Overview

While the generic term for one who serves is suva, as with all things there are subcategories of people working in serving professions. Broadly speaking, the categories break down into typical suva - workers with traditional employment and a regularly dispersed wage - and the dahe-suum.

One of the most successful known dahe-suum, Beelzebub began as a contracted Ti-Meut-tar, but impressed his Dominus, Samael Asther, and was elevated multiple times. He is now a contracted event coordinator and overseer of the cooking staff.

For the dahe-suum service is compulsory due as they are each locked into their own individual Binding Contract, which they are not at immediate liberty to dissolve. While this may sound terrible, and in many cases it is, how happy or unhappy a dahe-suum is... will be wholly conditioned on the specific terms negotiated into that contract. In the worst cases, it is no better than indentured servitude. In the best cases, it's barely servitude at all.

So, you might say that the power to determine their own treatment and life's trajectory is, to some degree, in their own hands.

To some degree.

Because, of course, how freely they can negotiate is also largely controlled by the circumstances they are in when they enter the contract, and how desperate they are, or are not. In the end, the power to determine terms will always favor the one with less to lose if the contract negotiations fall through.

In that sense you might say that the same systems of inequity that plague Incaendium as a whole extend to the dahe-suum, as well.

Becoming and Being a Dahe-Suum

One must have a person who wishes to serve and one who wishes to be served.
At base, it is that simple. That said, no one should enter into such a contract simply by saying that one wishes to serve and the other wishes to be served; to do so is to submit themselves to the eternal nature of a default contract magic without any stipulations to their treatment.

Subcategories

A particular dahe-suum could be anything from a scullery maid to a darling of high society. Some typical variants follow; note that all titles officially "suum" attached, but it is sometimes dropped for length in casual speech.

Ti-Meut-tar
A term used for people who serve as cleaners and general "dirty work" doers. Lit. "Person who works toward clean."

Gallu-Ti-Imi
A person who manages the dead. Coroner, mortician, funeral arranger. Believe it or not, this can be a pretty active profession even working for one person. Lit. "Death manager."

Kavus Suum
A caretaker or personal attendant. Lit. "Caring servant."

Hari Suum
A person contracted as social and/or sexual companions for their contractee. See Hari Suum for details.

Ti-to-gim
An educator. Often hired to educate one's family or partners. Lit. "one towards make."

Zegjusuum
A personal assassin. Ask no questions. Lit. Assassin + servant portmanteau

Conditions of Service
That being the case, it is important that the prospective dahe-suum and the prospective contractee have agreed to clear terms. This is the stage where exploitation will tend to occur. Binding Contracts must be fully voluntary at the time of forging, but that doesn't require the prospective dahe-suum to have a genuine understanding of what they are agreeing to, only to think that they do.

Because this is a particular kind of contract with a high potential for exploitation, it is advised that the contracted be especially careful and have a clear idea of what they are trying to obtain by entering into it, and what it is they bring to the table.

Forge the Agreement!
Self-explanatory!

Once the contract is forged, the dahe-suum's official title is expanded to include Suum (see Class & Hierarchy). What the contractee and contracted call one another is between them, though there are some standards, see sidebar.

Dahe-Suum Social Status

In fact, social status is almost completely divorced from one's status as a contracted servent - the only one you can say the contracted is "beneath" is the one holding the contract! This is because a dahe-suum does not give up their other titles, whatever they may be, nor do they give up their other areas of authority if any. An aristocrat is still an aristocrat if contracted to be the personal handler of the Dominus Regas of the Domain, for example, and their privilege would remain in every area unrelated to the terms of the contract.

Addressing the Other

Means of address may be specified during contracting, or (more typically), it's just a matter of social standards, with different kinds of dahe-suum using specific means of address.

Names for the Contracted

Generally the contractee will just call them by name or by the name of their profession.

Names for the contractee
☀Dominus
The most common title, applicable to any kind of dahe-suum (and really any kind of servant, even non-contracted ones). This simply means "head of" or something to that effect. A dahe-suum can use this title for anyone they are contracted to regardless of whether that person is a household head, which is a separate matter.
☀Vatim
Equivalent to "Master." This is a title usually used for very low-ranking dahe-suum as it implies a high disparity in social status.
☀Dasuk
Equivalent to "Lord." A softer address that acknowledges that the dahe-suum is a subordinate of the contract holder without necessarily implying a massive gap. That said, the implications can change depending on the Dominus's actual social status - calling them a Lord isn't notable if they are in fact a noble.
☀Kasut
Equivalent of "leader." Often used for more professional/distanced contractee/dahe-suum relationships, such as assassins or guards.
☀Ti-Timon
Literally "one who holds." This references the contractee as the holder of the contract. Because it doesn't acknowledge or imply a social status difference, this can be quite cheeky depending on the status gap, if any.
Just Use Their Name.
This is common among dahe-suum that have an intense or very close relationship with the ti-timon, e.g. siv hari suum or personal handlers.

Furthermore, certain types of dahe-suum carry privileges with them beyond whatever the dahe-suum themselves might possess. For example, to be the favored hari suum may be the darlings of society even if they came from poor backgrounds and lack the physical power that can typically facilitate upward mobility.

While this can be advantageous, the increase in status, however, does come with the position, and that is where another layer of potential exploitation comes in.

Because, of course, there are more lower status people willing to accept a Binding Service Contract. Typically, people from extremely poor families or with little personal power may find themselves in a position where their most salient means of advancement is to contract themselves to someone who has a better living standard and the means to improve the prospective dahe-suum's living standard as well. This can be fine if the contractee is honest and fair... but this is not always the case, and many a selfish or unscrupulous ti-tinam has negotiated unfair terms into a contract with an abnormally long timespan attached, and no way to get out of the contract.

It also means, of course, that those who have advantages have even more advantages. An exceptionally skilled blacksmith would have their pick of lords looking to sign them with generous terms, and an attractive person would find a positions such as hari suum or social host much easier to come by, for example.

Equanimity?

Simply put there is no guarantee that every dahe-suum has the same terms for their binding contract. It is entirely possible for two people contracted to the same position to have vastly different treatment, while being expected to do the same thing. Incaendian society has no interest in equality - they believe that one gains the privileges they can pull, screaming, out of the grip of someone else and so those who fail to this, fail to have those privileges.

Final Notes

While it is true that there is no inherent status implications or stigma attached to being a dahe-suum in itself, it behooves a person to be clear-eyed about the practical implementation of this system.

Trivia Moment!

Some varieties of dahe-suum will tend to be more long-term than others. The closer to the contractee and the more emotionally or physically intimate one is expected to be, the longer term the contracts will tend to be as no one likes constant upheaval in their personal relationships.

There are many happy dahe-suum with contracts that specify good treatment and living standards and naturally expire after a certain time or when certain treatment terms are unmet... however there are also countless dahe-suum who contracted themselves out under unfair terms due to ignorance or desperation.

Similarly, while there is no inherent implication of the contractee's status, realistically it is mostly the wealthy and powerful who can afford that level of commitment in taking on a dahe-suum. Typically, a very wealthy family will have few (or even no) non-contracted servants, and the terms may involve things like non-disclosure of secrets, very limited or nonexistent time when one is not "on call," or the prohibition of behaviors that the contractee dislikes. This varies greatly both by contractee and by contracted - some contractees will take as many advantages for themselves and as many privileges from the contracted as they can.