10 princes

[00:32] <SpaceThor> oh, i'm going way further back
[00:34] <SpaceThor> basically: after the fall of the short-ear empire, the desert elves were scattered into small settlements that intially struggled just to survive. out of that chaos, the Ten Princes arrive (actually eight princes and two princesses). Every one of them claimed to be some sort of noble from the empire. Every one of them was lying.
[00:35] <SpaceThor> But they did have some level of right to rule. In the chaos that followed, they had each wandered the desert alone. Desperate to survive and improve their situation, they refocused themselves on the deserts of their home, and received guidance. Each one was approached by a different creature of the desert, who taught them how to survive, and how to thrive. with that knowledge, they returned to the scraps of society and carved out a place for themselves
[00:35] <Tim> Interesting
[00:36] <SpaceThor> Haida was approached by a scorpion. Mellouk was approached by an adder. so it went for all of the Princes.
[00:36] <Tim> And the Princesses?
[00:37] <Tim> Haida did end up on top somehow, though, I gathered its dominance was unquestioned until recently
[00:37] <SpaceThor> yes
[00:37] <SpaceThor> (most people who talk of that time just use Princes as a collective for all ten)
[00:37] <SpaceThor> and yes, Haida did. it was partly due to what the Scorpion taught him, and partly due to just where he carved out his slice of the desert
[00:38] <Tim> Tell me more, it sounds like you have a reason planned for why it was a good piece of land
[00:39] <SpaceThor> Well, as the sands that swallowed the empire began to recede slightly, it turned out that it was the closest to the Dusty Serpent Road
[00:39] <SpaceThor> so of the Princes that reestablished contact with the rest of the world Haida had it the easiest
[00:40] <Tim> Hm, and it also allowed them to have the easiest time bullying the Southern Cantrevs (who are actually north of Haida lands)
[00:40] <SpaceThor> yes
[00:41] <Tim> If anyone has benefited from the Mellouk overthrow, it has been those savages in their stained-glass armor with their tiny city-kingdoms
[00:41] <Tim> fighting wars with the goblins and savage elves in the mountains
[00:42] <Tim> Good to know
[00:42] <SpaceThor> the second was that the immediate area took to agriculture a slight bit better than the others. while other princes had to import food to grow, the Haidas didn't have to spend quite as much of their wealth to grow their lands, and could devote it to expanding their routes.
[00:43] <Tim> ...and were, again, if I'm reading this right, positioned closest to the northern lands where more food was grown, although some of the coasts of the desert region are nice.  But the islands offshore have tribes like Lestari's living on them.
[00:43] <SpaceThor> and the third was Glass. for whatever reason, glass naturally occurred in the Haida lands for a good period of time. They used this precious resource as a blunt instrument to get more beneficial trade agreements with outsiders, and thus more money
[00:44] <SpaceThor> as for the Scorpion's knowledge. the Scorpion taught Haida that anyone can fight with their own two hands, but victors keep a third weapon, hidden but ready to use at a moment's notice.
[00:44] <SpaceThor> Haida did not have a stinger tail, but he had his wits, and he used them and sharpened them like any other weapon.
[00:44] <SpaceThor> and taught his descendants the same
[00:45] <Tim> Oh, interesting.  Since Hub has a lot of the centers for the higher processes, like glasswork, the Haida family would have had contacts in Hub (although the Mellouks now have a large office there), and would also have been supplying the Cantrevs with glass for their traditional armor.
[00:45] <SpaceThor> yeah
[00:45] <Tim> The reason for the tradition is that the glittering scares the shit out of goblins.
[00:45] <SpaceThor> hah, nice
[00:46] <SpaceThor> and that's how Haida became first of the Ten Princes
[00:46] <Tim> Also, for that, your caravan guards now traditionally carry an additional, hidden weapon.  Which one do you want standard?
[00:46] <SpaceThor> short, thin knives are fluffy enough
[00:46] <SpaceThor> think stilettos
[00:46] <SpaceThor> or similar
[00:46] <Tim> I was almost expecting slings, but knives make sense.  Glass?
[00:47] <SpaceThor> yes
[00:47] <SpaceThor> and since we've talked about the Mellouks, this is what Adder taught Mellouk
[00:47] <Tim> You might want to write this down, too, it's good stuff
[00:47] <SpaceThor> Adder taught mellouk that the secret to survival was to conserve energy, wait for an opportunity, and strike when victory is guaranteed
[00:48] <SpaceThor> in the words of Omar Little, "You come at the King, you best not miss"
[00:48] <Tim> I am getting a scarily good picture of Szarla's mentality now.
[00:49] <SpaceThor> of course, this mentality also prizes efficiency over sadism. you fight to win, you don't fight to humiliate
[00:49] <SpaceThor> which is part of the reason that Idir was able to escape and make it to the Freemarches
[00:49] <SpaceThor> Mellouk had won. expending effort tracking down a single Haida was not worth it.
[00:50] <Tim> You also ruined a major trade opportunity for Mellouk already, you realize.
[00:50] <SpaceThor> yes, i did
[00:51] <SpaceThor> and i'd do it again
[00:51] <SpaceThor> cause now i can court Lady Felistree
[00:51] <SpaceThor> and make money
[00:51] <SpaceThor> which are like Idir's two favorite things
[00:51] <SpaceThor> beautiful ladies and dolla bills
[00:52] <Tim> It's a shame there are no rules for giving Szarla an aneurysm by making her so angry when you are out of immediate throttling range
[00:52] <Tim> Because you also sent her that letter.
[00:53] <SpaceThor> i did
[00:53] <SpaceThor> that's Idir's third favorite thing
[00:53] <SpaceThor> being an asshole to people who deserve it
[00:57] <SpaceThor> i had a few basic ideas for animals/names of the last eight, but not all of them yet
[00:59] <Tim> Go ahead
[01:00] <SpaceThor> one of the princesses, Atifeh, spoke to the Condor, who told her to survive by subsisting on the scraps. Her line has never even been close to a regional trade power, but they get by comfortably and avoid basically all merchant intrigue
[01:01] <SpaceThor> so by some metrics, they're probably the best off of the merchant prince lines
[01:03] <SpaceThor> one of the Princes, Suhrab, spoke to the Jackal. Jackal told him that survival is paramount, and to survive by any means necessary. the line of Suhrab is distrusted by basically everyone, but they were third most powerful for a long time (second now).
[01:03] <SpaceThor> that's what i got so far
[01:04] <SpaceThor> (House Suhrab will deal in /anything/ if it gets them income, and are notoriously deceptive. but if you need something done and you don't care how, and you have the money, they're who you'll talk to)