Clans

Witches nations are called clans, and every witch within a particular clan will take the surname of that clan. For example, witches from the Giese clan will take the surname Giese even if they aren't actually related to Kieran. Sometimes, a witch will take both the surname of their family and their clan. This shows others their ties to both. An example of this is Kieran's brother Keir, whose name is Keir Giese-Vesela. The most powerful clan is usually written last, but in Keir's case, Vesela comes last because he is their clan leader. If the clans are equal in power and the witch wishes to take both then this witch will periodically switch around which name comes first and which one comes last.

Usually, a witch marrying into one clan into another takes several things into consideration when deciding on which surname to use. The power of the clan. A clan who is a member of the tribunal is more powerful than a clan who is on the small council and a clan on the small council is more powerful than all the other clans. The positions of the witches being married. For example, an average citizen marrying a member of another clan's main family will take the surname of that clan even if that clan is not as powerful as theirs. The positions of the witches are not taken into consideration if the clan is a secondary clan or a slave clan. In this case, the position of the clan is the only one taken into consideration. Gender plays no role in deciding what surname a witch takes.

In the last paragraph, you just read something about secondary clans and slave clans and might be a bit confused. In the witch world, there are three types of clans. The first is the council clans. These clans have full political rights and hold a seat upon the council, the small council or even tribunal depending on the power of the clan. The second type of clans are called secondary clans. They cannot hold a seat upon the council, but they govern their own clans. A secondary clan is under the military protection of a council clan and will often take the surname of the clan that is their protector in order to show other clans who are protecting them.

The final type of clans are called slave clans. These clans have no political rights what-so-ever. They are under complete control of the clan that owns them. There are three ways a clan can become a slave clan. The first way is they request it. The second they are conquered during the war, and the final way a clan might find themselves in slavery as punishment for severe crimes committed against another clan.