Keeper of the Spice Gardens

Overview

The Keeper of the Spice-Gardens is an Imperial title connected to the Spice Gardens of Feroz. The position of Keeper is a sinecure, requiring minimal responsibility but offering a portion of the finest cerulean mazzarine grown on the Brass Coast. Additional luxury spices are sold to ensure the upkeep of the Gardens and a comfortable salary for the various farmers, horticulturalists and merchants who work as agents of the Spice Gardens, although production has tailed off a little in recent tumultuous decades.

Spices from the Gardens are sold throughout the Brass Coast, and before the fall of Segura were exported, first to the Faraden and then even farther afield. Regular caravan trains cross the Spider's Dream to Sarvos, and from there travel throughout the Empire being especially sought after in the markets of Varushka and Urizen. While the money from this business is not available to the Keeper, it can often help bring a certain level of prestige to the holder of the title among those who consider themselves gourmands.

The title of Keeper has a prestigious legacy. It was created in 213 YE during the reign of Empress Mariika, and many scholars believe it was part of an agreed price paid to gain the support of the Freeborn senators for the sweeping financial changes she instituted. The title changes hands with much less regularity than many other Imperial sinecures - the holders tend to be long-lived, and understand the value of maintaining a level of popularity among their peers that makes revocation a very rare occurrence; only one holder has been revoked (in 296 YE Inigo i Tamari i Erigo was stripped of the title when he was found guilty of using his position to cover trades in illegal substances with a Sarcophan beggar-prince. The Erigo tribe have not held the title since, and several families in Feroz are known to be desperate for the opportunity to claim the title once more).

Responsibilities

The title holder is expected to ensure that the Gardens remain fertile and continue to produce a wide variety of valuable luxury goods and valuable herbs for use by physicians and apothecaries throughout the Brass Coast and beyond. How the Keeper disposes of the herbs they receive is entirely their own business; while there is often pressure placed on them to donate their bounty to various causes the majority choose to either sell them or have them made into potions for sale or personal use.

Powers

As a sinecure, the Keeper has no powers as such. Rather it receives an income drawn from the produce of the Spice Garden in Feroz.

The holder of the sinecure receives 12 doses of Cerulean Mazzarine each season and 2 doses each of Imperial Roseweald and True Vervain. These herbs are valuable to both apothecaries and physicks, but are also considered luxury goods due to their various additional properties.

The Keeper also receives a small portion of the finest spices for their own table. While this has no game effect, the Keeper often cultivates a reputation for gourmet feasting.

Selection

The title is selected by unanimous decision of the senators of The Brass Coast. All the Senators must agree unanimously who will hold the position, or it falls to the Senate to make the decision in the same manner that they would select a General in the event that the Senators of a nation are not in agreement - any potential candidates put themselves forward and there is a vote of the Senate.

Only a Freeborn citizen can hold this Imperial title. While any Freeborn citizen might try to claim the position, the families of Feroz have worked hard over the last several centuries to ensure that it remains in their hands rather than being claimed by someone resident in another territory. While the title is clearly a sinecure, the Keeper often uses their position to gain additional prestige. Some citizens of Feroz would rather informally approach the Keeper for help with problems relating to their farm, herb garden or forest than the Senator of their territory.

Reina i Shartha i Riquez, Keeper of the Spice Gardens

Removal

The title of Keeper of the Spice Gardens has tenure and serves until they die, step down or are revoked.

The Keeper can be revoked by the Freeborn assembly, the the General assembly or the Assembly of Nine.

History

Following a bout of ill-health, the previous Keeper of the Spice Gardens, Jeyah i Sadin i Guerra, sadly passed away during a Freeborn celebration in Autumn 377YE. This venerable gentleman had held the title for over 40 years, having first become Keeper at the very beginning of the reign of Empress Giselle in 331YE. He resisted all challenges to his position, and was an outspoken proponent of efforts to recover Segura in the months following its fall, but withdrew almost entirely from public life in 365YE.

Several families of the Brass Coast were already preparing their campaigns to claim the title at the Winter Solstice 377YE; the Feroz Erigo tribe in particular were eager for another opportunity to claim this prized position.

In the end, Reina i Shartha i Riqueza claimed the title and the bounty of herbs it provided.