May’Kar’s economy is made up of a complex trade network connecting its central territories to its peripheral ones. Collectively, the region is very rich in valuable resources, but those resources are, more often than not, sequestered in or beyond inhospitable environments. One of the main limiting factors for accessing these resources is the infrastructure needed to extract and transport them to the Ukorate provinces.
Rather than trying to overextend into the deeper reaches of the desert, the Dominion relies on the algari, the people already living there, who are already well-adapted to these areas. The Register demands tribute from these peoples through the quotas imposed on their algarads, but the real value they offer comes from continuing trade. As a result, the yazi tend to approve of temporary economic subsidies towards various algar, in exchange for the development and maintenance of infrastructure that will facilitate future trade.
This economy requires the Dominion’s trade network to constantly expand and develop, with new sources of trade and tribute paying off the costs and debts incurred by the old. As the number of uncontacted algar decreases, there are diminishing returns on expansion and investment, and the entire system risks collapsing in on itself.
Along the river, a Ukorate’s ability to extract water for personal use, beyond the water that naturally hydrates its soil and the surrounding area, is funded by its taxes towards Saresh. Irrigation systems are controlled by sluices, operated by a Ukorate’s magistrate and their subordinates. These sluices control the rate at which water slows out from the river and into the ownership of the province’s Prince. The sluices are adjusted weekly to account for natural variations in the Ukor over time, but some magistrates have been known to occasionally ‘forget’ to adjust the sluices.
May’Kar’s major trade partners are Vandregon and Aldoria. Its major exports include salt, wine, olive oil, spices, ceramics, honey, millet, and gold. Shipments carrying these resources are typically delivered by barges floating down the Ukor, or by ships departing from Themakis. Almost all of this is produced by algar, with the Dominion acting as an intermediary. Meanwhile, the major imports include silk, cotton, iron, hardwood, and various dyes. Little of these make their way to the outer provinces except as rare luxuries. In general, algar aren’t allowed to trade with each other, though an algarad may actively facilitate such trade.
Taxes are imposed on trade, not only to further fund the Dominion, but also as a form of incentive. Higher taxes are generally imposed on non-Mahsai faiths, as well as on groups that are less cooperative towards the crown and the yazi. Conversely, taxes can be lowered through collective shows of fealty or piety, as well as through military contribution. The asymmetry through which these taxes are applied sometimes results in ‘proxy trading’, in which certain individuals conduct trade on behalf of others, sometimes traveling far and wide when the price is right. The practice is heavily frowned upon, and is even punished with fines when done egregiously.
The Register
As the Dominion continued to exert its influence and integrate more of its peripheral territories into its economy and culture, the yazi proved too cumbersome and centralized in Saresh to be able to effectively address the many needs of the May’Kar in areas of logistics, finances, and recordkeeping. In an attempt to address this, Priest-Queen Ordhah established the Register of May’Kar.
The Register is made up of politicians, merchants, scholars, priests, and more. It has little direct authority outside of its own scope, but is essential for keeping the apparatus of May’Kar moving. Register officials are tasked with the identification, operation, and maintenance of trade routes; assessing the value of an algar, determining the quota of its algarad whether or not that quota has been met; the acquisition and delivery of materials necessary for state-direct projects; the cataloguing and census of the various peoples of the Dominion and their faiths; and much more.
Even without direct authority, Register officials have a great deal of influence, as they are often the final word on what is, even if they have little say in what should be. Register officials have sometimes been caught altering records either for personal gain or on behalf of others, and have had the occasional audit and purge by the yazi.
They have a main office in Saresh, which contains a grand library of records that go back centuries. A committee of yazi members are assigned to oversee the Register, tasked with ensuring its highest offices are filled, but uninvolved in its actual operation. Additionally, smaller cells of officials and agents are deployed throughout May’Kar and hire local talent to help them carry out their duties. These cells are expected to make regular reports and often do so by utilizing the routes that they operate.