Broker of the Invisible Cord
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==Appointment== | ==Appointment== | ||
This title is appointed during the Winter Solstice by Navarr who control [[herb garden]] [[Resource|personal resources]]. The larger the herb garden an individual has, the more votes they can allocate in support to a candidate. The voting is handled by the civil servants in the Bourse. | This title is appointed during the Winter Solstice by the [[Tally of the Votes]]. The decision is made by Navarr who control [[herb garden]] [[Resource|personal resources]]. The larger the herb garden an individual has, the more votes they can allocate in support to a candidate. The voting is handled by the civil servants in the Bourse. | ||
Only a Navarr character may hold this title. They do not receive a seat on the Bourse. They cannot be [[revocation|revoked]] by the [[Imperial Synod]]. | Only a Navarr character may hold this title. They do not receive a seat on the Bourse. They cannot be [[revocation|revoked]] by the [[Imperial Synod]]. | ||
Revision as of 11:43, 9 July 2025
Overview
The Broker of the Invisible Cord is an Imperial title awarded to a Navarr citizen. The Invisible Cord Brokerage was commissioned by the Imperial Senate during the Summer Solstice 383YE and completed shortly before the Winter Solstice of the same year. It arose from proposals made by Navarr brokers who were in turn inspired by the debate initiated by the Prosperity assembly into the virtue of the old Bourse public auction. It is in many ways a spiritual sibling to the half-dozen other similar structures that grew up in various nations including the Iron Roundtower, the Cinderpath Exchange, and Kauppahall.
Today the Brokerage stands in the city of Seren, providing a location for virtuous Navarr (and indeed other merchants) to bring their weirwood and be assured of receiving a virtuous fair price for the material.
Responsibilities
The Broker of the Invisible Cord is responsible for ensuring good relations with the Navarr who offer their weirwood in trade, and securing more weirwood for Navarr, explicitly for the betterment of the nation - expanding herb gardens and forest enclaves, building new structures, supporting the armies and fortifications, and so on. If the Invisible Cord Brokerage were to be threatened in any way, it would be the responsibility of the Broker to deal with those threats. Likewise, if any particular opportunity were to arise related to the Brokerage, the Broker would expect to be consulted as to how that opportunity might be resolved.
Powers
Ministry
| Weirwood | |
| 96 Crowns | 4 wains of weirwood |
| 192 Crowns | 8 wains of weirwood |
| 288 Crowns | 12 wains of weirwood |
As a ministry, the title of Broker of the Invisible Cord allows the holder to purchase wains of weirwood at a set price. The Broker makes their decision on how much money to spend during downtime from their character page. Money is removed from, and resources are placed into, the character's inventory when the downtime is processed.
Appointment
This title is appointed during the Winter Solstice by the Tally of the Votes. The decision is made by Navarr who control herb garden personal resources. The larger the herb garden an individual has, the more votes they can allocate in support to a candidate. The voting is handled by the civil servants in the Bourse.
Only a Navarr character may hold this title. They do not receive a seat on the Bourse. They cannot be revoked by the Imperial Synod.
Invisible Cord Brokerage
The Invisible Cord Brokerage grew up as a result of ongoing discussions about the old public auction run via the Bourse, and its virtue (or lack therof). There have always been Navarr who are bitter about the fact that their lands contain not one but three large weirwood forests - or even as many as five with discoveries of a grove in Liathaven and near the ruins of the city of Terunael - but only the Thimble is actually a Navarr national seat. The Navarr territories produce nearly a third of the weirwood used by the Empire - yet they control less than a fifth of that production. At various points in Imperial history, loose conglomerates of Navarr brokers have "bought back" what many see as their legacy - using unexpected monetary reserves to seize the "missing" Navarr weirwood and using it to improve the herb gardens and forest reserves of the Navarr.Inspired by the Cinderpath Exchange built in Highguard, in Spring 373YE in response to calls by the Imperial Synod, those brokers proposed the creation of the Invisible Cord Brokerage.
It was built in Miaren - a territory that is central not only to the Navarr but also in the Empire. It is also the site of one of the largest known weirwood forests in Imperial hands. This made the city of Seren the obvious choice of location to build a brokerage dedicated to collecting weirwood from across the nation. Virtuous foresters and lumberjacks bring their weirwood here and exchange it for a fair amount of money. Those using the exchange are secure in the knowledge that not only are they enriching themselves, and receiving a just reward for their Prosperity, but they are helping their people.
The brokerage itself is a beautiful, elegant structure built from weirwood surrounded by a carefully tended orchard of apple trees. The attached wayhouse provides all the comforts traditional to such places to those who visit and there is ample space for parking wagons and caravans as well as a stable for tending to oxen and beasts of burden. Over the years since its construction the brokerage has become as famous in the local area for its hospitality, and for the delightful lemon-yellow roses that climb its walls and creep across its roof as it is for the trade in weirwood that takes place. It has become a regular place for meeting with the Great Forest Orcs who resettled in Miaren and tend the Golden Woods - they enjoy the opportunity to speak with others who share their interest in the cultivation and preservation of weirwood trees.
Where the Brokerage and similar ministries are seen as a manifestation of the Prosperity of their nation, the Navarr are perhaps more concerned with ideas of Loyalty and Pride. Loyalty in this case is shown by building up one's fellows, and Pride reflects the kind of national pride that inspires and celebrates. Recognising that the Navarr produce a significant portion of the weirwood used in the Empire, and encouraging the people to see it used for the betterment of the nation rather than lining their own pockets, encourages a certain virtuous stance among those who work with that precious material.
| Summit | Elected | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Winter Solstice 386YE | Nettle | 325 Votes |
| Winter Solstice 385YE | Rhys Nighthaven | 199 Votes |
| Winter Solstice 384YE | Rhys Nighthaven | 241 Votes |
| Winter Solstice 383YE | Owain Farkas | 92 Votes |
Recent Elections
This title is currently held by Nettle; it will be reelected at the next summit. The table to the right shows the citizens who have been elected to hold this title in the years since Empress Britta died.
The Title in Play
The role does not provide additional information about events in the Empire, nor allow the player holding it to request special reports or downtime actions. These details are assumed to be below the abstraction layer. The title holder is encouraged to create their own stories about their activities within reasonable limits and to get involved in events appropriate to their title during the game, but they do not have any powers beyond those explicitly listed in the section on powers.
These details exist partly to provide context and character to the role - and partly to allow our writers to use the title as a plot hook. Plot that involves the position will be rare - but all the campaign positions in Empire have these details to create the potential for it to happen.