.  Rarely will long term commitments emerge between dragons and even those tend to hinge on only being intensely together for a short time and then spending considerable time apart.  Generally, dragons are private beings who prefer only to deal with subordinates on a regular basis, the clash of wills involved when dealing with a peer is draining . . . and dangerous.

Now, the lower ranks of the Draconic Houses, the dracona, dracovi and dani, are expected to marry usually for reasons of dynastic ties and political alliances.  The negotiations involved in such are usually quite complex and involve contracts and exchanges of promises and goods, who ends up married into which house and under what conditions is precisely defined (often on magical contracts).  Sometimes these alliances last only for years, in other cases they are lifetime commitments.

Dynastic unions and political marriages are the usual lot among the noble families in the Sea of Stars, rarely these matches are or become love matches, but children are expected to marry where they are told to by their family.  Sometime these marriages are outside the usual man and woman, triads are rare but not unknown as are same sex pairings.  Even more unusual constellations exist but are rare.

Marriages are a civil and societal commitment, legally witnessed, some cultures invoke the blessing and sanctions of the Sun (even if the rituals used where originally for a different god altogether).  But primarily it is social pressure and cultural sanction that maintains a marriage.

People still seek love and companionship, though not all are fortunate enough to find it in marriage.

Notes: Image King Dushyanta proposing marriage with a ring to Shakuntala. Chromolithograph by Ravi Varma. Wellcome Collection. CC BY.