Ratfolk Families of Ra’azum

Ratfolk Families of Ra’azum

Ra’azum’s size, density, and constant circulation of wealth have led Ratfolk families within the city to develop unusually formalized internal structures and highly refined mercantile customs. While Ratfolk families elsewhere may be looser, more improvisational, or primarily nomadic, those operating in Ra’azum tend to be politically aware, proverb-fluent, and deeply interconnected.

Families in Ra’azum may conduct legal business, illegal ventures, or both simultaneously. What matters is not legality, but sustainability.

Family as Institution

In Ra’azum, a Ratfolk family functions as a permanent economic institution rather than a temporary kin group. Families maintain ledgers, reputations, and long-term strategies that persist across generations.

Family membership includes blood relatives, married-in partners, adopted kin, and long-standing associates. Loyalty is contractual, emotional, and reputational.

Dominant Voices

Every Ratfolk family contains the full range of internal roles described in the Ratfolk entry. What distinguishes one family from another is which voices dominate decisions during periods of strain.

In Ra’azum, these tendencies become well known and are often cited in proverb.

Notable Families

House Keshavar

Reputation: Stable, conservative, widely trusted Dominant Voices: Ledger Holders, Elders

House Keshavar is frequently asked to arbitrate disputes between families. They prioritize continuity over growth and are slow to commit resources without clear long-term benefit.

Commonly associated sayings:

• “Honor is keeping the same price tomorrow.”
• “The ledger remembers.”

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House Velrix

Reputation: Aggressive, opportunistic, fast-moving Dominant Voices: Badgers

House Velrix is known for pushing into new ventures quickly and publicly. They accept reputational risk as the cost of momentum and are often blamed when markets destabilize.

Commonly associated sayings:

• “The pig fed us.”
• “Badgers don’t retreat.”

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House Trelmor

Reputation: Patient, infrastructural, quietly influential Dominant Voices: Elders

House Trelmor plans across decades rather than seasons. They speak rarely in council, but their questions often end debates.

Commonly associated sayings:

• “And the third winter?”
• “Who feeds us then?”

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House Namarik

Reputation: Discreet, observant, politically sensitive Dominant Voices: Ledger Holders, Negotiators

House Namarik deals primarily in information, access, and reputation management. Their withdrawal of support is often more damaging than open opposition.

Commonly associated sayings:

• “Close the ledger.”
• “You’re shouting numbers.”

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House Dravenn

Reputation: Necessary, uncomfortable, respected Dominant Voices: Closers

House Dravenn specializes in resolving situations others refuse to finish. They are disliked, but widely relied upon.

Commonly associated sayings:

• “Blood spills once. Credit spills forever.”
• “Who cleans the knife?”

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House Vaskir

Reputation: Solvent, debated, culturally strained Dominant Voices: Badgers (contested), Elders (resurgent)

House Vaskir is frequently referenced in modern proverb due to their failed attempt to control an arena fighter who refused to behave as a priced asset. Though the family remains solvent, their reputation suffered public damage.

Commonly associated sayings:

• “The scale still balances.”
• “You can’t price a spine.”

Inter-Family Relations

Open conflict between Ratfolk families in Ra’azum is rare. Instead, families exert pressure through:

• denial of credit
• exclusion from ventures
• reputation signaling
• proverb-laden public speech

Violence is a last resort and always accounted for.

Cultural Significance

The concentration of Ratfolk families in Ra’azum has made the city a major center for the evolution of Ratfolk proverb and parable usage. New sayings often emerge from highly visible success or failure within the city before spreading outward along trade routes.