The Trade League

A board of merchants and company heads make decisions affecting the welfare of Vinyot and the land it claims. The Trade League is also a diplomatic body that represents Vinyot as a state. 

It meets at a summit to collect dues, spend the common fund, debate the passage of new mandates, and handle diplomacy. The regular summit is every two years. If sitting members raise an urgent issue, the League can hold a special off-time summit as well. The location of the Trade League summit is one of the most wellkept secrets. The League dislikes when Varasta, the god of chaos, finds out where it’s being held. There’s nothing the flippant deity loves more than to crash an expensive party. 

Key to the City

In Vinyot, rulership is represented by a deed. The deed’s owner is the head of government in a town or city, and owns the land and any public assets. Deeds are held most often by the city’s most prosperous business, and its head is the trade lord. Like any asset, the deed can be sold to another company if the trade lord considers it a smart move to divest. If a trade lord’s business fails, the deed is auctioned to pay its debts. 

Trade lords try to keep their deeds, as the benefits of owning a city can’t be overstated. Their companies enjoy right of first refusal on work contracts, they can collect permit fees to do business, and the lord is otherwise socially influential in their city. As long as a trade lord doesn’t run afoul of the League’s mandates, they enjoy autonomy to run things any way they choose. 

Of course, the trade lord must maintain their property and take care of their tenants. Their companies are responsible for roads, law enforcement, criminal justice, and every other public line item. If a city can’t indulge in the luxury of drinkable water, the economy tends to suffer. The driving force of urban development is making the land more attractive to future contractors. 

Mandates & Dues

Laws affecting everyone in the homeland are called mandates. Voting to pass mandates is one of the primary functions of League membership and also one of its most lucrative benefits. Cities that can’t afford League dues are subject to the legislative whims of ones that can. 

The Trade League rarely passes mandates. The lords know that angering lesser municipalities comes at an escalating price. They prefer to keep out of their affairs. Some basic mandates have stood for centuries, however: 

• The Trade Empire Mandate. A single company cannot own deeds governing more than a maximum total population. After humans’ arrival, the first single Vinyotian cities grew beyond this maximum. They were split into two deeds, now governed by multiple trade lords. This is a troublesome ongoing transition for these cities and their jealous new bicameral lordships. 

• The Bread and Water Mandate. A municipality must provide basic needs to all its citizens: food, water, and shelter. 

• The Justicar’s Mandate. A municipality must maintain a formal law authority and abide by laws set by the Dramphinian church. Paladins have absolute jurisdiction in Vinyot. 

• The Ship Breaker Mandate. Trade lords must contribute a percentage of their profits to maintain the Vinyotian pirate-hunting fleet. 

The Trade League comprises companies that can afford the dues to sit at the table. These are added to a common fund during the summit. Only a few treasurers know the exact amount of gold in the common fund, but the number would likely send most dragons into cardiac arrest. 

Mandates are passed by the League to spend gold on philanthropy and social projects. For example, the Trade League emptied the coffers entirely to build vital infrastructure after the human Pilgrimage. The common fund paid for homes, cultivated farmland, and put brethren into League-sponsored apprenticeships to learn skills relevant to life in the Beast World. 

Class of Wealth

Company heads are afraidn that their offspring might be seen as “buying achievements at the altar,” Conversely, they’re also wary of social climbers “investing into” the family’s business through a beloved son or daughter. They want their children to marry business heirs with comparable renown and influence. To prevent these problems, family heads encourage their younger generation to associate with peers in a similar economic position. 

Vinyot has a resulting social hierarchy defined by three classes. At the bottom of the pyramid is the largest class: company workers and owners of small local businesses. With a combination of outsized hard work and a lot of luck, businesses with a single storefront can grow in size and influence. This raises up the owning family, elevating their class. However, most never accomplish this feat. 

The middle class of Vinyot is made up of businesses nearly large enough to buy a deed in the homeland’s territory, but haven’t had a good opportunity. Most medium shipping companies and their families are members of this class. The public sees them as the hardest fighters and strongest sellers, as each is one good decision away from generational wealth and security. 

At the top are the trade lords. These are the families with the power to make decisions that affect all of Vinyot. Trade lords rarely fall from grace, especially since the influx of new workers from the Pilgrimage. When humans came to Vinyot, trade lords who could go above and beyond investing in their homes earned loyalty and the unique knowledge of the brethren. Their sudden arrival was expensive, but solidified the power of many trade lords for generations to come. 

Sellswords

The Trade League trains a private infantry and keeps them on retainer as mercenaries. These soldiers of fortune are known as the Sellswords. Their presence is an insurance policy against the sort of “bold crown maneuvering” that caused the Mantle War. The Sellswords are a full-time force patrolling the homeland, on the road, and in coastal boarding skiffs. 

Sellswords aren’t always under the direct command of the Trade League. The majority of Sellsword contracts are sold to Vinyotian cities, to be used as their guard. Vinyotian company workers don’t like Sellswords. They have a reputation for brutal tactics and a cavalier attitude about collateral damage. Sellswords are outsiders who work for the trade lord, not the city.