Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government!

Saromatian Government and Economy

The Feudal System

The mortal queen of Saromatia is thought to rule it in place of the Queen Aspect of Saromata. To make the job of governing easier, she grants tracts of land to trusted allies, creating countesses and baronesses. These gentlewomen, in turn, may parcel out their land (or fief) to others... and so on.

Rank is roughly proportional to resources. A countess controls more lands and goods than a baroness, who has more than a lady. The humble knight may control only a single keep and a small village. There are ranges within each rank, however, and titles are heriditary. Through good fortune and good management, a baroness may come to have the wealth and power of a low- or mid-ranking countess. A knight might win more land for herself and become a lady.

Fiefs can be rather isolated from the queen. Trade is rather new in Saromatia (see below) and travel isn't common. So long as taxes are paid on time, years might go by before the queen comes to realize that a certain petty baroness is abusing her power. Even the countesses, with whom the queen consults regularly, could have shady goings-on at their homes far from the capital. Who is going to tell the queen? Certainly not the countess, nor anyone she trusts enough to bring to the capital with her. Not the peasants, for whom a trip to the fair is a journey of note.

To help combat this, it is the habit of the queen to move her court from place to place during the months of good weather. She still, however, cannot visit every single baroness, lady, and knight within her borders.

The Birth of Trade

Until quite recently, trading was uncommon or even rare. Ritone had certain arrangements with the dwarves, and local fairs facilitated trade between neighboring villages, but urban centers and trading hubs were not a part of Saromatian life. While individual villages might not be wholly self-sufficient, usually a collection of three or four of them in an area would be, and the fairs were enough to get everyone everything they needed.

But the past three queens have been working on creating a system of improved roads, and enfeoffing (giving fiefs to) knights to ward and protect them. Dragons and crucifixion birds can pose a threat to a traveling merchant; of course, so can other humans! The Knights of the Roads were to keep wild beasts and bandits to a minimum.

The queens themselves then set the example. Local steel was not good enough for their court; the knives in the dinner service had to be dwarven-made, come from Lari. Local wool was fine for the peasants; let the courtiers wear linen from the north. Plants and birds from all over Saromatia were collected for the gardens and aviary.

The nobility were quick to imitate the queen's example. Soon, there was a very vocal demand for the best of everything. Southeastern wines were traded for plains rhacos, and northwestern silver for midlands oak. Efforts were redoubled to keep at least some harbors free of sirens, in an attempt to open trade lanes over the sea.

The queen does have coins minted in several locations throughout the realm, and they are becoming increasingly common. Even peasants near cities or large towns might have a handful of copper pennies that they use to buy the afternoon tankard of ale with. In more rural areas, however, most of the people are still accustomed to the barter system. For large purchases, this is easier to comprehend - one cow for three pigs, for instance. But how does one get that foaming tankard? It wouldn't be unreasonable to offer the alewife an egg or two, for instance, or perhaps a ribbon. If she already has sufficient ribbons, maybe she'd be interested in a chicken in exchange for a summer's worth of ale.

There is some good news for the wandering knight errant, however. In three generations, most of the realm has come to acknowledge the usefulness of the coin. Except in the most backwater places, our alewife will accept money if it is offered (unless she doesn't like you and is just being peevish). It probably won't do her much good right now, but some folk at the local fair will accept it, or she might be able to buy a trinket from the next knight errant to come through.

Cities

Another effect of all of this is that there are very few true cities in Saromatia. The captial Garonne is one; there are perhaps three or four other large centers of commerce in the realm. To the travelers who frequent them, they are bustling places of energy and amazement, with more and larger buildings than are found anywhere else, and statues in the streets where anyone can look at them, and goods from all over the country in one marketplace. Their governments vary considerably; some hold charters from the queen and their ruling councils answer to her as if they were vassals. One is a baronial seat, and another is hardly governed at all.

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