Editing Taishin

}}{{spoilers|book=ws3}}

The '''Taishin''', or the council of guilds, form the ruling body of [[Lossand]]. It is composed of eight members who represent the eight Professions of Lossand. In the first vote on the [[Diem]] all of the Taishin, with the exception of Lord Admiral [[Delius]], voted to disband the Diem.

== Composition ==

The Taishin are composed of the following people:{{book ref|ws1|6}}

* The '''Lord Mastrell'''

* The '''Lady Judge'''

* The '''Lord General'''

* The '''Lord Admiral'''

* The '''Lord Merchant'''

* The '''Lord Farmer'''

* The '''Lord Artisan'''

* The '''Lord Mason'''

Though [[Nilto]] is referred to as the "'''Lord Beggar'''", he is not an official member of the Taishin; but is as influential as any of the other Taishin even though he has no vote.{{book ref|ws1|2}}

== The Lord Mastrell ==

The Lord Mastrell is the Taisha in charge of the [[Diem]] and its [[sand mastery|sand masters]]. The current Lord Mastrell is [[Kenton]]. It appears that in the absence of a Lord Mastrell, the position defaults to the most senior Mastrell in the Diem.{{book ref|ws1|4}} The Lord Mastrell's approval is required for every rank in the Diem besides the first.{{book ref|ws1|1}}

Centuries before [[Praxton]], the Lord Mastrell of the time started an account with then Lord Merchant [[Hennin]]. The Lord Mastrell had Hennin put the Diem's tribute money in the account, and over the years the tributes, combined with the interest, grew to become an insurmountable debt. The Lords Mastrell used this debt as a hold over the Lords Merchant to blackmail them into doing their bidding until Kenton, in a fit of conscience, forgave it.{{book ref|ws3|3}}

When Lord Mastrell Praxton died at the hands of [[Kerztian]] assassins along with most of the Diem, the other Taishin voted to Disband the Diem. Kenton arrived in middle of the council's meeting and interrupted, demanding that the vote be declared void, saying that he, the default acting Lord Mastrell, wasn't given enough notice before the vote. The Lady Judge reluctantly agreed that Kenton has a valid point. She said that he is indeed the acting Lord Mastrell and that he had two weeks to convince all of the Taishin to vote for the Diem.

Kenton also had a rival for the position, [[Drile]], who was a much more powerful sand master than Kenton was. Kenton challenged Drile to a duel to settle their disagreement. Drile accepted on the condition that the duel would take place before the council made their decision. [[Elorin]], in a plot to ensure that the Diem would have a weak leader, poisoned the water Drile drank before the duel with [[KaDo]], which caused Kenton to defeat the more powerful Drile. Kenton asked the Lady Judge for the Taishin to vote on the spot, in the Diem, and she agreed. The Taishin all voted for the retention of the Diem, and Heelis ratified Kenton as the official Lord Mastrell. Afterwards Kenton realized that something was wrong during the duel and confronted Elorin. Elorin confessed, and in the ensuing fight Kenton killed him. Afterwards Kenton, with Drile at his side, lead the Diem in a new direction, different from how it was led in the past.

== The Lady Judge ==

The Lady Judge is the Taisha in charge of the [[Hall of Judgement]]. The current Lady Judge is [[Heelis]]. She is the leader of the [[trackt]]s and judges of Lossand and is the final arbiter of the law. She presides over meetings of the Taishin which take place in the Taisha Meeting Hall, which is a room inside the Hall.{{book ref|ws1|4}} In the final vote regarding the Diem, Heelis, saying she is partial towards the Diem, gives her vote to [[Ais]]. Ais, with the sight of Kenton stopping [[Sharezan]] to save her family in mind, puts aside her [[Kerztian]] bias against sand mastery, and votes in favor of the Diem.{{book ref|ws3|6}}

== The Lord General ==

The Lord General is the Taisha in charge of the [[Tower (Taldain)|Tower]]. The current Lord General is [[Aarik]]. He resides at the Tower Barracks.{{book ref|ws1|6}} He is the leader of the soldiers of Lossand. It appears that the position is hereditary. After [[Raagent]]'s death at the hands of Sharezan, Kenton asks Aarik to take his father's position and vote for the Diem.{{book ref|ws3|4}} Aarik reluctantly agrees, and votes for the Diem in the final vote of the Taishin.

== The Lord Admiral ==

The Lord Admiral is the Taisha at the head of the [[Helm]]. The current Lord Admiral is [[Lokkall]]. He resides at Helm's Rest.{{book ref|ws1|6}} The Lord Admiral is ostensibly in charge of the shipping industry of Lossand, but in fact the position of Lord Admiral is merely a figurehead position without any actual power. In fact, it is often viewed as a punishment rather than an honor. The true leadership of the Helm belongs to its leading council, the Shipowners' Circle. When the Shipowners' Circle selects a new Lord Admiral all of his property becomes forfeit and he is forbidden from owning property. All he is given is: a ship when he needs it, a house to live in, and any food and drink he asks for. The Lord Admiralship is the means by which the Circle keeps power over its members, anyone who becomes too successful can be taken off the playing field by "honoring" them with the position of Lord Admiral.{{book ref|ws3|3}}

=== History ===

[[Delius]], after being betrayed by Vey and losing his trust in the Guild, quit the Guild in disgust and joined the Helm. Within a decade he had amassed a large a fleet of mercantile ships. However while doing so he had ignored the politics of the Helm and was "honored" with the Lord Admiralship. For five years Delius plotted his revenge, all the while drinking expensive wine at the Helm's expense. He had his [[Delius' son|steward]], who was his son, secretly buy up a new fleet of ships for him under his own name to get around the Helm's restriction on property. Delius then had his steward carry with him documents that, when signed, would transfer ownership of the fleet to Delius.

When Kenton was being prevented from traveling to [[Lraezare]] by dockmaster [[NaiMeer]], Delius pulled rank on NaiMeer and commandeered a ship for himself, ostensibly to visit the Shipowners' Circle, and invited Kenton along. When they arrived at the Shipowners' Circle in Lraezare at the house of Lokkal its leader, Lokkall said that the Circle had "need" of his ship and that it had departed, leaving Delius and Kenton stranded in Lraezare. Delius announced that he would just commandeer another ship, and Lokkall declared that the Circle had had enough of Delius' drunkenness and they had unanimously decided to strip him of his title. Delius immediately asked his steward for the documents and signed them, transferring ownership of the fleet of ships to himself. He then announced that he was commanding his ships to monopolize access to the port of Kezare for the next month. Upon hearing this the Circle went into a panic and when Delius nominated Lokkall to be the new Lord Admiral, saying that if they voted for him he would not block Kezare, they unanimously agreed, and Lokkall became the new Lord Admiral. Delius then told Lokkall that he would hold all of the possessions that he had just lost, and if he voted in favor of the Diem he would nominate a new Lord Admiral and return his possessions to him. Lokkall agreed, and voted in favor of the Diem.{{book ref|ws3|3}}

== The Lord Merchant ==

The Lord Merchant is the Taisha at the head of the [[Guild]]. The current Lord Merchant is [[Vey]]. He resides at the Golden Market of the Guild.{{book ref|ws1|6}} He leads the banking industry of Lossand. The position of Lord Merchant goes to the member of the Guild with the most wealth. When the position changes hands the new Lord Merchant acquires all of his predecessor's wealth and debts.{{book ref|ws3|3}}

=== History ===

|His name was Hennin. An idiot of a Lord Merchant who acquired the position unearned after two relatives died and left him separate fortunes.

|Vey{{book ref|ws3|3}}

Centuries before Vey took the position, a man named [[Hennin]] was the Lord Merchant. He reached the position when two of his relatives died, leaving him enough of a fortune to become Lord Merchant. The Lord Mastrell of the time started a personal account with Hennin, and Hennin would put the Diem's tribute money into the account. After Hennin's rule, when the next Lord Merchant took over he discovered that a vast sum was now owed to the Diem, the original tributes and a large amount of interest. Over the years the debt has increased to the point where it is impossible to pay back.{{book ref|ws3|3}}

|Thus each Quarter the Lord Merchant sends two thousand [[lak]] of his personal fortune to the Diem which the Lord Mastrell returns with instructions that it be deposited in the private account, adding to the blasted debt.

|Vey{{book ref|ws3|3}}

The Lord Mastrell was willing to keep the debt secret so long as the Lord Merchant kept paying the tribute. The Lady Judge's predecessor knew about the debt and ruled that the Lord Merchant must pay the debt in full when the Lord Mastrell asks for it. Instead of demanding that Vey pay the debt, Kenton forgave the debt, earning Vey's respect and causing him to vote for the Diem.{{book ref|ws3|3}}

== The Lord Farmer ==

The Lord Farmer is the Taisha in charge of the [[Field]]. The current Lord Farmer is [[Gennel]]. He resides at the Farmers Congress. He leads the farming industry of Lossand and oversees farming quotas.{{book ref|ws1|6}} He votes in favor of the Diem in the final vote of the Taishin without explaining why he changed his mind. However, it is implied that he always listens to and follows Vey,{{book ref|ws3|3}} and that this is why he voted for the Diem.

== The Lord Artisan ==

The Lord Artisan is the Taisha in charge of the [[Draft (profession)|Draft]]. The current Lord Artisan is [[Rite]]. He resides at the Artisan Conference Center.{{book ref|ws1|6}} He leads the manufactured goods industry of Lossand. The Lord Artisan is selected by a vote of his Professions' members. After Kenton, at the advising of [[Khriss]], promises the services of sand masters to the Draft, and with the help of a loan from the Guild, promises to repay the Diem's 150,000 [[lak]] debt; the Lord Artisan agrees to vote for the Diem.{{book ref|ws2|1}}{{book ref|ws3|6}}

== The Lord Mason ==

The Lord Mason is the Taisha in charge of the ''[[Mason's Guild]]''.{{ref|text=non-canonical name}} The canonical name of the current Lord Mason is unknown. He resides at the Mason Center.{{book ref|ws1|6}} He leads the construction industry of Lossand. The Lord Mason sometimes sends a representative in his place to meetings of the Taishin.{{book ref|ws3|6}}{{ref|text=In the voting scene the "Lord Mason" says that "we vote in favor..." not "I vote..." as the other Taishin do. This implies that the woman present at the meeting is in fact only a representative of the Lord Mason and not the Lord Mason himself. Furthermore in the prose it is stated that the Lord Mason usually sends a representative to council meetings.}} In the final vote of the Taishin the Lord Mason's representative voted for the Diem, saying that it has proved that it can be beneficial and flexible. This was largely due to the incident with the construction collapse, where Kenton used his sand to save the lives of several of the Mason's Guild's workers.{{book ref|ws2|6}}{{book ref|ws3|2}}

* In the [[White Sand (prose)|prose]] the Lord Mason was named Selcomb.

[[Category: Taishin]]