Custodian of the Pelican Tower

Overview

The Custodian of the Pelican Tower is an Imperial title of the League created following an announcement during the Spring Equinox 384YE by Achille di Sarvos, Bearer of an Imperial Wayleave. The construction was completed shortly before the 384YE Summer Solstice.

Following the Autumn Equinox 385YE Concordia Barcaiolo di sarvos funded a series of designs incorporating weltsilver to track the flow of the currents of mana flowing through the Pelican Tower as part of the opportunity presented in the Shining like fire wind of fortune.

Responsibilities

The Custodian has no particular responsibilities; they simply receive a bounty of mana crystals from Pelican Tower. If the Tower were to be threatened in any way, it would be the responsibility of the Custodian to deal with those threats. Likewise, if any opportunity relating to the Tower presented itself, they would make any decisions needed to take advantage of it.

Powers

Bounty of Mana

The Custodian receives an income of 11 mana crystals each season from the Pelican Tower.

Appointment

The Custodian of the Pelican Tower is selected by unanimous decision of the the League senators. If a unanimous decision cannot be reached, the title may be appointed by the Imperial Senate instead.

The title can be held by any League citizen. The Custodian has tenure, and serves until they die or step down. They can be revoked by the General Assembly, the League National Assembly, and by the Assembly of the Nine.

The Pelican Tower

Upstream from Rodez and along the banks of the tranquil Gancio, the Pelican Tower stands like a lonely lighthouse, to guide travellers by both boat and road. The white-washed walls gleam in the sunlight and can be seen from amongst the vineyards and olive groves of northern Sarvos. Built on a natural ley line, the mithril in the tower serves as a potent focus for the formation of mana crystals. The tower also currently serves as the base of operations for the Carta Bellamarina, one of the many guilds of Caricomare. Carved above the entrance is the crest of the Bellamarina; a white pelican on a shield of burgundy and turquoise, representing the Carta’s motto “By Blood and Brine”.

The ground floor hosts a spacious meeting place for the Carta, filled with memorabilia from its past, leaving visitors in no doubt that of their prowess in chandlery, sailmaking, ironwork, ropemaking and their history of investing in shipping. A beautifully hand-crafted model of one of the Carta’s largest ships adorns a table in the centre of the main lobby, carved with nautical patterns of compasses and distant shores. Within the back chambers, an old, stone fireplace dredged from the Bay of Catazar, dominates the room. It originally belonged to the old guild palace from the Caricomare which sank during the flooding 45 years ago and now stands as a monument to persistence.

The top floors are given over to rooms for a moderately sized carta with dedicated quarters for use by the custodian of the tower; responsible for its maintenance and collecting the valuable mana that can be found within. At the top of the tower, gleaming foci of mithril stream light blazing into a chamber at the very heart of the uppermost room. A constant glow emits from the chamber, christening its local name as the lantern room and further enhancing its image of a lighthouse. The mana pools within the central chamber and often crystallises in a pure white variant, almost as if it had captured the sun.

Summit	Elected
Summer Solstice 384YE	Concordio Barcaiolo di sarvos

Recent Elections

This title is currently held by Concordio Barcaiolo di sarvos. This title has tenure, the occupant may hold the title until it is revoked, they die or they relinquish the position. The table to the right shows the citizens who have been elected to hold this title in the years since Empress Britta died.

The Title in Play

The role does not provide additional information about events in the Empire, nor allow the player holding it to request special reports or downtime actions. These details are assumed to be below the abstraction layer. The title holder is encouraged to create their own stories about their activities within reasonable limits and to get involved in events appropriate to their title during the game, but they do not have any powers beyond those explicitly listed in the section on powers.

These details exist partly to provide context and character to the role - and partly to allow our writers to use the title as a plot hook. Plot that involves the position will be rare - but all the campaign positions in Empire have these details to create the potential for it to happen.