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Message: <blockquote data-quote="RealAlHazred" data-source="post: 6748730" data-attributes="member: 25818">Originally posted by Hellcow:A point I'll make here is that until 30 years ago, the families of the Thuranni house WERE the assassins of House Phiarlan - while meanwhile the remaining Phiarlan houses include the core of the intelligence gathering apparatus, such as network of Serpentine Mirrors; Phiarlan is also the larger house in terms of numbers. So yes, I certainly feel that Thuranni is better at assassination, but Phiarlan is better with intelligence. This is from the dragonshards and I believe repeated in Dragonmarked. Essentially, the Phiarlans began as bards in the full sense of the word - both providing entertainment but also preserving history and sharing news. That role of providing information grew broader and deeper, and was transformed somewhat when they manifested the Mark of Shadows. But the Mark only goes back a few thousand years; their role as bards goes back to Xen'drik. As Madfox says, it's also the case that they recognized that information could be used to affect the world, and they've continued to do that. But the key point is that for Phiarlan (and Thuranni, who after all WERE Phiarlan until 30 years ago), entertainment isn't simply a cover; it is as much a part of house and history as spying, and it's the face the common people of the world are familiar with.</blockquote>