Lartasian Vigor

Cover image: by Max Pixel

"That must have hurt." Simon began, pointing to the strange brand on Sia's arm, "What happened?" She looked confused at first, then laughed.

"It's a symbol of the Daimyo I served before my pilgrimage. This patch of burnt skin is to me, what your coin purse is to you. In Lartasia, the paints and canvas I use cost me 15 days of my life. The house I lived in cost me nearly ten years, I sold it for 20. I have 56 years left to live now, and ill be loving every second of it."

Vigor Economies began and nearly ended with Ozlith. The birthplace of humanity, Ozlith did not exchange currency of precious metals and stones, but exchanged that which is most precious to us all: Our time. In Lartasia, the economic system changed. When the Ozolithian Empire fell, the system evolved, and is now used to achieve many ends, depending on which Daimyo you're talking about. Some valued control, others wanted to accumulate wealth, and a select few wished to maintain the strict social castes or religious teachings they keep within their borders.

The History of Blood Money

Ozlith was the first to use this economic system. Two of the seven gods in the pantheon banded together and created it as a gift. The Widow, a goddess of death and rebirth, and The Red Maiden, a goddess of passion and extremes, created an economic system that used the time one had to live as currency. The purpose was to instill a value of life in their people.

The widow vowed to never give a natural death of old age to anyone until they were 70 years old, giving every human this much time to spend. The empire used the system well, though it could only be used by humans. It fueled their wars, as this time could be taken from any living thing that dies an unnatural death. When the empire fell, the seven gods made a final stand to buy time for their people to escape the catastrophic event. The Battle of The Gods' Grave crippled the economic system, which relied heavily on The Widow to function.

Many left the empire before its fall, including those who settled in Lartasia. Their economy suddenly ceased to function and they were forced to find an alternative means if they wished to continue to use vigor. The nation divided itself up among the many Daimyo within it. The Daimyo were all that was left of the noble houses within the empire and we're the only ones capable of maintaining control in so much chaos.

It was then that the Daimyo began to explore, following rumors of a strange effect on the land they had settled in so long ago. They found one of the first Universal Maladies, Mania. When Mania affects any body of water, there is a chance that water may be capable of absorbing the very essence of life and keeping it safe and contained. The Daimyo convened, and brought back the vigor economic system.

Since then, the entire system has evolved down many paths depending on the Daimyo that adopted it. The new form of the system is not as effective as a means of trade, particularly with other nations, and only a select few Daimyo have found ways of making it possible to achieve prosperity. It did provide the Daimyo a way to maintain peace for their young nation.

-V-

-V- was the symbol used to refer to Lartasian vigor. Unlike in the empire, where the exchange was measured in the same way that time was, (minutes, days, and years), the Lartasians gave it a true value, and their economy would use this to attribute value to all goods and services. This value never changes, and even in a different Daimyo's border, costs are kept the same. A single -V- was equivalent to a day of time for the same system Ozlith used.

Reservoirs

The reservoir is a Daimyo's personal bank of -V- and every Daimyo has one. The family is bound to it, and it to them. It takes the form of a pool of thick, turquoise water that glows with faint light. Making contact with the water in any way will cause it to absorb all the life you have, and leave you a husk of dust and bones. The pool is always well secured, as anyone with access could steal the vigor it contains.

Lartasia is very strict about the use of vigor. Vigor is not even available to accumulate for those in the lower class. Peasantry are given vigor directly from the Daimyo's reservoir, given only enough to grant them one more day of life. The rest is the Daimyo's to use as they see fit.
Daimyo require that one be branded at the age of 18. All the remaining years of their life are taken into the reservoir. Those who offer services and goods occupy their own class, and never deal with the lower classes. The only people in Lartasian capable of making purchases are nobles, the members of the warrior classes, and merchants.

Aesthetics

While the currency is abstract, and has no physical description, there are concrete elements that go along with it. Every Daimyo has an Ozlithian Brand that displays the family crest. All those who swear fealty are branded and tied into the economy within their Daimyo's borders.
Lartasian Vigor also has other sensations beyond sight, particularly when it is exchanged. The exchange is often in the form of a blood pact, where the parties involved negotiate and agree to the terms of the sale. Then they spill small amounts of blood onto their silk cloth. Who ever receives -V- in the exchange will feel rejuvenated while the buyer will feel drained. It is similar to an adrenaline rush, all the nerves in the body react to a clear loss of one's own life. Some have also felt anxiety or depression in the following weeks after they give large amounts of -V- to another.

Foreign Trade

Lartasia is often considered a nation made forged in madness. Lartasia traded with The Freeholds and the colony of Aelusia on very rare occasions. These exchanges used a barter system, but often make little sense to those who use some form of material value to power their economy. The Lartasian people are said to have traded the secrets of gunpowder for a chest of wooden toys made by a carpenter in The Freeholds. The reason given was so the noble who made the trade could play with his children, "A more valuable way to spend one's time."

Inflation

Inflation is not a major problem in Lartasia. All the vigor in a Daimyo's border is kept in the reservoir and through taxation and mandatory tributes, they maintain a carefully controlled flow of the currency. There is also the fact that vigor is spent just keeping the population of a territory alive. If you have 100,000 citizens, in your borders, 100,000 -V- will disappear with each passing day. Another method of controlling inflation is through warfare.
War is common in Lartasia. The Daimyo send their soldiers and elite warriors to battle wearing masks. In Lartasia, going to war is often considered a matter of business.
If too much vigor flows, the stability of the families power, and the value of the vigor can change in their borders. which affects the rest of the nation. They use war to more evenly distribute the vigor, as well as control the population. In economic hardship, a Daimyo may also go to war to ensure a future economic boom in the form of newborns conceived the evening before soldiers go to war.
Every death has a price that would be paid to the Daimyo whose soldier made the kill. The soldier would receive a percentage, and the value of the currency can be more evenly maintained.

Business

For those who are beyond the lower class, the accumulation of Vigor is a simple process. All parties involved would exchange vigor through cloth made of Lartasian Silk, just as Ozlith used a woman's mark and a man's nominubus. The exchange is a pact and is sealed and paid immediately.
Debt is impossible using Lartasian vigor, unlike its predecessor. You rarely have impulse buying or buyer's remorse, as a shopping spree could be deadly in the long run, and tended to leave the buyer exhausted. The constant exchanges between nobles through business deals and investments are said to leave them so drained, that they sleep almost 15 hours a day. The reservoir is the only way to quickly reinvigorate the body. The currency is often treated as a more valuable commodity than what it can buy. This is one's life they are exchanging, after all. Every purchase is made with reflection and careful thought.