Mercator

Wielders of mashoaab, the energy of value and trade. They can trade esoteric properties, powers, and abilities via deals. Unlike demonic contracts or other infernal powers, mashoaab allows equal and undamaging exchange.

Vocabulary

A note on terminology used:

• Base stat: one of the seven stats all beings have.
• Skill: something one has learned and can do.
• Knowledge: something one has learned but cannot do - history, literature, facts, etc.
• Memory: something one can remember from personal experience.
• Experience: something that occurred to someone that has affected them.
• Emotion: what one feels but not necessarily what one thinks.
• Ability: something one can do innately.
• Characteristic: something that one is, but cannot do - eye color, immunity to poison, etc.
• Mundane: not involving esoteric energies.
• Supernatural: involving esoteric energies.

Essence of Value

Value is a variable thing, a subjective thing, a collectively decided thing. A pencil has use value to someone who can pick it up and draw or write with it, but no value to someone who cannot. A diamond is useless to a person starving alone in a desert if they cannot eat it, but worth more than everything when imbued with sentiment in a wedding ring. A mercator is keenly aware of value as a relative, subjective concept, and has tools that allow them to analyze it from many different angles. Somewhere in the middle of this, in the intersection between every variation of the value of something, the conflict between perspectives, is the essence of value, known as mashoaab.

Exchange Value

Once a mercator knows the amount of mashoaab something has the potential to contain, they can draw it forth through the act of exchange. Mashoaab is about the conflict between perspectives on the value of something, and therefore, it is generated and unleashed through acting on that conflict - haggling. In order to be able to draw esoteric power from the act of haggling, the mercator must be granted the power to do so through contracts.

Contract of Initiation

The contract of initiation is the tool by which someone becomes a mercator. To do this, they must find a mercator who will make a deal with them. This deal must exchange a quality or characteristic of the mercator for the ability to make mercatorial contracts. This initial contract supplies the mercator with the mashoaab to conduct their business. However, it can run out and must be restored with new contracts with other mercators, selling off qualities of the mercator. Usually, they engage in an act of mutual exchange in order to preserve themselves - strength for strength, for example.

Mercatory

Once a mercator is contracted and fulfills their contracts, they gain the power to engage in similar contracts. Some mercators require new initiates to also contract for tools, while others supply them with the initial contract. Mercators need a reader glass, a special writing utensil, and special paper for contracts. They also need special vials to hold unused qualities. A mercator travels the world, seeking people with qualities, characteristics, skills, powers, and other properties they might want to trade to others or use for themselves. They make a deal with those who agree to their terms and provide them with the qualities or skills, etc., that they seek in exchange.

A common example is a mercator seeking greater strength. They will seek out someone who has strength to spare and offer them something they want - greater cunning, perhaps. The contractee will agree to terms, then sign the contract. The mercator will receive the strength as a metallic grey liquid, which will coalesce before them. They use their pen to guide it into a vial, which they then label and store, or drink for themselves. The person will be given a vial containing the essence of what they seek, which they must drink within the hour or it will spoil now that it is out of the mercator's possession. The terms in the contract will specify when the exchange will happen - there is always a delay, usually until the next time the person sleeps and awakens. At that time, the stat change will take effect for them and, if the mercator has partaken of the vial, for them as well.

Deals

Mercators attempt to make good deals - a slightly unequal exchange, if possible. Certain qualities have a greater value than others - supernatural skills are more valuable than mundane ones, for example. Usually, they sell for +1 above what is offered, if numbers are involved.

The rate of exchange between qualities varies. Base stats are worth more than common skills, but less than supernatural skills, for example. The ranking of value is as follows, from lowest to highest:

• Mundane memory
• Mundane knowledge
• Mundane experience
• Mundane characteristic
• Mundane skill
• Mundane ability
• Mundane emotion
• Base stat
• Supernatural emotion
• Supernatural memory
• Supernatural experience
• Supernatural knowledge
• Supernatural skill
• Supernatural characteristic
• Supernatural ability

The rarity of something also affects it. They can be common, uncommon, rare, extremely rare, or unique. If something is vital to a person's existence or survival, it is more valuable than something that isn't (an appendix is worth less than a heartbeat). So a vital, rare mundane memory may be worth more than a common, non-vital amount of a base stat.

Life and Death

A mercator cannot take the life of someone via contract if they are unwilling or have not signed a contract.

Preservation

A mercator cannot sell what they don't have, so they have to preserve what they buy and not use it in order to have qualities they do not themselves posses to sell. For instance, a mercator who cannot dance cannot sell that skill unless they have acquired its essence elsewhere and kept it in a vial.

Inventory

The basic tools of the mercatory are their reader glass, something to write with, ink, paper to write upon, and vials to keep essences in.

Reader Glass

A reader glass, an appraiser's glass, is made of kaanch, a special kind of glass that has innate mashoaab in it. It is used in a small kind of scope, not unlike the lenses used by lapidarists. They look at people or things through this, even places, and see the variables of value within their being.

Writing Utensil

There are five kinds of writing utensil used in contracts by mercators:

• Living tin ball-point pen
• Harapatthar stone-chalk
• Aaloobukhaara plum wood, charred
• Golden bird quill pen
• Dabanevaala diamond laser pen

Ink

All mercators have vishesh syaahee ink, which they get from their first contract and can convert bought qualities into when it runs out. The contract must be written and signed in this ink.

Contract Paper

The stationery used by mercators is called vishesh kaagaj. It feels as if it is made of extremely thin tin, but it moves and folds like paper.

Vials

The vials are all made of kaanch. They are about 3" long and .25" wide, cyllindrical.

Carts

Mercators travel far and wide and use special carts, usually drawn by winged rams, goldhorn goats, myi (subterranean golden donkeys) or aalasee bail (lazy oxen). Their carts are made from aaloobukhaara wood, tin and gold, and use leather from aalasee bail. They have many hidden compartments and special sections to hide valuable goods. They are often very colorful.

Variations

Some major variations include

• Ankur: a mercator who, instead of traveling, builds a wondrous garden and trades for plant qualities to make it more impressive.
• Chuadail: a mother-witch who specializes in trading with women and non-men. (Untrained maidens are taaza, experienced crones are daayan.)
• Diamond ringmaster: a mercator who runs a circus and travels with it, making deals with the performers and the crowd.
• Diamond Showman: a mercator who travels with a sideshow or works fo ra stage show and uses their powers to create a wondrous attraction.
• Kupiec: an art dealer mercator, one who seeks artistic skill to sell to and patronize artists, then sell their works and the essence thereof.
• Malversatore: a mercator who engages in embezzlement, stealing from their own vials and tricking their contractees.
• Menageriere: mercators who keep great zoos and trade for animal qualities.
• Merry Mary: mercators who use sexual congress as their form of contract. This is done through an ancient practice only shared amongst them on Merukis.
• Vicolo: a backalley mercator, a mercator who deals in stolen qualities.
• Wheeler-dealer: a mercator in show business, one who makes and breaks celebrities.

Common Contractees

There are terms for people who seek specific qualities and use them in certain ways:

• Činija: a cook who trades for culinary skills and knowledge.
• Glitzy git: a jester who trades for performance abilities in exchange for service to a mercator.
• Glitzy Glenda: a screen entertainer granted skill and ability by a mercator.
• Hratz: an athlete who has traded for greater athletic ability.
• Kiraaye ka: mercenaries who trade with mercators for military skill and often serve them as guards.
• Maharaja: kings empowered by mercators.
• Maut laana: an assassin who trades for the skills of a killer. Sometimes the mercator is a maut laana.
• Tukkad: a bhat who trades their services for skills and qualities to help them become a greater performer.
• Vendu: a dancer who trades for dancing skills and abilities.

Similar Occupations

Other users of mashoaab include

• Belcornian: a vicolo of great skill who belongs to a special guild of mercators who have special powers.
• Bullocky: a messenger who carries vials for mercators across long distances.
• Charioteer: a warrior who rides a chariot imbued with value from mashoaab.
• Defalcator: a thief who uses mashoaab to know the value of what they steal, or to steal the unstealable.
• Mataka Nirmaaata: a potter and ceramicist who uses mashoaab to make wonderful crafts.
• Plunderer: a pirate who uses mashoaab to protect and steal treasures.
• Saadhak: a treasure hunter.

Societal Role

Mercators are extremely rare. They are sought after only by those who know of them, and contracts often swear people to secrecy. Those powers that do know of them either try to regulate them, control or enslave them, or drive them off.

Skill

Some common unbought skills include

• Haggling or negotiation
• Contract law
• Commerce
• Trade
• Bartering
• Appraisal
• Mathematics
• Finance

Stats

Modifiers from base of species/nation without include bought stats:

PRO -1
ATH -1
STR /
AWA +4
WIL +2
STH +1
PRS +4