The City of Veldonia - Part IV

The economy of Veldonia is a fragile, always changing system built on exploitation and tradition. While gold and silver circulate in the High District, the true engine of the city is the relic trade bleeding out of the Midnight Throne, and serving as an important trade heart in the country, only eclipsed by the southern city of Karonia.

Economic status in Veldonia can be quickly determined by which metal you carry. The gold crest is usually reserved for the nobility and the High Council, those carrying transactions that involve large sums of money. In the Third Era, the gold content of a gold crest has dropped by 15% as King Jeoff funds his lavish arena games, leading to “crest shaving” being a capital offense. The silver shield is the primary currency of the middle and merchant class, and it’s widely considered the most stable currency in the Alderworth Kingdom. Finally, the copper bit is the currency of the Slums. These are often so worn and degraded that they are often traded by weight rather than count. In the Charnel Markets, a handful of bits might buy a rat-on-a-stick or a few hours of sleep in a dry cellar.

The Relic Trade

Veldonia’s most lucrative export is without a doubt the valuable items found within the remnants of Ker Nethalas. The College of Arcane Lore buys everything they can, but because the Obsidian Wardens guard the official entry points, a massive black market exists. The Shadowsong Guild controls “the sinks”, unmapped fissures in the Slums where illegal relics are smuggled up. To combat smuggling, the Crown requires all Vaelorian artifacts to be stamped by a royal appraiser. Possessing an unstamped relic is considered sedition and is a one-way ticket to the Arena.

International Trade
Veldonia sits at a strategic crossroads, making it a hub for exotic goods, but this has created a dangerous dependency on foreign powers. Azari spices and fire-silk are primarily imported for the nobility, while Aldersworthian grain feeds many of the surrounding nations. Recently, artificers from Helvonia have begun flooding the market with clockwork curios and precision tools, which has created friction with the Ironheart Guild, who view these “foreign toys” as a threat to traditional Veldonian blacksmithing.

Other Economic Elements

• The Arena: The Great Arena is the city’s largest internal revenue generator. Controlled largely by the Shadowsong Guild, the betting on Revenants is the only time gold moves from the High District down to the Slums. A high-performing survivor can cause a massive shift in local wealth overnight.

• Human Trafficking: There are many unscrupulous elements in Veldonia that have no qualms profiting on the suffering of others. Researchers and arcanists are willing to pay good money for new “research subjects”, while good-old fashioned prostitution and slavery rings are frequently busted in the Slums, often linked to the nobility but with no real consequences.

• Coal & Wood: A city as large as Veldonia requires a lot of fuel to power its furnaces and homes, and there’s a constant influx of wood and coal that is distributed through the various guilds and officials responsible for it. This generates a lot of jobs, especially entry jobs for the peasantry trying to make a living in the city, the desperate that have left behind a fruitless life of toiling in the soil and found how hard life in the city actually is.