Teckla

From the Lyorn Records of the Dragaeran Empire

This page is about the House of the Teckla. For the book, see Teckla (book). For the animal, see Teckla (animal).

The Teckla, named after a salt marsh harvest mouse, are the only one of the seventeen houses without noble status. They make up over 90% of the Empire's population.

It is possible to join the House of the Teckla by swearing fealty to a noble of the Dragaeran Empire; there are no "tests" to join, and indeed several notable Easterners (such as Miklós, Brigitta, and Sándor) have joined the Teckla in order to acquire a link to the Orb, which remains even after they abandon their lords and return to the East.

It should be noted that a Teckla's oath of fealty technically ties him to the land (and service) of whichever lord rules the region he settles in. It is therefore technically a crime for a Teckla to abandon his lord and move to a large city, such as Adrilankha. The large populations of Teckla in the major cities of the Empire, however, illustrate how little this crime is actually enforced. This is especially true in the years following the Interregnum, which resulted in countless Teckla becoming dispossessed due to the death of their liege lords.

[edit] Role of the Cycle

Like the other sixteen houses, the Teckla do take their turn at ruling, typically after a popular revolution that unseats an Orca emperor.

This typically results in the reformation of the Empire into a Republic.

It is unclear what happens to the Orb during a Teckla reign, though it is presumably held by the "president" (or whatever the chief executive is called) of the Republic.

Eventually, however, the Cycle must change, and the Teckla Republic will fail, to be replaced by the reformation of the Empire under a Jhegaala Emperor.