Rist

Unique to Veng culture, rist is best defined as a combination of tribe and caste. There are two hundred and four variations of rist and every Veng is born into one of them. The Veng maintain this system on each of their many worlds and non-Veng visitors must first be assigned membership in one of several fairly benign rists, each with its own perks and limitations.

Among other things, one's rist determines what job you can take or what school you can attend. Most rist have blood feud with at least one other. Limitations on vocation and education restrict members of feuding factions from meeting frequently, limiting encounters to neutral zones where all historic animosities are largely set aside. Other rules of the system keep interactions at the level of dirty looks and the occasional shove or biting remark. Actual violence is limited to individuals, one Veng against another, and only at the higher ranks within a rist could it become lethal. Precise biological and social requirements must be met before feuding is taken to the most extreme levels.

The concept of rist is first encountered in Buffalito Contingency.

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