Vinsklar Raed - Treacherous Ground

The **Vinsklar Raed** is the city council that governs [[Vinsklar]]. > [!infobox|right wikipedia] > # Vinsklar Raed > ![[Heavy Taxes (A Game of Thrones CCG) - Thomas Denmark.webp|cover hsmall]] > ##### General > | | | > | ---- | ---- | > | **Category** | Government | > | **Headquarters** | [[3-Places/Places/Vinsklar City Hall.md\|Vinsklar City Hall]] | > | **Leader** | [[4-People/People/Grimulf.md\|Grimulf]] | > | **Faction Alignment** | Lawful Neutral | # General The Raed is composed of the wealthiest merchants and businesspeople in Vinsklar. The Raed elects a leader amongst their ranks, who serves a 5-year term as First Citizen Among Equals. The city of Vinsklar was founded on ideals of free trade, voluntary association, and ease of commerce. There is a very strong sentiment of non-interference with economic affairs, initially a reaction to the priests' heavy-handed regulation of the markets in [[Gudesberg]], but in the decades since transforming into a city-wide ethos of capitalism. As a result, Vinsklar has never levied taxes on the economic activity within its limits, and such an idea continues to be anathema to its citizens. This fundamentally affects the governance structure of Vinsklar, leading to a system unique among large cities, especially those of pre-Riving Skadyrik. At a basic level, the citizens owe no formal obligation to the larger city, nor does the city owe anything to its citizens. Public works and services are minimal. Each citizen receives what they can earn. Any public works are funded by the members of the Raed, individually or in groups or as a whole, and such funding may be supplemented by other wealthy patrons in the city. Members of the Raed are expected to provide such contributions, at their discretion, for the betterment of the city. The obligation to donate to these works provides a tension for the less-wealthy members, and gives some prospective challengers pause when they consider becoming part of the ruling council. Members of the Raed are also required to contribute to the Public Safety Fund, which is used for city services – primarily the salaries of the bailiffs (see below). Trade and commerce in the city is governed not by laws and regulations, but by the tenets of Rhetios, god of trade. The [[Arbiters of Rhetios]] perform the vital function of enforcing contracts, settling disputes, and regulating dishonest activity. The Arbiters – sworn to uphold Rhetiosian values of fairness, honesty, and competition – do not answer to the Raed, and are largely seen as immune to influence from them or any other group. However, the Raed does control the [[the bailiffs]], who are the domestic guard force within the city. They prosecute crime against persons and property, and are paid out of the Raed's Public Safety Fund. The bailiffs are enforcers, prosecutors, and judges. Only crimes committed against Vinsklar's citizens within the city are prosecuted, although there is a longstanding convention to ignore crimes committed in the Junk Quarter. Piracy is an important exception to these rules: as piracy interferes with all trade, its suppression is an animating force among the Raed, and consequently the bailiffs. Any credible report of a current or former pirate within Vinsklar is sure to draw the attention of the bailiffs. Fines (and weregilds if not claimed by the victim's family) are paid into the Public Safety Fund, as are the assets of any executed criminals. Given the incentives this creates for the bailiffs, the Raed exercises close oversight of the bailiffs' activities and judgements. The bailiffs must respond to an inquiry from any Raedperson, and must obey a directive signed by a majority of the Raed. # History Vinsklar was founded by a group of merchants fleeing Gudesberg. When they established their settlement in the cave, there was no central governance, and each businessperson did as they saw fit. Cooperation was required to build the great windbreak across the chasm, however. All the merchants pitched in. When Vinsklar grew larger and more complex and it was clear that some form of government was needed, they decided to use the same model of voluntary contributions. The structure of the Raed was negotiated with consultation from the Arbiters. # Organisation There are 14 seats on the Raed. Only the wealthiest merchants and businessmen can sit the Raed. To become a member of the Raed, a character must challenge a specific sitting member, alleging that they have more wealth than the challenged Raedman. An Arbiter of Rhetios conducts a thorough accounting of each party's holdings. The person found to be wealthier is given (or retains) the seat on the Raed, while the person found to be poorer is fined 50% of all their assets. Thus, only the richest and wealthiest can become members of the Raed. There are some magnates in the city who never seek a seat despite being well qualified, due to the risks and obligations the position incurs. Seats on the Raed have no term length, and Raedmembers serve until they are successfully challenged, or resign willingly, or die. The Raed elects one of their own to speak for the city as First Citizen Among Equals, a position currently held by [[Grimulf]]. The election of the First Citizen is facilitated by a specialised apparatus that allows for a secret ballot while also ensuring no Raedmember votes for themself. Once elected, the First Citizen serves for a 5-year term. There is no limit on re-election. Once the First Citizen has been elected, they cannot be removed unless they are challenged for their seat on the Raed (which follows the normal process). The Raed meets at [[Vinsklar City Hall]] every Tynesday to conduct business. The Raed issues proclamations and edicts by simple majority. The First Citizen can also make proclamations and edicts unilaterally, but they may be overruled by a majority + 2 of the others. The Raed has a quorum of 11, without which it cannot act (including the First Speaker). The Raed may act at times other than its weekly meetings, so long as majority approval is documented in writing. The First Citizen may act unilaterally outside weekly meetings, so long as at least one other Raedmember approves in writing, and the action is still subject to veto and rollback by a majority + 2 of the Raed. There are no other staff, personnel, or facilities associated with the Raed. Each Raedperson has their own personal staff whom they use for errands and typical business, such as scribes, messengers, door-openers, and so on. The Raed directs and supervises the [[the bailiffs]] quite closely, as mentioned, though they nominally constitute a separate organisation. # Membership See [[#Organisation]] for the procedure to join the Raed. # Ranks * **Raedman/woman/person/member:** One of the 14 members of the ruling council of Vinsklar. * **First Citizen Among Equals:** The leader of the Raed. Also retains their normal Raed seat. # 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 | | --------------------------------------- | ------ | ------------------------------------------------------------- | ------ | | [[4-People/People/Grimulf.md\|Grimulf]] | Male | [[3-Places/Places/Vinsklar City Hall.md\|Vinsklar City Hall]] | Alive | %% DATAVIEW_PUBLISHER: end %% # Services As a governmental body, the Raed does not conduct transactional business – at least not openly. # Gallery >[!example]- Image >![[Heavy Taxes (A Game of Thrones CCG) - Thomas Denmark.webp|center|800]] >Heavy Taxes (A Game of Thrones CCG) – Thomas Denmark