Universe Lore: Shura Culture
COMPANIONSHIP, SEXUAL PARTNERS, AND CHILDBEARING
HAREM
The strongest warriors of the Shura Clan - the Ashuras - have the privilege of owning a bevy of beauties that cater to their every whim. Harem women are the highest class of servants, obtained through dealings with merchants, trades with soldiers, or persuading a girl to join one’s household.A Shura woman can also willingly offer herself to an Ashura though the rejection of her service is considered shameful. The more cunning ladies are never direct, preferring to seduce the target of their affection until the Ashura himself makes a move.For a girl to be considered worthy of belonging to a harem, she must possess attractive qualities - appealing physical traits, a slender body, charm, talent, and wit to amuse her patron. Her social status prior to being taken into a household is irrelevant as long as she is of pure Shura lineage and has never conceived a child.Though Ashuras relish taking a girl’s maidenhead, this novelty wears off quickly. Women with prior sexual experience tend to be the favorites of their patrons as they are more knowledgeable and proactive during affairs.Harem women are expected to sing, dance, and perform various acts to entertain their patron and his guests. They must hold pleasing, non-contentious conversations and cater to whatever hedonistic pleasure requested of them.In turn, Ashuras must provide his harem’s creature comforts. It is a better show of status to keep a few pampered girls adorned with expensive jewels and fine clothes than to have a dingy pleasure chamber filled with disheveled, angry women.The women can only leave their patron if he can no longer provide for them. To save face, it is wise for an Ashura to dismiss his harem or sell them off before his financial woes are made public. Dismissal gives these women their freedom; they may opt to find a new patron to serve or choose a different path in life.When their patron dies, Harem women can be passed down to the eldest Ashura in the family. If there are no Ashuras left in the household, the whole Harem is turned over to the soldier’s superiors who can do with the girls as they please.If a harem woman falls out of favor with her patron due to old age, she is relegated to a different station within the household, usually becoming her patron’s offspring’s nursemaid. She gets to keep any gifts she received from her patron as gratitude for her services.
CONTRACEPTION
Harem women are disallowed from having children to maintain their near-perfect physique and to avoid bloodline disputes, especially among those in the higher ranks. They are given a strong concoction drank daily to prevent them from bearing their patron’s seed. This drink is dubbed the "Midnight Shade" as it temporarily stains the mouth dark blue.If a harem woman conceives, her punishment depends on her patron’s status. If the Ashura holds no political position, she can simply be dismissed. Otherwise, she and her child will be executed unless her patron decides to make her a Royal Maiden.
BEARING OFFSPRING AND ROYAL MAIDENS
Shura and Ashura men that hold no political position can have as many children as they want from different women as long as:
a) The man can provide for all their needs.
b) The mother is not a part of any harem. A harem woman can be picked out for breeding but she will lose her station.
If a father is unable to fulfill his duty, he will be executed and his family will be sold as slaves. Mothers are expected to raise their children based on the Shura’s strict code of conduct. Failure to do so may result in their dismissal from the household. The children they leave behind will be reared by the father’s other partners.Higher-ranking Ashuras can only pick one woman to bear their children, dubbed "Royal Maidens" or “bearers”. Royal Maidens are given more privileges such as the right to speak for the household during the absence of their partner and inheriting their partner’s fortunes upon his death. The children are also the first choice in replacing their father’s post in case he can no longer carry out his duties.Ashuras can keep their harems even after choosing a Royal Maiden. But any child born out of a different woman will be executed.In general, sons are favored over daughters as they can be trained to be soldiers.
EUNUCHS
Only eunuchs are allowed to serve the harem and Royal Maidens to prevent foul play while the Ashuras are at war. Eunuchs are comprised of men born with disabilities or who are too weak to perform other tasks. As a way to make them useful and prevent their frailty from being passed on, they are castrated and have their tongues removed before being handed over to merchants to be sold as slaves.
LADY SHURA AND THE KING’S HAREM
The presence of the king’s foreign pet has caused quite a stir within the clan, though no one dared contest the Ashura who conquered 3,000 worlds. Martis initially locked away Lady Shura in his private chamber, believing the rumblings would die down if he kept the girl away from prying eyes. This only served to rouse everyone’s curiosity and suspicion even more.Still, Martis was unperturbed; he had intended to get rid of the girl once he grew tired of her anyway. But in a twist of fate, he found himself favoring her company as she provided him some reprieve from his inner demons. Gradually, he gave her more freedom and access to parts of the fortress despite his better judgment.After the girl woefully remarked how lonely she felt while he was away, Martis introduced her to his harem. Not only would they keep her company, but they can teach her more techniques for pleasing a man (the girl was untouched when the Ashura King took her).The harem’s reaction to the girl was mixed - the younger ones were curious and playful, amused by the girl’s meekness and exotic form. The older ones who have been vying for the king's affection, hoping to be his Royal Maiden someday, saw the foreigner as a threat to their plans. The girl’s clothes drew even more ire from this particular group as white silk was an expensive and rare item, often gifted by the patron to their favorite pet.Despite his growing affection for Lady Shura, the king still intended to choose a Shura woman to be his Royal Maiden. However, after a political ploy involving his most trusted general and one of the older harem women, the king grew paranoid. He lost trust in everyone except for Lady Shura, an outcast who had no connections and can be easily controlled. Thus, he decided to make her his Royal Maiden despite many protests.Martis had the traitors publicly executed by impaling them with sharpened steel from their rectums to their mouths. He then dismissed his harem and forbade them from seeking patronage among other Ashuras to thwart any further plots against him.But while Martis showed no remorse to a once trusted friend and general, Lady Shura pleaded mercy for her companions in the harem. She asked the king to reward the girls who were kind to her. Martis acquiesced, giving these specific women a small fortune so they may live out the rest of their lives comfortably.
OFFSPRINGS AND DIVINE BLOODLINES
Martis and Lady Shura would eventually have four offspring: Prince-Executor Ashtaroth, his twin sister Princess-General Ashtarte, Prince Adonai, and Princess Aerin.Contrary to the popular belief that their mother’s lineage weakened the children, the king’s offspring carry the blood of twin Divinities - Tala, the Divinity of Creation whose lineage extended to the Nivian Tribe, and Arun, the Divinity of Chaos from which the Shura Clan originated from.