Why 'dog' brothers?

Why might the Assassin's Guild have adopted/accepted the nickname of dog brothers? With their admittedly anemic association with Sharna, I'd have expected 'scorpion brothers' to be more apt.

I always understood the relationship to be out of practically, not any actual faith. Also, they would likely want to down play their connection to a Dark God just for business's sake; even after hiring assassins, people might shirk away from associating with the agents of Dark Gods, and throwing the Scorpion in their face would likely limit their pool of clients.

As for choosing dogs, if I recall correctly, isn't it because they pursue a target until it is killed, regardless of the blood price? I want to say it was in Oath that they mentioned it. They "doggedly" pursue and fulfill the contract because their reputation depends on it. I'll double-check that though.

andrewtater wrote:
As for choosing dogs, if I recall correctly, isn't it because they pursue a target until it is killed, regardless of the blood price? I want to say it was in Oath that they mentioned it. They "doggedly" pursue and fulfill the contract because their reputation depends on it. I'll double-check that though.

That would be my guess as well. My Grandpa raised hunting dogs and that's what his did, tracking the prey until either called off or the prey was brought to bay.

The term isn't original with Weber. I suspect his use of it is a bit of an homage to Robert E. Howard, who used the term in at least two stories: a quasi-historical story entitled "The Shadow of the Vulture," and at least one Conan story that I can't recall the title to at the moment but I think was one of the ones when he was a bandit chieftain in the Turanian mountains.

David

TheGlyphstone wrote:Why might the Assassin's Guild have adopted/accepted the nickname of dog brothers? With their admittedly anemic association with Sharna, I'd have expected 'scorpion brothers' to be more apt.

It also helps to bear in mind that most times and places 'dog' isn't a particularly complimentary epithet. To the extent the Guild uses the term, it's likely they're just making the best of it.

dvdscar wrote:The term isn't original with Weber. I suspect his use of it is a bit of an homage to Robert E. Howard, who used the term in at least two stories: a quasi-historical story entitled "The Shadow of the Vulture," and at least one Conan story that I can't recall the title to at the moment but I think was one of the ones when he was a bandit chieftain in the Turanian mountains.

David

TheGlyphstone wrote:Why might the Assassin's Guild have adopted/accepted the nickname of dog brothers? With their admittedly anemic association with Sharna, I'd have expected 'scorpion brothers' to be more apt.