Trade and Commerce in the Five Realms
The Five Realms exist in delicate harmony with one another. While the Iarlas jockey for advantage, influence and favour and are encouraged to do so by the Réig and the Réig’s courtiers, they also form alliances from time to time and trade is often the most crucial aspect of treaties and agreements.
Trade in Siabhal
Siabhal is the wealthiest of the Realms, and is the breadbasket of Tirneach. The rolling fields of the Golden Valley are tended by farmers who are sworn to the Siabhlach nobility by the ancient code of bondage, which existed in the Kingdom of Siabhal in ages past and is still adhered to today. Courtiers in Corroch frown upon this practice, and the communal farmers of other Realms say that like other Siabhlach traditions it appears to hugely benefit the old nobility and place most of the burden on the peasant, but it cannot be denied that Siabhal’s harvest are the most bountiful, and the farmers of Siabhal are justifiably proud of their efforts.
The Grey Lands that border on Uasa are named not just for the wild moors but also the pale flax fields that stretch between the two Realms. The cultivation of flax, and the dyeing of the resulting linen, is a busy industry in Siabhal where the latest fashions are on everyone’s mind from the Iarla down to the lowliest peasant. To the northeast, the Claí Mountains are known to produce gold and other precious substances, especially in the Riding of Bolscar, the ancestral homes of the line of Ua Chonchabhair Réigs. In the northwest, the gentle rolling Hills of Torthu are home to vineyards and wheatfields, and Siabhlach wine is prized throughout the Realms.
From Siabhal foodstuffs, textiles and precious metals spread throughout the Realms. The best trade routes follow the high road west, avoiding the Grey Lands that border on Uasa (and the Réig’s tariffs on trade into Uasa) and winding around Loch Cleamh and down into the lowlands of Baol.
Trade in Baol
All trade that passes through the lowlands of Baol is firmly in the grip of the trade guilds. Baolach statute dictates that all merchant caravans passing through the Realm must be under the auspice of one or other trade guild - firm evidence (as if it was needed) that the Iarlas of Baol are also firmly in the trade guild’s grip - and Baolach trade guilds generally have contracts with the Siabhlach noble families who wish to send goods through the Proud Realm. One benefit of this protectionist policy is that the merchant caravans are heavily guarded by the guild militias, because they are often targeted for raids. For larger caravans bands of gallóglaigh are hired through the auspices of local Riders.
These raids come not just from regular bandits, beasts or Gwyllt, but from the highly organised and dedicated highlander caterns. Raiding the lowlands is a pastime and lucrative occupation for the highland Clanns, and the merchant caravans are a favourite target. The loot is carried back home where it sustains the Clann or gets sold off the western coast to the Krieger ships that sail the Sea of Fortunes. Those who pay the trade guilds to protect their caravans mutter that the several caravans per season that fall victim to the highlanders are in truth given as tribute as part of a relationship between the Clanns and the guilds that is far cosier than meets the eye.
When the highlanders are not raiding, they are herding their formidable cattle through the highland valleys, hunting the plentiful game, and searching for relics of the Amber Kingdom which they sell for a fraction of their true worth at the great markets (held under armistice) at Calldoon, Dunarragid and the other frontier towns between highland and lowland.
The trade guilds’ profits do not derive from profiteering alone. They also employ farmers to work the fertile lands in the Lakelands, or sponsor apprentices learning a trade who will be loyal to that trade guild for the rest of their career, selling their wares with them alone. The trade guilds claim that the competition between them keeps prices low and makes Baol prosperous, but outsiders wonder who truly rules Baol, the Iarla or the guilds?
Winding their way south into the Green Marches, the borderland between Baol, Bruid and Draíod, many of the merchant caravans turn west and enter the Learned Realm.
Trade in Draíod
Due to its unique geography, Draíod is starved of good farmland. Sheep are plentiful on the surface of Draíod, but the larger settlements below the ground are dependent on trade with other Realms to keep their people fed. Smaller, poorer settlements can subsist on the edible mosses, fungi and algae which they cultivate, but those of higher social standing turn their noses up at such fare. Draíod meets the exorbitant cost of importing most of its food through its own exports: minerals and irons mined in the depths of the Realm, often by Fathach that will never see the light of day. The Realm also does a lively trade in magical artefacts produced by mages of the Vartach and other species. Many of the most powerful enchanted items scattered throughout the Realms were originally acquired in such a manner...although their owners generally concoct a heroic tale to go with their treasure.
The Ring Mountains which surround Draíod are largely impassable, and the rumoured tunnels that link Draíod to every major settlement in the Five Realms are apocryphal, so apart from the Green Marches the other major route out of the Learned Realm is Vercontin’s Pass. Trade through the Pass into Uasa is exempt from the Réig’s tariffs, and so the shepherds of Draíod drive their flocks into the Crown Realm for sale each year, and their arrival marks the start of an annual festival.
Trade in Uasa
Despite the extensive land reclamation which allowed the Réig’s seat at Corroch to be built, Uasa remains a marshy and waterlogged Realm, criss-crossed by many rivers of varying degrees of navigability. The common folk make a living plying these waters for fish, and guiding barges through to Loch Achar and beyond. The Réig and their courtiers are sustained by the tithes which are claimed from the earnings of the gallóglaigh bands. As the only standing armies allowed in the Five Realms, the gallóglaigh are effectively a tax on the nobility of the Five Realms, who must employ the gallóglaigh to face the various threats facing their Ridings and Realms, or else face the wrath of the Réig for exceeding the strict size limits on local militias. Meanwhile, the gallóglaigh can only escape the Réig’s tithe by performing missions directly for the Réig’s court, and so the bands strive to gain the most honour, renown and favour.
Béalcaoch on the Blind Coast is the epicentre of trade in Uasa. It is the favoured port of merchant ships that come from the Eastern Reaches across the Shaper’s Sea, and the Firetouched often bring ships from even farther afield. Of course Béalcaoch is also the home port of many smugglers who launder their ill-gotten goods through the port and up the Young River to the rest of the Realms. It is home to many artisans, a high proportion of whom hail from Baol originally and have escaped the clutches of the trade guilds. Trade from Uasa outwards benefits from the blessing of the Réig and does not incur their trade tariffs, hence its attraction to all merchants both legitimate and illicit.
The trade tariffs were the idea of the Order of Teachers, who have their headquarters in the Citadel of the Shaper at Corroch. The Order encourages its cinniri to take up a trade, and many make good livings as merchants. They see it as their duty to enrich Uasa as the favoured Realm of the Shaper, but they also advise and instruct people throughout the Realms whether they seek to add to already incalculable riches or to scrape a living together, all to venerate the Shaper’s great design. The Teachers are very commonly found in Bruid, where the Shaper’s battle against the Gwyllt is encapsulated in the people’s struggle to survive and to flourish in a land still heavily under the Gwyllt’s influence.
Trade in Bruid
The most southerly and isolated of the Realms is also the most dependent on others for trade. Mostly covered by the Great Forest, Bruid’s great resource is timber. Woodcutting is a dangerous occupation in any Realm, but in Bruid the danger is doubled due to attacks both from wild beasts and the Gwyllt. Many peasants opt to seek a safer life herding sheep, which thrive on the good farmland which lies fallow due to the proximity of the Forest. The Iarlas of Bruid offer large boons to settlers who will sow the land, but those brave few who take up the offer do not tend to last long.
The advent of the Krieger has changed Bruid in many ways, and especially in terms of fauna and flora. The Krieger planted many hundreds of acres with a tree not native to Tirneach which they call the lorbeer, from which the Riding of Lorbeer got its name. The leaves of this tree are ubiquitous in Krieger cuisine. They also brought their favourite game and fighting beasts with them, which rapidly escaped from their loose captivity and are now widespread throughout Bruid. They are one and all formidable, as befits the Krieger homeland, and have met their match in the wilds of Bruid. The hives of the Trotzdolch, an enormous species of bee also called the dagger wasp, produce a honey that has no equal throughout the Five Realms. The Krieger know the secrets of collecting this bounty, and so Bruideach mead has earned a reputation for quality, and is sought after by all those who visit Zahnhafen.
The Krieger port on Bruid’s western coast has maintained links with the Krieger homeland across the Sea of Fortunes, and their vessels bring many strange and exotic goods into Bruid which are traded throughout the Realms. Of course it is also the home port of the many Bruideach Krieger vessels which sail all around the Tirneach peninsula. How many of them may indulge in piracy is not a question that the Thing of Zahnhafen likes to be asked. Of course all Krieger in Bruid are loyal to the Five Realms and would not do such a thing. Those Krieger who come from abroad are of course outside of the Thing’s jurisdiction.
Trade and the Gallóglaigh
Any sort of trade, commerce or agriculture in the Five Realms is dependent on the bands of gallóglaigh which roam throughout Tirneach. The Riders, Iarlas and Réig form a warrior aristocracy, but they are acutely aware of the effect that martial threats can have on trade within their holdings. Hiring and dispatching the gallóglaigh is a noble privilege, and the bands often find themselves involved in border disputes and lesser wars over bountiful territory, but they will also take work from the Riders and Iarlas which is of direct benefit to trade. Come harvest time in Siabhal, local Riders often hire them to protect their fields and flocks from the Gwyllt, wild beasts, brigands, and other threats. In Baol, when the the highland raids provoke the lowlands too far, the Iarla will send the gallóglaigh bands on punitive expeditions into the Bolge or the Bight, to teach the Clanns a lesson. In Bruid, the protection provided by the gallóglaigh are essential for the day-to-day existence of shepherds and farmers who would otherwise be exterminated by the creatures of the Gwyllt. In Uasa the bands combat smuggling and ensure that the border with Siabhal is respected. In Draíod they patrol the caverns and tunnels, keeping them clear of many terrible and dire creatures. Without the gallóglaigh, commerce in the Five Realms would grind to a halt.