arrogate power to hisdirect descendants can and will be deposed. Interestingly, thepractice is exclusive to South Vihandra.Ithas to do with the reasoning behind the law, Zykriel continued insomewhat scholarly fashion. The right of succession by dint ofbeing firstborn is most effective when there are few heirs to contestclaims to a title or when there are enough titles and/or land to goaround to pacify an excess of heirs. Our family is a case in point.Though we are numerous, there has always been a surfeit of wealth andproperty to share amongst everyone.Thanksin large part to judicious marriages and sound investments, Jarethinterjected.Exactly.But in the centuries immediately following the southward migration ofcolonists, large families came to be the rule in South Vihandra inorder to promote swift propagation. It was not unheard of for onelord to have any number of sons to his name by Veres only knew howmany concubines in addition to his official mate. Keiran mentionedthat the second Shaja of Myare had eight sons by three successiveconsorts and almost thrice that number from extramarital liaisons.Hemust have beggared his people through taxes to support such a massivebrood, Rohyr remarked with a frown.Asa matter of fact, he did, Zykriel confirmed. Its a wonderMyare still exists today after the bloody rebellion that overthrewthat family. In any case, as the South Vihandrans deemed all thesechildren legitimate heirs, internecine feuds between brothers,half-brothers and stepbrothers over titles and land ensued and soonresulted in the wholesale extinction of many clans. A direct offshootof those ancient feuds were the revised rules of succession wherebyforbidding inheritance through one line of descendants alone and atthe same time encouraging intermarriage amongst brethren andclosedegree cousins allowed the surviving clans to spread the wealth alittle bit more evenly so to speak. A title and its entailed benefitspassed amongst House and clan members and permitted each family toaccumulate wealth before the title went to another branch.Andthis has to do with Tyrde because...? The Kardovas originallyhailed from Azansa.Rohyrseyes narrowed. And Azansa is in South Vihandra.Aye,one of the first cities, Jareth confirmed. They later migratednorth and settled in what was then free land between Ylandre andCattania. The Kardovas brought with them all of the souths lawsand traditions and when Anju was annexed to Ylandre, our foresireRuarq Essendri chose not to change them. Therefore, the old statutesstill stand to this day. And here we come to the meat of the matter.Hepaused as Zykriel pulled out a sheet of parchment. It was even moreaged and discolored than the others, the faded script just barelylegible. Contrary to what weve been led to believe, Tyrdesbeing an only child doesnt automatically invest him with theauthority to choose his heir. The Bill of Rights was missing thesection that contained the specifics of the inheritance law. Locatinga copy of that section proved the hardest chore. We almost gave upwhen even the Lawyers Guild records yielded nothing.Keiranfound this in one of the oldest repositories in the College of Lawarchives, Zykriel said of the document. Its a copy of thewrit issued by Imlen Kardova, first Herun of Anju, that states theparticulars of the fiefs inheritance law. In essence, itstipulates that