Affianced

JP with Omni and Lorem:

There was no hiding her obvious elation of Gonyaul's proposal. They were engaged to be wed, but there was a lot to talk about before rushing into things. There was a myriad of customs in the melting pot of Mizar and Voah would have been considered old by traditional standards. Most weddings were a spectacle or grand affair with rituals that included the families on both sides, but it was not unheard of to have a private ceremony.

Traditionally, a Mizaran wedding ceremony included one or more of the Pillars and was officated by an ordained Aspect of Hoi, who blessed the union with fertility. Other than the alliance of houses, which could be done by Mizaran law anyway, bearing offspring was the main reason to be married.

It was holy law in the shrine city that if you produced a child, you were officially wedded and bound to support one another and the child, with or without a public ceremony. Sex itself was a ceremony and the show of pregnancy was the second rite and Hoi's seal of approval which made the marriage official.

In the shrine city Hoi, marriage was very strictly regulated, records were kept, sometimes even records of the conception, and there were heavy fines for those who disclaimed responsibility, worse punishment for rapists, women who made claims against false partners/fathers, and parents who abandoned children. There was a whole office dedicated to investigating such disputes. Polygamy and adultery was unacceptable, however often unavoidable due to a pregnancy not showing for months.

Regardless, the intense enforcement of regulations kept most of the population from becoming reckless with their wantonness and responsibilities to family.

Now there was, of course, the question of Vauxian wedding. If they didn’t believe in the Pillars, or any Gods… what kinds of traditions and rituals did they have? How did it work? They would have to discuss this as they traveled and now there was another wonder on the horizon that Voah saw as an omen.

As they reached the foothills near Aquilo, they spotted a group of travelers that very much reminded Voah of the convoy she had been raised in, though slightly smaller and likely hostile with wildly different customs. That didn't stop her from finding it the sight utterly intriguing and worth investigating. Maybe they could barter or travel with them for safety.