Arbiters of Rhetios - Treacherous Ground

The **Arbiters of Rhetios** are the market authorities and regulators in [[Vinsklar]], with limited jurisdiction in other cities. > [!infobox|right wikipedia] > # Arbiters of Rhetios > ![[place_placeholder.svg|cover hsmall]] > ##### General > | | | > | ---- | ---- | > | **Category** | Religious Order | > | **Headquarters** | [[3-Places/Places/Hall of Arbitration.md\|Hall of Arbitration]] | > | **Leader** | - | > | **Faction Alignment** | Lawful Neutral | # General Arbiters are successful and respected merchants who swear an oath to Rhetios, the god of trade, to uphold his tenets and adjudicate the market. If accepted by the other Arbiters, a prospective candidate must give up all their possessions, material and immaterial, and sever all business ties. They are then eligible to join the Arbiters of Rhetios and act as an impartial moderator in issues of business and trade. Arbiters are paid a fixed – and substantial – fee for their services. They are held in high regard, and their rulings are unappealable. Because [[Vinsklar]] neither levies taxes nor issues laws regarding economic activity, the Arbiters of Rhetios serve an incredibly important role in the city's daily commerce. When two merchants disagree on fair market value, or when a contract is in breach, the government takes no notice. Instead, the Arbiters step in and decide who is most faithful to the ideals of free and fair trade, and who is not. Arbiters are precise, exacting, and impersonal. Because even the timbre of their voice can affect the markets, they do not speak, instead penning their judgements with a flourish and handing them off to a clerk to read aloud. Arbiters do not use their names, and most of them wear masks for anonymity. Only the highest-ranking and longest-serving Arbiters reveal their faces – after decades of embodying neutrality. These paragons are so steeped in Rhetios' Truth of Numbers that they can immediately detect any spoken or written deception. The Arbiters are held in reverence and awe by those who are subject to their scrutiny. > [!quote] Plegmund, Vinsklar ore wholesaler > "An Arbiter won't use an hourglass unless he's personally counted every grain of sand inside it!" One factor that limits the Arbiters' jurisdiction is the fact that a dispute must be brought to them by at least one party to the transaction – they do not seek out cases, and they do not take anonymous tips. One must submit their case to the Arbiters for review, and any other parties must then cooperate with the investigation, or receive summary judgement. An Arbiter is assigned, and their fee is demanded up front, based on the category and magnitude of the transaction, split equally amongst all parties. The Arbiter's accountants and auditors gather any necessary documents and take them to the Hall of Arbitration, while investigators conduct interviews for non-tangible evidence. Once the Arbiter has made a decision, it is read out to the parties by a clerk, and posted on the outside of the building for public review. The Arbiters have no guards or physical enforcement. A merchant, craftsman, or trader who disregards the Arbiters' rulings is subject to complete ostracisation by the rest of Vinsklar, as such behaviour evidences complete untrustworthiness. Anyone who takes action against the Arbiters will be met with instant opposition from the city's entire merchant class. The Arbiters of Rhetios are a fundamental part of the fabric of Vinsklar. The Arbiters are not exclusive to Vinsklar, but their status is much lessened elsewhere. In [[Gudesberg]] and [[Prosperity]], the local government performs most of their functions. In [[Oskar's Station]], they are sometimes used to settle disputes, but family politics plays a much bigger role than economic value. No other post-Riving settlements have a large enough economy to sustain their services. # History Rhetios, god of trade, has always invited his most devout servants to become arbiters of transactions, to enforce his philosophy on commerce and workmanship. Arbiters of Rhetios could be found in every city in [[Skadyrik]], to be consulted during disputes or to lend an imprimatur of legitimacy to commercial proceedings. When the priests assumed control of the settlement at [[Gudesberg]] and enforced doctrinal law, the Arbiters were sidelined. The priests claimed to understand Rhetios' tenets well enough to enforce them, and any trade disputes were required to be presented to monastery authorities. Although the Arbiters were not forbidden from continuing their work, most merchants saw them as redundant, since their cases were already being heard by the priests. When Vinsklar was founded, the Arbiters followed, and quickly found abundance of purpose. The merchants' strong avoidance towards regulated markets, informed by their experiences in Gudesberg, led to the Arbiters filling that gap. As the city's economy grew, their influence only deepened and became more entrenched. Today, none of Vinsklar's citizens could envision the city prospering the way it has without the constant work of the Arbiters of Rhetios, and therefore they afford them due respect. # People The following people are members of this group. %% DATAVIEW_PUBLISHER: start ```dataview TABLE WITHOUT ID file.link AS "Characters", gender AS "Gender", home AS "Home", char_status AS "Status" from "4-People/People" where faction = this.file.link where publish = true sort char_status ASC, home ASC, file.link ASC ``` %% | Characters | Gender | Home | Status | | ---------- | ------ | ---- | ------ | %% DATAVIEW_PUBLISHER: end %% # Services Services offered. > [!NOTE]+ Public Services > | Item | Cost | > | ------ | ---- | > | Arbitration | varies | # Gallery