Assuming had gotten him into trouble before, but he was still surprised that families could buy their way into the nobility. And from there, into the Arbiter's chair directly, from what Sunjata was saying. It seemed to allow for a great deal more social mobility than he would have thought in such a brutal society, but it still seemed like a hell of a way to cull the population. Keeping it small if they had limited resources made a certain amount of sense...
But not at the price of murdering their best minds that weren't as physically strong as other brutes. They were selectively breeding themselves backwards from civilization to barbarity, and Jigano grimaced as he tapped a peg into a new position and then stood to stretch out his back with a quiet crackle of vertebrae.
"What made you do it?" the bard asked curiously, ever a sucker for a good story. "It sounds like you had won fame and power and were positioned to get more. Maybe enough to change things from the top down if you became Arbiter after your father... what made you throw it away to join the rebels?" There was no judgment in his tone, only honest interest. From what Sunjata had already told him, his county was a fairly terrible place, and Jigano was the last person who would wave off long shots and small rebellions. He had seen more done with less... but Sunjata's reasons for his choice mattered, even on Caido. His actions in the past couldn't be changed, but why he had undertaken those actions might affect what he did in the future, and that could have a direct impact on Jigano and his family.
But not at the price of murdering their best minds that weren't as physically strong as other brutes. They were selectively breeding themselves backwards from civilization to barbarity, and Jigano grimaced as he tapped a peg into a new position and then stood to stretch out his back with a quiet crackle of vertebrae.
"What made you do it?" the bard asked curiously, ever a sucker for a good story. "It sounds like you had won fame and power and were positioned to get more. Maybe enough to change things from the top down if you became Arbiter after your father... what made you throw it away to join the rebels?" There was no judgment in his tone, only honest interest. From what Sunjata had already told him, his county was a fairly terrible place, and Jigano was the last person who would wave off long shots and small rebellions. He had seen more done with less... but Sunjata's reasons for his choice mattered, even on Caido. His actions in the past couldn't be changed, but why he had undertaken those actions might affect what he did in the future, and that could have a direct impact on Jigano and his family.
