The Enemy

In Then, the Priesthood of Sol ruled an empire that included a population of free slave-owners.: but most slaves were owned by the priesthood. Discipline was harshly enforced through use of the power of Sol. By book 3 in the series, it is clear that the Despot of Ozane in now is a surviving, thousand-year-old high, priest of Sol.

Once priests graduate from the College of Sol, they are in open competition with each other for advancement, and they tend to be ambitious and ruthless. Therefore, the most ambitious climb the greasy pole and become high priests, while those who wish to serve the community are quickly left behind. High priests spend half their time trying to displace those above them on the greasy pole, and the other half kicking at those below to protect their own progress.

In now, the despot and his feeders are the enemy. Ozane is constantly expanding, so it needs a large army and an ever-increasing population. The Despotate is centrally controlled by Garks, one for weapons manufacture, one for the army, one for food and shelter, one for slavery, and one to run the baby farms and breeding houses. The breeding houses are peopled by the slaves stolen from the Free Countries and wherever else childbearing women can be stolen. The population is kept oppressed through brutal discipline, and quiescent through alcohol.