The King Cobra, a kind of elapid snake, is the largest and most poisonous snake in the world as they can deliver large amounts of venom while attacking a predator. Unlike many other snake species, King Cobras are not shy of humans and are powerful enough to even kill an elephant.
King cobras can reach prey situated at a height of 18.5 ft. In spite of their length, they are quite agile and very aggressive. The width of the snake at its neck is about 1 foot!
This type of cobra is dominant in the heraldry of the House of Sefu. There is a reason for that, of course. It happens, that members of House of Sefu are very well known for their height and strength in the Kingdom of the Golden Lion since times immemorial.
As all the kingdoms, the Golden Lion had its ups and downs. There was one war around the 214th year. Though, history calls that more a rebellion. Some books refers to it as the highest treason. Bards sing even to the present that it was the middle of the summer, when a storm of sand was raised by the fierce fighting between the Golden Lion and a Golden Cobra. The Cobra almost succeeded in killing the Lion.
However, people are left to speculate what we would have now, if Cobra would have succeeded. Some may think that is good thing, some may think that it is bad, but the Golden Cobra almost died from her own poisons back then. The Lion was generous and gave the antidote the the Cobra, and the Cobra had to bow her head to the Golden Lion.
Since those days, the Golden Cobra is always seen circling around the Golden Lion. It proved that they can be trusted hundreds of times however, you can't fully trust someone who is large, poisonous, strong, and ambitious. That is what the House of Sefu has always been.
It happens that their leaders never did anything that didn't give them some form of benefit. They never were generous or too well liked. Charity is a rare word in their lands while slaves are very common.
House of Sefu lands share the border with the Unknown World. So it is not a surprise that they prepare special fighters, known more as Merchants of Slaves. They bring people of the Western Tribes to the Golden Lion and sell them all around Felaguria not caring if they separate families, or if their slaves are females, males or children. There are rumors, that the merchants trained in the lands of House of Sefu are the most cruel. Some even have rumored that people of the Lands of Sefu cut out their own hearts and feed them to cobras, which thrive in their desert.
How much of this is truth - hard to say, but surviving, being strong, and natural selection are just traditions for the people of these lands. The one, who is stronger - survives and rules, others have to obey.
These traditions are reflected in the laws of succession too. Men in the Kingdom of Golden Lion can have only one legal and official wife, but they can have as many concubines as they wish, and they will be considered as his legal concubines too. These concubines can provide legal heirs, if the man will acknowledge these children as his. Usually the children of the legal wife are of higher standing then the children by concubines, and will be treated better in public or the court.
House of Sefu modified this tradition however. A little bit and it became more common, when the children of a wife or even concubine are competing for the attention of their father, because the father can name any child as the legal heir.
Exactly this very thing happened, and with the current heir of House of Sefu - Arif Sefu. His father had two sons he asked them to meet in arena and fight till one of them lay dead. The one who survived would become heir. It was Arif Sefu, obviously. Since that day his father has been very proud of his son.
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