Three merchant-lords who rotate authority of the Cartel Syndicate every five years, keeping each other balanced while competing ruthlessly for power and favoring whichever policies maximize their personal wealth.
The Cartel's leadership structure is deliberately designed to prevent any one voice from dominating. Goldthorn (a dwarf who controls the artifact-smuggling routes), Velassa (a tiefling who commands the north-coast trade), and Thrace (a human who oversees the mercenary contracts) each serve as Paramount in rotation.
This system prevents tyranny but encourages short-term thinking: each Paramount prioritizes extracting maximum profit during their term, knowing the next leader will undo their long-term plans anyway. The result is a Cartel that is unpredictable, efficient, and fundamentally incapable of executing the patient strategy needed to fully dominate the kingdom.
They hire the Council's mages, employ the Collective's thieves, and war constantly with each other. None trusts the others; all fear what would happen if any one of them gained permanent control.