Talk:Tyna/@comment-31763506-20170610141632

2 cents on the Ardan line of succession.

Tyna could very well be the Heir Presumptive by the standards of current European succession law, but the Ardan Government may be uncomfortable with the idea of her succeeding because of widespread sexism against female monarchs. That and there may be a few powerful male members of the extended royal family waiting in the wings to make a bid for the throne, perhaps with the support Aram's military.

When the direct male line of succession failed in medieval or early modern Europe and the most obvious candidate was either female or realated to the previous monarch through a female line, civil war was very often the result. Often the rules of succession were unclear or inconsistently applied, something called proximity of blood was sometimes preferred to primogeniture.

Despite the Church of Ivala being matriachal, it's made clear throughout TLS that human society in Ardoheim, Yhilin and Aram does not treat men and women as equals in political life. Part of Janine's problem seems to be that she's female. It's also made clear that Yhilin's rules of succession are often up in the air, since Janine and her husband were rival claimants to the throne before their marriage.

An undisputed son to Alonon would eliminate the possibility of such a civil war. (Apart from the fact that child kings in European history almost always turned out badly.)

I suspect that Tyna's (bitterly contested) succession to the Ardan throne is going to be a plot point.