To Alex, it seemed to be a fairy land, complete with tales of undying love and cracks in the planet’s crust. The story about the Sea man and the woman reminded her of the fairy tale on Teran One. The mutual nullification fairytale. The story of a family out to destroy each other, each with grievances, each with bitterness. Bloodlines would fight each other for dominance, for power, for land, over petty differences. Until the Saria tradition began, families attacked other families, eliminating competition, creating long-standing feuds satisfied only by the blood of the innocent. The newer families, who arrived after Teran One was founded, were targeted, their lack of status making them easy pickings for the First families. Vengeance kept some families divided and fighting for centuries. Hundreds of years of mass murder with entire branches of bloodlines completely wiped out led to chaos. To save Teran One, the Stender line had created the Saria ceremony, where a single member of an offending family could be used as an object of revenge.
