"Yknow," Nene began, swaying where she sat. "I always figured dark lords were /bigger/. And darker. Eviler. Soul eatin'. All that good stuff. Yer just likea sorcerer happens to have his own country. "

She trailed off into a few vaguely nasty sniggers. "Fact is, round here too there's people say- oh! Sorcer owes their loyalty to the guild, right? They shouldn't be in chargea regular people. You see that one in election debates likea lot. Sometimes works. Sometimes doesn't. Thing is, we got so many sorcers, it's kinda a votin' block by now."

To which she rubbed her chin. "'m guessin' yer like pretty elite even without the ruler thing? I mean- assassins! That's parta rulin' stuff, but still. 'm gettin' that impression."