The circle game
A relic of the past, I suppose, she mused to herself. "The Foundation of the Bourse" by Apomedes of Heaven's Reach. She could just make out the letters stamped into the leather bound cover, the paint that had once filled them, had long since cracked and fallen away.
"Giovanni's contribution to the Empire is often overlooked." the old man said sadly. "It's because it's so pedestrian I guess. There's no great battles. No epic wars. Apomedes claims he killed more forgers than barbarians. No moments of heroism. Well apart from Miaren I suppose and it's pretty clear that he thought that campaign was a disaster."
Graciana cupped the priceless book in both hands, unsure if it would be safe to open the cover. "I'm not sure how this will help me?" she queried.
"Apomedes first" he replied inscrutably, "then we can have a talk."
Overview
Six months ago, during the Summer Solstice, the Imperial Senate charged the Prognosticator's Office with examining "the ministries of the Empire to identify any alternative trades their associated titles could make that would not involve us paying coin." On the advice of the Constitutional Court, Senator for Sermersuaq who raised the motion - Fedelmidd Sydanjaa's Heart Floer - acknowledged that the prognosticator would need additional time to complete their review - that period has now been completed.
The Senate did not select a specific appraiser to oversee the work, so the Auditor of the Imperial Treasury Gerard La Salle assigned Graciana i Lòpez i Guerra to oversee it. His first choice - the diplomatic Naomi - had unfortunately already been assigned to oversee an appraisal of Utterlund docks. The Freeborn has some expertise in this area, having been a successful merchant herself before joining the Civil Service. As an experienced practitioner of Night magic, she is known for approaching problems in ways that are novel, albeit often expensive.
Despite her talents, it is clear that Graciana has found the task extremely challenging. The truth is that there are precious few options for alternative trades for the various existing ministries that would provide alternatives to spending money. Frustrated, the prognosticator has tried to take a broader view and look at what she has guessed, is the more fundamental problem - declining revenues for the Imperial treasury, using the time available to study the problem as thoroughly as possible. She has included the findings of that investigation as part of the overall appraisal.
Money's a matter of functions four,
A Medium, a Measure, a Standard, a Store.
The Liquidity Problem
- Imperial citizens prefer to deal in money in most cases
- Most foreigners prefer either Imperial coinage, or to deal in high-value commodities such as wains and rings of ilium
The fundamental problem that Graciana identifies is that the majority of potential customers would vastly prefer to deal in coin than engage in barter. There are exceptions of course, the Quaymaster of the Hesychian Docks for example, is able to trade Dragonbone for white granite. But these rare cases are the exception - most citizens strongly prefer to deal in coin rather than barter.
Coin has many advantages, as a medium of exchange it ensures that a trade isn't reliant on both parties wanting what the other party is selling. As a measure of value it is quickly and easily quantified and transferred - it is much quicker to count and transfer 20 thrones than 300 ingots of weltsilver. Coins allow people to accumulate and tally obligations and debts in ways that allow for payments to be easily deferred. Imperial coins, backed as they are by the full weight of the Empire and the tireless work of the Master of the Mint to prevent forgeries, act as a peerless store of wealth. They make it simple to keep wealth safe, so that it can be employed in the future.
In simpler terms, money is just much more desirable for buying and selling than barter is. It's flexible, and at the end of the day it is much easier to give people money to buy the things they need than it is to swap the thing you have for the thing they have. It's no use having a cart-load of weltsilver to trade for dragonbone if your opposite number actually wants orichalcum. Most established, prosperous people look at "barter" - swapping things for other things - a little askance.
While there are a few possibilities, they seem to be very specific and very limited in scope. The established ways within the Empire to buy and sell resources, all rely on money, and there is no appetite to change those. There may be some limited opportunities to create new deals with foreign nations - trading liao and dragonbone to Axos for example - but they would require careful diplomatic negotiation. In all cases foreign nations usually prefer to take payment in Imperial coin when dealing with Imperial traders - none of them are likely to accept barter unless it comes with a considerable discount that favours them.
Stymied by the inability to find any systematic or extensive solution to the appraisal, Graciana has tried to look at what she assumes is the more fundamental problem - a concern about the finance available to the Imperial treasury.
Giovanni's Legacy
- The fundamental basis of the modern Imperial economy was laid down by Emperor Giovanni
- Giovanni deliberately constrained the ability of the Empire to tax or borrow to ensure the burden of government fell on the wealthiest
Art created by Persephone Sage-Fletcher
The fundamental basis of the modern Imperial economy was laid down in a series of reforms instituted by Emperor Giovanni. He established the modern currency based on steel coins issued by the Imperial Mint, (which he ensured was based in Tassato). Giovanni also laid the foundations of the Bourse, and worked with the Senate and Synod to codify the body of Imperial Law. Crucially it was Giovanni that fixed the taxation that Imperial citizens must pay - by reinterpreting "a measure of silver" to be a single crown. The few texts that survive that describe this period suggest that before Giovanni, the early leaders of the Empire had anticipated that they might vary how much silver citizens might be taxed. Giovanni closed the door on that possibility.
Instead he established the Imperial Bourse as the primary method by which the nascent Empire would raise funds for the Imperial treasury. He did so at the same time that he instituted a tradition of meeting once every three months at Anvil. The few accounts of Emperor Giovanni that survive paint him as a shrewd and brilliant politician, but on a personal level he was widely regarded as cynical man whose studies of the dismal science led him to expect the worst of literally everyone. According to the Torchbearer, Apomedes of Heaven's Reach, Giovanni deliberately created the Bourse to ensure that the burden of paying for the decisions of the Senate would fall on those who made them and those who put them there.
Interest in Emperor Giovanni tends to wax and wane. When economic times are good, few people pay any attention to his life's work. These periods are often marked by years of steady rises in the price of wains, accompanied by a growth in expenditure authorised by the Imperial Senate. When the wheel turns, the price of wains begins to fall and the pressure on the Imperial treasury begins to rise dramatically. When that happens interest in the Imperial economy suddenly becomes more pressing.
In recent years, noted Imperial economists like the respected Wintermark scholar, and current Auditor of Senatorial Accountability Vauraus Korppitkotka of the Sussivari, have published insightful analysis that map out the flow of money into the Imperial treasury. Similar work by the tireless campaigner, Laurencio Lemmini di Sarvos of the First Spark, have aimed to drill home just how important the impact of things like ministries are on the "Anvil economy". Graciana's research largely confirms what both these economists have long been saying - all the money spent at Anvil ultimately circulates around Anvil until it ends up returning to the Imperial treasury.
The document produced by Laurencio di Sarvos, graphically illustrates how the Anvil economy works. The yellow boxes show where money enters the system - taxation by the Senate, the personal income of wealthy citizens, and so forth. The blue boxes show how this money circulates around Anvil - guerdon payments don't leave Anvil because they are paid to people who then bring the money back to Anvil to spend it. The Bourse works to draw money from everyone attending Anvil, ever directly or indirectly, which it then funnels back to the Senate. Wealth only leaves the system through the red boxes, the upkeep of armies and fortifications or the spending in ministries and similar.
When more money enters the system than leaves the system, the price of wains goes up, and the Senate grows rich. When more money leaves the system than enters it, the price of wains goes down and the Senate's budget is squeezed. Encouraging citizens to pay more at the Bourse auctions might feel virtuous, but since it doesn't change the fundamental money supply in the slightest, all it can possibly do is delay the inevitable correction. Virtuous citizens moving money from the Anvil economy to the Bourse and from there to the Senate cannot be sustained, if the money in circulation in the Anvil economy continues to decline.
Those who call the tune must pay the piper.
Emperor GiovanniThis design perfectly reflects Giovanni's gloomy disposition. The Emperor expected his Senate to be profligate in their spending - he changed the constitution to ensure that the burden fell squarely on the heads of the citizens coming to Anvil. His belief was that they, and they alone, might have the collective political power to restrain their senators.
If alternative trades could be found, so that Imperial citizens who attend Anvil could make significant purchases using wains, resources, mana, herbs or similar, that would result in significantly less money leaving the Anvil economy - and by extension more money ultimately flowing into the Imperial treasury. However that is very difficult to do, there are few good options for doing that for the reasons described above, most people want to get paid, in coin, for their services or goods. However increasing the money flowing into the Anvil economy would have the same net effect as decreasing the money flowing out of the Anvil economy - and that might be easier to achieve.
Cutting Corners
- There are few good options for alternative trades for ministries, but the Senate could abrogate them
- There are some ministries that could provide a benefit to the Empire without requiring money to operate
As mentioned, there are few good options for alternative trades that don't involve coin. The handful that do exist are ad hoc limited options that affect some of the smaller ministries; Graciana is dubious that these will produce significant net benefits to the Imperial treasury.
The drastic solution would be to abrogate all ministries. The Imperial Senate could use a single Senate motion to abrogate every ministry in the Empire. That would have a huge effect, dramatically curbing the powers of some titles and disestablishing others (any title whose only power was to operate a ministry would be abrogated at the same time). Such a motion would mean any investment into the ministry in question was lost - there would be no way to recover the materials used to build the commision and no easy way to repurpose them for some other use.
A less drastic answer might be to abrogate certain specific ministries. With a more tailored approach, it is possible to address the changes as they happen, shifting commissions so that some benefits still accrue. Graciana has looked at four "groups" of ministries - the grandmasters of the Conclave, the ambassadors, the Northern trade network, and the Prosperity ministries that provide bourse resources. In the first three cases, she has identified some benefits that could be had if the Senate acted to remove their ministries. She has not been able to identify benefits that would flow from abrogating the Prosperity ministries and she advises against dis-establishing them.
No, Grandmaster. It is not 'yours'. It is ours.
Lebannon of Haros WaterGrandmaster Ministries
- The ministries that provide Grandmasters with crystal mana could be abrogated
- Doing so would mean an additional 127 crystal mana going directly to the font
One group of ministries that see a large amount of money flow from Anvil into the wider Empire are the so-called "mana ministries" possessed by each Grandmaster. These ministries were greatly enhanced in 384YE when the Senate took advantage of an opportunity to expand the mana exchanges in Tassato, Temeschwar, and Sarvos. Graciana estimates that, in total, the Grandmasters have spent over a hundred thrones collectively buying over a thousand crystal mana for their orders over the last year. This is in addition to the mana that is distributed to them via the font. It is clearly valuable to have so much additional mana available to the Empire, but the Senate might consider that the costs are not worth the benefits.
The Senate could use a single senate motion to shut these ministries down. If that happened, the civil servants responsible for securing crystal mana for the grandmasters could be redeployed, and the structures used to support them could be repurposed to support a public trade in mana crystals between citizens, with the profits from that operation being used to fund mana purchases for the font.
Graciana calculates that this would result in an additional 127 crystal mana each season being raised for the font, at no additional cost to the Empire. That would be a significant loss for the Empire - five hundred mana crystals a year is significantly less than the thousand mana crystals that the grandmasters purchased between them - but it would represent a considerable saving to the Anvil economy.
Diplomatic Ministries
- The Senate could end the practice of merchants offering favourable rates to ambassadors
- They could redefine the role of the ambassador and indicate such gifts are for the benefit of the Empire rather than the ambassador
- Doing so would remove the ministry, but would also remove the upkeep costs of the embassys the Empire has not embargoed
As it currently stands, the Imperial Consul and each ambassador oversees an embassy. Alongside the political powers and prestige an embassy affords an ambassador, they also support a degree of mercantile activity. Merchants who engage in trade between the Empire and the nation in question, or vice versa, visit the embassy to curry favour with the ambassador. Commonly they take a portion of the items they buy and sell and make them available to the ambassador at favourable prices. This benefit is represented by a ministry that allows the ambassador to directly purchase raw materials from traders and merchants of the associated nation.
This practice obviously leads to questions about what exactly is going on. Virtuous individuals in particular sometimes look at this behaviour with raised eyebrows - these merchants are trying to curry favour with the ambassador to get special treatment. This is usually perfectly innocuous, merchants offer incentives to get their shipments cleared by the dock authorities more quickly than their rivals, or to expedite permits to sell their wares, arrange meetings with their Imperial counterparts, or the like. But in theory, if a merchant were engaged in criminal activity, the ambassador might be the first person they would seek to bribe to look the other way...
It would be relatively straightforward for the Senate to end this practice. With a suitably worded Senate motion they could make it clear that such lobbying is no longer acceptable, for all existing embassies and future embassies. The ministries would be lost. Ambassadors would still be able to engage in direct trade with foreign nations of course, but the practice of merchants bringing goods to the embassies to "trade" at a "special discount" to the Ambassadors would end. None of the diplomats from the foreign nations would bat an eyelid at this change.
That is not to say that the giving of "gifts" is the problem. In practice most of the actual work of operating an embassy is done by the civil service - they could still help foreign merchants with their trade, but any gifts would be understood to a gift to the embassy itself, and by extension the Empire. The civil service could sell these gifts, at least those that had real value, and use the proceeds to pay the costs of running the embassy. That would mean the Empire not need to pay the upkeep costs of any embassay unless they declared war with the nation in question - or embargoed their trade.
The Imperial Senate could remove the ministries from every embassy with a single motion. The impact is not small - removing the ability of the Consul and the ambassadors to purchase goods would save nearly two hundred thrones a year, but it would also cut nearly thirty five thrones a season in upkeep costs.
Of course impoverishing the diplomatic corps, who have presumably been using the profits of their embassy to fund the vital work they do, might be too high a cost for the Senate to stomach. If that was a concern, the Senate could give each title a stipend - that would be drawn directly from the Imperial treasury of course, but it would mean those funds weren't leaving the Anvil economy.
Northern Trade Network
- The Northern Trade Network was established as a set of ministries but Graciana believes that lacks ambition
- Investing in the Northern Trade Network would remove the small-scale individual benefits and improve the situation for the entire territory where they are built
| Ministry | Territory |
|---|---|
| Bonesetter of Torfast Trading Post | Skarsind |
| Broker of Treji Wayhouse | Hercynia |
| Overseer of the Westward Road | Karov |
| Northbound Trademaster | Temeschwar |
| Kalpaheim Tradeholder | Hahnmark |
A series of ministries have been established across the northern Empire that together became the Northern trade network. These ministries, anchored by the Torfast Trading Post in Skarsind connect Hahnmark, Hercynia, Skarsind, Temeschwar, and Karov. Their establishment saw the northern territories establish closer trade ties among themselves. The Thule also participate in this trade, exchanging their own crystal mana for Imperial ingots and measures.
| Kalapaheim Tradehall |
| Commission Type: Great work |
| Location: Kalpamark, Hahnmark |
| Cost: 30 wains of white granite, 90 crowns, three months |
| Availability: One year - or until another great work increasing investment in businesses is built in the territory |
Effect:
|
| Torfast Trading Post |
| Commission Type: Great work |
| Location: Southpine, Skarsind |
| Cost: 30 wains of white granite, 90 crowns, three months |
| Availability: One year - or until another great work increasing investment in businesses is built in the territory |
Effect:
|
| Treji Wayhouse |
| Commission Type: Great work |
| Location: The Glen of Shadows, Hercynia |
| Cost: 30 wains of white granite, 90 crowns, three months |
| Availability: One year - or until another great work increasing investment in herb gardens is built in the territory |
Effect:
|
| Delev Market |
| Commission Type: Great work |
| Location: Duzekani, Karov |
| Cost: 50 wains of white granite, 150 crowns, six months |
| Availability: One year - or until another great work increasing investment in mines or forests is built in the territory |
| Requirement: Can only be upgraded if the Treji Warehouse, Torfast Trading Post and Kalapaheim Tradehall have all been converted into great works |
Effect:
|
| Northbound Trade |
| Commission Type: Great work |
| Location: Hanuri, Temeschwar |
| Cost: 60 wains of white granite, 180 crowns, six months |
| Availability: One year - or until another great work increasing investment in businesses is built in the territory |
| Requirement: Can only be upgraded if the Treji Warehouse, Torfast Trading Post, Kalapaheim Tradehall, and Delev Market have all been converted into great works |
Effect:
|
The network itself grew up fairly haphazardly, with each new member added improving the opportunities for each of the others. In each case, money is used to buy trade goods that the other nations in the network have in abundance. Graciana sees an opportunity here; rather than focusing the trade through one location, these ministries could be the basis for securing larger-scale prosperity across the territory.
In each case, the existing structure would need considerable further investment - and the costs involved are not small. Each would require a Senate motion or announcement by someone able to commission a great work - they could not be done with a single commission. In each case, the relevant title holder would see the loss of all trade privileges currently granted by the ministry, bar the oversight of trade with the Thule. Once the work to upgrade the existing commission into a great work was complete, the ministry would only be able to acquire mana crystals from the Urdur trade option in each case - all other options would be lost.
The benefits could be considerable however, providing significant boosts to income for businesses and other personal resources across the north territories of the Empire. In most cases, the work could be done independently of the other branches of the northern trade network, with the exception of the Delev Market in Karov and the trade hub in Temeschwar. The Delev Market, would only provide benefits to mines and businesses once the Treji Warehouse, Torfast Trading Post and Kalapaheim Tradehall were upgraded. The trade hub in Temeschwar would only provide benefits to businesses once the overhaul of all the other branches of the network was complete.
Prosperity Ministries
| Ministry | Nation | Resources |
|---|---|---|
| Cinder Path Exchange | Highguard | Mithril |
| Iron Tower | Varushka | Mithril |
| Parador of Dust | Brass Coast | Mithril |
| Boar's Market | Dawn | Mithril, white granite, and weirwood |
| Invisible Cord Brokerage | Navarr | Weirwood |
| Kaupahall | Wintermark | White granite and ilium |
- The six "Prosperity ministries" allow title holders to purchase wains and rings of ilium from Imperial citizens
- They were established following the efforts of the Prosperity Assembly to ensure virtuous citizens are paid fairly for their resources
- Large sums of money are spent acquiring bourse materials through these ministries
- Abrograting these ministres would be counter-productive, citizens would find other ways to sell wains to people coming to Anvil
In the last several years, a series of ministries arose as a result of the Prosperity assembly drive to disband the private and public auctions and ensure Imperial citizens with wains to sell received just reward for their labour. The first was the Cinder Path Exchange in Highguard, but the practice quickly spread to other nations. These specialised ministries allow the purchase of white granite, mithril, weirwood, and ilium from citizens of a nation at a "fair price", as determined by the prosperous citizens of the Empire. While the money spent on these resources continues to enrich Imperial citizens, those who receive it rarely come to Anvil so it does not appear in the Imperial treasury.
Graciana looks into the possibility of altering these ministries so that they would not rely on Imperial coinage but she stops once she identifies the fundamental problem. These ministries replaced the need for citizens to send wains to Anvil to be sold by public auction - if they were abrograted or repurposed in some way - then it is certain that citizens would find some other way to sell their excess wains to the wealthy citizens at Anvil. It might mean less money leaving the Anvil economy - but it could mean more money escaping the Imperial treasury, it is impossible to predict.
As such Graciana suggests that the Senate avoid changing any ministries that allow the title holder to purchase bourse resources from Imperial citizens, at least if they are seeking to increase the amount of funds available.
Clipping Coins
- Graciana has identified half a dozen opportunities to alter existing ministries to operate without spending coin
While Graciana has found few systemic ways to remove the need to spend coin when operating ministries, she has idenfied a number of individual opportunities to change specific ministries. In many cases these opportunities involve deals with foreigners. Graciana is no diplomat, but Naomi of Virtue's Rest is able to help with these negotiations - any of which the Empire could take up or turn down without causing undue offence.
As ever, any deal with foreigners is inherently fragile - any ministry that relies on a deal with a foreign power will cease to function if the Empire finds itself at war with that nation.
Axos and the Bursars
- The Halls of Maykop are prepared to exhange crystal mana for the materials they need to make magic items
- The Halls are interested in closer links with the Bursar of the Conclave
| Bursar of the Conclave | |
| 7 Dragonbone | 8 mana crystals |
| 10 Dragonbone, 6 Beggar's Lye | 16 mana crystals |
| 10 Dragonbone, 10 Beggar's Lye, 7 Ambergelt | 24 mana crystals |
| 10 Dragonbone, 10 Beggar's Lye, 10 Ambergelt, 10 Irridescent Gloaming | 32 mana crystals |
| 20 Dragonbone, 15 Beggar's Lye, 10 Ambergelt, 10 Irridescent Gloaming | 40 mana crystals |
| House of Spirits | |
| 40 liao | 1 ring of ilium |
| 80 liao | 2 rings of ilium |
| 125 liao | 3 rings of ilium |
| 175 liao | 4 rings of ilium |
| 230 liao | 5 rings of ilium |
The Bursar of the Conclave has been empowered by the Imperial Senate to purchase mana for the Conclave from Imperial citizens. The Axou are usually a good source for mana and it appears they are open to getting involved with the ministry. Two things make them suitable for this, one is that the Axou from the Halls of Maykop seem keen to forge closer links with the Bursar - and the other is that this citadel would be prepared to take payment in forest materials rather than Imperial coin.
The Bursar of the House of Spirits is responsible for the House of Spirits in Casinea. This remote campus hosts students from the College of Necromantia in Maykop. Despite their willingness to help, the Axou are not prepared to accept forest materials for their precious ilium, however they would be prepared to accept large amounts of liao instead.
The Imperial Senate could use a single Senate motion to accept the two Axou offers.
Sarcophan and the Kruidenkenner
- The Sarcophan are prepared to barter metals for herbs in the two Kruidenkenner trade enclaves
| Trademaster Cerulean Mazzarine | |
| 6 green iron | 12 cerulean mazzarine |
| 15 green iron | 24 cerulean mazzarine |
| 27 green iron | 36 cerulean mazzarine |
| Trademaster Herbs | |
| 10 tempest jade | 16 random herbs |
| 22 tempest jade | 32 random herbs |
| 36 tempest jade | 48 random herbs |
| Root and Stem | |
| 6 orichalcum | 12 bladeroot |
| 15 orichalcum | 24 bladeroot |
| 27 orichalcum | 36 bladeroot |
The Kruidenkenner, the large Sarcophan trading house that supplies herbs to the Kruidenkenner Trademaster and the Master of the Root and Stem, are also prepared to indulge the Empire switch to barter at their establishments. They are quick to produce a proposed schedule of purchases and prices at each of the two establishments. There is some suggestion that the returns on these trades might not be as profitable as the current arrangements - the Kruidenkenner don't deny that accusation exactly - rather they point out that it is the Empire seeking to change the arrangements and that barter is inherently more expensive.
The Imperial Senate could use a single motion to accept all the changes proposed by the Kruidenkenner - if that happened then the ministries associated with the titles would require ingots to operate them from then on, rather than coin.
The Ossium Trade
- Merchants in Ossium would be prepared to accept ingots in place of coin for the goods available to the Merchant-Boyar of the Stinking Market and the Apothecary of Orieb
| Merchant Boyar Ossium herbs | |
| 8 weltsilver | 6 doses of marrowort, 10 random herbs |
| 10 weltsilver, 8 orichalcum | 13 doses of marrowort, 20 random herbs |
| 16 weltsilver, 10 orichalcum, 10 green iron | 20 doses of marrowort, 30 random herbs |
| Orieb Apothecary Herbs | |
| 7 tempest jade | 14 random herbs, 1 dose of realmsroot |
| 10 tempest jade, 9 weltsilver | 28 random herbs, 2 doses of realmsroot |
| 20 tempest jade, 9 weltsilver, 6 green iron | 42 random herbs, 3 doses of realmsroot |
Not all the opportunities that Graciana has identified involve trade with foreigners. Citizens in Ossium have an insatiable desire for ingots, which are used by artisans in the territory to make fine magical weapons for sale. The Ketsov are open to the idea of procuring the herbs currently purchased by the Apothecary of Orieb and the Merchant-Boyar of the Stinking Market in exchange for ingots.
On the face of it, this seems like a simple deal, but Graciana cautions that the Ketsov, in particular, have proven "touchy" in recent years, having had run-ins with the Synod and with some of their Varushkan peers. This proposal won't make those problems any worse, but it would make the trade through the Stinking Market and the Orieb dependent on the continued involvement of the Ketsov. If relations with them soured, the Merchant-Boyar and the Apothecary would need to deal with the fallout of that if they wanted to continue operating their ministry.
The Imperial Senate could use a single motion to accept all the changes proposed by the Ketsov - if that happened then the ministries associated with the titles would require ingots to purchase herbs them from then on, rather than coin.
Growing the Pot
- Graciana has looked for alternative ways to increase the funds flowing into the Anvil economy
- She has identified numerous outstanding opportunities for great works, all of which ultimately mean more money paid to the Senate in the bourse auction
Graciana has done her best to find ways to repurpose existing ministries, but it is clear that the options are limited. At the point where it is clear that there are no further opportunities to do so, she devotes the remaining time to looking for alternative solutions. As with any appraisal, the ideal is for the prognosticator's office to know what the underlying problem is that the Senate are looking to solve. Stopping ministries spending coin to buy goods is a "solution" to a problem - the outcome of which would be that less money left the Anvil economy. It seems reasonable therefore, to guess that the real problem the Senate are trying to solve is to get more money to flow into the Imperial treasury. Stopping ministries from spending coin would achieve that, but it's far from the only way.
The clear alternative to stopping money leaving the Anvil economy is to take steps to make more money flow into the Anvil economy. The obvious way to do that would be to build great works that boost the profits of farms and businesses across the Empire. It's not a cheap solution, but the benefits are clear - yeofolk and business owners with more money in their pockets to spend at anvil means more money in the Imperial treasury. It's not possible for Graciana to invest a lot of time into looking for new opportunities to raise great works, that is outside the scope of the appraisal, but she has been able to do a thorough review of outstanding opportunities to see which ones are still available.
Inkworks at Joharra
- The bustling industry of Joharra was ruined by an attack from Isidore i Boyaga
- An inkworks could be built in Oranseri to aid and assist businesses in Feroz
- The inkworks would remove the impoverished quality from the region
- It would also boost the seasonal income of scriveners by 22 rings for a year once completed
| Inkworks of Joharra |
| Commission Type: Great Work |
| Location: Oranseri, Feroz |
| Cost: 60 white granite and 60 crowns |
| Availability: One year - or until another great work increases investment in businesses is built in the territory |
Effects:
|
| Scrivener of the Inkworks |
| Type: Brass Coast National |
| Appointment: Tally of the Votes or Senate |
Powers:
|
| Responsibilities: To direct the inkworks as needed, to support the scriveners of Feroz, and to ensure contracts are being kept in the Brass Coast |
| Restriction This title will only receive a Therasia's Chain if the holder is a scrivener |
In Winter 386YE, Graciana presented a proposal for a new Inkworks at Joharra in Feroz. The facility offered a number of useful benefits, removing the impoverished quality from Oranseri and boosting income of businessholders across the territory. As it turns out, it would also boost the income of scriveners by 22 rings for one year after completion, all of which would help to sustain the Anvil economy.
The opportunity is still available, without any changes.
Fish and Fur in Sermersuaq
- A fishery built at the town of Atalaq would support farms and fisherfolk across the territory
- A grand trading post in southern Sermersuaq would provide a significant boost to businesses in the territory
- It would provide additional benefits to Wintermark ships trading with foreign ports by providing rich luxury goods to sell
- The Custodian of the Bloody Great Sausage would be in prime position to make a profit from the increased availability of fine, exotic meats
| Atalaq Fishery |
| Commission Type: Great work |
| Location: Sealtoq, Sermersuaq |
| Cost: 75 weirwood, 25 mithril, 300 crowns, 6 months |
| Availability: One year - or until another great work that increases investment in farms is built in the territory |
Effect:
|
| Atalaq Tradehall |
| Commission Type: Great work |
| Location: Sealtoq, Sermersuaq |
| Cost: 50 weirwood, 150 crowns, 3 months |
| Availability: One year - or until another great work that increases investment in businesses is built in the territory |
Effect:
|
Graciana also provided a report on opportunities for investment in Skarsind in Summer 386YE. The proposal for the Atalaq Fishery would have provided 36 rings to every farm in Skarsind as well as allowing them to diversify their farms to acquire mana crystals.
Perhaps of more interest to the Senate is the less ambitious project to establish the Atalaq Tradehall. That would have increased investment in businesses in Sermersuaq, but it would also benefit the treasury directly, increasing taxation from the territory by 4 thrones. The burst of luxury goods and materials the trade post provided would have also helped Wintermark traders, providing an additional 36 rings to any fleet owner in a Wintermark territory whenever they engaged in trade with foreign nations. It would permanently boost the income of the Custodian of the Bloody Great Sausage by 7 crowns each event.
The opportunity is still available, without any changes.
Marshways in Kallavesa
- The marshways would raise the level of investment in herb gardens and businesses by one in Kallavesa
- It would cost 80 wains of weirwood, 240 crowns and take a year to complete
| Kallevesa Marshways |
| Commission Type: Great work |
| Location: Kallavesa |
| Cost: 80 wains of weirwood, 240 crowns, 6 months |
| Availability: One year - or until another great work that increases investment in herb gardens or businesses is built in Kallavesa |
Effect:
|
As part of her appraisal on roads in Winter 385YE, Graciana suggested the Senate could establish marshways across the marshy territories of the Empire, Kallavesa, Therunin and Bregasland. All three territories have a strong tradition of boat use – not sea-going ships but various incarnations of flat-bottomed skiffs and punts that pole the shallow waters of the fens. The ideas was to establish a number of ferries, river-side wayhouses, strategically placed bridges, jetties, portage rails, and boatworks that she called the Marshways.
Sadly Therunin and Bregasland are currently suffering from invasion and war; no longer controlled by the Empire, the idea of building there is out of the question. However, Kallevesa is still ripe for investment - so Graciana has updated the costs for just the Wintermark territory. That would cut costs considerably - to 80 wains of weirwood and 240 crowns - but it could be done in six months. Once it was finished, it would raise the level of investment for businesses providing an additional 36 rings every season. It would also raise the level of investment for herb gardens by one, providing two true vervain, and one seasonal herb - Marrowort in Spring, Cerulean Mazzarine in Summer, Imperial Roseweald in Autumn, and Bladeroot in Winter.
In the original proposal, Graciana suggested that the Senate establish a title-holder to oversee the marshways and be responsible for their safety. The position would then be able to fund their operations by purchasing herbs from merchants using the marshways. Given the purpose of the appraisal, Graciana has updated the original plan - now the completion of the marshways would create a new guarding venture for Wintermark and Dawnish military units to protect merchants using the Marshways. The new version of the opportunity replaces the original.
Docks in Madruga
- There is a proposal to build the Municipal Docks in Calvos to spur the growth of the town in the coming years
- If built, the municipal docks would create conditions for Calvos to ultimately grow into one of great cities of the Empire
- The Docks would have an upkeep of 5 thrones a season but would increase taxation by 12 thrones a season
- Once complete the docks would provide significant benefits in Madruga, and in the Brass Coast as a whole
| Municipal Docks |
| Commission Type: Great Work (Shipyard) |
| Location: Calvos Sound, Madruga |
| Cost: 80 white granite, 40 weirwood and 45 Thrones, 12 months |
| Availability: One year - or until another great work that increases investment in fleets is built in Madruga |
| Upkeep: 5 thrones |
Effects:
|
| Quaymaster of the Municipal Docks |
| Type: Freeborn |
| Appointment: Tally of the Votes |
| Powers: Can purchase goods from Commonwealth ships docking at Calvos |
| Responsibilities: Oversee the Municipal Docks |
| Trade Purchases Volkavaar | |
| 50 rings | 1 Hero Stones |
| 120 rings | 2 Hero Stones |
| Trade Purchases Leerdam | |
| 36 rings | 1 draught of Clear Headedness |
| 80 rings | 2 draughts of Clear Headedness |
In Spring 387YE, Gisli 'the Provider' Baerson paid Professor Immnual Gelberg's team of visiting scholars to investigate the possibilities for building a new city in the former Freeborn territory of Madruga. The Commonwealth academics created a plan to build new municipal docks in Madruga that would raise the level of investment in fleets in Madruga engaging in trading, questing or raiding and raise the level of investment in businesses in the territory. They would raise the income of all Freeborn characters by 7 rings for a year after completion and boost taxation from the territory by 12 thrones a season. All these benefits would result in more money flowing into the economy at Anvil.
Those are not the only benefits - the new docks would reduce the cost for Freeborn characters to upgrade their fleets by one weirwood for a year after completion and protect Calvos Sounds as a level one fortification. The docks would also act as a shipyard, allowing the construction or refuge of up to two navies at a time and create a new questing voyage for Freeborn fleets; Hunt the Free Landing Kraken. None of these additional benefits result in more money directly in the Imperial treasury, however.
Professor Gelberg's plan also included the creation of a Freeborn position Quaymaster of the Municipal Docks which would include personal offices and accommodation for the Quaymaster and their family and give them access to a ministry that would allow them to spend a small amount of money to purchase rare items and potions. That would result in less money flowing into the Anvil economy - a clearly net negative if the Senate is seeking to get rid of ministries. However, the sums of money involved are relatively small - a tiny fraction of the benefits. Graciana is absolutely certain that the net effect would be significantly more money coming to the treasury.
The opportunity is still available, without any changes.
Markets in Delev
- Delev Market could be expanded to make the place a true centre of trade and commerce to rival Temeschwar
- Completing the expansion of the market would require 50 wains of white granite, 150 crowns, and take three months
- It would increase investment in businesses in Karov by one rank, adding 36 rings each season to their production
- As the Little Boyar's Welcome has been warded, the market will also improve taxation from the territory by 4 thrones
- This commission would replace the opportunity to upgrade the Delev Market run by the Overseer of the Westerward Road
- It could increase the money spent by several existing ministries
| Great Market at Delev |
| Commission Type: Great Work |
| Location: Delev, Duzekani, Karov |
| Cost: 50 white granite, 150 crowns |
| Time: 1 season |
| Availability: One year or until another great work that increases investment in businesses is built in Karov |
Effects:
|
Rather than the fairly simple upgrade of the Delev Market that Graciana proposed to curtail the trade conducted by the Overseer of the Westward Road, the Senate could choose to engage in a major upgraded of the Market.
The proposals for this were published nearly a year ago in an appraisal by Naomi of Virtue's Rest. Her plan involved the creation of the Great Market at Delev which would raise the level of investment in businesses in Karov by one, but would also allow citizens to take a business in Karov for free for one year after completion. If her proposal for the Little Boyar's Welcome was also commissioned it would increase taxation from Karov by four thrones a season and allow the Senate to use a motion to permit the Boyar of the Iron Roads to create a sinecure instead of a ministry each season without using a Senate commission.
There are two key drawbacks to this plan - the first is that it is incompatible with the plans Graciana has drawn up to convert the existing market facilities run by the Overseer of the Westward Road. The Senate could commission the Great Market or convert the existing ministry to a great work - but not both.
The second drawback is that the work would provide additional trade opportunities for the Bargainer of the Iron Tower, and the Overseer of the Westward Road to trade. It will also provide options for Harbourmaster of the Semmerlak as prosperity spreads. The net effect would be to add an additional rank to each of the main ministries overseen by these titles.
This commission could easily result in significantly more money leaving the Anvil economy than it brought in - if the Bargainer and the Harbourmaster took full advantage of the opportunity. Of course, they would have more goods to show for that coin, but that might be slim consolation to a Senate that is focused on saving the Imperial treasury from running dry.
The opportunity is still available, without any changes.
Friends in High Places
- There is a recent proposal to build roads in Zenith which would raise the level of investment in businesses in the territory
Finally, Graciana notes that there is a new appraisal published by her colleague Naomi of Virtue's Rest which includes proposals to build roads in Zenith which would raise the level of investment in businesses in the territory.
Stirring the Pot
- One way to increase funds flowing into the Anvil economy would be if more citizens operated farms and businesses
- The League and Marcher Assembly could enact mandates to encourage their citizens to embrace tradition and support the Imperial economy
- Such mandates would make it easier for people to switch resources to take a farm or business and cheaper to upgrade a farm or business
Studying Laurencio di Sarvos' guide to the Anvil economy, it is clear that another way to increase the funds flowing into the Anvil economy would be to increase the amount of asset income that citizens coming to Anvil have available. Great works are one way to do that - as are casting rituals like Streams of Silver, Rivers of Gold, and the seasonal rituals for farms. But one of the most effective ways to increase the money available would be if more people at Anvil had farms and businesses, and fewer people operated other resources. In the last decade, there has been a push to encourage citizens to sell their farm or business and take on the running of a military unit to support the war effort. However, Graciana claims that a better way to support the war effort might be to dispense with military units and acquire a business or a farm.
In practice, there isn't great demand for this in most places, and Graciana has little success in looking for opportunities to help encourage the practice, with two notable exceptions. Both the League and the Marches have strong cultural traditions that make ownership of businesses and farms important respectively - and what is more, owning a business in the League or a farm in the Marches comes with considerable political influence.
Of course, the Senate can't mandate that Marcher and League citizens put down their arms and take up running a farm or a business - but there is one body that could encourage it. The Synod could use a mandate to urge citizens of the Marches and the League to embrace traditional values, not just out of Pride and Ambition - but out of Loyalty to the needs of the Empire.
Pride in small things, loyalty to great ones. We send {named priest} with 50 doses of liao to encourage Marcher citizens to settle the land. War is a thrice-ploughed field.
Synod Mandate, Marcher Assembly
Nothing great without cost. We send {named priest} with 50 doses of liao to encourage League citizens to invest in a business. Coin counts, and everything costs.
Synod Mandate, League Assembly
If these mandates are passed in the relevant assemblies, then it will create an opportunity for one year for any character of that nation to change a military unit, fleet, herb garden, mine or forest to a farm (in the Marches) or a business (in the League) without incurring a cost. Crucially, the new resource will be the same level as any resource they give up to make the change - reflecting local support for their efforts to embrace their national traditions and support the Imperial economy.
What is more, there will a groundswell of support for League and Marchers looking to improve their resources. If the Marcher mandate is passed then any farm in the Marches can be upgraded for one wain fewer than normal (to a minimum of one) for one year. If the League mandate is passed then any business in the League can be upgraded for one wain fewer than normal (to a minimum of one) for one year.