Prime Factor of the Pallas Docks

Overview

Constructed by order of the Imperial Senate, work was completed on this set of dedicated docks shortly before the Spring Equinox 381YE.

The Prime Factor of the Pallas Docks oversees a ministry that allows the purchase of Weirwood from the Principalities of Jarm.

Responsibilities

The Prime Factor of the Pallas Docks is expected to ensure that the Magician-Prince of Pӓrnau Principality in Eastern Jarm continues to trade weirwood to the Empire. If the Pallas Docks were ever directly threatened, the Prime Factor would be responsible for dealing with those threats - but also for making decisions about any opportunity related to the docks. The continued operation of the docks, and thus the ministry, requires that relations between the Empire and Jarm remain cordial - the Prime-factor has a vested interest in ensuring friendship between the two nations continues.

Powers

Total Money Spent	Production
217 Crowns	7 wains Weirwood
427 Crowns	14 wains Weirwood
623 Crowns	21 wains Weirwood

Ministry

As a ministry, the title of Prime Factor of Pallas Docks allows the holder to purchase quantities of weirwood at a set price. The Prime Factor spends their money and makes their choices during downtime from their character page. Money is removed from, and resources are placed into, the character's inventory when the downtime is processed.

Appointment

This title is auctioned during the Winter Solstice alongside the Imperial Bourse's weirwood seats.

Any Imperial citizen can participate in the auction and hold the title. They do not receive a seat on the Bourse. As a title appointed through the Bourse they cannot be revoked by the Imperial Synod.

Regarding Pӓrnau Principality

This title has some additional restrictions. In the event relations with Jarm collapsed, the title would still exist but would not be able to purchase weirwood. If such a catastrophic breakdown were to happen, once it were resolved it might be neccessary to renegotiate with the Magician-Prince of Pӓrnau Principality.

Furthermore, the Jarmish have specified that the Prime Factor must be a magician. They have no legal ability to enforce this, but discovering that the Prime Factor is not a magician would provide very good grounds for the Jarmish closing this trade route.

Pallas Docks

These private docks are built in Cargo, not far from the Jarmish embassy. They were built with the aid of the Asavean architect Almodin Oktístis who was approached to design 'in keeping with Urizeni style' by Senator Kallavesa. The Pallas Docks take the form of a number of long piers and jetties that extend the available space at the cargo docks, along with a series of dedicated cranes for lifting the wares to the town proper. Notable features include a series of lights mounted on towers at the ends of the piers to guide ships in made to look like miniature Urizeni Spires; and a gorgeous fresco in the main warehouse. The fresco depicts Urizen mages in their spires watching the arrival of the first Highborn ships; what makes the fresco particularly notable is that it is executed in the classical Asavean style rather than in the more restrained Urizen style. The Jarmish merchants using the docks have complimented the bold artistic statement on several occasions. Almost directly above the docks, in the town proper, is a small enclave for use by the visiting Pӓrnau Principality merchants. The architecture here is superficially Urizen, but with many Asavean flourishes and nods (large amounts of blue and turquoise tiling, for example). It consists of two residential buildings, one of which includes a small office, and two large warehouses for storing the weirwood prior to its transfer to the civil service (who issue the Architect with bourse paperwork as normal).

The docks are for the exclusive use of merchants and traders dispatched by the Magician-Prince of Pӓrnau Principality (in Eastern Jarm), who bring regular shipments of incredibly valuable weirwood from the distant nation. Stories are already circulating of a deal secured between Lord-Magister Anton Trescher (the main advisor to the Jarmish Princes on trade and Imperial matters) and the Grendel to leave these ships and their valuable cargo alone - yet it must also be noted that the merchant vessels invariably arrive with an escort of sleek, Jarmish warships.

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.