Hermaphrodite Question

The term "hermaphrodite question" generally refers to the moral debate concerning the existence of hermaphrodites; how they should be classified, what their societal roles should be, what rights they are entitled to and whether they should be allowed to exist at all. This is particularly amongst the Elves of Saveria, who are the only people to display hermaphroditism alongside the traditional male and female sexes, as a result of some ancient magical interference.

However, in a specific sense, the Hermaphrodite Question - as a noun - refers to a long period of civil conflict in the Kingdom of Saveria from 109BC to 40BC (or 1391 to 1460 INC) which combined the hermaphrodite debate with a bloody political struggle, and remains as the only war between the Saverians since their unification. It is in this sense with which the hermaphrodite question will be referred to in the rest of the article.

## Background

The Hermaphrodite Question had been debated for centuries before the political strife began in 1391 INC. There had always been those who viewed hermaphrodites as unnatural, though the belief that they had no right to exist at all was very much a fringe opinion held only by the most ardent of extremists. Hermaphrodites enjoyed the same rights as any other Saverian and were entitled to marry males, females or other hermaphrodites, but their equality under the law rarely meant equality in practice.

Hermaphrodites were often viewed with suspicion or disgust, and their non-hermaphrodite defenders were often accused of being sexual deviants who only defended them to win affection so that they could lay with a hermaphrodite. Whereas a hermaphrodite marrying a female was usually seen as being strange but ultimately tolerable, males who married hermaphrodites were typically met with ridicule and derision, due to the various implications of a man marrying someone who has a penis. A man who married a hermaphrodite was generally thought of as having abandoned his manhood and masculinity. However, despite the best efforts of the anti-hermaphrodite factions, no religious court could ever conclusively rule that a marriage between a male and a hermaphrodite violated the marriage laws described in Elvetan scripture.

The extremist anti-hermaphrodites generally won little favour with their violent rhetoric and rejection of the right of hermaphrodites to live, but starting in the late 1200s INC there was a growing movement to research both how and why the Saverian bloodline was inflicted with hermaphroditism. The moderate anti-hermaphrodites believed that hermaphroditism was an artificial insertion into the Saverian populace, arguing that if it were a natural innate trait of the Elves then it would have been mentioned in the Ticai Baca and other ancient texts - a consensus now generally held by the academic community. The anti-hermaphrodites believed that if they could understand how hermaphroditism came to be, they could understand how to undo it, and forever end the birth of new hermaphrodites.

As researchers claimed to be making progress, the movement gained traction. Though it is impossible to say how much of the Saverian populace agreed with the notion of cleansing the "peculiar curse" as it was known, it had become a popular sentiment by the accession of Feira Aserion, a hermaphrodite, as Queen of Elifana in 1383 INC. Elifana itself had a major anti-hermaphrodite movement, but historical records suggest that it was not as strong on this island as it was on the other islands of Saveria, and the people of Elifana were generally willing to accept the "peculiar" nature of their Queen even if they thought the hermaphrodites as a whole ought to disappear.

A year later, in 1384 INC, a Librarian named Teleion One-Eye (not to be confused with Teleion Two-Eyes, who had lost no eyes, and Teleion No-Eyes, who was blind) published his thesis on how a network of magic-storing crystals could be infused with a particular manifestation of healing magic to create a "purification zone", inside which it was theorised that no hermaphrodites could be born. He was quickly contacted by the King of Parafia, Pelagon Thelusion, an ardent anti-hermaphrodite. King Pelagon agreed to supply Teleion with the funding and resources to construct this purification zone in Parafia, in order to test if it would have the intended effect. The island of Parafia was the perfect testing ground for such a project, as the crystal network could draw from the energy of the Starforge and would not have to be manually powered by mages.

The purification zone's construction was lengthy due to challenges with sourcing magical crystals from Epsilucia and the meticulous care required to create the crystal network correctly, but it was completed by the turn of 1386. Every birth in Parafia was rigorously recorded, and - much to the annoyance of parents across the island - state officials were required to confirm the sex of every newborn child. By 1388, it could be safely concluded that the purification zone did indeed work, as not a single newborn hermaphrodite had been recorded. Upon learning this, the Kings of Alefar and Athela expressed interest in having a purification zone erected on their own islands, and Teleion soon faced a busy and highly profitable few years as he worked to satisfy these royal requests.