Thar Shaddin

Main Player Name: James/Diego/Saguzar

NPC Name: Ramiro Sebastian Guiate De Morua
Age: 46
Race: Human
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 89kg / 196lbs


===Physical Description===

Patriarch to the Guiate family, Ramiro is a man well into his middle age. Though he still rides regularly, he is succumbing to the softening of belly and features inevitable for one who spends many hours at a desk with quill in hand.

Despite this, Ramiro has the services of the best tailor money can buy, and is fastidious in both apparel and grooming. With the importance placed on fashion in the subtler intrigues of Corezan politics, he has clothing of every colour, weave, and the appropriate accessories with which he can tailor hidden messages within even the most seemingly casual of meetings.

===Possessions===

=Wealth and Estates=

The main branch of the Morua family may have much more in the way of lands and holdings, courtesy of their lengthy tenure as the Ducal household, but the Guiate have been rapidly catching up in terms of wealth.

Due to the strength and diversity of Guiate investments and trade brokerage over the past three generations, the family has quite a lot of money spread around Corezo and parts of Eyropa. The family has estates and mansions in several major cities around Corezo and Europe to help oversee their trading empire, with trusted factors and brokers working on behalf of the Guiate Family.


===Family===
See also: http://familyecho.com/?p=DUW47&c=98awuf ... 7900854031

Younger sister: Isadora Guiate, 38.
Wife: Antonella De Morua (brother to Pascual), deceased.
Sons, oldest to youngest: Vicente Guiate De Morua, deceased; Roque Guiate De Morua, 26; Armando Guiate De Morua, 13.
Daughter: Marcella Guiate De Morua, 23. http://www.tharshaddin.com/rp/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3180


===Powers or Strengths===

=Ambition=

If ambition could be genetically inherited, one would call it the defining trait of the Guiate family. As it is, the behaviour and characteristics of ambition are handed down from parent to child, along with the understanding that the interests of the Guiate family always come first. Ramiro learned this lesson early, and has devoted his life to advancing the fortunes of the Guiate household with a careful and cunning hand.

=Prodigious understanding of economics and economic warfare=

Quijas might understand the elves. Morua might understand intrigue and scheming. Belleza might understand Senate politics. But the Guiate, they understand the subtle ebb and flow of economics. Or they have, for three generations running. Ramiro, at present, represents the culmination of Guiate economic ambition and intrigue on a grand scale.

=Strong attention to detail=

When it comes to numbers, contracts, and matters involving intrigue and finance, Ramiro has a brilliant memory and a knack for being able to glance at a ledger, flick through its pages, and know exactly what it all means. It is the culmination of decades of obsessive attention to detail and constant education.

=Strength of will=

Ramiro's body will fail him long before his will does. If longevity was based on willpower, Ramiro would rival the elves for lifespan. In matters pertaining to the advancement of the Guiate, Ramiro is tenacious and solid as a rock. Self-doubt and uncertainty in those areas are for lesser men than he.

=Connections=

Ramiro learned from the Moruan example, and has spent a lifetime fostering all kinds of connections, small and large, with people of all walks of life. For who knows when that sailor might hear news which could affect a trade agreement? If he drops that news into a Guaite broker for the cost of a few rounds, that could be the difference between success and failure in a critical negotiation. Power, Ramiro is want to say, comes from people. The more you know and influence, the more power you will have: and power and money come hand in hand.


===Weaknesses===

=Grief and Vendetta=

Ramiro, despite having the willpower needed to hide it, never recovered from Vicente's poisoning. Though it could never be proven, there was a strong indication that a rival family within Morua had struck at the family's future rather than trying to do battle with Ramiro directly. It was a very Moruan plot, and Ramiro has harboured a hidden grudge with Morua ever since.

=Dancing with the viper: the secret war against Morua=

It was the death of Vicente which convinced Ramiro that he would blend revenge and ambition together. For Ramiro, a victory for the Guiate only counts if he can, in some way, cause damage to Moruan interests at the same time.

=Defers to Isadora on feminine matters=

When Antonella died, 13 years after Vicente's passing, it hit Ramiro particularly hard. He had relied upon Antonella for Marcella's upbringing. For all that he loved his daughter, he had no conception of how to raise one, and had tended to try and raise her as he would have raised Vicente, with those skills a man would need in a dangerous world. In desperation, he turned to his sister, Isadora, to take on the responsibility of raising Marcella and the infant Armando so that he could ensure that the Guiate empire did not collapse around them.

=Not a particularly good parent=

Marcella's rejection of him after Vicente's passing cut nearly as deep as the death of his son. In his own hamfisted way he tried to compensate, and ended up failing to provide the strong guidance and boundaries required to keep Roque from turning into a drunken degenerate or letting Marcella turn into a wilful tomboy lacking the full extent of a complex financial education she might one day need if she inherited the Guiate empire.

Ramiro justifies his negligence in this area on the basis that the future of the family was at stake, and that he could only do so much. It is cold comfort, given these failings have led directly to his most present worries regarding succession within the household.

=Needs someone to take over the Guiate economic empire=

Currently, given Ramiro is not getting any younger, his greatest concern for the future is the lack of a sufficiently capable heir. He had pinned his hopes on Roque, only to find his son crumbled under the weight of grief and high expectations. Armando remained young, though willing, but seemed at present to lack the core of diamond hardness required to wage daily warfare against the likes of Morua, Quijas, and Belleza. Marcella had the intellect, and it seemed some of the hardness, but didn't seem interested in the economic side of the business. Certainly, the precariousness of their bond was such that Ramiro was unable to discuss the matter with her candidly.

Recently, though, Ramiro has decided on a risky course of action. Much like the Moruans do, he would put his daughter in the path of danger, and see if she sinks or swims in the sea of intrigue within Qadis. If she succeeded impressively, perhaps she and Armando could work together in the future. But at present Ramiro's greatest fear is that, should he be killed, there will be nobody capable of holding the Guiate empire together and his family would suffer bitterly at the hands of its rivals.

This flavour text also appears in Saguzar's application
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It was a pleasant evening. Warm, a touch of breeze, a man at the card table who couldn't bluff, a woman whose cues were too obvious, and another man with a vested interest in helping Ramiro win. All in all, a more relaxed game of La Mano Conquista could not have been arranged.

As with everything pertaining to his clandestine dealings with Belleza, Ramiro Sebastian Guiate de Morua had taken no chances: a casual visit to one of his principal brokers' estates; A 'broker's clerk' come to visit with details of a new trade prospect, ensuring they were witnessed at prominent taverns along the same route, bragging how they'd spotted an opportunity with a Hasele fishing consortium; The suggestion of some friendly games of La Mano Conquista to cap off a pleasant evening meal; the invitation of a gossipy lady of the nobility.

The first games fostered the appearance of casual entertainment and ruffled no feathers. But Ramiro and the 'broker's clerk' Saraccino ensured that they engaged in a more lively form of rivalry across the table which allowed them the excuse to continue on, Mano a Mano, well into the evening. Word would spread that Ramiro had again spent a boring evening talking trade over cards. That the trade talks were entirely based in fact always helped matters. Even if the Society agent had been furnished with the information by Guiate agents so as to maintain the role plausibly. Thus did Ramiro conduct his meetings with the representatives for the Society of Negotiated Loyalties in plain sight.

The language of negotiation had been agreed upon previously, and practised by both participants. For some aspects, it was a simple enough cipher for both of them: a tap of the ring finger, in tandem with a card played, to suggest an offer starting with the card's value. The little finger would tap further to indicate the further value in hundreds. In the case of thousands, the thumb would tap the knuckle of the index finger. Acceptance of terms involved scratching the chin twice with the little finger, once with the thumb. Advisement of a counter-offer was a triple-tap of right index finger against the left thumb. The true complexity came with the aspects not relating to numerical discussion. It was a code which let them discuss mundane matters whilst slowly and methodically negotiating clandestine services over several games of Briscola. And now, that negotiation had commenced.

Ramiro dealt out three cards apiece and revealed the trump suit "Ah, Saraccino, our conquista is Bishani. How appropriate! So, these fishmongers in Hasele, tell me about them while I take every trick" Saraccino responded with a laugh "As one conquistador to another, I tell you this truly: you will regret such a bold claim when I subjugate the entire deck. As for the consortium, they have a lot of workers, and a lot of fishing vessels, but they lack larger ships or an effective distribution network." The patriarch of the Guiate family ran a hand over his neatly trimmed beard as he examined his cards. He knew that Saraccino would be waiting for the appropriate card to appear in his hand before the haggling commenced. "The cost of shipping and preserving fish doesn't often leave a wide profit margin, Saraccino. Especially when there is so much coastline, and so much fishing nearer to most trade ports. Surely they would be better off dealing locally and accepting a natural limit to the size of their operations. I see no immediate benefit to us." Ramiro laid down the two of staves. A non-card really, but it would ensure that his opponent won the first hand, and put Ramiro in the comfortable position of responding to Saraccino's next play. The Society agent commented "Normally that would be so, but the offer isn't just about having someone transport their cargo around the coastline." Saraccino tapped his ring finger, and took the two of staves with the seven of staves, tapping his little finger once. With the initial offer now made, the agent played a four of cups.

Ramiro considered that as he considered the cards. It was a very low offer as a lump sum, meaning it wasn't one, but that could get quite expensive over a lengthy contractual period. Especially given there was no telling how long Marcella would remain in Qadis. "That is curious. What could they possibly need from us to make them consider any approach you made to them? Naturally, I assume you have not over-stepped the bounds of your authority with any promises to them." Ramiro went on the attack, taking the four of cups with that suit's caballero, then took some easy points with the bishani Emperor. Finally, the cards granted him what he needed for a counter offer, and Ramiro tapped his left index finger thrice with his thumb while Saraccino replied "They have, according to quiet word, found a new way of preserving cod for lengthy periods of time, through an alliance with a small cabal of magic users. Now, I know that the trade in salted cod remains strong, with important stakeholders in Norroenirlund having a firm grip on the market, but the consortium wants to make a strong entrance into the cod market on an empire-wide level. They have had some local resistance to their methods, and know that Corezan shipping interests are often far more open to magic solutions to mundane problems, as it were." While Saraccino spoke, Ramiro played the two of bishani, tapping his ring finger with a slight smile. Saraccino tapped thumb against index finger as he sacrificed the six of espadas. It was going to be one of those kinds of exchanges, Ramiro thought, as the deck yielded him additional fortune in the form of the Tres of Bishani. The province card. A good omen, hopefully.

Ramiro pondered his next move as he spoke "A foothold in the cod market you say? Now that could be worth an investment. Any Corezan merchant would happily help loosen those northerners' deathgrip on the better part of that industry. Still..." Ramiro drummed his fingers on the table once, then repeated the gesture on the back of his hand, indicating that his next words related also to the underlying negotiations "...if this was going to be a lengthy arrangement, that could prove costly in some regards." Drumming the back of his hand once more to signify the end of the double-talk, Ramiro played the bishani province card, once again earning easy points as Saraccino sacrificed a six of espadas. "Which of our services did you intimate might be of value to the consortium, Saraccino? And look, I am well ahead in points! Don't lose focus just because we are talking business." Saraccino laughed as he repeated Ramiro's gestures "Well, a variable contract with acceptable termination clauses could save you from difficulties if the market collapses" Saraccino signified the end of the double-talk as he continued "however I think that there is an opportunity to use our distribution networks to compete with the salted cod market by introducing the option of the fresh variety for the tables of nobility. And the further south one goes, the harder it is to get fresh cod in bulk for large gatherings. I think there is a very real opportunity here, and carefully planted the idea that bypassing one of the three main ducal houses could lead to a wider market distribution if a noble house with the right mercantile pedigree were to make its services available." Ramiro restrained laughter as he heard his own agents' words parroted back to him in such perfect earnestness. The Society's representatives were consummate actors.

Cards and conversation flowed back and forth, and it was well into their sixth game before the finer nuances of the arrangement between the Guiate and the Society were agreed upon. Now, the Society would find and assign someone appropriate to the task of guiding Marcella through the maze of Qadis and its numerous pitfalls. A contract would be presented at an opportune moment, negotiated or agreed upon, and Ramiro would introduce Marcella to her new assistant for her assignment to Qadis.