Elosian Architect
Overview
Constructed by order of the Imperial Senate, work was completed on restoring the Great Harbour shortly before the Autumn Equinox 384YE.
Responsibilities
The Elosian Architect is expected to oversee the Great Harbour of Elos, engaging in trade for foreign herbs and supporting the fleet owners of Redoubt. If the Great Harbour were to be threatened in any way, it would be the responsibility of the Architect to deal with those threats.
Powers
Ministry
| Cerulean Mazzarine | |
| 5 ingots of green iron | 10 drams of cerulean mazzarine |
| 10 ingots of green iron | 18 drams of cerulean mazzarine |
| 15 ingots of green iron | 25 drams of cerulean mazzarine |
| Bladeroot | |
| 5 ingots of orichalcum | 9 drams of bladeroot |
| 10 ingots of orichalcum | 16 drams of bladeroot |
| 15 ingots of orichalcum | 22 drams of bladeroot |
| True Vervain | |
| 5 ingots of weltsilver | 12 drams of true vervain |
| 10 ingots of weltsilver | 20 drams of true vervain |
| 15 ingots of weltsilver | 26 drams of true vervain |
As a ministry, the title of Elosian Architect allows the holder to trade ingots of metals for set quantities of herbs. The Architect spends their ingot and makes their choices during downtime from their character page. Materials are removed from, and resources are placed into, the character's inventory when the downtime is processed.
Appointment
This title is auctioned during the Autumn Equinox.
Any Imperial citizen can participate in the auction and hold the title. They do not receive a seat on the Bourse. As a title appointed through the Bourse they cannot be revoked by the Imperial Synod.
| Summit | Nation | Elected | Bid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn Equinox 387YE | Wintermark | Sigrid | 3 thrones |
| Autumn Equinox 386YE | The Brass Coast | Qusay i Kalamar i Guerra | 10 thrones |
| Autumn Equinox 385YE | Navarr | Talia Seaboar | 5 thrones |
| Autumn Equinox 384YE | Varushka | Zdravovic Uroš | 12 thrones 4 crowns |
Recent Elections
This title is currently held by Sigrid; it will be reelected at Autumn Equinox 388YE. The table to the right shows the citizens who have been elected to hold this title in the years since Empress Britta died.
Great Harbour at Elos
In Spring 384YE the Prosperity assembly urged virtuous citizens to find a way to build up the prosperity of Redoubt. They proposed that the port facilities at [{Redoubt#Elos|Elos]] be restored to their former glory. Once the main port for Urizen's small navy, time had reduced it to little more than a sleepy fishing village. Yet even before the expansion work was undertaken the quayside was extensive and the harbour wall fortified. There had been idle talk for years of bringing the port back into major use, but it had always been overshadowed by the more advanced facilities further up the river at Cargo.
With Spiral in in the hands of the Grendel, Redoubt represented the entirety of the Urizen coast, and there had been a concomitant increase in trade into the ports of Redoubt as a result. Ever since the docks at Apulus were destroyed by, more and more vessels had been putting into port at Cargo, Visten, and Elos. While Cargo was the preferred destination of many captains, geographical limits made it impossible to expand that port and some of the biggest vessels struggled to navigate their way up the Couros. So with the facilities at all three ports backed up with vessels waiting to unload, it became clear that significant investment into the docks at Elos would be the best way to improve the prosperity of the entire territory. And by good fortune, it might also provide a few other benefits.
It proved to be no small undertaking, but the Imperial Senate commissioned the work nonetheless. Six months of hard work, primarily undertaken by mortal labourers due to the difficulties related to employing ushabti in the lowlands, and the docks were almost entirely rebuilt and refitted, doubling the capacity of Redoubt's shipyards. The effects were seen almost immediately, with a significant increase trade in on the Bay of Catazar following the signing of the peace treaty with the Grendel. Ships still come from all over the world to purchase the high-quality metals produced in Redoubt's mines, to buy mana, and engage the expertise of Urizen teachers and philosophers.
Today the harbour is a wonder indeed, a far cry from the previous sleepy coastal village. Raised obelisks with pristine lightstones mark out three constellations across the rebuilt harbour - [the Stallion]], the Door, and the Great Wyrm itself. An open plaza inlaid with hexagonal flagstones of white granite serves as a focal point, with most of the important buildings associated with the harbour built around the periphery. Between the harbour and the spire proper are the well-maintained, carefully laid out trees of a public park that is a popular place for citizens of Elos to relax and consider the day. The new harbour is, by even the most critical accounts, a thing of beauty.
The only part of the harbour that is not the responsibility of the Elosian Architect is the so-called Elosian Docks, which are sometimes referred to these days as the Hesychian Quays. Built a year before the work on the new harbour was undertaken, they are used by Axou traders to deliver amounts of white granite in return for dragonbone and overseen by the Quaymaster of the Elosian Docks.
Further Opportunities
When the expansion of the harbour was commissioned, several additional benefits were identified. Not only could the harbour be quickly expanded to include a shipyard capable of deploying warships, but the nearby presence of the Penumbral Watcher allowed for other, more magical benefits such as concealing the work of establishing a shipyard from the Grendel, or imbuing navies raised in Elos with a unique Night magical quality. There was also some talk that the new harbour might even allow the Urizen to support a new navy of their own, despite their general limitations with regard to large-scale military matters.
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.