Sid'Shrie Negotiator

Overview

A Sid’Shrie Negotiator is a specific title within the Sid'Shrie who wield the considerable power and wealth of their family to move goods and provide services across the planet. If there is a deal to be made, a negotiation between parties that might not want to actually meet one another, or a loan that someone might request, a Sid’Shrie Negotiator isn’t far. Not that any common vnou who interact with them know they’re Shrie – that’s not the important part. It’s the deal. Sid’Shrie is the wealthiest of the noble families, surpassing even Shpazh when it comes to sheer liquid wealth. Shrie move mountains of goods, connect vnou to provide services, and are the arbitrators of the sort of deals that don’t always make it to paper. For Shrie, a vnou’s word is good enough. Just make sure you’re able to pay up and make good on your end of whatever deal. No one cheats a Shrie.

by Midjourney

Career

It takes a particularly sly Shrie to become a Negotiator. They fill a vital role in the family that casts them far and wide. No market too small, no deed too dirty. Some might call them a trader, a smuggler, a bookie. It doesn’t matter to the Negotiator – the family title supersedes anything someone else might call them and defines what they are.

Younger Shrie frequently dabble in all manner of dealings or watch on the side lines as those older and wiser navigate trade. It’s a bold Shrie that will try to strike out on their own, always with the knowledge that one mistake will cost them their future. An adept, intelligent Shrie eventually garners the respect of the others and the notice of the Financier of the group they’re traveling with. It’s then that they’re put to the test, sent on tasks specifically for the Financier. Representing not only the Shrie name but the Financier’s reputation. Those that do exceptionally well are granted the title Negotiator. It’s not enough to succeed, it has to be above and beyond.

Negotiator is a very fluid title. It can be withdrawn at the whim of the Financier – though it is incredibly rare for one to actually let go of a truly talented Negotiator. It generally takes a grave mistake for someone to lose their title and, as the Shrie tend to be almost too forgiving amongst their own family, it can usually be earned back.

by Midjourney

Payment & Benefits

No one with the Shrie name is exactly poor, but there’s a difference between traveling in luxury and having access to it. Most Shrie will spend their entire lives pampered but restricted to the caravan of the Financier. There isn’t much freedom exactly, though they will generally want for nothing. Fine food and drink are always at hand, expensive clothes are customary, and there tends to be a social gathering of some sort for them to attend. It is a life of partying, of low expectations and little responsibility. All with the understanding that they do not leave the Caravan. They do not make any deals or participate in any trade.

For a Negotiator, there is real freedom. They go where they want, do whatever they want, and have nigh unlimited access to the sheer wealth of the Shrie to get whatever their task is accomplished. Bribery is nothing but a handwave. No one will ever out bid a Negotiator at auction with their sights set on something and you’d never find one staying anywhere less than the finest accommodations. Unless a job calls for discretion, of course, but that’s a minor inconvenience for the privilege of the job itself. Negotiators are the Shrie that value their freedom and understand it is their family’s wealth and name that get them access to things they would otherwise not. They’re the more worldly of their family.

Perception

Generally, Shrie are very upfront in their dealings. At least, physically. Those who enter a Caravan will known it is a Financier’s family they are dealing with. There is no deception in meeting itself. A vnou will sit across from a Shrie and a deal will be made. Little paperwork is ever filed for such things though the words picked should always be spoken carefully. Shrie will hold another to their word, no matter the intent.

Negotiators are the less than honest side of the Shrie. They toe the line of the law – or outright break it – and have little respect when it comes to the rights and property of others. Depending on the job or task, there is nothing they won’t do to complete it. Shrie tend toward subterfuge and deception rather than violence, though. It’s about craft and out-maneuvering, not leaving a trail of bodies behind. A Negotiator is someone who isn’t supposed to be the main focus of the deal, trade, or job. They’re the unseen, faceless facilitator.

Most will never know the origin of the Negotiator they speak with, just the reputation they’ve cultivated around their own name. It is that reputation that enables the Negotiator to traffic in trades they might not otherwise have access to – so they are always mindful of their persona. It’s always crafted around a singular name and never tied back to Shrie. They act and operate as sole agents.

Social Status

There are several facets to being a Negotiator. Amongst the Shrie, it is extremely prestigious. A respected and praised title that Shrie anywhere will know, that will earn them a seat in any Caravan. Negotiators are prized by Financier’s though it is considered incredibly rude to try and poach one. Not only is it nigh unheard of, it’d be equally implausible that a Negotiator would abandon the Financier and Caravan of origin. They are the bearer of news between Caravans, spreaders of goodwill and diplomats of Financiers amongst one another.

Amongst nobility that deal with Negotiators, they are a silver tongued devil. A frequent necessity to acquiring things they would otherwise not have questions asked, with the certainty that the deal will not be spoken of. Relations tend to sour over the course of decades when some families have lost substantial properties or assets to deals that have fallen through. This is usually when a young noble will make a terribly one sided deal with a Negotiator that will cost the Nobility. There is very little merit in arguing with Shrie, so the debt is paid.

Amongst the common vnou, a Negotiator is just another dealer. Just another smuggler. Perhaps a well connected, well informed one, but it’s just an ambitious vnou like any other in their line of work. Maybe a touch flamboyant in their garb or behavior, but they chalk the eccentrics up to the job or the specific vnou without making any connections to the Shrie family.