[Dragaera] Why does the empire license brothels?

[Rebecca Harbison]

On Sat, Nov 5, 2011 at 9:07 PM, Erzsébet of Catspirit Wood
<dalton_0907 at gaeacoop.org> wrote:
>> From: Philip Hart<philiph at slac.stanford.edu>
>>
>> 8. Why does the empire license brothels beyond checking for STDs and
>> health code issues, stuff nobody would want to go visit Vlad's Valentines
>> to avoid paying for.  (I wonder incidentally if he has a sideline in
>> unpasteurized cheeses and the like.)  Maybe in search of violence?
>> Somehow I think that would have come up - what seems likeliest to me is
>> cross-house sex.  That fits Piro and Ibronka seeing a Tsalmoth.
>
> Since I'm still convinced there is some major reason for the taboo against
> mixing houses, most likely something to do with maintaining the Cycle as a
> source of energy for the Gods, this explanation appeals to me.  I do recall
> that Khaavren had no qualms about pursuing the attentions of a certain
> Phoenix pretending to be an Issola at one time, though... I've often thought
> that was an odd contrast to his reaction to Piro and Ibronka.

Pel also had a Dragonlord mistress (Jenicor e'Terics, IIRC) -- the one
he used to get a message to G'aereth by telling one of the guards that
Jenicor and G'aereth (a Dzurlord) were an item.

I've always assumed that the reason Khaavren threw such a fit was that
Piro was talking more 'marriage without the legal blessing' -- that is
a long-term, romantic/sexual/domestic monogamous relationship -- while
he, even when completely twitterpated by Illista, didn't quite put it
into the 'picking out curtains' level.  If Piro and Ibronka had been
sneaking away discreetly (or what they thought was discreetly), it
wouldn't have been a big deal.

Or else Khaavren just saw it as 'well, I was young and foolish and
look how well that worked out for me (see: got tossed in prison and
nearly executed... and don't bring up how I thought Daro was a Lyorn
and didn't figure it out until she told me AFTER I fell for her'.  Or
he was mostly just disappointed that Piro didn't fall for the nice
young Tiassa and why does his life have to be so hard?

(Counterarguement was that Aerich and Tazendra never acted on their
own feelings for each other; but then again Aerich, as a Lyorn, might
be a lot stricter than pretty much anyone else in the Empire regarding
this. So a cross-House lover might be risque enough for a Lyorn to
never do it, but a Yendi or a Dragon might think it's exciting.)

-- Becca Stareyes