Verstite Wedding Ritual Through the Ages

As a symbol of the Empires civilizing effects, the changes to the Verstite wedding rituals are one of the most striking and positive. Before the Empire conquered the Northern provinces Verstite wedding rituals were virtually indistinguishable from their mating rituals, both being equally violent and bloody.
When a Verstite decided to take a mate be it male or female the first thing they would do is determine if that Verstite had a mate already, and if the mate did exist they would seek them out and murder them. They would then seek out the mate they would like to take and beat them to within an inch of their life, kidnap them and when sufficiently recovered the mate would be theirs in every way possible. When the Imperials first learned of this practice they were horrified, such tribal barbarism had no place in this realm of laws and religion.
The Verstite people were slaughtering many in this practice and somehow their numbers kept growing, this was put down to the fact that one particularly brutish Verstite might take dozens of mates due to their ability to fight. And in a grotesque way many mates would flock to the brutish Orc under some kind of genetic spell to spread their genes with the most viable mate.
Over a hundred years the Verstite way was quietly but firmly stamped out in favour of the traditional Imperial wedding rituals and beliefs. One bride, one groom until divorce says otherwise. No adultery or multiple partners and definitely no violence. This has led to an overall reduction in aggression from the Verstite population of the Empire and is widely regarded as a great success of the Imperial culture over barbarians.
Although this is true for 95% of the population there are still pockets of Verstites who like to practice what could be considered a slightly tamer version of the old ritual. When these pockets are found they are ruthlessly purged by the Legions for defying Imperial law.

Primary Related Location

Imperial Provinces