Unconquered Realm: The Karrosian Trade Scrolls

[Nomadic]

The city states of Karros are spread out upon the mainland of Kharoyl and its island neighbor of Northhaven. With no over governing body the great distances have lead to a great difference in culture, language, and timekeeping. If a person were brave (or foolish) enough to travel to each city one after another, they would encounter a vast array of calenders and timepieces based on the local cultures.

For many years this was a well known issue as the first early merchants set out from their strongholds. At first cities had conversion tables to deal with the difference of culture with their trading partners. Over time though, trade increased. Improvements in technology and cartography emboldened new merchants to ply their trade outside their home walls. Thus was born out of need, the Karrosian Trade Scrolls.

The scrolls detail a list of measures and times to be used in the general trade and have continued to expand as the years have gone by. They include now, not only the merchant calendar and measurements, but also the standard coinage, trade routes, and the rules of what has grown into one of the largest guilds the land has ever seen. For now though, this article deals with simply the timekeeping detailed in the Scrolls. Further posts will detail other aspects of the scrolls.

Daily Time:

A day on Meishgon (the world) is broken into several segments. The time of light (Cronam Sol) and the time of mist (Cronam Nes) divide the day in half. Cronam Sol begins at sunrise on the day of equinox while Cronam Nes is at sundown on the same day. Each Cronam is divided into three sections known as Cronamii (little Cronam). The Cronamii are officially the smallest measure, enabling merchants to know roughly when something will happen during a particular day. However many people divide this down again, in which it is known as a Divi Cronamii (section of Cronamii). These may be used when more precise time is necessary. When used they are said out as a number of a certain sized division of the cronamii, which is labeled as a certain cronamii in its section (Cronam) of the day. Thus Unasi-Quadivi Cronamii aot Unasi-sol translates to 1 (Unasi) 4th (Quadivi Cronamii) of the (aot) First Cronamii (Unasi) of Cronam Sol (sol). Though with general merchant time one rarely would need things more exact than Unasi-sol (the first Cronamii of the Cronam Sol).
[note]A day on Meishgon is the same as earth (roughly 24 hours). As such you can use this to get a bearing of what exactly a time is. There are two Cronam which translate to daylight and nighttime (though as global tilt shifts going away from the equinox Cronam Sol and Cronam Nes have periods of dark or light respectively). Then there are six Cronamii which translate to sections of 4 hours each split between the two Cronam. Thus the above example of Unasi-Quadivi Cronamii aot Unasi-sol would translate on earth as the first hour of daylight after the equinox's sunrise. First sunrise and First sunset via the equinox are based from the lake city of Palaoyr, where the Merchant Scrolls were first penned.[/note]

Time of day:
Cronams	Cronamii One	Cronamii Two	Cronamii Three
Cronam Sol:	Unasi-Sol	Twan-Sol	Ens-Sol
Cronam Nes:	Unasi-Nes	Twan-Nes	Ens-Nes

The Calender:

The Merchant Calender is based on the Gaium. Each Gaium is composed of 362 Meknam (Days) which are divided up between the various sections. Owing to its closeness to the equator, Karros seasons are based mostly on wet and dry. Thus instead of seasonal splits, the Gaium is divided up into two sections marking the time between equinoxes. The sections (Gaiumii) are composed of 180 days each and are split by the Meknam-Equs (Days of Equinox). Each Gaiumii is divided up into nine 20 Meknam spans known as Vernas. The Vernas are numbered as are the days. Thus when referring to a day one would say Day Number of Vernas Number of Gaiumii Number of Gaium Number (Gaiums being numbered from the first Gaium being the one in which the Merchant scrolls were penned). So, the eighteenth meknam of the sixth vernas of the first gaiumii in the 84th gaium would be UnasDuals-Meknam (18th day) aot (of the) Sesk Vernas (6th Vernas) aot (of the) Unasi-Gaiumii (1st Gaiumii) aot (of the) Gaium Duals-Am-Qua (84th Gaium). The Meknam-Equs are said by themselves as they are not part of Either a Vernas or a Gaiumii. As an example the first Meknam-Equs of the 84th Gaium is pronounced in full as Unasi Meknam-Equs aot Gaium Duals-Am-Qua.

Major Sections	First Vernas	Second Vernas	Third Vernas	Fourth Vernas	Fifth Vernas	Sixth Vernas	Seventh Vernas	Eighth Vernas	Ninth Vernas
Unasi Meknam-Equs
Unasi-Gaiumii	Unasi Vernas	Twan Vernas	Ens Vernas	Qua Vernas	Ghora Vernas	Sesk Vernas	Makil Vernas	Duals Vernas	Henth Vernas
Twan Meknam-Equs
Twan-Gaiumii	Unasi Vernas	Twan Vernas	Ens Vernas	Qua Vernas	Ghora Vernas	Sesk Vernas	Makil Vernas	Duals Vernas	Henth Vernas

[Nomadic]

Karrosian Trade Numbers:

The Karrosian Trade Scrolls from the very start included a standard number system from which the timekeeping and measurements could draw from. The numbers, even more so than the rest of the scrolls, have had an influence on the city states. City States still generally cling to their local languages and measurements, but all but a few now use the Karrosian Trade Numbers in place of their old counting systems.

[note]While sashu (million) was created for the possible need of such a large number, it has entered common speech as something denoting an incalculably large amount. A vast multitude of people may be referred to as a crowd composed of sashu souls. As such it plays a part in common culture as an equivalent of the real world word of myriad, or in some cases infinity.[/note]



The trade system follows a normal base ten system. Numbers count up from one to nine (there is no symbol for zero, it is instead represented by the word Nisz, trade language for nothing). Reaching ten the symbols become double digit (Unasi-Am - 10, Unasi-Am-Unasi - 11, Unasi-Am-Twan - 12, etc...). Being a merchant system it is a very logical progression. For example, 15,545 would be written as Unasi-Am-Ghora-Amsil (one tens and five (15) thousands (1000)) Ghora-Sasken (five hundreds (500)) Qua-Am-Ghora (four tens (40) and five (5)).

[LordVreeg]

I think this is plain-old great.  (make a competing race/culture use base 12...it fucks up all the players...I promise... :D ).
I like how this was birthed from mercantilism, and has kept the name of the Trade scrolls.
Does Palaoyr have a trade god, or a few of them?  I love mixing myth and merchant, dyvers and the divine...

[Nomadic]

Now now, messing with the players heads... what ever made you think I would do that? >:]

I haven't yet gotten to deities but I will keep that in mind. A trade god would fit the city perfectly. A good mix of the mortal and the divine in that way would mesh beautifully. Anyhow, on to the currency of the realm.

Standardized Currency:

For years city to city trade was based on barter. Until the surge of new merchants took over the market, barter trade was an acceptable though sometimes confusing way to do things. Some cities had local currency, however, it was worthless outside their walls. Universal currency did not take hold until it was appended to the scrolls by the Karrosian Mercantile Guild. The amendment to the scrolls created a standard currency, the Mercantile Coins. This currency enabled much more efficient and accurate trade between the myriad traders. The coins spread from the merchants on to the general public, and it was not long before monetary exchange far surpassed barter trade.

Barter trade still continues to a limited degree in most areas, having not been pushed completely out by money. However while some won't accept barter, all but a rare few will accept coins in exchange for their goods or services.

Merchant Coins:

Like most things detailed in the scrolls, the coinage follows a simple design. Each coin is worth ten of the previous coin and is generally designed with its overall worth in mind (the Chiit is a slim circle of copper stamped with an image of a Chiit (a small sea bird) while the Heeth is thick platinum and stamped with an image of a Keep).

Coin:	Chiit	Seln	Maan	Daim	Wresh	Heeth
Worth:	-	10 Chiit	100 Chiit	1000 Chiit	10000 Chiit	100000 Chiit
Make:	Copper Seabird	Bronze Hammer	Brass Fist	Silver Jewel	Gold Crown	Platinum Keep

[Nomadic]

Mercantile Measurements:

Another important invention of the scrolls was a standardized measurement system. Before the trade scrolls, merchants would consult large books for proper conversion tables when dealing with traders from other cities. Needless to say, this was a very slow and tiresome ritual. This in fact was one of the major issues that drove to the creation of both the scrolls and the Karrosian Mercantile Guild. The increased traffic between cities created a necessity for a simple and universal system of measurement.

Weight:

Vital to the valuing of goods, weight was the first measure to spread itself throughout the known world. Local weight measure is still a regular occurance. However, with a standardized weight system merchants need at most a single chart for converting their measures to mercantile measurements. The base measure is the Teir with one Teir being equal to the weight of a single Mesik-Kur of water.
[note]This part of the standardization eventually gave birth to the scale yards found in nearly every city. It is a place where for a nominal fee a merchant may have their wares weighed. With the invent of the standard weights and the increased trade, some merchants took up sale in things such as mass quantities of ore. Now days a person walking into the scaleyards of the city mercantile quarter, will likely be drawn to the Deka-Scale, especially invented and built to handle massive amounts of heavy trade goods.[/note]

Name:	Amount:
Teir	1 Teir
Chesk	50 Teir
Norus	1000 Teir
Deka	1000000 Teir

Length:

Length plays its own role in the scrolls. Its primary use was to judge distances so that cartographers could draw universally recognized maps, and merchants could use these maps. Length also finds use in the trade of things such as rope and lumber, where size is more important than weight.

Length is based on the Mesik. The Mesik was based upon the length from the tip of the ring finger to the knuckle. However, this was based on a particular ring finger (namely the one of the original writer of the scrolls) so it does not hold true for every person. Instead one may freely find and purchase rods marked for measurement of length based upon the size drawn up in the scrolls (and some scaleyards have their own marking tables; large stone slabs with length measures chiseled into them).
[note]When referring to squared sizes you append Ton to the end of the measure, Kul is used for cubed sizes. Thus a square Mesik would be Mesik-Ton while a cubic Mesik would be Mesik-Kul. These two suffixes effectively handle the measurement of area, as well as volume (useful for map making and liquid based trade respectively).[/note]

Name:	Size:
Mesik	1 Mesik
Kriik	10 Mesik
Gul	100 Mesik
Sadil	100000 Mesik

[Nomadic]

There you are, these denote the standardized information contained within the scrolls. The scrolls themselves have long ceased to be actual scrolls, growing to a size that necessitates book form. They have kept their name out of tradition. The above information lays out the base idea behind the scrolls, though of course the actual scrolls go far more in depth than needed here (including things such as the weight and size of coinage, as well as the Mercantile Guild Bylaws). Indeed an entire separate series of tomes is devoted to the Karrosian Trade Language (commonly known simply as Karrosian) used by nearly all merchants as well as many others.

For now I hope that you can read what has been posted and give me feedback (indeed I would like to know of any errors I may have made so they can be fixed now). Later on I may include a section on the guild itself.

[Nomadic]

I am not currently feeling the pull of sleep (in fact it eludes me with much resolve). So for the time being I have steeled myself to write out the sacred knowledge known as the background of the Karrosian Mercantile Guild. I promise nothing in how far I will get on this, but I assure you that what I don't complete I will be up and working on tomorrow.

The Karrosian Mercantile Guild:

You tell me you don't know about the Mercantile guild? Why young one thats Karrosian trade speak you are uttering from those overeager lips of yours. You're serious you say? Well I suppose it is inevitable this would come to pass, not like parents these days actually teach their children anything. Up to old Karin here to learn you lot, as always. Now hush while I explain to you the finer details of a place called the real world.

The city states of Karros are very different from one and other. However, they share at least one thing in common. Friend or foe, enemy or ally, every city shares a base trade language with every other city. It is a system born out of necessity and a language that encompasses more than the spoken word. Karrosian is mercantilism and mercantilism is Karrosian. Written word, measured weight, counted coin, they all fall under the jurisdiction of the old Karrosian Trade Scrolls. The scrolls themselves a masterful piece of work, now governed by the largest independent organization in the land. The Karrosian Mercantile Guild has offices in every city and regulates nearly all trade. The scrolls standardized the trade methods so that cities could easily interact with one and other, the guild just took over management of the scrolls after their creator died. From there it grew and now days if you are a merchant you either are a member of the mercantile guild, or you work independently, no merchant group has managed to stand up to the mercantile guild and survive.

Located in the lake city of Palaoyr, the guild headquarters tower over every other building within its walls. The guild has turned the city into the merchant capitol of the known world, and some even say the guilds flag is based on the flag of the city (though some others say its the other way around). It is from its seat in the heart of Palaoyr's merchant quarter that the guild manages upper members, devises measures, and organizes rules and tax regulations. The guild council of eight senior members (overseen by the guild chancellor, eldest of the eight) resides within the chambers of the High Palaoyrian Guild Halls and all appointments of senior members and new additions to the trade scrolls pass through them.

In every other city sits that cities local guild hall. While none are as prestigious as the halls of Palaoyr, all hold great sway on the local economy. Each lesser guild hall mimics the main hall, with a council of eight overseen by the local chancellor. Local chancellors are appointed by the city rulers (picked from the local eight) but must pass through the guilds over-council in  Palaoyr before approval. It is the duty of the guild to regulate trade into and out of the city, making sure that rules are followed, measurements kept, and taxes collected (both for the local leaders as well as the guild). Anyone may apply to the guild, but only those that can prove themselves to be serious merchants can hope to gain anything but a most basic membership.

The Mercantile High Guard:

Ever since trade reopened in Karros, merchants have hired mercenary bands to protect them from raiders, as well as the other nastier beings that roam the land. With the advent of the Karrosian Mercantile Guild, mercenaries begin congregating at guild halls, looking for work from the wealth of new traders. Work indeed was found, especially after the increased trade emboldened bandits to new heights in their raids. The collection of troops led to the guilds formation of a sub-guild. The Mercantile High Guard are available for hire by any professional merchant in the guild. They protect the convoys of guild trade ships and carts moving between settlements. Those that aren't assigned to merchant groups have no trouble finding work with the guild itself. Guards are commonly found protecting major guild assets as well as enforcing guild regulations. The Mercantile Guard has swelled and now dwarfs most of the city state militias combined. It isn't unheard of for a city to have more merchant guards than city guards inside their walls. It is for this reason (and the fact that the guild holds the reigns of the local economy very firmly in its hands) that city states do their utmost to stay on the guilds good side.

[Snargash Moonclaw]

only had time for a quick peak - gotta get to bed, so I'll read in depth tomorrow. Looks like you hit a creative critical mass - stuff is suddenly all falling into place and expanding. Always great when that happens - can't wait to see where it takes you

[Nomadic]

Oh yes I am quite excited myself. Hitting that point can really get you worked up and going. Thank you though for looking it over, I will look forward to your take on the situation. It is after all important to have others look your stuff over as early on as possible (before any errors take hold).

[Nomadic]

The Great Merchants:

The Karrosian Mercantile Guild maintains its own deities that its members look to for luck and protection in their daily lives. The worship of the Great Merchants began to take hold in the guild community soon after its foundation. They had been maintained in old records, and in times past had been looked to as the founders of modern trade. Yet it wasn't until the reemergence of active trade that prominent worship of them began again. Modern worship has become even more devout than it was in past times and the guild hall temples are quite active places (especially during mercantile festivals).

Jakan, the Tradefather:

Manuscripts still exist in the great libraries dated back to ages past, which detail the worship of the Tradefather. It is likely he had and still has followers in other places beyond Karros. In Karros though he has taken a special place as patron lord of the Karrosian Mercantile Guild. Unlike the other gods, Jakan and his Servants are worshiped within the guild halls themselves. Every guild houses a temple where devout followers of the Tradefather can pay homage. Even the less religious commonly come to the temples to pray for protection as they travel to another city with their goods. When they do so they pray to Jakan, the protector of merchants. He is depicted as a stern and elderly man, holding a hammer at his breast.

Lydasa, the Balancer:

Lydasa is the deity of the fair trade. As a servant of the Tradefather she has her own shrine within his temple. When preparing to make a sale or a purchase, many merchants will first pray at her shrine, leaving offerings of coin. She is depicted as a young woman in a flowing dress, holding a balanced scale in front of her.

Daimig, the Luck Bringer

The other servant of Jakan, Daimig is the lord of luck. Originally this referred to merchants luck and he and Lydasa were prayed to equally before a sale or purchase. However, as time has worn on, he has grown to be a deity of luck in general. It is he who people of all walks of life pray to before they do something of risk (whether monetary risk or otherwise) asking him to give them luck in the task. It is also he who is looked to as the bringer of bad luck and karma, visiting it upon those who do evil to others. Like Lydasa he is a servant of Jakan, however because of his popularity with the general populace, most guild halls have a shrine to Daimag near their entrance, where anyone may freely worship. Daimig is depicted as a young man with two faces, one happy and promising good luck, while another holds an expression of anger, promising retribution against the wicked.

[LordVreeg]

This is great.  I have Saints of the Platform of Trade, but I love the idea of the Great Merchants.  Way to take the balancer

[Nomadic]

Thank you very much. I have thought of yet one more thing that can be put here that really wraps it up for now. So here we are...

Palaoyr, city of merchants:

After much trekking through the outer farmlands you finally set foot in the city proper. Overhead stretches the great arch of Jakan's Gate, decorated in runic symbols and carvings of hammers. Walking past the whitewashed city wall you continue deeper in. Everywhere smells, sounds, and sights assail your senses. To your left tall buildings rise up four or more stories, many sporting bright signs announcing the various wares they sell. Meanwhile to your right stretches out a vast city square. Beyond the tall tents and well maintained booths sits the city scale yards with the Deka Scale towering above the measurer's booths. All about you people go to and fro. Merchants carting wares to their booths, bedecked in fine clothing draw your attention. Some of the carts are great reinforced affairs, loaded with all manner of items ready for sale. Among the merchants you also catch glimpses of other people. Men and women in simple clothing go about their business while children run from one place to another, many on errands for merchants in return for a few coins. A street vendor approaches you, displaying a beautifully handcrafted statuette and not leaving until he is absolutely certain you won't give him a single chiit. Continuing along into the city the scene is much the same, though broken up occasionally by houses or government buildings. Turning a corner you catch sight of the tallest building you have ever seen in your life. The edifices of the city trade hall, stretching some four hundred feet into the air, tower above you.
Approaching its steps you are stopped by a tall man with an even taller spear. The guard looks at you sternly, "only guild members are allowed within, if you are wishing to pay your homage to Daimig you may follow these steps to the left. His shrine will be found there."
You smile at the guard to acknowledge your understanding before turning and heading for what appears to be the city docks.

Palaoyr is a massive City-State, resting alongside the shores of Lake Mede. Founded by explorers during the second expansion, it has enjoyed a great influx of trade thanks to its ideal location. Situated next to several land routes and connected to the waterways of eastern Karros, the city is a prime stopover for merchants of all forms. Its position as a prominent trade hub has made Palaoyr the merchants capitol of the known world, and by extension the birthplace of both the Karrosian trade scrolls as well as the Karrosian Mercantile Guild (originally known as the Palaoyr Trade Houses before its expansion to other cities).

The city is run by a senate with representatives from each region of Palaoyr. Representatives are voted in by the landowners of a region and sit in office for a six year term. There is no limit to how many times one may hold office and some senators (especially that of the prestigious merchants quarter) have held office for much of their life, being backed by the mercantile guild.

Daily life here is rather typical with exception for the merchant spirit that seems to inundate every section of the city proper. Within the walls one may find any number of myriad items from all areas of the continent. Palaoyr doesn't so much import or export its supplies as it handles the imports and exports of other cities, and thus prospers from them. Outside the city walls life is more subdued. The farmlands between the inner walls that border the city, and the outer walls that border the wilderness beyond, stretch for many miles. The land is dotted with various farmhouses and the density is a strong contrast with that inside Palaoyr itself. Regardless of what one wants, it can generally be found here, and so the population has swelled immensely. No one can tell what fates yet await the largest city in the known world, but most are sure that it will have wide sweeping implications for the rest of the continent.



So that's what comprises the vast mercantilism of the realm. Indeed it is a far spanning government in its own right, though the semi-disconnection between cities stops it from ever truly becoming that. The guild holds great power, but for it money is the bottom line. As long as nothing gets in between it and that goal the guild tends to stay above board (though corruption isn't unheard of). So then, thoughts, ideas, complaints, I am open to all and will answer and respond to each one as best as I am able. I will soon be working on some other aspects of the world (namely the survivalist side of the campaign found out in the wilderness between cities). So keep an eye out for that thread.

[Snargash Moonclaw]

Still going through it, this stuff looks awesome. A quick thought springs to mind I want to jot down in response to the deka-scales in city markets. Once commodities trade reaches this point you can very readily have a literal "market pit/trading floor" in confluence cities where traders are actively bidding directly on the commodity shipments being weighed. . .

[Nomadic]

Good point, I will see about incorporating that into it. Seeing as the scale yards sit astride the major market squares it would only make sense that trade would spill into that area. Big bidding frenzies would only be an extrapolation from that. I can see big crowds centered around the bulk commodities being weighed, people holding cards and shouting to the merchants up on stage as the scale masters work to weigh out portions.

[Snargash Moonclaw]

yeah - it just sort of naturally follows - remember, the stock market was originally precisely that - a (live)stock market!