Skat'ra envoy
How are envoys cultured?
Breeding an envoy can happen in two ways. If the queens know they need an envoy in advance, they create one during the birthing process. While in the egg, the conditioning of a future envoy is slightly different. During conditioning, the envoys receive more free will. To compensate for the potential problems that can arise from having free will, the envoys' minds are hardened to follow every command of the queens without question. The second way to produce an envoy is to recondition a living skat'ra. This method happens rarely and only if an envoy is required for a broad task. These envoys are less competent than the bred ones, and the queens tend to use them for jobs with less relevancy.
The function of an envoy
As their name suggests, they are the representatives of the skat'ra society. Their responsibility is to build and maintain a good relationship with secular and spiritual powers. They are primarily assigned to rulers, churches, and merchant houses, but important persons like nobles and scholars can also have an envoy. Based on the type and importance of the task assignment to an organization or a person can be a lifetime or temporary position.
Learning the tools of the trade
Most of the envoys learn their skills from teachers from other nations. Usually, the mentor comes from the country and has the skills where the envoy will be stationed and the skills they will require. However, this costs a lot of money to the queens. Because of that, they have started an apprenticeship program based on the concept of how the bigger merchant houses train their employees. Currently, only a few apprentices are learning their craft besides the most experienced envoys. At the end of their apprenticeship, an assessment will be conducted by non-skat'ra persons with the necessary knowledge, and the apprentices will receive their assignment based on their recommendations. The queens understand that in the current phase, this program still requires help from people of other nations, but they are ready to go forward with this approach because it will be helpful in the long run.
Pros and cons of an envoy
Although the queens can order a multitude of skat'ra at the same time and continually supervise the life of their hills, having direct oversight through a greater distance at a foreign place is taxing even for them. The envoys are the tools of the queen to overcome this problem. They are reliable, focused, and because of their conditioning, incorruptible. They are everything that a leader requires. However, because they have some free will to conduct their activities independently, sometimes they take a disadvantageous path to the queens. Still, the queens can step in directly and solve the complications through their conduits when this happens.
The design of the envoys is a solid one. We need to tweak it to suit our needs perfectly
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