Night Quarry

Overview

Custodianship of the Night Quarry grants an Imperial title; a seat on the Imperial Bourse. This is an Imperial position appointed by public auction.

Responsibilities

The Seat has no particular responsibilities; they simply receive a bounty of white granite from the Night Quarry in Miekarova. If the Night Quarry were to be threatened in any way, it would be the responsibility of the Seat to deal with those threats.

Powers

Seat on the Bourse

Custodianship of the Night Quarry comes with a seat on the Imperial Bourse. For the most part, this Seat comes with no additional responsibilities. it is an Imperial title that allows access to the private auction, and grants the right to participate on the rare occasion when the Imperial Bourse as a body is required to make a decision.

Bounty of White Granite

The Seat has control of the Night Quarry, and receives Bourse certificates to represent that control. They can dispense this resource as they choose. This Night Quarry produces 26 Imperial wains of white granite every season.

Selection

As with all white granite Bourse seats, the title is auctioned during the Winter Equinox. As an Imperial seat, any Imperial citizen may participate in the auction and hold the title.

Removal

Cstodianship of the Night Quarry is maintained for a year, or until the citizen holding the seat dies, steps down, or is excommunicated. An Imperial Bourse seat cannot be revoked by the Imperial Synod.

History

Construction of a Faraden embassy in Anduz was commissioned by the Senate in Winter 378YE and completed shortly after the Summer Solstice 379YE. The first ambassador is to be elected at the Autumn Equinox.

The Night Quarry

The Night Quarry is located high in the mountains of Miekarova near the Painted Caves. White Granite is produced here using a technique that fills the air with a fine white dust that quickly settles on the skin. As a result the workers have a ghostly pale complexion until they wash. The decision of the early Imperial Senate to make it an Imperial position in the Bourse angered many Varushkans at the time; they expected the quarry to be allocated as another national seat. Some Varushkans, especially those from Miekarova, would like to see the Night Quarry returned to their control.

The Night Quarry was also the site of an early engagement between orc slaves and Imperial troops known as the Night Quarry Massacre. After two weeks of intermittent fighting around the quarry, Varushkan troops and revolting slave miners alike were slaughtered when Thule barbarian raiders happened across it and took advantage of both sides' weakness. To this day, miners claim to hear the occasional moans of trapped orcs, dying warriors and exultant Thule echoing in dark, giving the site an unwholesome reputation

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.