Suleiman Qadr al‑Zujaji

Person • Industrial Magnate • Warden of the Central Glassworks “The Vitreum” Rishama

Master of Rihsama’s standard‑glass monopoly, living in a palace of reinforced glass; brilliant, vain, and openly hostile to unions and protection laws—kept in check only by inspections, audits, and the fact that everyone can see straight through him.

Quick Facts

Appearance

Suleiman dresses like a man who believes in transparency: pale linens under a sleeveless glass‑scale vest, bronze collar pins, mirror‑polished boots. His hair is iron‑grey and meticulously ordered; his eyes catch furnace light like chips of cullet. He wears a signet of layered glass and brass—its color bands match the Proof‑stamps on Vitreum panes.

Demeanor & Beliefs

• Merit as Measure. He calls unions “sand in the gears,” insisting that talent rises best without interference.
• Efficiency Creed. Safety is acceptable when it raises output; otherwise it is “a noble drag.”
• Markets, Not Mandates. He rails at the company‑store markup cap and claims scarcity pricing would “accelerate innovation.”

“A pane is only as honest as its proof—and a worker only as useful as his output.” — Suleiman, during a ledger hearing

Biography (Short)

Born to caravan factors, Suleiman apprenticed in coastal glass‑cutting before moving inland with the post‑Thaw expansion. He won the Vitreum concession by presenting a mirror‑field plan that halved fuel costs. The Clear Keep began as a materials testbed and became a monument to himself. His fortune grew on standardization—S1–S4 sheets, R/T stock, calibration blanks—while bespoke work remained in artisan towns.

Power & Operations

• The Vitreum. Oversees the Furnace Spine, heliostat mirror fields, casting courts, and the qanat‑fed spring. Schedules caravans along hardened causeways to Al‑Majra, Siraj, and Ras Talas; priority lots fly by fanwing.
• Contracts. Volume guarantees with coastal proofhouses; resin supply from Thalasseian brokers; char/olive‑waste fuel from Arya.
• Levers. Tries to set de facto prices by timing releases and claiming “batch variance.”

Labor & Law (The Fight)

• Union (LSFW Local 7). He opposed recognition; lost the vote. Now compelled to bargain shifts, heat pay, and Sirocco Breaks.
• Price Caps. The Council limits company‑store markup (posted weekly, typically ≤ 4% over Nahrim street). Suleiman has been cited for a 7% “temporary surcharge”; he blamed a clerk, paid the fine, and lobbied for exemptions.
• Inspections. Quarterly Safety & Proof audits sample batches, masks, and slag berms. Suleiman calls them “pageantry,” but the fines bite.
• Remnant Law. He floated a trial of remnant‑assisted winches; Wardens shut it down pending ethics review after a Fixed echo began repeating a dangerous lift cycle.

Relationships

• Council of Scholars (Trade; Safety & Proof). Adversarial but formal; he performs compliance exactly to the letter.
• # LSFW Local 7. Openly hostile. The union’s Oath of Uncolored Ink hearings have humiliated him twice.
• Foreign Brokers. Smooth with Thalasseian timber/olive delegates and Lelien grain factors—he respects people who move tonnage.

Reputation & Rumors

• Glass Peacock. Workers mock the Clear Keep as “the birdcage.”
• Ledger Surgeon. Bookkeeping is immaculate—too immaculate; inspectors assume every line item hides a leverage point.
• Succession Whisper. He has no named heir; some say he’s grooming a nephew from the countinghouse.