Surrogates

The surrogates are the building blocks of the Jewel royalty. They are ladies who possess the power of the Auguries. A majority of the female characters, mostly minor characters, are surrogates.

History
Dr. Osmium Corre discovered a strange genetic mutation, found only in the Marsh women. The Auguries are said to repair chromosomal damage in the embryos of the royal. The Auguries have a certain effect on the child, such as the Augury of Color. It affects the physical look of the child, like the hair color and eye color as well as its complexion.

Reckoning Day
The Reckoning Day is meant to make the surrogates remember their past to prepare themselves for their "great future". They are allowed to wear anything they wish while they visit their house. They would then be be brought by carriage to their houses and have until 8 in the evening before returning to their gate.

Pre- Auction
The Auction is an event that happens after the Reckoning Day, where the surrogates would be sold off to the merchants of the Bank and for highly-ranked surrogates, to the royalty of the Jewel. The surrogates wear a simple brown dress as they will get prepared later. They get transported via train through the five circles of Lone City, before being asked to take a pill while at the end of the Farm and at the start of the Smoke. This would knock them out so they do not know how to get in and out of the auction house.

Prep Process
The surrogate would wake up eventually, nude on top a false metal table. They would be prepared by a lady-in-waiting. They would get to see themselves after years of not seeing themselves in a mirror.

A large hourglass of pale green sand would be turned over to signify the start of the applying of cosmetics and the fixing of hair.

A medium-size hourglass of pale purple sand would be turned over to signify the start of the dressing up. Sometimes, they could be given a choice to pick their clothing.

The smallest hourglass of dark red sand would be turned over to signify the start of free time. This time, a surrogate could talk to the lady-in-waiting or do whatever they want until a Regimental would escort them to the Waiting Room to be called on stage.

Auction Proper
The surrogate would be called by another Regimental and be brought to the auditorium that leads to the stage. The surrogate, once called, would have to walk to the marked X in the centre of the stage and someone would light a candle, to signify the time the auction would take. The auctioneer would describe the bodily characteristics of the surrogate as well as their talents and other special information. The auctions all begin at 500,00 diamantes, which is the currency of Lone City. Once the highest bidder is known, the surrogates is owned by her mistress' household. The marked X would descend and the surrogate would be knocked out before being brought to the house of their mistress.

After Service
When a surrogate gets pregnant from an implant of a royal embryo the by product of that unnatural birth is that she dies in child birth. The cause of this is unknown but it is believed to have something to do with the auguries. But this only happens when a surrogate is carrying a royal baby of immaculate conception not when the surrogate carries a child of her own that was not an implant of a damaged royal embryo. It is also possible that this happens because Paladin women ( the original inhabitants of the Island and the people surrogates decent from that gives them their abilities) were never meant to carry children that were not their own so the unnatural circumstances of the pregnancy with a royal child kills them during labour (child birth).

Known Surrogates
- Violet Lasting (Surrogate of the Duchess of the Lake; Lot 197)

- Raven Stirling (Surrogate of the Countess of Stone; Lot 192)

- Lily Deering (Surrogate of Reed and Caliper Haberdash; Lot 53)

- Dahlia (Surrogate of the Electress; Lot 200)

- Iced Cake (Surrogate of the Countess of the Rose; Lot 198)

- Lioness (Surrogate of the Duchess of Scales; Lot 199)