Male and female children are equally prized. There is no one person responsible for the care of the children. Rather, the entire household considers themselves to be responsible for each child. Except for the obvious role of child-bearing, the Rihannsu have no separate specific male and female societal roles as do some other similar species. All household members, including servants, are responsible to see that the children are cared for, educated, and protected.

While the raising of children is a community effort, the formal education of the children is usually done under the strict auspices of a highly-learned tutor in a nursery or schoolroom setting. The position of tutor to the House is considered an extremely important post and good tutors are held in exceptionally high esteem by the Rihannsu.

All children receive basic education in the sciences, the arts, literature, and mandatory military service. They are tutored in the proper forms of address for adults, equals, superiors and servants. The important concepts of honor, respect, duty, strength, service to the Empire, and self-sacrifice are engrained within our children at a very early age. Prior to the age of testability, all children are extensively trained and prepared to their maximum potential. Children who had successfully completed the D’sora ceremony are the joy of every Rihannsu household.

*An adopted member of the family has the same rank and receives the same respect as a blood member, but with the added responsibility of another House, perhaps. Adoptions are commonplace.

*Another commonplace adoption, a unique form of revenge, usually prompted by a Mnhei'sahe in the case of the murder of a child, is known as "hostage fostering". In this situation, a House steals the children of a rival House and rears them as their own. A family that has lost their child in this manner usually never sees them again.

D'Sora (The Great Age)

In the face of ever-present shortages of food and supplies, the ancient Rihannsu had to make certain difficult decisions. Preferential treatment was given to those individuals with the best chance for survival in the harsh environment. Only the smartest, healthiest, and strongest could survive. It was customary for the ill and infirm to simply walk away from the settlements, to elect to die with honor, than to strain the meager resources of the people to care for individuals who could not contribute to the greater good.

During this time of survival, the D’sora Ceremony was formed, the testing of young children for intelligence, for strength, and adaptability. Those children who passed the test are feted to a glorious time of feasting, dressed in magnificent ceremonial robes, and honored at a special religious service, at which time they were given their family name and officially entered into the historical records of the family.

Those who did not pass, that is, those who were genetically or intellectually inferior or ill or infirm in any way, were quietly and painlessly put to death and never spoken of again.

The practice of D'Sora is still commonplace in parts of the Empire with children undergoing examination at the age of five.

Phi'Lasasam (Education)

      Phi'navtasam (The Beginning)
      Phi'deltasam (The Broadening)
      Phi'bresalsam (The Coming Together of Knowledge)

Serona/D'Talla (The Great Duty - Military Service)

All Romulan citizens are required to undergo a mandatory five year period of Military service known as Serona. There are no exceptions. Failure to begin this service before the age of thirty is considered dissident treason.

Basic military training is given in local centres before citizens are assigned according to the needs of the Empire and possibly as a secondary consideration taking into account the skills of the individual. Duties are tedious and menial, and intended to allow the real soldiers the freedom to perform their duties.

A citizen who is also a high ranking member of a Great House may be able to serve this period on board a ship that is part of one of the Senatorial Fleets connected to that House, an arrangement that is usually secured by a considerable donation to the relevant Senator or his Coalition. Serona is typically undertaken between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five though some youths who are keen to embark on a career in the Galae may begin Serona as early as sixteen. To begin Serona any later than twenty five invites questions regarding loyalty to the Empire. Only after Serona is complete may a citizen apply to enter the Military Rhetor - the Romulan War College.

D'anna (The Great Joining - Marriage)

When a man takes a wife, he also takes her name and becomes a member of her house, sworn to uphold it against all enemies. The only exception to this scenario is if the wife has no family. In that case SHE would take the husband’s name and join his family.

The Rihannsu are a passionate and close-knit people. Marriages are forever and are not entered into without serious consideration. There is no word for divorce in the Rihannsu Language.

Procreation, without the benefit of marriage for the sole purpose of producing children for one’s House is a common practice among Rihannsu females and is considered an honorable option for an unmarried female.

Although childbearing during the teenage years is possible, having a child at so early an age is considered socially unacceptable. Most females have their first child after the age of 40.

Latta (Death)

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