Alba and Eire (Kushiel's Legacy)

In Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Legacy series, Alba and Eire are the names given to the countries that lie across a northern strait from Terre d'Ange. Alba (Gaelic for Scotland and also historically Great Britain) is a fantasy equivalent of early medieval Britain and Eire (Gaelic for Ireland) is a fantasy equivalent of Ireland. Both are pagan and have been cut off from the mainland for generations due to the Master of the Straits barring all vessels from passing. The chief city of Alba is Bryn Gorrydum, equivalent to York. The city of Dobria, equivalent to Dover, is the point at which the straights between Alba and Terre d'Ange are narrowest; here each country can be seen from the other's shore.

Alba

Government/Political Structure

The ruler of Alba is the Cruarch and is matrilineally descended from the legendary ancestor Cinhil Ru. The ruler of Alba is chosen through a matrilineal line of succession, with leadship generally passing from the current Cruarch to his sister's eldest son. In this matriarchy, marriage is the norm though is far more a family matter than out of pure love. Albans are also tacitly accepting of homosexuality and bisexuality but neither are as common or as accepted as in Terre d'Ange.

There are four major clans in Alba that each have their diadh-anam or symbolic native animal (Called a God-Soul by Phédre nó Delaunay de Montrève):

:Cullach Gorym, the people of the Black Boar (the line of Cinhil Ru to which Drustan mab Necthana belongs). The......

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