Pride of Ikka's Tears
precarious position between Jotun, Thule, and the frigid wastes of Tsirku.
Overview
The Pride of Ikka's Tears is located in Suaq Fount in the Wintermark territory of Sermersuaq. Custodianship of the Pride of Ikka's Tears grants an Imperial title; a seat on the Imperial Bourse; and a seasonal bounty of valuable mithril.
The Resource
The Pride of Ikka's Tears was discovered in Winter 379YE by chance by a civil servant exploring the Face of Ikka. Peter of Hintown and his companions were performing follow-up investigation of the isolated site after their discovery of the ruined Gildenheim runeforge. The Imperial Senate determined to make the best use of the mithril vein the expedition had discovered, and over the next nine months work continued despite a bitter winter and the constant threat of Jotun invasion.
The mine is named in commemoration of the Battle of Ikka's Tears, a vicious confrontation between the heroes of the Empire and a Thule expeditionary force that left dozens dead on the plains below the glacier. It may be possible to expand the workings even further, but only the presence of a significant number of skilled miners will be able to determine exactly how rich this mithril find might potentially be. Further prospecting may be a little risky however. For now the mine workings are relatively shallow and mostly delve into the stone beneath the ancient glacier - while carefully avoiding the allegedly haunted tunnels that riddle the great wall of slowly moving ice. Expansion may prove lucrative in terms of mithril, but local Suaq mystics warn against disturbing the ancient Face of Ikka unnecessarily.
For the moment the worst threat the miners there have had to deal with are the dire beasts of the northern wastes - mostly inquisitive dire penguins and grumpy dire walrus - along with the occasional sighting of a prowling glacier cat or hungry winter bear. There are two potentially more serious problems with this seat which might need to be addressed in the coming years.
Firstly, its proximity to Jotun and Thule lands cannot be understated. The Empire is already at war with the Jotun, and in the event of a renewal of hostilities with the Thule it would come under immediate threat. Peter of Hintown and his Suaq advisor, the architect Ana, have both sent strongly worded recommendations that the Empire consider building a fortification in the Suaq Fount to help protect the new mithril resource (and in Peter's case, the historical artifacts of the Face of Ikka).
Secondly, the mine stands on the very northern edge of the Empire in an area known form troll ruins and exotic artifacts. If any horror emerged from Tsirku, or from within the glacier, then the mithril mine would almost certainly be straight in its path
The Bourse Seat
Responsibilities
The Seat has no particular responsibilities; they simply receive a bounty of mithril which is theirs to do with as they will. If the Pride of Ikka's Tears were to be threatened in any way, it would be the responsibility of the Seat to deal with those threats. Likewise, if any particular opportunity were to arise related to the Pride of Ikka's Tears, the Seat would expect to be consulted as to how that opportunity might be resolved.
Powers
Seat on the Bourse
Custodianship of the Pride of Ikka's Tears 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 mithril
The Seat has control of a source of mithril, and receives Bourse certificates to represent that control. They can dispense this resource as they choose. Production is 15 Imperial wains of mithril every season.
Selection
As with all mithril Bourse seats, the holder of the title is determined during the Autumn Equinox. The Pride of Ikka's Tears is a Wintermark natonal seat, and custodianship is allocated by a vote of all Wintermark citizens who control a significant military unit.
Removal
Custodianship of the Pride of Ikka's Tears is retained 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.