View source for Castrates

The Chatcaavan custom, which is common to the throneworld and the titled lords who frequent its court.

There's more about this custom in later PG books, and in Major Pieces when the Attendant and Everdawn talk about it.

==Physiological Effects==
Castrates are not good fighters; they don't develop the armor or aggression or muscle development that uncastrated males do. They tend toward only the two facial horns, and never grow the additional neck horns or spines.

==Cultural Uses==
===In the Throneworld Court===
The male children of female servants are given to the Master of the Preparation Room as infants for castration. (Any change in this policy, prior to the Emperor's amendment of it, would have had to be mandated by the palace Overseer).<ref name="cod-cl">In the Court of Dragons, "Claimed"</ref>

They use names, not titles. They address males Inside with the same effacing language as females ("my-better", "your-lesser", etc). 

Castrates keep the palace clean (both the rooms and the laundry) and feed its courtiers, but are not considered Outside. They are kept away from the harems of the females. There are few of them, but what few there are know many secret ways in and out of the palace. They're also in charge of ordering basic supplies (kitchen, linens, etc) so they have access to the message system. Castrates are unpaid.<ref name="mp-leg">Major Pieces, "Legacy"</ref>

They are forbidden to fly<ref name="mp-leg" /> though they sometimes teach one another in secret, gliding short distances during the mornings when the elite of the palace are likely to be asleep.<ref name="cod-cl" />

===On Other Worlds===
The custom with castration varies from world to world. System lords who copy the ways of the Throneworld are likely to castrate their male servants, and sometimes even use them interchangeably with harem females<ref name="mp-bec">Major Pieces, "Because"</ref>. Those who think the Throneworld decadent, hold to older ways, or simply don't have any interest forgo the custom.

==References==
<references />

[[Category:Chatcaava]] [[Category:Castes, Jobs, Roles, and Titles]]