i’m having to reevaluate my opinions on the realism of the couslands surviving for centuries cockroach-style despite being an obvious threat and canonically involved in rebellions, because i just learned about a real historical noble family who are somehow still fucking alive to this day despite centuries where they were involved in literally every plot rebellion and civil war and they were constantly getting killed or imprisoned about it and still holding on as a family line. and broadly speaking, the reason was that they kept getting reinstated no matter what, because nobody else could or would defend the border they were in charge of. so i’m having to come to the conclusion that the theirins have killed imprisoned and executed the correct number of couslands, but they just keep putting them back next generation because the couslands defend the northern coast which forces orlesian armies to struggle over the mountain passes when they come. and the couslands are unfortunately really good at that and the only ones who can get it done, meanwhile theirins are allergic to the sea, they get on a boat and you never hear from them again. so they’re stuck with each other
