A few world & lore questions - item submission help

[Snerf]

Not sure the best way to go about asking these questions, so here they are. 

I'm working on finalizing my item submission and want to make sure the content is consistent with the world and lore. I've read through the wiki and while it is very helpful, it didn't touch on these (that I could see).

• Could someone (like an animancer) in the PoE world perceive a shattered soul cycle? Would it be possible within the lore for someone like that to know if this happens to another person?
   
• In the PoE world, is the construct of marriage similar to the real world? Particularly in The Dyrwood and Vailian Republics (as the item is related to animancy and the wiki mentions those nations as leaders in that particular field).
   
• Is the item appearance submission field text just to help describe the item to the devs, or is that field part of the final text?
   
• Can the in-game memorial name+content be related to the item? In my case there is a logical connection, and I think it would be neat to have that be referencing something in-world rather than too obvious of a 4th wall wink/nod.

Pretty excited about getting my submission in ASAP, so I really appreciate any additional info you can provide!

[J.E. Sawyer]

Using specialized tools, animancers can detect if a soul has suffered serious damage during previous reincarnation cycles.  Most souls fragment slightly from one life to the next, but others can break more dramatically.

 

Marriage is largely similar to "real world" in the Dyrwood and Vailian Republics.  There are a few notable exceptions.  In the Aedyr Empire, it's not uncommon for humans and elves to take elves or humans, respectively, as secondary spouses for economic or political reasons.  These arrangements are called haemnegs and society considers them perfectly acceptable as long as both parties are married to same-race partners and producing children (the imperial family has been doing it for centuries so it has to be okay, right?).  It is less common in the Dyrwood, but still happens.

 

In the Vailian Republics, godlike are legally considered to be without sex or gender (because they cannot reproduce) regardless of how they appear or self-identify.  Legal constructs that explicitly name (favorably or unfavorably) sexes or genders can cause problems for them.  Marriage is a tricky area for godlike in many areas because most societies consider marriage to exist for the purpose of raising children.  This also causes problems for mixed-"race" (in the fantasy sense) marriages for the same reason.

 

The item appearance field is to help us describe it.  We may use part, none, or all of your text in the final description.

 

Sure, I don't see a problem with there being a connection between the memorial and item.

[Snerf]

Thanks Josh, that is all very helpful!

[tajerio]

In the Vailian Republics, godlike are legally considered to be without sex or gender (because they cannot reproduce) regardless of how they appear or self-identify.  Legal constructs that explicitly name (favorably or unfavorably) sexes or genders can cause problems for them.  Marriage is a tricky area for godlike in many areas because most societies consider marriage to exist for the purpose of raising children.  This also causes problems for mixed-"race" (in the fantasy sense) marriages for the same reason.

 

Did we know this before?  Because that is a really excellent touch.

[Chaos Theory]

Pretty sure that I'd be 'that guy' who would have multiple secondary (tertiary, spare, covert, etc) spouses for, you know, economic reasons.

Edited March 5, 2014 by Chaos Theory