House Basilisk Hierarchy

• "Unyielding as Stone, Deadly as Venom" is the motto of House Venarion

House Basilisk Structure

• In House Basilisk, the supreme leader is the eldest male, known as the Khan
• The Khan holds ultimate power, overseeing military and political affairs
• The Khan's authority is unquestioned and their word is seen as law
• The role of Khan requires strength and cunning obtained through a trial

Caste System Overview

• House Basilisk operates via a caste system that is integral to the society
• Each caste has specific duties and responsibilities for survival in the desert
• Social mobility is almost nonexistent

Khan and Royal Line

• Highest caste comprised of the Khan and his direct male descendants
• Role: Govern and make all decisions for the house
• Responsibilities: Protecting the house, leading armies, and managing strategic alliances
• The Khan is often seen as chosen by the gods with a divine connection to the sun deity

Warriors (Venom Caste)

• Second-highest caste, revered for combat skill and venomous magic
• Role: Defending the house
• Responsibilities: Training warriors, leading raids, and upholding the honor of the house
• Expected to be loyal to the Khan

Traders and Diplomats (Sand Caste)

• Comprises skilled negotiators and merchants
• Role: Handles diplomacy with House Celestea and other external forces
• Responsibilities: Maintaining trade routes, ensuring survival through external alliances, and gathering resources

Craftsmen and Healers (Scale Caste)

• Artisans and healers are essential to tribe health and strength
• Role: Upkeep of tribe health and strength
• Responsibilities: Crafting weapons, armor, tools, medical duties, and brewing venom potions
• Respected but at the bottom of the caste system in terms of influence

Laborers (Sand Serpents)

• Lowest caste responsible for all manual labor
• Role: Responsible for all manual labor that keeps the house running
• Responsibilities: tending to the land, caring for livestock, building infrastructure, and carrying out menial tasks

Tribal Traditions and Duty

• House Basilisk expects members to contribute to the tribe's survival
• Males train in combat and desert survival from a young age
• Young males undergo initiation trials in the harshest parts of the desert to prove their strength and cunning
• Annual ceremonies show warriors’ prowess through combat or other trials
• Khan selects champions who earn greater honor and sometimes positions of power

Gender and Patriarchy

• House Basilisk is deeply patriarchal
• Women are valued for maintaining the house and supporting warriors, but their power is limited
• Expected to marry within the house to maintain bloodlines and strengthen alliances
• Women of higher castes may influence the Khan, but cannot hold leadership positions
• Their roles focus on family, politics, and ensuring household well-being

Royal Line Women

• Role: Involved in diplomatic affairs, keepers of house purity and traditions
• Limitations: Cannot become Khan or hold ultimate authority, but may wield indirect influence
• Responsibilities: Educating family, maintaining the household, and overseeing religious ceremonies

Venom Caste Women

• Role: Rarely warriors, but exceptions are made for those with martial skills or magic who may gain positions as trainers or protectors
• Responsibilities: Supporting warriors, crafting armor, preparing potions, and raising the next generation of soldiers
• Notable Exceptions: Female warriors are symbolic but are rarely given leadership roles

Sand Caste Women

• Role: Manage trade and fostering diplomacy
• Responsibilities: Overseeing trade routes, organizing caravans, and ensuring survival through resource acquisition
• Influence: May hold sway over external relations, but remains subordinate to male leaders

Scale Caste Women

• Role: Highly valued for crafting weapons, brewing remedies, and providing medical care
• Responsibilities: Designing tools and armor, tending to wounded warriors, and creating powerful poisons or potions
• Opportunities: Can gain respect and autonomy through craftsmanship, especially if skills are unmatched

Sand Serpent Women

• Role: Perform grueling labor alongside men
• Responsibilities: Managing food production, maintaining infrastructure, and performing domestic tasks
• Limitations: No opportunities for advancement and are subject to the harshest treatment

Cultural Expectations for Women

• Women are culturally expected to prioritize family, loyalty, and duty and are seen as caretakers of tradition, supporting the men
• Their contributions are vital to survival, especially in diplomacy, healing, and craftsmanship

Current Ruler

• Khan Tarsen 'The Defanged' Venarion was 46 when was with House Celestea broke out
• He had been Khan of House Venarion for many years and was capable of leading his people

Becoming the Khan

• Tarsen's father, the previous Khan, died of natural causes when Tarsen was around 22
• His death was a loss that profoundly impacted the young Khan
• Tarsen took on the mantle of Khan with little fanfare with little preparation amid external and internal threats
• His father's death left a power vacuum that required immediate attention in consolidating the house in securing his power
• Tarsen delayed marriage due to instability, wanting to solidify his rule
• Tarsen's father’s death marked the beginning of his reign, shaping his approach to leadership and reluctance to marry

Sareen's Introduction and Marriage to Tarsen

• Sareen was born into a lesser noble family within the desert lands, a distant branch of House Venarion
• Sareen was considered to be of ideal marriageable age with beauty and fertility which made her a good match for powerful men like Tarsen
• As Tarsen was at a critical to secure his power and bloodline, Sareen, being young, healthy, and from a noble family, was chosen as Tarsen's bride
• For Sareen, the marriage was one of duty, not love.
• Sareen was expected to bear Tarsen an heir and fulfill her responsibilities as his wife
• The marriage was a quiet affair; they were in a cold distant relationship, focused on duty
• Sareen grew accustomed to the transactional nature of their marriage but did want children to provide meaning
• Sareen endured many miscarriages and stillbirths
• Sareen finally became pregnant with Zahir at 39 years old; securing Tarsen’s legacy

The Raid That Started It All

• House Venarion had ruled over the harsh deserts
• Their lands bordered the territories of House Celestea where the two houses had maintained a tense relationship
• The spark that ignited the war came in the form of a raid by Venarion raiders on a Celestean caravan, who desecrated the sacred relics
• House Celestea saw this as an unforgivable breach; Solaris responded with swift fury

The War That Followed

• The raid began a brutal war that devastated the desert lands
• House Celestea quickly overwhelmed House Venarion, ending in a crushing defeat for House Venarion during the The Battle of Ashen Dunes
• Tarsen sent emissaries to regain peace, but King Solaris demanded full submission

The Terms of Forced Vassalization

• King Solaris of House Celestea gave Tarsen a choice: surrender House Venarion's independence or face total destruction
• Terms of peace: Vassalage to House Celestea, Tributary Payments, and Military Allegiance
• Tarsen swore the oath of vassalage to King Solaris and House Venarion was bound to Celestea
• His people were spared but their autonomy and House Venarion became completely subservient

The Bitter Aftermath

• Tarsen became known as “The Defanged” amidst his house's loss of power and subservience
• Tarsen was unable to act without approval in matters of great importance, and the people held onto traditions
• The legacy of submission and survival, but for now, Tarsen knew that the survival of his people was all that mattered

Zahir's Birth

• Zahir was born after the war, when Tarsen was 47 years old
• Tarsen had been married to Sareen, a woman of lower noble birth
• The marriage was arranged out of duty, not affection, and Sareen was selected primarily to provide heirs
• Zahir's birth ensured the continuation of the Venarion bloodline, but the delay and the singular nature of the heir was regarded with some degree of frustration
• The couple never shared affection or closeness, with Tarsen's focus primarily on his rule

Tarsen's Approach to Parenting

• Tarsen saw fatherhood as another responsibility to fulfill—one that's critical to securing the future of House Venarion
• From a young age, Zahir would be trained and molded to meet the ideals of their house.
• Stoicism, discipline, and pride would be the core values instilled in him

Tarsen's Parenting Style

• Early Exposure to Leadership
• Emphasis on Logic and Rationality
• Tough Love

Tarsen's Expectations

• Expected Zahir to have: The Perfect Image, Ruling Together in the future
• Expected Zahir to be ready to rule, knowing that this was his legacy
• Expected Zahir to have: Respect, Not Love; and a feeling of Pressure and Burden
• Tarsen saw Zahir: A Reflection of Himself, A Legacy to Preserve

Zahir and Aurora's Betrothal

• Tarsen may have been wary of Zahir and Aurora's Betrothal because: -A Political Move to Keep Venarion in Line -A Reminder of Submission -A Carefully Constructed Pact -A Long-Term Play -Tarsen's Reluctance and Resentment

Tarsen's Personal Thoughts on the Betrothal

• Tarsen may have thought of Zahir and Aurora's Betrothal as: -A Necessary Sacrifice -Resentment Toward House Celestea -Focus on Duty

Tarsen's Life Timeline

• Age 0-5: Born as the heir to House Venarion in the desert lands
• Age 6-20: Taught the ways of leadership, combat, and survival
• Age 22: Became Khan of House Venarion
• Age 25-30: Strengthened alliances
• Age 30-32: Continued strengthening his position as Khan, but started considering marriage
• Age 32: Married Sareen
• Age 33-45: Had trouble producing an heir with Sareen
• Age 46: War broke out between House Venarion and House Celestea
• Age 47: Zahir was born
• Age 53: Zahir was betrothed to Princess Aurora of House Celestea
• Age 50-60: Began to show his age
• In Aurora's timeline he was in his late 60s