Philen Frandeu

Philen Frandeu
Aliases	Lin
Profession	Merchant
Groups	Luthadel Assembly
Residence	Luthadel
Ethnicity	Skaa
Homeworld	Scadrial
Universe	Cosmere

Philen Frandeu (originally Lin) is a skaa merchant on Scadrial who holds one of the eight merchant seats on the Luthadel Assembly. He looks down on non-merchant skaa and changes his name after the Collapse to make it sound more like a noble's.

Appearance and Personality

Philen is well dressed, typically in a fine suit; he also carries a dueling cane.

Although he is ethnically skaa, he does not consider himself as such, and reserves that term for workers who make (or grow) things. He is not opposed to the idea of an Assembly, but believes that "worker skaa" should not be included. He primarily values money and power; during the period that Luthadel is threatened by invasion, he is confused when Elend Venture chooses to discuss the defense of the city with the Assembly rather than using his time to try and convince them to reinstate him as king.

He often works on schemes to achieve his goals, and stays informed regarding the city's political situation. He exhibits a domineering attitude towards his fellow merchants in the Assembly. Penrod calls him him a "fool" for sometimes acting too hastily, while Vin considers him to be a "weasel".

Attributes and Abilities

Philen notes that he has always had a knack for making good business deals. He is well-connected, and after the restrictions on skaa are lifted post-Collapse, he becomes one of the richest men in Luthadel. Despite his wealth, many nobles still regard him with distaste; he desperately wants to gain a title in order to further improve his social standing and free himself from the "skaa" stigma. He freely displays his wealth; he also changes his name to sound more noble, and becomes irritated if anyone uses his original name.

History

Prior to the Collapse, Philen (then known as Lin) worked as an intermediary for the nobility to broker various types of business deals. As a skaa, he was often able to avoid the notice of the Steel Ministry, and he could help nobles secure illegal items. Once he was able to trade openly, he became extremely wealthy and influential among merchant skaa.

After the Collapse, he changed his name and procured one of the merchant seats on the Luthadel Assembly. He argued against Elend's proposal for the Assembly to temporarily divest itself of the authority to surrender the city, but Elend and Lord Penrod convinced the Assembly otherwise. He then brought 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 filibustered it until the time came for a lunch break.

Philen often disagreed with Elend Venture's leadership, mocking his cerebral approach, and engineered his deposal from the throne. At the Assembly meeting when Elend was away parlaying with Straff Venture, Philen presumably convinced the rest of the Assembly to invoke the government charter's no-confidence clause and remove Elend from the kingship. He had no desire to be king himself, as he considered the job too much of a risk with too little reward, and instead nominated Ashweather Cett, whom he had smuggled into the city, to be the next king. In return, Cett promised him and everyone else on the Assembly a title. After receiving a better offer from Straff Venture, he instead voted to give the throne to Penrod, who won the vote and planned to turn the city over to Straff. Philen's fate after the Battle of Luthadel is unknown.

Notes

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Big Smooth (talk) 23:17, 14 May 2020 (UTC)