Portlyon
The Components of a Portlyon
The Reputation Crystal
Due to the prevailing situation in the realm, namely the rampaging monsters and other creatures that go bump in the night, and thus the need and desire for security, the emergence of portlyons wasn't in the least unexpected. Settlements typically only grow to the size of villages or towns, only a few ever become cities and even fewer evolve into citadels, and as such most internal matters and conflicts are well known and accounted for by the local authorities. In other words most unexpected dangers arrive from the other side of the walls protecting the settlements. This arguably healthy surface-level distrust of strangers lead to the desire to identify the undesirables as soon as possible, which was the first issue addressed by these medallions and their reputation crystals. As the medallions became more popular and more entities saw the utility they offered, they gained additional functions however. The reputation crystal for example was soon tuned to not only detect troublemakers and wanted individuals, but to also act as a sort of indicator for one's positive reputation. A chart for the different ranks as indicated by the crystal can be viewed below. The ranks themselves offer additional benefits depending on the association(s) the owner of the medallion is affiliated with, such as discounts from stores and/or inns, or access to higher tier bounties.
The License Indicator
Everyone and anyone entering a settlement must present their portlyon at the gate to the guards in order to provide a proof of license to travel, such as can be granted to travelers from and for various reasons. This license indicator crystal also indicates who the person is affiliated with, which helps identify adventurers from soldiers and traveling merchants from
Wolverines. Unlike the reputation crystal which presents itself according to the on-the-record reputation of the person, the license indicators can be refreshed by the owners themselves by visiting the designated locations which allow them to do so. There is practically no limit to how many associations one may wish to involve themselves with, although running several overlapping licenses doesn't typically serve a purpose and can get expensive. The list of license options is presented in a chart below.
The Anigrum Engraving
These engravings can come in various shapes and imagery, and typically (and historically) only serve(d) as an additional artistic flare to the medallions. However, particularly after
The Institute of the Magi was founded, they soon started serving a secondary (some might argue primary) purpose as tools to identify mages in order to ensure they don't manage to slip into towns undetected and without purchasing a license to operate. Originally The Institute and its agency The Hand, together with the smiths that were tasked with constructing the medallions, came up with various ways to try to utilize them for this purpose; infusing them with additional magic to detect magic, or keeping a list of all known mages and comparing the serial numbers of the medallions to this list whenever someone came to town, being some of the proposed methods. In the end, however, they decided a more reliable, fast and uncircumventable method was called for, and to that end the discovery of magical residue provided a solution. Certain dwarves discovered minerals that reacted to the presence of magic, and after some trial and error managed to harness this reaction in a way that was applicable to the medallions. Namely, they ground the mineral and mixed it into the ore mixture that makes up the core of the medallions, and carving out a decoration exposes its distinctive, albeit not overly bright, red glow when it detects magic.
The Identification Number
Each medallion has a specific serial code carved to the back of them, which is linked to the person who receives it. This sequence is simply there to help specify which medallion belongs to which person for bookkeeping purposes, and in order to change the ranks or affiliations of the medallions appropriately, or in order to issue warrants for the right people. Inner workings of how this is done is not public knowledge but The Hand has thus far proven itself to be reliable in administrating their system.
Acquisition & Activation
One might go about acquiring a portlyon two different ways; most individuals affiliated with a guild, a union or most other organisations purchase one directly from them; the unaffiliated people typically, at least at first, simply rent one. To purchase one outright costs a total of 150 gold pieces for the base version, which is typically a menial expense for most merchants and adventurers but is considerably more difficult to come by for farmers and street sweepers alike. Because traveling, or entering settlements to be precise, almost invariably requires one to carry a portlyon, this lead to the need for alternative arrangements. To that end The Institute started renting out portlyons to those with lower incomes to the fee of 10 gold pieces, and additional 15 silver pieces for each week, as temporary travel licenses. If one were to rent a portlyon continuously for one entire year, assuming all rental fees were paid, the payments would suffice and the renter would be considered the legal permanent owner of the medallion.
The blank portlyons are all bought from The Hand's office, typically situated within the premise of the Adventurer's Guild. To then link this portlyon to a particular faction the applicant takes the portlyons to the representative of the intended faction, who then places the medallion on a small circular pedestal called lyonmound. As a result the lower crystal, the License Indicator, ignites with the appropriate color. From thereon the factions are able to issue adjustments to the ranks of the registered individuals independently. The factions may also imbue the portlyons with faction specific boons for an additional cost. These boons do, however, typically require certain ranks to access. The exact details of the boons, their pricing and their requirements are faction specific.
The crystals on the portlyons are only one half of the system in place for them to work. The second half is called the lyonarchs, which are, as the name implies, archs that stretch across and over the gates leading into and out of the settlements. Once the portlyon moves through the arch into a settlement the crystals light up and indicate the ranks and affiliations of the owner of the medallion, assuming it's in the immediate proximity to its rightful owner. If and when the portlyon is taken outside of the settlement the glow of the crystals fades out, leaving the crystals clear and colorless.
Mechanics & Inner Workings
The portlyons require anigrum in order to serve their purpose as detectors of magical residue, a material that is embedded along the engravings running along the face of the medallions. When infused with small traces of a person's blood, the typically dark grey anigrum starts glowing with a distinctive red glow if it comes in contact with traces of magical residue linked to the origin of the blood. It's not generally known how this works as the smiths that make the medallions do not ask, and the representatives of The Hand do not tell, but it's widely thought to have something to do with the blood of a person linking their soul to these pendants. It's believed it's due to this soul-bond that even the crystals of the portlyons only react and light-up if the medallion is handled by its intended owner. Otherwise the crystals remain clear and colorless, and the anigrum fails to visibly respond to the possible magical residue lingering around other individuals.
Significance
Portlyons have become an important part of the everyday life of travelers of all stripes and sorts; from royals and aristocrats to adventurers trying to make a living, from wolverines offering the preferred mode of transport to said travelers to merchants peddling their wares. The priority of security makes it so without valid portlyons individuals are effectively bound within the confines of a settlement, or functionally not allowed to enter cities except in some extreme situations, and even then they are typically confined to a specified space allocated for them until their identity and reputation can be verified. Its original primary function in detecting potential troublemakers or wanted outlaws soon as they entered settlements was thus particularly important, but the events of the Great Purge still fresh in their minds The Hand, acting at the behest of The Institute, quickly moved to develop ways to also use it to detect mages. It was important all potential mages adhered to
The Code and learned about it, and thus identifying mages became a priority in order to spread the word; particularly among the mages who didn't know about, or didn't care about, The Institute and its teachings and/or the security it offered. And so, once anigrum was embedded into the medallions, magic related crimes came to a virtual halt; partially because identifying mages who wouldn't adhere to the rules was now easier than ever, and partially because The Code fast became one of the first documents read and memorized by mages of all kind. Whilst shackling magic and limiting its use isn't something this consortium of mages particularly enjoys, it regardless enforces its rules with gusto, for the discomfort of this pales in comparison to the discomforts of possible new Purges.
Finally, the significance of the portlyons as safeguards for equal and fair treatment can't be understated. No matter who you are, no matter what it is you've done or accomplished exactly, the portlyon and what its crystals indicate ensure equal treatment among everyone's peers; every reputable adventurer is entitled to the same discounts and access to the same bounties and tasks; all heroic wolverines are quickly identified and attract clientele that is likely able to afford their services etc.
In other words, in terms of significance, portlyons are very significant and serve several important societal functions;
- Identifying known criminals and potential criminals as early as possible
- Identifying and educating mages before they have time to endanger the continued co-existence of their ilk with reckless use of magic
- Ensuring equal and fair treatment of people among their peers, and
- Aiding in recognizing which group, if any, a particular newcomer may be affiliated with
Item type
Unique Artifact
Manufacturer
Rarity
Finished and operational portlyons aren't necessarily rare, but access to fresh ones is limited at any given time; due to the limited amount of genuine portlyons most cities are able to produce or procure in a month, most cities have strict quotas of them to hand out. As an additional disincentive to people seeking to get theirs for too frivolous a reason, and to roughly cover the cost of making them besides, the cost of one has been set to roughly 100 gold pieces. The exact pricing may vary slightly from area to area.
What then makes them so difficult to produce, and thus contributes to their rarity and cost? There are essentially four key factors to consider;
1) The required level craftsmanship to put one together to begin with, no less in such a way that they operate as they should afterwards. To this end master smiths usually join their skills with representatives of The Hand, in order to ensure the compatibility of their work with the system utilized by The Hand.
2) The portlyons require anigrum in order to serve their purpose as detectors of magical residue, a material that is embedded along the engravings running along the face of the medallions. This material, although others exist that might serve the same purpose, is usually the material of choice due to how much more common it is, how relatively easy it is to acquire in comparison to many others, its pliability and it's reasonable accuracy. It should be pointed out and emphasized however, that this should not be understood to mean anigrum is bountiful, easy to work with or easy to acquire by any stretch of the imagination. It's simply more so than most of the alternatives.
3) The primary material used for the casing and shell of the medallion is processed mithral, which is also an expensive metal to acquire due to its rarity. With steel-like durability and incredible lightness, it's an ideal material to work such medallions out of, and although using mithral for them isn't critical to the functioning of the portlyons, it is preferred.
4) The crystals used must meet a set of very particular specifications in order to
a) visually represent the correct chromatic array, as well as to
b) be compatible with, and attunable to, the network operated by the Hand in order to keep them up to date.
Such crystals are generally difficult to come by, although this obstacle has been largely bypassed with relative ease, at least to this day, as the reserves excavated from previous findings have provided the smiths with sufficient amounts to work with. Regardless, running out is only a matter of time and demand.
Weight
3,5 oz. / 100 g
Dimensions
2.4in diameter / 6cm diameter
Base Price
~150 gp / 10 gp downpayment + 15 sp per week
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