To Legate Buster Grimes; Legate Garen Linwood; their Prelates, and the attending Scribes of the Sublime Garden
Petition concerning the Trade Hall of the Souk of Salt and Spices, and proposal to found a Hall of Mercantile Arts under the oversight of the Balladeers of Grandmaster Elizabetha d'Auvergne.
Honoured Legates and Esteemed Keepers of the Record,
Upon Legate Grimes' proclamation that the Trade Hall stands open to public petition, I, Aeronwy Caddick, Lyrist of the Lost Hearth, submit for your consideration my appointment as Director of the Trade Hall, to remodel and reorder it as a Hall of Mercantile Arts, administered under the ethical and cultural oversight of Grandmaster Elizabetha d'Auvergne's Cinquefoil Rose.
It is easy to forget that, in the vastness of history, Ephia's Well is no mere satrapy; it is situated upon the ruins of the capital of the old Caliphate, and stands today at the crossroads at the heart of the Great Disc. From here, the three great roads converged:
The Gate of Coins, set upon the old trade road to Baz'eel, where now sits the domain of his Eminence the Sultan al-Marib.
The Gate of Sand, once the stern way toward the bleak machine-state of Qa'im, was abandoned after the great betrayal and fell into disuse.
The Rose Gate, now under the charge of the Grandmaster's Cinquefoil Rose, by which one reached the City of Rings and the southlands entire, to the No Road and beyond.
It is meet that the Trade Hall, seated in the Souk of Salt and Spices, should again reflect our stature and ambitions. It should stand as a monument to that storied and ancient culture. It is not to be some warehouse and merchant's den, but a school, weigh-house, counting-room, guild-green, and caravan office. It should become a place where knowledge and commerce are married for the common good.
With la Condotierra Mirielle Rosseau's governesship over Arslan now confirmed, and her beloved cohort, la Banda Rossa, in firm array, the Cinquefoil Rose is uniquely placed to enact transformative change in Ephia's Well. The Rose commands both military discipline and manpower to safeguard caravans and supply lines, and it bears the recognised authority to coordinate between jurisdictions.
By your leave, I shall:
Refound the Trade Hall as the Hall of Mercantile Arts, opening its doors to the voiced and voiceless alike: merchants, artists, prodigies, factors, drovers, stevedores, apprentices, widows of the war, and the recently displaced shall find both goods, services, and employment.
Act as a bulwark against fraud and arcane criminality; multiple times has the Trade Hall been suspected of scrutiny by Legatine and Janissary authorities due to criminal conspiracy or heretical brokering. You need only look to the records to see Legate Alexandria Sayburgh's personal intervention at the property to know this has long been a concern. By establishing public scales, sealed weights, and a counting chamber, with audits of the property by the Sultan's 4th Legion Janissary and the Scribes of the Sublime Garden, we may ensure trade flourishes incorruptly.
Charter apprenticeships in the mercantile arts (book-hand, accounts, contracts, route-craft, stores-management), under the tutelage of experts appointed for their probity. We hold this knowledge still, brought with us by innumerable refugees from the World-That-Was, who await only the opportunity to uplift themselves. It is time to put that expertise to good use so that they, too, can contribute to Ephian success.
Convene a Caravan Office to schedule departures, pool risk, and assign escort; the Cinquefoil Rose shall provide convoy oversight where required.
Reopen and regularise stalls for basic goods (grain, salt, oil, water-rights, cloth, tools, simples), with a modest staple reserve to buffer scarcity in lean months.
Publish a Mercantile Roll: prices, tax stamps, dues, and customary contracts, so that we can demonstrate all vendors have paid their licenses and that none trade in ignorance. We will ensure that the Pyramid gets its fair dues, and the funds raised from this enterprise will go directly towards bettering our Ephia's Well.
Under this arrangement, the Rose will facilitate a continuous mercantile chain between Ephia's Well and Arslan, which will include:
Escorting caravans, maintaining way stations, and the myriad demands of interstate logistics that will serve as a backbone that strengthens both Ephia's Well, Arslan, and our militaries, should they need to act afield once more. Prioritisation of staples, medicines, tools, and foodstuffs for areas worst-affected by the war with Iakmes; there shall be fair contracts for returning veterans and artisans. Clear schedules for Gate of Coins and Rose Gate traffic, and orderly reopening of select routes once held in abeyance, always under your writ.
I petition a term certain (for example, one year and a day), renewable at your pleasure, with full right of inspection by the Sublime Garden, and the Balladeers' ethical oversight as guarantor of fair dealing and civic decorum.
It is the office of a Lyrist to research, advise, and inspire in such matters; to set good words to right work; to bend art and history toward the prospering of the world entire. I stand ready, day or dusk, to confer with the Legates, their Prelates, and Scribes upon any particular.
Let us grow Ephia's Well into that paradise it ought be, the shining jewel in the centre of the world.
And never shall we wilt,
Aeronwy Caddick
Lyrist of the Lost Hearth