David, in the Easterners' section you write: "Easterners can become members of House Jhereg by buying a title. We don't know if they can become Citizens of the Empire in any other way." I believe we know of two other ways. In _Brokedown Palace_, we meet Miklos on his way home to Fenario after having spent some years working as a laborer for a Dragaeran lord of one sort or another. He has a link to the Orb by virtue of having joined House Tekla. The implication is that anyone can join House Tekla simply by asking since, well, who would WANT to be a Tekla in the Empire? I lost my copy of Brokedown Palace some years ago so I can't supply a citation at the moment, though. Since there doesn't seem to be a central Tekla administration, one might wonder how you "apply" to enter the House. Also, the bit in _Viscount_ where Mica and Lar discuss the Houses feeling superior to each other and concluding that Easterners exist so that Tekla have someone to feel superior to, would at least indicate that Tekla are actually not that open to taking in outsiders. Given that we've never actually seen a first-hand case of slavery in the Empire, I've always assumed that when Crionofenarr speaks of his servitude to a Dragaeran lord that he's also speaking of having been inducted into the Tekla. (Of course, he could have simply been a laborer in a fief where the local lord only cared that the work got done and not about who did it.) The other way is in _Lord of Castle Black_. When Zerika awards the title of Lord Brimford to The Warlock, I believe she states that as an Imperial Title it also includes citizenship. I'll double-check that tonight when I have access to my books.