Guardians

Note: this information is still in it's beta form, as evidenced by the (Family)
phrasing instead of the yet-to-be-determined Great House names.  Read
at your own risk.

The Nothriek, as with all great societies, are divided on a few issues key
to their culture.  The two Great Houses have very different views on the
subject of Guardian selection.  The (Family) House takes more of a Spiritual
and bond-based path to Guardianship, with Guardian summoning restricted
until a bond is formed. The (Family) House believes in a tiered system of Guardianship,
beginning with the 'easiest' guardians in youth, and terminating in the additional
choices of one of the 'Prime' guardians at maturity.

For instance, a young woman of the (Family) House would start her life with a Water Guardian.
A Water Guardian is the most adaptable, calm, and easy to control Guardians
available.  From there she might move on to an Air Guardian as she grew, a
more mutable, unpredictable Guardian with a playful nature.  Her next
Guardian might be an Earth Guardian - strong and sometimes stubborn, but
incredibly loyal.  Her next Guardian, summoned two years before the Age of
Maturity, would be of fire - dangerous, sometimes destructive, and
passionate.  This Guardian would serve to teach the young woman control, and
would be her final test before Adulthood, when she would be allowed to test
the most unpredictable of guardians, the Force and Radiation, as a final
step toward finding which element she found kinship with.

If she felt drawn to Fire and Earth, a Radiation Guardian would be
recommended.  If she felt drawn to Water and Air, a Force Guardian would be
considered. 

There is much scientific debate about what would come of an Earth/Water
hybrid Guardian, or a Fire/Air.  The Diachess and Keeper of Guardianship
Secrets have both expressed displeasure at such debate, and any rumours
regarding findings should be disregarded as traitorous slander upon Her
Ladyship.

Conversely, the (Family) Family believes in a more spiritual elemental
kinship-based system of Guardianship.  Each young Nothriek female is
encouraged to find an element to bond with.  Through many trials in her
young life, culminating in a fierce Trial of the Elements in her 16th year,
the young Nothriek determines her element.  The Trials are held every year
in Gloaming's Central District adjacent to the home of the Council of Nine. 
The trials are given over a period of five days, and Sisters of the Faith
must be on-hand at all times to mitigate any possibly permanent damage done
to the young (Family-women).  While summonings of Radiation and Force have
occurred in this family, as a general rule, these Guardians are considered
the product of impure essence-collection, or as an accident of faulty
summoning or capturing.  A few (family) women have been known to use
Guardians of this type, but almost always as a secondary or tertiary
Guardian.