Philen Frandeu
| Philen Frandeu | |
|---|---|
| Profession | Merchant |
| Groups | Luthadel Assembly |
| Residence | Luthadel |
| Ethnicity | Skaa |
| Homeworld | Scadrial |
| Universe | Cosmere |
Philen Frandeu (originally Lin) is a skaa merchants who holds one of the eight merchant seats on the the Luthadel Assembly.[1] He looks down on the non-merchant skaa and changes his name after the Collapse to make it sound more like a noble's.[2]
Appearance and Personality
Philen wears a fine suit, like the nobility, but they still regard him with distaste because he is a skaa; as a result, he desperately wants a title. He divides people based on whether they make of grow things or sell things; he believes anyone who does the former, including most of the skaa, are inferior. He is not opposed to the idea of an Assembly, but believes it should be reserved for those people who deserve such a position. He is confused when Elend Venture chooses to use his time addressing the Assembly to discuss the defense of the city rather than to try to convince the Assembly to reinstate him as king.[2]
History
Prior to the Collapse, Philen worked as an intermediary for the nobility in deals. As a skaa, he was often able to avoid the notice of the Steel Ministry, and so he could help them secure illegal items.[2]
He argues against Elend's proposal for the Assembly to temporarily divest itself of the authority to surrender the city, but Elend and Lord Penrod convince the Assembly otherwise. He then brings forward a proposal of his own to grant the merchants control over the city's food supply, but Elend and some of the skaa representatives on the Assembly filibuster it until the time comes for a lunch break.[1]
At the Assembly meeting when Elend is away parlaying with Straff Venture, he convinces the rest of the Assembly to invoke the government charter's no-confidence clause and remove Elend from the kingship. He has no desire to be king himself, as he considers the job too much of a risk with too little reward, and instead nominates Ashweather Cett, whom he smuggles into the city, to be the next king.[2] In return, Cett promised him and everyone else on the Assembly a title.[3] After receiving a better offer from Straff Venture, he instead votes to give the throne to Penrod, who wins the vote and plans to turn the city over to Straff.[4][5]