Deanna laughs at that. "If it is, I've never been told! Anything's possible. The Great Fire created life and gifted Betazoids with telepathy. It was meant to be a gift to create the sort of society that is on Betazed now. A peaceful one.
"But surprisingly," and her voice is dry, "many Betazoids misused the power they'd been given. It eventually lead to a civil war. Many parts of our society were established when it ended--it's when it became a matriarchy--but two were more important than anything else. The Great Fire created the Mendissian Historians. They separated the thirteen families that had worked hardest to end the war and bring peace. Those thirteen families because the Thirteen Houses. Each one is associated with one of the thirteen traits that Betazoids hold most dear. The Third House is the House of Health, for example; the Seventh is the House of Courage. Members of a house are generally expected to ensure they have that trait as a strong part of their personality--and often more parts of their life, like their careers--best they can.
She grows a bit--just a bit--more serious then. "The second thing that happened was that the Great Fire created the Marital Forces. The first thing they did was give each Betazoid alive knowledge of what it would mean to have an Imzadi. How it would feel. The bond already existed, and some had it--but it wasn't something understood or even really known about.
Now she smiles. "It did wonders to turn minds from war to trying to feel that again--to find someone they could feel it with. And, yes, there was a great deal of sex and nudity at the time, as the population didn't understand yet that sex was incidental. There also were many who found their Imzadi. And there were many marriages. We marry without clothes on for many reasons. But one is to remember the gift of the Marital Forces that the Great Fire gave us--and to remember that peace brings more blessings than war because when you're a telepath, you hear thoughts--even from those you love--that hurt. And as a society, we sometimes need that reminder."
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2016-07-10 05:28 am (UTC)"But surprisingly," and her voice is dry, "many Betazoids misused the power they'd been given. It eventually lead to a civil war. Many parts of our society were established when it ended--it's when it became a matriarchy--but two were more important than anything else. The Great Fire created the Mendissian Historians. They separated the thirteen families that had worked hardest to end the war and bring peace. Those thirteen families because the Thirteen Houses. Each one is associated with one of the thirteen traits that Betazoids hold most dear. The Third House is the House of Health, for example; the Seventh is the House of Courage. Members of a house are generally expected to ensure they have that trait as a strong part of their personality--and often more parts of their life, like their careers--best they can.
She grows a bit--just a bit--more serious then. "The second thing that happened was that the Great Fire created the Marital Forces. The first thing they did was give each Betazoid alive knowledge of what it would mean to have an Imzadi. How it would feel. The bond already existed, and some had it--but it wasn't something understood or even really known about.
Now she smiles. "It did wonders to turn minds from war to trying to feel that again--to find someone they could feel it with. And, yes, there was a great deal of sex and nudity at the time, as the population didn't understand yet that sex was incidental. There also were many who found their Imzadi. And there were many marriages. We marry without clothes on for many reasons. But one is to remember the gift of the Marital Forces that the Great Fire gave us--and to remember that peace brings more blessings than war because when you're a telepath, you hear thoughts--even from those you love--that hurt. And as a society, we sometimes need that reminder."