"Adirai" Information and Back-story~

(If you know the back-story, skip on ahead to the Plot Outline.) (not up as of yet.)
(Or click to go back to the Townhouse main index.)

What is Adirai?

Adirai is a study of the insecure human mind, revolving around its dealings mainly with responsibility, family, and death-- seen through the character of Inmedae Menanceté. It is a story which revolves about the high-society elite, through a chain of resentment and class differences, upstarts and shady dealings, embodied by the counter-character Cecil Anice. It also traces a history of the fictional European country of Adirai (hence the title) during a period of great change-- i.e. changing views on a time's society, the Enlightenment of late-mid-18th century Europe. (1766 - late 1770s)

On a plot level, it exposes the personal failings and demise of Inmedae Menanceté, heir to the line of noble-house ruling system, known as the Adiraian Inquisitorship-- through a series of family and society-related dealings.

A word about the Inquisitors
(Yes, this is dry stuff, but you need to know it-- as you're not reading it in the story, bro...)

The Inquisitors are men of the highest noble rank and old Adiraian family, chosen by the Adiraian House of Lords to rule for their life span. They are in charge of the complete judicial system of Adirai, act as honorary Adiraian-Catholic cardinals (as Adirai is a fiercely Catholic nation: I can't stress it enough)-- Not exactly a 'king', but more a combination of several aspects of a king (especially regarding the figurehead idea), a court official, and perhaps a president. If a man is elected the Inquisitor of Adirai, his son will follow in that position after his father's death. But Inquisitors only rule in lines of pairs-- example-- The House-chosen Inquisitor, then his son-- the next House-chosen Inquisitor, then his son-- and so on.

And, a word about East and West Adirai

The country of Adirai is different on either side, differences including dialect, customs, religion, and etc. Although it is most deffinately one country, most refer to it as having two unofficial sections. West Adirai would be considered slightly more 'cosmopolitan' (if that can be said)-- with the capital city being the center and port, and the upper-class emulating anything but Adiraians. The climate is more liberal and 'Western', in a general sense, although still with the very "Adiraian" tastes and values that those such as Inmedae hope to escape. Regardless, the country of Adirai in its entirety, is more isolated and seen as 'different' than most European countries.

The East is a more coarse, more 'Adiraian' arena in a sense, with stoic and stronger religious values (more devoted to strictly Adiraian-Catholic rituals) and more indentured servitude (the peasants working cheap labor in the grain fields, of which the country is famous for). The East is rather ethnic Moscow to the West's more European-ized and refined St. Petersburg. The main Eastern city, Célandry, has a more typically Adiraian style of architecture and government. Both the East and West have been involved in struggles numerous times-- the most recent being the civil-war of sorts before the novel takes place.

Still, many of the most powerful families in Adirai are Eastern (such as the Evizias, the Viernys, the Hilenzys, the Agéritys), and are divided into Western and Eastern branches. The branch of Evizia from which Inmedae is descended is known as the Western branch, as they live and hold property primarily in the Capital city, though their history and genealogy is Eastern. Were one to describe Inmedae's heritage, one would say he is an Eastern Adiraian, as the majority of his heritage is therefore.

Much conflict appears over the West/East ratio of Inquisitors and other members of politics. Menanceté is a Western family, and the uniting of the Inquisitor with the leading Eastern Evizia clan was a strong political move in the time of strained East-West relations.

Anice and his sister are also Eastern, I might add.

And now, this is the back-story.
Note: This is not the story's plot-- just background information.

So the current Inquisitor Menanceté has chosen an heir, upon being elected by the parliament in the capital city of Adirai (yes, with the same name as the country.) It is a turbulent time in the late 1740s-- the sections of East and West Adirai are in a short, and hush-hush civil war, regarding trade, and the Inquisitor must get the country through this. He is a very able man, favored by the people for his lack of showiness and his excellent political skills, with a young and accomplished wife from a powerful Eastern family, whom he married when she was aged 14, and now neglects. She bears him children, from eldest to youngest-- Augustus, a boy who died at one year old, and living children Julian, Algernon, Inmedae, Evgeny, Aurilla, and Larissa. Julian is the obvious candidate for the heir-- he is the first-born son.

Traditionally, in Adirai the first-born son of a nobleman is the heir, and the second-born son is placed in a high position of the military. The rest of the sons are then normally committed to a life of free-spending, debt, and general boredom. Daughters are married off.

At the time of the civil wars, both the Inquisitor's first-born children, heir Julian, aged 19, and young army officer Algernon are involved with the fighting. Both are officers, Julian's position mostly for propaganda, as he is not officially in the army. He is the one pride of his father, who otherwise neglects his children for the most part, and rules his wife almost cruelly. Julian is also especially loved by the people for his extreme good looks and good breeding, wit, political talent, kindness, and intelligence. He is, in esscence, and on the exterior, the perfect Inquisitor's son and future Inquisitor.

Of course, he dies in the war. This is almost the 'loss of innocence' for the characters, as well as the country-- who recede into mourning. The second son Algernon cannot be the new heir, as he is too old to be educated in areas of politics which he wasn't, and which is essential for a ruler. He is kept in the military position for the remainder of his life. So the Inquisitor chooses his third son, Inmedae, aged 14-- young enough to be properly tutored. Inmedae is the favorite of his mother, and therefore the least favorite of his father-- charismatic, well-meaning, sweet, and utterly selfish. He starts his education, and neglects much, being, really, too old; and favoring subjects of the more artistic persuasion. He is very much not an example of an heir to a country.

The Inquisitor's wife has had an extremely poor life with her husband, who does not care for her, and spends much of his time with his mistress-- although, as wife of the Inquisitor, she is still otherwise beloved, and the veritable center of Adiraian society. And with that countering the death of her eldest son, she kills herself. This is looked at in an extremely bad light, with the strongly Adiraian Catholic attitudes of the country (which is stronger than other various breeds of Catholicism in Europe).

This is also a very short way of describing something that is a major turning point in the back-story, and the most important component in Inmedae's life, not to mention others in the family-- go to the characters page and scroll down until you reach her biography and paintings, to learn more.

Inmedae is promptly moved to the ancestral Menanceté home in the northern province of Sézan in Adirai (which can be seen at the bottom of the etc. page), to continue his studies, completely isolated. This is a very important time in shaping his behavior, as the most important thing in his life is gone, a huge responsibility is on his shoulders, and he becomes who he is. He begins to hate his father, as his father dislikes him, and such is natural-- regarding how, just after the death of his beloved mother, he is hurried off to a remote and unused estate with only tutors for company-- mostly to put him away, and out of the family's hair-- for he is a nuisance to them for his lack of upbringing, and formerly strong connection with his mother, who has gone from a high-society goddess, to a pariah for taking her own life in a religious society.

So, upon Inmedae's return at the age of twenty, he is a different person. He leaves home when he comes of age and purchases an enormous townhouse in the city and begins his life as a person who would rather not think of his duties than confront them, an 'overspending lout', and who compensates for childhood hardship and insecurity with items of pleasure.

The actual story begins when Inmedae is nearly thirty, and you most likely know it. If not, I'll have to tell you. Damn.

So, here follows the plot of the actual story. Read on.... (Not finished yet, will be up in a few.)