hwhatting wrote:This leads me to the following question: As Benecia is Eledhat, and the Vleteons are Pagan, what about religious issues in the marriage? Generally, what is the view of these (and other) Almean religions on mixed marriages? As you know, for some religions on our world it was (and sometimes still is) a big problem, even for marriages beween people of different Christian denominations. In the case of Eledhat and Paganism, has one partner to convert, or can everybody keep their religion? And who or what determines the religion of their children?
(Well, in this special case it seems sound to assume that, for political reasons, Alric staid Pagan, and that his heirs will be at least officially Pagans, too.)
Eledhi prefer to marry other Eledhi, unless the partner converts; pagans are somewhat less finicky. If both partners keep their religion, you're probably dealing with artists or scholars, who are impossible to control anyway, or with the aristocracy, where a good connection is more important than religion. With Alric, affairs of state come into play too; Verdurian policy is to maintain good relations with the minor states, and a royal marriage is as much an alliance of states as of individuals.
For people with money or power, the essential rule is that the heir's children must have the same religion. So, it's not that important if the family's third son marries some religious eccentric, especially if her family has money; but Number One Son is responsible for perpetuating the family's estate and character. So yes, Leticai had to marry knowing that her children would be pagans.
This isn't to say that some pagan conservatives didn't object to the match. The Eledhe dynasty is still a bitter memory to some of them... but they're a minority, and have so many other grievances that there was no point in Alric trying to curry favor with them.
