The Traerid

Known collectively as the Traerid--colloquially as the Big Three--Royal Payne, Hyatt Vil and Faire Lae were the posthumous founders of House Sei'Dist, House Domine and House Prince respectively. The three were the masters of their clans prior to being created as nobles, and famously headed an uprising against the Paraphilian Crown.

The Accepted History of Tarsh
Four centuries before the current timeline, the province that would become Sadistique was an ungoverned territory called Tarsh, largely peopled by the members of three roving clans: Hyatt, Payne, and Faire.

Three Clans
Each clan specialized in an art, which offered an edge against their neighbors. The three groups utilized these specialties to strengthen the collective as a whole, often trading between one another, with gifts between clan leaders symbolizing alliances.

Clan Hyatt was known for warfare, their warriors widely feared, their mastery of combat unrivaled. The Hyatt were swordsmen, axemen, pikemen and such, highly trained from a young age to master any and every sort of weapon that could be wielded. Their smiths were known for forging deadly weapons and powerful armor, some pieces so grand and so heavy that only a juggernaut could wield them. And the clan had no shortage of juggernauts, its people greater in size than most others.

Clan Payne was adept in alchemy and innovation, ever working to improve what was, and to streamline the act of combat altogether. Known largely for their assassins, the Payne were nonetheless inventors, ever-working to simplify the lives of those around them. In combat, they were often archers, crossbowmen, knife-wielders and trap-makers, preferring to pick off the enemy before they ever saw them coming.

Clan Faire's focus lie in the power of information, their studies ranging from history and strategy, to the untold might of the Old Arts. Led always by a sorcerer of great power, the Faire were maestyi of study and magics, working heavily in enchantment, ever in search of wisdom to further their power. They catalogued findings with religious dedication, making up some of the province's earliest scholars.

For generations, the clans had coexisted. Their respective heads formed a council called the Traerid, charged with keeping order and the peace in the lands, and making decisions for the betterment of all of their people. None was greater than the other two, and each pair worked to keep the third in check. It was a system that worked for centuries.

An Ultimatum
However, it is a fact that no land can go unclaimed forever. The neighboring Kingdom of Paraphilia staked its claim on the land of Tarsh as its borders expanded, and the clans were given an ultimatum: their skills would serve the Crown, and no other, or else they and all beneath their banners would be purged.

Their warriors outnumbered a dozen to one, the Traerid reluctantly agreed to the terms, under the condition that they keep their way. The Crown disregarded this wish, and soon dispatched a lord to bow to. True to savage form, the Traerid responded by returning his corpse to the Capitol in toxic, charred pieces. Subsequent attempts bore increasingly frightening results.

Attempts to slay the Clan Heads failed, as they proved to be as resourceful as they were stubborn. Hyatt soldiers guarded the major camps, while Payne hunters stalked down the Crown assassins from the trees. Those who escaped did so riddled with virulent curses cast by Faire spellweavers, which quickly passed to everyone they crossed. The show of skill and coordination was impressive, so much so that the Crown found themselves reluctant to simply eradicate the useful serfs. At last, they agreed to leave the clans be, unwilling to expend further resources attempting to tame them. Settling to collect a tax and rights to their works, they were left to continue their lives.

Their antics, however, were not forgiven. The Paraphilian military occupied the unnamed province, to dissuade any greater actions against their new overlords.

The Dog's Bite
The clans lived for many years beneath the shadow of the Paraphilian government, and slowly, the reins placed on them tightened. Taxes were levied against their goods and trade, their arts restricted and suppressed. Spellcraft was forbidden, save when its use would suit the Crown's needs. Weapons and armor above a certain quality were seized to strengthen the Kingdom's military. Anything more complex than a door hinge or deadlier than a salve was either taken or destroyed.

The presence of Crown forces in the land left the people uneasy, fearing the all-seeing eye of the distant monarchs and their wrath. Regular demonstrations were held to remind the Clans of the price of resistance; warriors who raised arms or staves against the Crown guard were lynched and displayed, and the more restless the natives grew, the more soldiers were dispatched to mind them. Attempts at diplomacy were unsuccessful, often garnering little more than Their notice. The Crown would hear no case in their favor.

As tension rose, the Traerid received a dire warning: though the boot had not come down yet, it would hover, to be certain the serfs stayed in line. Their land remained theirs only under certain terms, and those terms would be honored. Though it would be a shame to erase peoples so skilled, said the Crown, the dog that bit its master would be put down.

The dogs took this news about how one would expect.

Flames of Revolution
The first to sew the seeds of dissent was none other than the head of the artificers, Grandmaster Royal Payne. A strategist by nature, the cunning Payne encouraged his peers to play along, but to do so only in part. To strike from shadow was the Payne way--and for a strike to be successful, subtlety was key...for prey alerted could not be caught off guard.

Publicly, the Traerid paid their tithes to the Crown, providing arms, magics and advancements to Their forces as they were told. But high on the cliffs, at the heart of the province, a fortress was constructed in secret, where the clans could train and prepare. The structure was christened Kingsfall, in honor of their ultimate purpose: the Clans were going to war.

And if they had their way, all of Paraphilia would tremble.

War of the Wilds
When news inevitably reached the Capitol, the Crown called for an invasion, one which saw countless people slaughtered in the effort of felling the Traerid Hydra once and for all.

It was only then that the truth of their serfs' obedience came to light. The weapons they provided had been crafted just a bit unbalanced, the tech made tricky and finicky, spells designed to be too complex to cast quickly--and all of it was charmed to fail when raised against its creators. The bulk of the Imperial armory was stocked with barbarian goods, all designed to hamper their seasoned wielders. And telling the good from the bad was nearly impossible.

In battle, the barbarians utilized their arts to the fullest, sorcerers raining fire and storm over the ill-armed and unguarded armies as warriors plowed through the lines and assassins picked off their commanders. Each and every skirmish ended in a victory for the Clans, and with each loss, the Crown became more livid.

For months, the Capitol dispatched its armies, only to have them return in caskets, or cursed and poisoned and hobbled beyond recognition. Even with their smiths working tirelessly to countermand the handicaps inflicted by the Clan craftsmen, they were taking heavy losses and gaining little ground. It was quickly becoming clear that the Clans had not bowed for fear, but simply because they chose to.

The noble Houses of Greater Paraphilia grew reluctant to throw their men into the fire. The Office of the King's Seneschal was soon inundated with petitions to call for peace, or simply to cut ties with the damnable province and all of its horrors. Finally, after months of bloodshed and losses, a summons was delivered to Kingsfall. The Traerid were to meet with the King on neutral ground--near modern-day Libertine--and negotiate a new deal...one that would benefit all sides.

It was a trap, and everyone knew it. The only question was which side would be the victim.

Conspiracy
The Traerid's deliberations on the situation remain a topic of much speculation. The commonly held belief is that the Clan leaders agreed the deal was too good to be true, and so planned to attend the meeting with reinforcements in the wings. As their strategist, it was decided that Payne would act as negotiator, accompanied by Hyatt for reasons of safety. Faire would remain with their forces, to rally a counterattack in the event of an attempted betrayal.

With such measures in place, the meeting should have been simple enough to conduct, or else to foil. As long as everything ran according to plan.

But as the time drew near, a wrench turned up in the gears: Hyatt and his men failed to reach the rendezvous, and Royal Payne was captured.

The final time his people saw him would be on the gallows.

To Torture a Sadist
Just as quickly as the rebellion had cropped up, it died altogether. It would have been simple enough to hang their captive and return to business as usual--but the Crown had taken dire losses in the prior months. Someone had to pay, and a mere life was not enough.

The King's torturers found a match in Payne, who famously laughed through many of their attempts to obtain a confession from him through force. When the standard beatings, stretching, pressing, waterboarding and starvation all failed to break his will, the Crown resorted to harsher measures. His capture was announced to all the kingdom, and the lawless province beyond. A reward was offered for information on the whereabouts of the other leaders. When this failed to earn a response, a notice was circulated throughout the land: if his compatriots did not appear before the Crown, Royal Payne would be publicly executed.

People whispered, and gathered, but the others of the Traerid did not appear.

The event of the year came to a head as the beaten and haggard Royal Payne was lashed to a breaking wheel in the Erotica city square. Hundreds upon thousands of people gathered in to watch as the famed rebel leader got his dues. Some came out of sympathy for the barbarians and their respectable run as revolutionaries. Most came to watch a man be mangled. All watched as, one by one, his limbs were broken and bound about the spokes of the wheel. There was an eerie silence throughout, the only sounds the pop of bones and joints as they were crushed and torn from sockets.

Despite the unimaginable agony of the process, Payne did not scream. The only time he opened his mouth was to laugh. As his body reached its limit, his last words were a breathless sneer of, "My lord--you cannot torture a sadist. We are fed by pain."

A final strike from the headman's hammer--a final crack--and silence set in once more. The rebel leader was dead.

Amidst the crowd, in the company of his clan, Vischias Payne had watched his father's slow and painful death. He memorized every moment.

Still hung with the deformed corpse of its victim, the breaking wheel was strung up from the city arch, where it could be seen by all who came or went. Orders went out to clear what remained of the barbarians from the wilds, and to be thorough. It was believed that the rebellion was over.

It was only just beginning.

All Gone Wrong
Now Clan leader in his father's absence, and sole Traeridi in the absence of Lae and Vil, Vischias Royal Payne took to the role with all the fury and might his name implied. He issued an ultimatum of his own to the three Clans: rally to bring the fight to the noble dogs, or face immediate death as a traitor. For the most part, the leaderless Hyatt and Faire numbers fell in line, with the few whom dared to object becoming swift and grisly examples of the consequence. Those who remained mobilized beneath the Payne banner, and together, a new plot was hatched--one that would risk everything, in the name of what was owed.

As the Clans marched on toward the Capitol, the fate of their prior leaders were discovered at last. The remains of Royal Payne's retinue and the reinforcements he planned for were found off the border of the rendezvous, seemingly slain by Crown forces. The bodies of a number of Crown soldiers, Hyatt warriors and Faire sorcerers were found at a point nearby--and with them, the body of Faire himself, stabbed through and horribly burned. His corpse is said to have been electrified, initially preventing its recovery, the battlefield itself showing signs of having been razed by magical fire.

Found with him was his ledger--a running account of all that had happened, smeared in blood to match its master. The final entry consisted of only four words: "It's all gone wrong."

Hyatt was not recovered.

Death's Dance
Comfortable in the knowledge of their victory, with the rebel forces suppressed, the Crown dispatched invitations for all the court to gather at a grand fete. It was to be the event of a lifetime, and so the population of the city swelled in the coming days, the city readily accepting guests and artisans alike to attend to the glorious ball.

The distraction was too perfect to let pass. It was a call the former Payne would have readily made.

Disguised as pilgrims, travelers, artists, merchants, entertainers, servants, and even the Crown military itself, the Clans infiltrated the city of Erotica. Concealed among the revelers, they easily bypassed the guard, and set about recruiting any and all who took issue with their overlords. Three thousand men and women grew to four, and then five. The keys of serfs and the coin of sympathetic noble patrons opened all the doors they needed: the royal stores, the military quarter, and most importantly...the palace.

The night of the fete came, and the Crown ate and drank among their courtiers, content in the safety their actions had bought. It was a safety that lasted until the final dignitary appeared before the throne: Vischias Payne. Dressed famously in black with a death's head mask, and flanked by seven dozen soldiers, the new Lord Payne paid his obeisance to the silent court.

His gift for the Crown was a simple one--the head of their guard captain, his mouth stuffed with a shockingly diplomatic list of demands: payment for the blood debt of their lost numbers and his father, the return of the former Lord Payne's remains, permanent cessation of all hostilities, and complete sovereignty over the province. If these terms were not met, he said, then every person present would die. The lavish foods and drink, all the pastries and the wine they had partaken in had been laced with a slow-acting poison.

The claim was no bluff. As proof, the meal tasters were brought out from the kitchens, their bodies pale and wracked with tremors, blood already pouring from most of their eyes. Calmly, Vischias Payne explained that the antidote lie just outside the city, to be brought at his request when the deal was struck--and that the only man who knew its formula was him. If he failed to appear in due time, or if Crown soldiers appeared, the cure would be destroyed, damning all the court to a painful death that would put his father's own to shame. Then, the city would be burned from within.

The King and Queen found Themselves as frightened as they were impressed. The audacity of such a plan being carried out beneath Their noses was such that They could hardly oppose--for the sake of Their lives, if not for wonder alone. However, to simply allow the barbarians to continue as they had unchecked was an outcome They would not accept. In return for the antidote, the Crown offered an alternative. The ravaged province and its people would need a leader, and a leader had presented himself. They would permit the new Lord Payne and his ilk to retreat in peace, never to be harrowed again by their blades...but only if he would agree to take his place as ruler of the land, beneath Their banner.

Not a single sword was raised as the barbarians returned home, with writs of patent and contract in hand. The eldest son of Royal Payne arrived that night a revolutionary, and he left a viscount.

An Eye for an Eye
In the coming days, the remains of Royal Payne were delivered by cart to the Payne encampment, still strung from the wheel that he had died upon. Picked at by crows as it was left to hang in the sun for more than a month, the grisly remains were a far cry from the victorious symbol they might have been. The craftsmen of the Clan informed the new viscount that removing the battered corpse from the wheel would require dismembering it. Tortured by the knowledge of his father's fate, and unwilling to further desecrate his body, Vischias Payne had it stored to consider other alternatives.

It was that same day that Hyatt arrived in the camps. Still clad in armor, boots worn almost off from walking, he appeared completely alone, his retinue having been found slain at the rendezvous. Described as having been starved, road-worn and glass-eyed, Hyatt was nonetheless unscathed, showing no injury from any battle.

An infuriated Vischias Payne promptly had him arrested, and taken to the Clan Hall for interrogation regarding the prior events. What happened when the Hall doors closed is unknown, the few accounts that exist describing little more than the Viscount's judgment: execution. In the presence of what would have been the other Traeridi--Hyatt's son, Vil II, and Faire's daughter, Nys--Vischias carried out the execution himself. All the while, a standing guard is said to have been holding back his son, who held to the end that his father was innocent. Vischias failed to heed him. With the others in attendance, he drove his sidearm sword down through the bound and beaten Hyatt's neck, and ordered him cast into the ravine.

With his father's betrayer slain, Vischias Payne made up his mind at last. Unwilling to have Royal's corpse torn apart to free it from the wheel, he had the entire thing buried, and a monument constructed over the pit. The Payne Monument stands to this day--only the first of many graves to occupy the grounds of Kingsfall.

Hyatt's body was later reclaimed by Clan Hyatt for burial, in the first of many acts of resistance against the new regime. Now Lord Hyatt in place of his father, Vil II took an openly hostile stance against the viscount, which he would hold all the rest of his life.

Broken Trust
The rule of the Traerid was a tradition handed down through the Clans for centuries prior to the War, and when the War ended, it was understood that the eldest children of the Traerid would take their fathers' place as a new council. This understanding came after two decades of preparation by the First of each Clan: Hyatt Vil II, Faire Nys, and Vischias Payne.

Though it was tradition for the Traeridi to meet first when they ascended to power, to prevent preexisting relationships from creating biases in the ranks, the children of the former Traerid were playmates from childhood, with Vil II and Vischias having shared a friendly rivalry most of their lives. Along with Faire Nys--who presented as male--the pair grew up together, each understanding that they would one day rule the land of Tarsh...together.

When the end of the War came at the cost of installing Vischias Payne as the viscount, the remaining Traeridi children were displeased, to say the least. In a single night, their fates had been stripped away. It would be only the first betrayal that would divide them.

With the Crown refusing to allow another Traerid to be formed--no doubt for fear of what the prior one had managed--Vischias was forced to create Vil II a baron, and Nys, a lord, due to her magehood and biological gender. Understandably, the other two rebelled against this choice, but with total power gifted to the son of Royal Payne, they were left to bend the knee, or else to risk a civil war that would further divide their already dwindling numbers. Grudgingly, they relegated themselves to serve beneath their once-equal, intending to act as much a balance to him as their meager positions allowed.

Then, against Vil II's cries of innocence, Hyatt was executed. The fall of that sword permanently divided the allied families, in a move that would ripple through all of time.

The execution of Hyatt Vil is considered by most to be the source of the long-standing rivalry between the modern day Houses of Domine and Sei'Dist. Unlike his father, Vil II was literate, and was a vocal opponent of the Viscount from the moment he took office. It was his claim that the Viscount executed his father only to seize power, having known what really happened from Hyatt's testimony. All that saved him from a similar fate to his father was the knowledge that killing him would fully turn the other Clans against him.

To his death, Vil II swore his father's innocence, claiming to have been told of what really happened--a truth also known to Faire Nys, and to Vischias Payne himself. Any written form of this claim has been lost to time, but talk of its existence persists to this day.

Royal Payne
The historically attributed "leader" of the rebellion--largely due to his martyrdom--Grandmaster Payne was a loose cannon, notorious for his enjoyment of suffering and chaos, and a razor-sharp cunning that saw the advantages in both. An assassin and inventor by trade, he was charming, handsome, and shockingly political for his time. Royal knew just how to play to a crowd, easily rallying support for any cause he stood behind. This ease of influence is thought to be a source of the apparent tensions between Clans Payne and Hyatt, as Royal's charisma allowed him to win in scenarios where brute force could not.

Despite an apparently mischievous and unpredictable nature, Payne was well-liked by every source that wrote of him. He was particularly popular among women, who often described his well-endowed state at length, a feature that makes him a popular literary subject to this day. Though lauded for his physical prowess, he is historically noted as having been small and sprightly, standing a full head shorter than most other men.

His death on the breaking wheel was an iconic moment in the history of Clan Payne, inspiring the push-back against the Crown and the subsequent naming of his House. His body was buried still bound to the wheel, which would become the second of many Sei'Dist family symbols.

No member of House Sei'Dist has borne his name, in honor of his singular presence, but many have born the name of his successor--his eldest son, Vischias, whose name is thought to prophesy the coming of a mighty leader.

Hyatt Vil
Of the original three, General Hyatt was the most savage. A giant of a man, standing nearly seven feet in height, he was a brute by nature, willing and able to solve conflicts with violence when not checked by his fellow Traeridi. His skill with a sword was unmatched, his strength such that he reportedly could crush a melon with his hands, and break bones just as easily. He was never one to shy away from a battle, no matter the enemy force.

In spite of his poor reputation in modern times, Hyatt was commonly referenced with respect by his contemporaries, known for great shows of loyalty, honor, and even mercy. This combined with his long track-record of strike first, ask later, makes his final actions in the war all the more suspect. Hyatt was known to be illiterate, a fact often erroneously attributed to a brain-injury he suffered in his youth.

Hyatt was the only member of the Traerid to survive the war, only to be personally executed by Vischias Payne for the apparent betrayal of his father. Aside the perceived slight of being made baron beneath his former equal's House, Hyatt's execution is said to be the true source of House Domine's long-standing hatred of House Sei'Dist.

His death is often quoted as proof of the importance of decisiveness and control by House Domine, where his perceived "flinch" in the final confrontation is thought to have been from uncertainty rather than treachery. Because of this, his execution at the hands of Vischias Payne makes him something of a martyr as well.

Faire Lae
Only the most adept wizard could be made Head of the Sorcerer Clan, and Archmage Faire was adept in ways no one after him could ever attain. Able to summon down lightning or flame with a gesture, Faire was nevertheless the diplomat of the three, reserving use of his power for only the most dire circumstances. Hyatt's constant need for checking often found him acting as the go-between for he and Payne, a position that lent itself to his clan's own habit of study and record-keeping. Most of what survives regarding the other two was penned by Faire himself.

Referred to as the last Archmage of Tarsh, Faire was a skilled sorcerer, his spellcraft so advanced that many of the enchantments he placed on his things remain in effect centuries after his death. His exceptional power is said to have been matched only by his unnatural beauty, a feature oft-remarked upon by contemporary sources. This has led to multiple theories over the years regarding his gender and relationships with the others of his council.

His ability to read a person at a glance was thought to be a work of more sinister magic, but more likely he was learned enough to study action and behavior to judge motive. It was a skill that served him all his life, and is thought to be something passed down through the Prince line from him. That most of the King's Inquisitors are Princes is no coincidence.

Unlike Payne, Faire's name has been passed down with various spellings every other generation, the most recent of which is High Inquisitor Prince Leigh.

Variation of Events
Much of what survives to present-day is hearsay attributed to Faire Lae, and the opinions of those descended from those involved. Official historical evidence is fleeting, with many positions stemming from word-of-mouth. This makes it difficult to determine what exactly happened at certain key point, with the greatest confusion hanging over the King's supposed peace talk.

What happened the night of the meeting varies, dependent on who is doing the telling. The more widely-accepted version indicates that Payne predicted betrayal, but Hyatt's absence led to his capture. One side tells that the Crown intended to capture the trio outright, and were forced to take only Payne when his fellows did not appear. Older versions claim that the offer of peace was legitimate, and that the lone, paranoid barbarian attacked without cause, only to be rightfully arrested.

The official position of House Sei'Dist is that the talks were, in fact, an ambush. Payne supposedly foresaw this, and so planned the counterattack, which failed when Hyatt and his cavalry did not appear. A persistent theory over the years is that Hyatt was encouraged to sit out, either by Faire--who openly opposed attending at all--or by the Crown itself, under promise of some reward for the capture of their ringleader.

House Domine, however, maintains that Hyatt's disappearance was due to misadventure. His party was delayed in arriving, partly due to his own hesitance in taking part in what they claim to be an attempted assassination of the King by Payne. They attribute the assassin's subsequent capture and execution as the result of his own treachery backfiring.

Despite the records of the rebellion being largely penned by Faire, House Prince has never publicly taken a side, citing a lack of proof in either case, due to their patriarch's untimely death.

Regardless of the truth, the night ended with Royal Payne in chains. The moment is widely held to have been the end of the War, as all future attempts against the Crown were unsuccessful.

In Literature
The singular personalities of the barbarian leaders combined with the intrigue regarding not only their lives but their fates has cemented the Traerid in the popular imagination. While portrayed in paint and stone with fair regularity, the largest portion of works attributed to the barbarian leaders' legacies are works of fiction. While the earliest of these were attempts to collect theories and rumors regarding their exploits, with just as many written as slanderous caricatures, these works of fiction nonetheless became wildly popular.

Accuracy and portrayals of personality range from believable to downright slanderous. The most common characterizations show Royal Payne as a headstrong, hyper-sexual rogue, while Faire is often reduced to a feminine--or downright female--shrinking violet. Hyatt's characterization ranges from well meaning oaf to barbaric traitor, with few flattering incarnations existing. Of the three, Royal Payne is the most notorious, his outrageous personality having immortalized him as a stock literary character akin to Robin Hood.

Novels and Plays
 Tales of the Mischievous Thief : A four-part epic following the adventures of Royal Payne through the War of the Wilds. The books play up the heroic and hypersexual qualities of Payne as a person, and scandalously portray the Traerid as a menage a trois, reimagining several historical events throughout the course of the series. The third novel had a long delay in release and ended in a cliffhanger, with the fourth and final book having been banned for claiming the Traerid not only survived, but seduced the King as well. The Tales are wildly popular, with the fourth book an oft-sought collector's item.

 The Penetration of the Masque : Another fictionalized retelling of the days leading up to the war, inspired by contemporary propaganda regarding barbarian espionage. The story follows a classically fetishized Royal Payne as he leads an assassination attempt on the king during the Grand Masque. While the text is more than fifty percent erotica, it is thought to be loosely based on an event that took place shortly before the Crown declared War on Tarsh.

 The Barbarians' Ball : A theatrical play based on the Penetration of the Masque, (scandalously) penned by Royal Playwright Willy A.M. Shakespeanor. Just the most recent of Master Willy's "historical" works, the play was permitted by the Crown no doubt on the knowledge that the result would be farcical. No release date is yet available.

 Death to the King : A realistic historical fiction, narrated from the eyes of Faire Lae as he writes his famous war chronicle. Consisting of just one book, the story tones down the popular fetishizing of Payne, the idiotizing of Hyatt, and the feminizing of Faire in favor of portraying them realistically as people faced with impossible odds. The book was known for its portrayal of the relationship between Faire and Hyatt, depicted as being one of devotion; assumed jealousy on the part of Royal Payne is one of the book's bigger conflicts. Written sometime after the war, author unknown, Death to the King was almost immediately banned, with few copies still in existence. Despite this, it inspired a number of thought-pieces by historians, both for and against the portrayals.

Trivia

 * The word traerid (pronounced tray-reed) is Old Mastrian for three, relating to a collective. It is derived from the Irish word triread. Traeridi is the singular form. A member of the Traerid is therefore a Traeridi.
 * The Clans are named for the forces they weaponized: pain, hate and fear. As such, Payne became Sei'Dist (for sadism, the enjoyment of pain), and Hyatt became Domine (from domination, to control no matter the cost).
 * How Prince (lit: a leader) relates to fear is unclear. It could be a mistranslation from Old Mastrian, or it may simply be due to the correlation between the words Fair and Prince.
 * In Tarshian, the name "Payne" is actually pronounced pine, "Hyatt" pronounced het, and "Faire" pronounced far, or far'eh. The Coronized versions of these are widely accepted, with the proper pronunciations used largely by historians.
 * The Mastrian practice of citing names backward--Surname-Given Name--stems from Clan tradition. That Clan Payne never embraced it remains, as House Sei'Dist and most of Sadistique uses the standard Given Name-Surname format. House Domine, House Prince and House Vicqt are some of the only ones who observe it, all stemming from Mastri.
 * Faire Lae and his House were made bannermen to the Hyatt Clan partly to prevent a magic-user from holding power over any amount of land. This was to be sure the other barons would not be outmatched by someone with unnatural advantages, a sentiment mirrored in The Unnamed Story.
 * Payne's last words inspired the creed of his House: Pain Feeds a Sadist. Despite this, the actual last-words are a topic of some debate, as Payne was not a native Crown-speaker.