Abither Family
The Abither family is one of the six ruling houses of Reishi. They manage all matters relating to the island's slavery. The Abithers, though they do not own much in terms of land or property, are considered to be prominent among the six ruling families, as slavery inundates every aspect of Reishi life, and the Abithers rake in a pretty profit from it all.
Structure
The Abither family is currently a family of three; the father, Kian Abither, the mother, Rashona Abither, and the son, Jak Abither. Kian is considered to be the leader of the family and as such is the Oligarch, as he is the one related by blood to the noble Abither line, while Rashona comes from the lesser Maydlow family.
On top of his duties as an Oligarch, Kian works with Rashona to manage the Cabane skumhouses, while Jak runs the larger Matire skumhouses.
Culture
The Abither family is characterized by cruelty, and perhaps is the reason for cruelty being thought of as synonymous with the Reishi people. Each of them are intensely unpleasant, doling out punishments harsher than necessary for even the slightest of perceived slights.
Public Agenda
The Abithers are primarily concerned with managing the island's slaves, which they do rather efficiently and with single-minded focus.
Assets
As an Oligarchic family, the Abithers have a sixth of the idyllic Citadel Armarantha to themselves, but they also own an ancestral home in the Taylan district should they ever lose their position on the council. They also own Seagleam, the islands jeweler, Clarenrock Mine and Quarry, and both of the town's skumhouses, but that is all. Discounting the slavehouses, they own the fewest businesses of any Oligarchic family (although Andires and Broveron are close).
Despite their comparatively small empire of physical locations, the prevalence of slave labor on Reishi Island ensures that the Abithers remain comfortably wealthy anyways. They may not own many locations, but their slaves are present in almost every single one.
History
The Abither family considered is a direct descendant of the Matire family, from which one of Korosa's original five councilmen came. During the second Oligarchic election, Kiyana Matire, the matriarch--and Oligarch--of the Matire family at that time, married Alwan Abither and, following the Amahitzan culture of the Abithers rather than the Matire's own Veilee origins, Kiyana took Alwan's surname. From that point on, the families were merged together.
From that point on, the Abithers were carried by the Matries' acumen and renown. Kiyana maintained her position as an Oligarch throughout the second election, but by the time the Abithers won a place in the third, Kiyana's health had deteriorated and Alwan was considered to be the head of the family. From then on, children from the Abither side of the family flourished, while those from the Matire side were struck with misfortune. The Abithers claimed that it was the divine whim of Shula, but suspicions of treachery have followed them even to this day.
At the end of the third election and the beginning of the fourth (~3399), Alwan had a disagreement with Oligarch Aschester Meretincelle over taxation rights related to Aschester's new invention, the firearm. Alwan claimed that, because his slaves were the ones putting in the most effort to capture the stollusks used in seaspark, the Abithers should be granted taxation over the bullets used in the new firearms. Aschester disagreed, claiming that the Abithers are already paid well enough for the labor they provide. Two of the contemporary Oligarchs agreed with the Meretincelles, leaving Abither with a potential losing vote. To skew things in his favor, Alwan leveraged favors, power, and possibly threats to force the council into allowing a sixth member of the council in the next War Games, stalling the issue of taxation rights all the while.
In the fourth War Games, both Meretincelle and Abither claimed Oligarchic positions once again, and so did the Denholm family. When deciding which responsibilities would fall on which families, the Abithers once again pushed for the right to tax bullets. The vote went in much the same way, but the addition of the Denholms, who have always been a supporter of the Abither family, forced a tie. Of course, this had never happened before when the council was a five-family system, and so there was no precedent for how to behave. After some debate, the council decided that the Meretincelles and Abithers, the primary proponents of the issue, should settle things with a duel. The intent was for each party to chose a champion, but at the prodding of Alwan, Aschester agreed to a personal duel. Despite Aschester's firearms and skill as a mage, Alwan was the victor, and Ashcester was killed in the duel.
Save for Denholm, the remaining Oligarchs were appalled, and though they could not remove Alwan from the council until the next War Game, they did their utmost to politically cripple the Abithers. After Melissa Meretincelle, daughter of Aschester and mother of Ezola, stepped up as the head of the family, the Oligarchs voted to redistribute. The vote passed four to two, and the Abithers were stripped of most of their Oligarchic responsibilities and privileges. After that, the Abithers lost most of their power, and subsequently lost the next three War Games.
During the Eighth War Game, Kian Abither finally managed to win the position for his family, and he began consolidating resources. The Abithers then lost the Ninth, but won the Tenth. Now, despite having the fewest holdings among members of the Oligarchy, the Andires are considered quite powerful thanks to the prevalence of their slave labor.
