One of many branches of Dusk royalty. Siblings Apricot & Apple find themselves in Mythris and after trial and tribulation, unable to find their way home from this savage magical land, figure the best thing they can do is settle down. Create a safe place for Dusk's and other lost souls to land and feel at home, spread the word for their lost family members.
For the most part it's a carbon copy of the Kingdom they grew up in, but while they keep much of their laws and regulations, most of the fancy titles and such are just tradition and clinging to what's familiar; the reality is something gentler and more welcoming than the hard exterior they show to outsiders.
Thus, the kingdom of the Dusk Oasis was born.


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Family Tree

Family Page


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Royalty

King / Queen / Monarch ; Head of the kingdom, the absolute ruler, makes final decisions on all accounts but may turn to the Royal Council for wisdom. Limit of two, specifically Dusk-born.

King Consort / Queen Consort / Consort ; Shares any and all duties, power, and respect their partners do. May not even be referred to as “consort” depending on the rulers.

Crown Prince / Crown Princess / Crown Heir ; The specifically chosen next-in-line decided however the current monarch(s) choose. Most often but not always, the very firstborn of the monarch and their Consort. No distinguishable difference between other potential heirs, can still be challenged based on the rules of the kingdom.

Prince / Princess / Heir ; Heir to the kingdom and either in learning or in practice to one day potentially take the throne or marry into another kingdom to rule. Expected to attend and input during court. May not accept members until 2 years of age. All children born of a Dusk parent are born and die with this rank alongside others unless they take the crown, though not all take another and prefer to help where they please.


Royal Council

Duchess / Duke / Brücke ; Acts as the ‘beta’ of the kingdom; an advisor and councillor to all, a bridge between the Commoners, Nobility, and the Royalty to make sure everyone’s voice is heard. Helps where they are needed, expected to have a well-rounded skill set. May accept members into the kingdom and promote ranks with permission. Limit of two. Expected to attend and input during court.

Doctor ; Main and most experienced healer of the kingdom. May not accept members, but may promote ranks with permission. Limit of one. Expected to attend and input during court.

Venator ; Head of the hunt, responsible for organizing hunts and keeping caches full. May not accept members, but may promote ranks with permission. Limit of one. Expected to attend and input during court.

Captain ; Head of border maintenance, territory defense, and war efforts. May not accept members, but may promote ranks with permission. Limit of one. Expected to attend and input during court.

Emissary ; Scout, messenger, spy, and ambassadors alike. May not accept members, but may promote ranks with permission. Limit of one. Expected to attend and input during court.

Sworn Sword ; Those who have given their oath to a royal or council member are considered in high enough honor to sit on the council. Those assigned to a royal can accept new members at said royals discretion. Expected to attend Court. No specific gender, limit one per “Chosen” but otherwise not capped. See ceremony for more “duties”/details on what they do.


Nobility

Lord / Lady / Noble ; Basic members of the kingdom who have proven themselves notable in a specific skill (IC, not by badges) and helpful to the kingdom as a whole. Expected to help where they are best suited, but also where they are needed. Expected to attend and allowed to input during court.

Vassal ; Basic members of the kingdom expected to help where they are able and expand their skills. Should be well-rounded in basics, but are encouraged to always keep learning. Expected to attend and are allowed to input during court. This is where committed newcomers are ranked upon joining, assuming they have basic survival skills.

Squire ; Puppies/yearlings of the kingdom(not of royalty)! Expected to learn the ways of the kingdom and begin fitting in, as well as figure out what skills they want to develop in service of the kingdom. Allowed to attend and input during court.

Commoners

Citizen ; Long-term guests of the kingdom that don’t have to do more than provide for themselves during their stay. May attend but not give input during court.

Peasant ; Disgraced, former members (or enemies) of the kingdom that have either been demoted and expected to potentially work their way back up, or made a permanent servant. May not attend court, and may be punished if they get caught trying to listen in.

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Current Ranks:

King ; Apricot

Queen ; Apple

Prince ; Persimmon Cashew Pomegranate
Princess ; Lorelei Lychee Verena

Sworn Sword ; Dante

Noble ; Sparrow

Lady ; Marcia


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-The ruler's word is law. To outright disobey is to risk being put on trial for treason.


-The main goal of the kingdom is unified survival, keeping things running smoothly, caches full and hidden, and keeping members well-prepared. The Kingdom’s well-being must come before any single member, always. Whatever you have to do to ensure that will be excused, no, commended.


-Personal/scouting trips are allowed and encouraged, but permission must be granted from the monarch or their betas with a timestamp on when to come looking for you for longer outings. Otherwise, you will be assumed dead, lost, or having abandoned the kingdom, and will not likely be welcomed back. Those who cannot be relied on even for communication don't belong with the kingdom, and they won't waste resources to track down an unknown variable.


-Whomever sits the crown and claims the throne must be Dusk, a law quietly passed down like a superstition… or curse. As time passes and the world evolves, they defeat their generational traumas and become more inclusive, but some habits still cling hard to old times. Same-sex ruling pairs are wholly accepted, and many ranks have adapted to include gender-neutral terms, but adoptive Dusk's are not in line to inherit. Given high ranks of honor, carry the Dusk name, may even be titled as a royal, but will never have a claim to the crown. May, in dire times, be allowed to serve temporarily as regent until the next ruler is of age if no other Dusks are available.


-The first catch of each day must be added to the cache or given to someone who is old, sick, injured, pregnant, nursing, a child or otherwise unable to hunt. Members of any rank with herbal knowledge are expected to gather herbs and help the Doctor, if needed.


-All ranks in the kingdom are able to be challenged for in some fashion. If the spot is empty, somebody can call court and claim the rank. If uncontested, they take it but not without being watched closely by the royalty. If the spot is taken, they call court and challenge the wolf that holds it directly, and usually a test will be conducted to determine who is better fit for the rank. The test usually pertains to the skill being challenged for, but it could also be a plain and simple fight for dominance. After a challenge, no matter the test's outcome, the rank may not be challenged until all sides are equally ready again. Challenges between/for royalty are different: potential heirs can talk it out and decide who gets the crown, they can fight it out, the current ruler can name a specific heir (this doesn't always work but is often respected by the kingdom itself if not the heir challenging), or they can sway the majority of the kingdom to a side, call court, and take a vote. For those not Dusk trying to become one: by this rite, rarely, a Citizen may find themselves married into the royal family by earning their place among the bloodline.


-Other than challenges, rank promotions are handled entirely IC based on their actions. Members who prove themselves useful rise in station, simple as that. If you feel you've earned more, find a monarch to speak with!


-Court are general meetings of the kingdom, which everyone (except for Commoners and the sick/injured/nursing) is expected to attend and most are allowed to voice opinions (again, except for Commoners). Only Peasants are barred from being an audience, and the others are tiebreakers or witnesses at worst. Anybody in the Oasis can go to the current ruler or their second-in-commands and ask for a court to be called, for their voice to be heard -- their right as a Dusk Kingdom member of any rank, even a Peasant.


-Trials are meetings that are held for the sole purpose of solving a crime and punishing the offender. When a member is accused of a crime against the kingdom, court is called and everyone has to listen to every side of the story. The innocent party is decided based on a vote between everyone not personally involved. After three lost trials, even if they are all level one offenses, members are banished from kingdom grounds and deemed unfit to live beside royalty and endanger the stability of the people.
Potential punishments are as follows:
Level one: Demotion to Squire, Citizen, or even Peasant in drastic cases, but with a chance to rise through the ranks all over again. May choose permanent exile instead.
Level two: Permanently demoted to Citizen or Peasant. May choose permanent exile instead.
Level three: Marked as a traitor and, depending on severity, could either be permanently exiled or ordered to death on sight.

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Ceremonies:

Oath of the Sword:
-A seldom-used ritual left to collect dust from the pride of the original Dusk Kingdom; passed down by a daughter still claimed by that pride but quietly hoping for its revival. Apple was the Dusk that saw the truth; its silent abolishment had meant the downfall of her ancestors, scattered them to the four winds, and she wouldn't let the same ancient rot settle in her home.
-The whole kingdom gathers to witness, and any member may become or have a sworn sword. It's not a rank based on skill, it is a title of honor for a single trusted friend, family, or lover alike, a bond that cannot “officially” be broken the way it was crafted. No matter how the relationship might change, the Sworn Sword is honor-bound to protect their Chosen til death. Abandoning that duty brands you a coward, a traitor, assumed a permanent Peasant if not killed altogether. Plain failure is a case by case reaction; true accident might earn one sympathy, but suspected foul play or inability could also earn the same social or literal exile as abandonment. Mostly honorary rank-wise within the kingdom, but also allowed to share in the duties of their Chosen unless agreed otherwise; this often leads to an all-out career change to full-time guard (if they weren't already) or sharing in what their companion does to pass the time, but generally are excused from kingdom maintenance chores to focus on their sole true task: keeping their Chosen alive and well.
-This is a one-time-thing. If something happens to one or the other, there is never another Chosen for a Sword, no new Sword for a Chosen.
-Cannot, will not, be broken, though nobody can force you to do your job.


Marriage:
-The bride's family lines up on one side and grooms on the other to form a path -- the other members of the kingdom stand behind whichever side they’re affiliated more with.
-Only the current rulers may lead the ceremony.
-The groom and bride meet at the end of the path and walk up it together, to where the ceremony leader is waiting for them. The audience lays down to allow the couple full “spotlight” privileges.
-The bride and groom each give a vow; “To love each other through the good and bads of life, to always be honest and faithful, to support each other,” and whatever else they wish to say to declare their love and commitment.
-A gift is traded between them, something personal.
-The newly married couple howl together as long as they can, and the second howl is joined by the entire kingdom.
-A feast is ready to begin, and festivities last as long as there are still people partying, sometimes for days.

-Divorces are uncommon, but not unheard of. The couple simply goes to the monarch and requests such, no fanfare, no reasoning, just those involved who no longer wish to be.

-Puppy Showers
-When any parent-to-be of the pack begins to show their pregnancy, about halfway through, their mate will go through a series of tasks to show their appreciation for what they're doing for the family: growing new lives inside the womb, carrying their weight, providing new members for the kingdom.
-First, the mate spends a morning hunting what they can for the party. If they can’t get at least a piece for every member, there are always the caches and helpful pack members.
-Second, they have to silently find all the other members of the Kingdom without letting the pregnant parent know- this is a surprise party- and tell them to find one thing to bring. Be it something for the pups, something to play with, something decorative or memorable for a den, or even just flowers (Or herbs, for those who know which ones help!), they are told to bring everything back at a specific time to a specific place.
-After everyone has something, they go back to the meeting place and after instructing everyone to hide, they find their mate and lead them-unknowingly- to the surprise. Everyone will jump out and present their gifts.
-The pregnant parent decides when the party ends, but after they feast, they are told that their pack duties will be taken care of from then until the pups are 3 months old.


-Funerals
-All remaining members clean the fur and wounds of the fallen.
-Members closest to each fallen member (Mother/father, followed by mate and pups, ended by friends) choose a place of burial (if theres no graveyard, a memorable place, possibly somewhere with memories or somewhere they just liked to be) and are the ones to dig the grave. The closest family are in charge of carrying the body(s) to the grave and lowering them in.
-A small speech is given over the grave about the fallen: Their accomplishments, funny stories, what they did for the Kingdom, their strongest qualities. After everyone has said their piece, the King/Queen fill in the grave and the family members might leave something on top to mark it or pay respect.