>>5693919Well okay then, I guess whatever Lagneia does, she's off to a strong start.
To an extent, you have the relationship between Ruth's family and al-Fasek backwards. His men call him Lord, but he has no proper title, and to the Court in Lygos he is little more than a bandit, slaver, and mercenary - albeit one of the best. He does not amount to a real military power like the Brotherhood of Double Pay Men and the Talons of the Silver Hawk, as while his janissaries are each worth ten lesser men in a fight, his harem numbers little more than a single company.
The Brotherhood and the Talons each have tens of thousands to their name, with at least as many men of quality as al-Fasek's harem among their number. But they also have these things called "moral standards" that make them <span class="mu-i">excellent</span> security forces and auxillaries to knights and levies during war. Armies fear facing them in battle, but civilians appreciate their tremendous discipline and restraint. A city getting taken by them in siege often bounces back quickly, because they do not sack and pillage the civilian centers, and the men are paid well enough to buy girls rather than rape them.
Al-Fasek's janissaries, on the other hand, carve their niche in getting their hands dirty.
The Noble House of Rosenschild - Ruth's family - are one of several noble families in Lygos who act as unofficial patrons of the Esteemed House of al-Fasek. They ignore his proclivities, forgive lesser crimes against their smallfolk, and protect him from the law. In return, he gives them cheap rates whenever they have work for him. Her parents may even have paid him to make their eligible daughter's lower born betrothed disappear, though they probably should have asked him a few questions rather than made it "no questions asked".
After all, even though Nikola is gone... Zahra still gives their daughter a taste of his feminine penis on the regular, much more often than he did when he was Nikola. She may or may not be caught up in such things right now.
