Sat'psa Balin

Former Phraya or "king" of the Southern District of the Stone Throne until from 206 AC until 215 AC, when he passed away of natural causes. Successor to the Dark Lady, chosen because he was the only link to the last non-forceful, non-brutish ruler of that area. Born in 143 AC as the fourth son of the junior branch of the then-ruling line, the Sat'psas. The last real Sat'psa was overthrown in 165 AC by an opportunistic bandit lord named Il'ka, who was then slaughtered and overthrown by the Dark Lady in 2000, who ruled until deposed and killed by the Catalysts in 206. Balin spent much of the intervening years as an adventurer and mercenary on many frontiers. During this time, he swore blood oath to two others--the ophidian shaman Coral Fang and the hulking silent barbarian Urgok. They swore that they would be brothers and that should any of them die, the others would adopt their children. And children they had (both legitimate and illegitimate). Both the other two died before his ascension; in keeping with his oath he adopted their children. The latter 15 years before the fall of the Dark Lady were spent in Asai'ka, where he had 4 wives and a large number of concubines, mistresses, and lovers. His total descendents number in the hundreds and his blood (by marriage or descent) is mingled with most of the noble houses of Asai'ka and the Serpent Dominion to this day.

His reign was notable because he spent most of it incapacitated, but did not declare an heir. This led to a succession crisis, in which Hvang Srey emerged victorious. In this contest, the candidates were required to attain support from all three of the castes--noble, lai, and common. There were a dozen contestants at the start; many withdrew quickly. Only a few were actually killed before the Queen's Fang stepped in and made it clear that any funny business would see him pick the winner, and it wouldn't be any of them. At the end, there were four viable contestants.

Notable Offspring

• Sat'psa Dara, one of his elder legitimate children (by his 1st wife), owned and ran the Ironstrike Mines in the northern part of the district for many years. He and his father were never on great terms, especially since Dara made his peace with the oppressor lord and lady. Dara was one of the contestants in the succession crisis, but his candidacy was hampered by the fact that he had gained the severe dislike of both commoners and merchant castes. He died in 226 AC of natural causes.
• Sat'psa Po, a legitimate child of his 3rd wife, was a total non-entity who was married off to Hvang Srey (and she was adopted into the family) to settle some debts. After her ascension, he pottered on before dying of an infection caused by an untended scratch from a rosebush in 245 AC. They had four children.
• Sat'psa Leng, an illegitimate son of a common mistress. Raised with the Sat'psas as a adjutant to the legitimate sons, he quickly learned to schmooze and earned himself the position of Phra of an outlying city. His quixotic candidacy was bankrolled by the Red Lantern Society, a devil-worshiping cult. He also invited in the Ship Folk, whose beach-head is now the city of Tarad'am. When his duplicity was discovered, he raised the Devil's Rebellion, at the end of which he was executed for treason.
• Sat'psa Vanna, his last child by his fourth wife (said to have ophdian blood, although that's not confirmed), was an arcanist and alchemist who ran a set of clinics and produced beauty products. Beloved of the common folk but rejected by the nobles, she became entangled with the Awakener presence at the Temple of the Moon in her attempt to gain the throne. She was the mother of Azhtar Cai'Valur and the lover of Torvald'vel'Orobas before his fall. After being freed from Awakener possession by the Dimwit Syndicate, she suffered mental trauma and regressed to the mental age of a teenager, never regaining her full faculties. She died about in about 245 AC of natural causes, mostly in consequence of her trauma.