Embassy
Overview
Creating an embassy allows the Empire to open diplomatic relations with a foreign nation or empire. Embassies formalize the communications between the Empire and other powers, allowing respective governments to send official communications. Operating an embassy requires the an Imperial citizen is appointed to act as ambassador, and duly empowered to speak on behalf of the Empire.
The Empire can open embassies with distant foreigners such as Asavea, Jarm and the Commonwealth. These foreign powers are empires in their own right and have a similar level of might and influence to the Empire, but are far away over the seas and have many concerns of their own. The Empire can also open embassies to nearby foreigners such as the Axos, the Faraden and the Iron Confederacy. These nations possess power equivalent to one or two Imperial nations, but they are much closer to the Empire and their concerns are much more likely to be aligned with Imperial concerns.
Senate Commissions
The Imperial Senate may pass a motion for the construction of an embassy. The senate must select a territory, and a region within that territory, where the embassy will be constructed.
Each embassy is tied to a single foreign nation. When the construction is complete a new Imperial title of ambassador is automatically created. Appointment follows the normal constitutional process for an Imperial position appointed by the Senate and re-appointed each year after that.
The Senate does not need the approval of the foreign nation to begin construction, but unless a foreign nation chooses to recognise an embassy and to reciprocate then it will not provide any benefits of any kind.
Benefits
Ambassador to a Foreign Nation
An embassy opens an official channel for diplomacy with a selected foreign nation or power. The ambassador is likely to receive regular communication from their counterparts in the foreign nation, often via the use of the Call Winged Messenger ritual. There is an expectation that the ambassador will reply to these communications, again most likely by the use of Call Winged Messenger.
Members of foreign nations may interact with the Empire even without an embassy, but they will usually be private individuals rather than official representatives. For example, a group of Faraden mercenaries may look for work during a summit at Anvil, but without an embassy it is unlikely that the Lady of the Five Winds would send diplomats to discuss a major trade treaty.
Authority
The civil service provide support to allow the ambassador to speak on behalf of the Empire when dealing with foreign dignitaries from the relevant nation. If the visitors are present at the summit and have requested an official audience, then the Senate room is made available for use by the Ambassador at least once. The ambassador is expected to receive guests from the Imperial throne and to decide on who will be present in the chamber during this audience.
Favour
Merchants of both sides who engaged in trade between the Empire and the foreign nation have many reasons to want to curry favour with an ambassador. Commonly they will take a portion of the items they buy and sell and make them available to the ambassador at favourable prices.
This favour is reflected by the automatic creation of a small ministry as part of an embassy. This allows the ambassador to directly purchase raw materials from traders and merchants of the associated nation. For example, the Asavean embassy allows the ambassador to purchase Cerulean Mazzarine, Orichalcum, Iridescent Gloaming, and Tempest Jade directly for Imperial currency. The materials provided may fluctuate, but will be tied to those which the foreign nation has regular surpluses of.
Intrigue
Foreign nations are like characters in their own right, and seek to draw the Empire into their intrigues. The Asavean Plenum might seek to enlist the Empire in its conflict with the Sumaah Republic, for example. One member of the Plenum might seek to engage Imperial support in a conspiracy against another Plenum family. A high ranking noble might want to employ foreign mercenaries to help put down a slave revolt, or to locate a prized artefact. All of these create narrative opportunities, decisions and conflicts for the Empire and particularly for the ambassador.
Further Agreements
The Ambassador may be able to secure additional agreements with a foreign nation. Nations rich in resources might be persuaded to make some available for sale, while others might be convinced to share their magical knowledge, or make exotic and rare goods available for sale. A nation might even be persuaded to provide military support, although the cost for such help would likely be high. These agreements will come as opportunities, or might be actively pursued by the ambassador through letters or face-to-face meetings with foreign ambassadors.
In some cases, these agreements will require the creation of new Imperial titles with the authority to oversee them. If the Senate chooses to approve the agreement and create the title then its appointment would be expected to follow normal constitutional rules.
Costs
- Materials: 25 wains of Weirwood and 25 wains of White Granite
- Labour: 12 Thrones
- Time: 1 season
- Upkeep: 5 Thrones
Limitations
Operating an embassy is completely dependent on the agreement and cooperation of the foreign nation it is tied to. An embassy with a hostile foreign nation that is not prepared to accept Imperial diplomacy provides no benefits of any kind.
Even if an agreement is made and an embassy is constructed, it remains contingent on the continuing goodwill of the foreign nation that it houses. If relations sour then they may choose to end contact with the Empire at any time.
An embassy is built to the designs required for a specific foreign nation - it is not possible to reallocate a building to a new nation and no nation would accept the insult of being offered a used embassy built for another nation.
The ambassador is responsible for representing the Empire in its relations with the foreign nation. They are given authority by the Senate to speak on behalf of the Empire and will be treated accordingly. Although the ambassador cannot legally declare war, their words and actions can easily create diplomatic incidents which cause the foreign nation to declare war on the Empire.
Existing Embassies
The following embassies have been constructed in recent years:
- An Asavean Embassy in Sarvos.
- A Jarmish Embassy in Cargo, in Redoubt.
- An Iron Confederacy Embassy in Sarvos.
- A Faraden Embassy is under construction in Anduz, in Segura. Construction has currently stalled due to a shortage of white granite.
- A Sumaah Embassy in an unknown location; work has not yet begun on this structure.
- A Commonwealth Embassy in an unknown location; work has not yet begun on this structure.