16th of Early Parch, Afternoon[1] Study the Sheikhs.
[6] Study the Realm.
[4] Study Etiquette.
[1] Examine The Spear.
[4] Examine The Hound.
You decide to spend the few hours you have until the feast learning about the state of your new realm, and leave your gifts on or near the throne. This includes the girl, who you spend a few moments watching, wondering if you should order her someplace. Eventually you give up, figuring she's been a pleasure slave longer than you've been a Sultan, and so can probably figure out where she's supposed to go.
Your puppy is not quite so placid, however, insisting on following you around. You try to order it back to the throne, but it looks sad. Torn between the puppy and proper etiquette anyway, you decide to just take it with you, and so it follows happily at your heels.
The beast itself is a magnificent black war-hound, with long pointy ears, long pointy teeth, and a powerful build. It's clearly a puppy, standing little higher than your knees, but you know from hearsay that the largest ones can... well, the largest ones you hear about in stories can take down elephants. You're not sure how big they get outside of stories.
It takes a bit of wandering to finally track down someone who would know about the realm as a whole. All of the servants you meet are very deferential and busy, which makes asking them for directions hard, but eventually one leads you to a vast room filled with scroll-laden tables and bickering old men.
Sure enough, the occupants quickly fly to attention, telling you how honored they are to receive a visit from the Sultan himself and assuring you that your tax office is working at full capacity. You're a little surprised to hear that's where you are, but after a moment's consideration suppose it makes sense. Who else would know the affairs of the realm better than those tasked with extracting value from it?
The Head Collector- you can't imagine the peasants spare a moment having fun with that pun- is a thin, weaselly-looking man who introduces himself as
Direk of House Fullbloom. He seems very eager to make your acquaintance, but deflects or answers a little too quickly when asked about the status of the realm, which he insists is fine and requires none of your attention. You then ask you speak to his "Uh, lesser... collectors," which isn't the most Sultan-y you could've been but still gets him sweating. Three days into your reign and you're pretty sure your chief tax collector has something to hide.
Nonetheless, you do get a chance to interview three "lesser collectors," actually high ranking administrators tasked with the overall organization of the realm.
The first, describing himself as
Hyrek, is tall, ancient, and bumbling, sporting a long white beard, little other hair, and shoes you suspect might be on opposite feet. He's more than happy to instruct you in the basics, however, noting mournfully that
"Alas, your predecessor, Ancestors Guide Him, bore little interest in financial matters."As you're (loosely) aware, the Realm is divided into Six Royal Sheikhdoms and Six Satrapies, each consisting of several more Sheikhdoms. Each of your Satrapies follows the path of the realm's six rivers, while each of your Royal Sheikhdoms lies between two. Depending on the course of these rivers, individual lands may flourish or wither, which makes questions of how the Great Spring is being divided paramount. Normally it's kept "even," but depending on the shifting of sands, decay of constructions, and other phenomena, "even" might not be good enough in the eyes of all.
"One of the most powerful and dangerous things a Sultan can do is tamper with, or not tamper with, the Gates of the Spring," he advises you sagely. You only notice a few minutes later that, because of his doddering nature in general, you took 'powerful and dangerous' to mean 'with far reaching consequences and opinions.' If the Vizier had uttered those words, you'd likely have assumed heads rolling.
As far as pressing large-scale topics, Hyrek advises you that food stocks are low. Being early Parch, there's little to be done about that now; less water means less food, plain and simple. However, the old Sultan was a bit lax in stockpiling food, so if something should go wrong- a weak Rise, damaging sandstorms, or the like- the realm might be in trouble. Hyrek insists that dealing with this issue
now isn't his specialty, but assures you the best of the best are on hand should you wish to investigate the problem.
Aside from this, there's been a rash of Fallen attacks in the southeastern Satrapy, the Satrapy of the Salamander, ruled by
Satrap Tual the Blessed. You perk up at this, but the old man disappoints you by claiming to know little of the risen dead come to seek vengeance upon the living. What he does know is that the Satrap has had difficulty dealing with the attacks, and had repeatedly complained to the Sultan that they were somehow the other Satraps' fault. He regrets being unable to assist you further in this matter.
The second administrator, one
Mak of House Dunegain, is a younger but still at least middle-aged man with the deep brown skin of a commoner and a wheedling smile. He assures you that he's available for any and all needs you may have, official or otherwise.
Mak's specialty is the more practical side of tax collection, and makes an important distinction between the two major realms- Royal Sheikhdom and Satrapy. The Royal Sheikhdoms are expected to give tribute, but it's up to the Sultan to decide an acceptable rate. Sheikhs who fail to meet their obligations may be ordered by the Sultan to pay more, though there's no official recourse should they fail for whatever reason. This gets into the messier side of threats and strongarming, which tends to be unpleasant enough for both sides that it seldom advances further than that.
The Satrapies, by contrast, are intended to collect the taxes and tribute of their Sheikhdoms and deliver it directly to the Sultan as part of their duties. This isn't to say Satraps don't quibble over details and hold out on their liege- quite the opposite!- but in theory nothing they collect is "theirs" the way it is the Sheikhs'. Since the Satraps have no official rights per se- they serve at the Sultan's pleasure, after all- the Sultan has in theory unlimited discretion in ordering, disciplining, or even replacing his Satraps. Of course, Mak notes that in practice bullying a single Sheikh is easier than bullying the liege of several.
The purpose of tax collectors, then, is to quantify just how much each land has available, and thus how much tax it owes. While the local rulers handle actually deciding these amounts, without this information flowing directly to the Sultan he has no way to know if he's being cheated (or rather,
"by how much he's being cheated"). Much of the actual collection also occurs from the palace's personal army of collectors and bureaucrats, as local rulers- particularly very small ones with little to hide- often find them far more qualified than their own people.
In terms of specifics, he advises you to hold off on making judgements for now.
"A new Sultan means a new tax rate, after all," he assures you, waggling his eyebrows.
"I could tell you how the old Sultan made out, but people might not like you as much, eh? Oh no worries, no worries Your Majesty! Nobody ever pays more when a new Sultan is crowned, ha ha ha!"The third and final bureaucrat, describing himself as
Verfel, is a corpulent man wearing far more silks and jewels than you'd expect from a humble servant. He seems appropriately nervous in view of his Sultan, and you wonder if his wages are good enough to afford all that finery.
Corruption aside, Verfel is well-spoken about the various products and trade routes that exist within your kingdom. He notes current windfalls of ivory, blue clay, silk, and honey, while paper, water stone, glass, and silver are all in high demand. He further points out that some wealthy individuals- not just Sultans- like to stockpile reserves in times of plenty to dole out in times of need, either to make money or ensure their people want for nothing. Your predecessor was not one such Sultan, with the exception of keeping reserves of iron and blessed silver for armaments. He points out that it might be unwise to raid the silver in such stockpiles now, what with Fallen harassing the southeastern border, but that it would certainly be profitable.
Otherwise, he points out that a Sultan can gain much leverage by paying attention to and controlling the flow of wealth in his lands. Taxes or subsidies can bring in revenue or foster prosperity, and the Sultan's own resources can be directed towards procuring more of limited or finding use for excess goods.
"It's also essential," he adds with grave severity,
"that a Sultan be seen using the best and most expensive commodities at the time!"Head full of matters of the realm, you decide to take a break to play with your new puppy. You find him to be energetic and playful, and within a short span of time he's run you out of breath. Not an easy task, if you do say so yourself!
Orders-wise, he seems to understand a good few commands- stay, fetch, go, and most importantly KILL. He savages some cloth-and-straw dummies you locate with relish, and lives up to his reputation as a war-hound. Seeing him leap from your feet to the throat of a man-sized poppet is actually rather intimidating.
He's nothing but affectionate with you, however, and as you snuggle him you ponder what his name should be. You could decide now or hold off until inspiration strikes or he does something noteworthy.
(Pick One)
A. Name him now (Write-In)
B. Name Him Later
With the sun sinking low, it's almost time for the feast. You really don't know what you're going to do in there, but you do know that bearing a Sheikh's gift is considering flattering, while not is insulting. You're not sure how much of either, or if there's a middle option. You wonder which gifts you should wear or bring into the banquet.
(Pick Any Number)
C. The pendant that's supposed to ward you from evil. Given by Sheikh Harru of House Vigilant, the old man who warned you that he saw danger in the portents.
D. The jeweled dagger that's supposed to serve as an indicator of station. Given by Sheikh Herrim of House Crownhawk, the fat man who wanted to reinforce your kinship with him.
E. The slave girl that's supposed to serve in your bedroom. Given by Sheikh Tuana of House Malai, the ostentatious man who offered help with relaxation and the gods.
F. The bone or ceramic flute that might be from a bonewyrm. Given by Sheikh Tormal of House Highstar, the very old man who just sort of handed it to you.
G. The gilded spear that's worthy to be a Sultan's weapon. Given by Sheikh Akar of House Cruelhook, the arrogant young man who offered to protect your borders.
H. The puppy you've spent the afternoon playing with. Given by Sheikh Tor of House Proudshield, the old veteran who pledged fealty to you.
What you do know is that you'll need to get dressed and prepared for the feast; you could go in your current finery, but even you know a Sultan is supposed to shift between ostentatious silks and jewelry as the occasion demands. You'll be spending several hours sampling fine food and drink, so you'll want something comfortable, but that sends a message. The question is which message...
(Pick One)
I. Power. Flaring accents and sun motifs, to remind everyone that you are now the most powerful man in the world.
J. Wealth. Gold embroidery and ample gemstones, to remind everyone that you are now the wealthiest man in the world.
K. Wisdom. Flowing shapes and water motifs, to remind everyone that you are now required to be the wisest man in the world.
L. Prowess. Faux armor and intimidating silhouettes, to let the Sheikhs know you are a man of action.
M. Hedonism. Riotous colors and revealing shapes, to let the Sheikhs and Vizier know you are a man of indulgence.
N. Humility. Humble silks and modest gemstones, to let the Vizier know you are a man of contentment.
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Topic: [SG] The Hollow Throne [16th of Early Parch, Afternoon] (Read 3038 times)