Family myth says Aradia of the Stars is our ancestor, that she dropped us here to help guide and steward the people of this world. That Athering has always been here, but that we -- the royal family -- came from the Goddesses Themselves. We are of the stars, and the stars guide us.
Family myth is bullshite.— from the
efemira of Queen
Yarrow
The Zarqon family has been the royal family of
Athering since the First Age and the formation of Athering as a country.
The mythic story is that Aradia of the Stars is the ancestor of the Zarqon line, and that the Goddess Herself placed Her Holy Daughter upon the shores of the world and instructed her to guide the people, for they were lost. The Holy Daughter took the name Zarqon after the world upon which she was left, and thus started the Bloodline of Aradia.
The truth, of course, is a little more complicated, and most of it is lost to the vagaries of history and time. We know that Terrans colonized the planet Zarqon, of course. We also know that members of the Aradian Empire's royal family were in the first Drop. From these two facts, we can see how such a mythos would arise around the family's origins.
We also know the royal family of the Aradian Empire claim the same kinship to Aradia, who by most accounts was a real woman, later made a goddess.
However, the claims by either branch of the family of an unbroken line to Aradia Herself are dubious at best. Several thousand years of Terrans living on Zarqon have created war, unrest, and multiple coup d'etats. The chances that the line remained unbroken through all that are slim, to say the least.
Current Family Tree, 4021 of The Third Age
It is far too complicated to try to replicate every member of the family tree, even for such a short segment of the line; however, these are all the female members of the Zarqon family from Zora to Kaela.
Note that twins run in the Zarqon family, cropping up every few generations or sometimes more often. Zameera and Thadea were twins, as were Zameera's daughters, Zardria and Yarrow.
In fact, for many generations a common tradition in the family was to hide the non-inheriting twin away from the capital -- most often in the north, in the caverns within Mt. Impri. The baby would be sent with a retinue of guards and servants and raised away from corrupting influence in the capital, in case she needed to return to oust her evil twin.
This tradition goes back to the story of Eradola and Mina, twins of the First Age. Eradola was corrupted by worship of Umbra and Mina, Kore's Chosen, returned to bring light back to Athering.
Queen
The matriarch of the family and current ruler of the country. Queens in Athering are en-Sceptred on their 30th birthday, unless the former Queen dies early.
Queen Mother
Mother of the queen, who has retired and let her daughter take the reins. She is considered one step below the current Queen, though most Queen Mothers eschew making any decisions, instead taking the time to finally enjoy retirement and devoting time to their hobbies.
Consort
Spouse of the Queen. Chosen for his ability to sire heirs and attend to public duties as Consort, though many Queens also choose for love. The Consort does not have much power over the country, but as father of the princesses and princes he is a valued member of the family.
Consorts cannot rule the country, though some have been Regents for their underage children, if the Queen passes too soon. There is no such thing as a King in Athering.
Princess / Prince
The children of the Queen are princesses or princes, depending on their gender. The eldest* princess inherits: she becomes the matriarch of the family and the Queen of the country. Younger princesses will often join the military to serve their country in a different way. Princes do the same or find other projects to occupy their time.
In the case of a Queen only having male children (very rare in Athering's history, though it has happened), the eldest prince cannot inherit the Sceptre. Instead, he must marry, and his spouse will become the next Queen.
*In the case of multiple births, such as twins, whichever twin is born first is considered eldest and thus inheriting.
astra nos / stars guide us
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