Olmekhir Tradeswheel
Offer what you would, and send it down the wheel. Someone'll bite, I bet!The Olmekhir Tradeswheel is a massive structure in the centre of Ukhursgard, home of the Olmekh Makers. It is the centre for all visitors to the commune, as it is where the Makers ply their trades and offer deals, and it also serves as a messaging hub for passing on letters, information, or other messages to others through the Tradeswheel's lockbox system. Notably, the immense structure of the tradeswheel has become a focal point for the Makers and for Ukhursgard. Since its establishment some centuries ago, smaller trading halls, shops, auction houses, and administrative buildings have popped up around the wheel, creating a hodgepodge wall-like structure surrounding the inner courtyard. This trading and administrative district, as it has become known, also extends underground to the many tunnels woven throughout Ukhursgard. The underground areas are perfect for inhabitants who do not like or cannot survive in the night, such as visitors from Khüsüüshtei Gal, and also for deals that some may not want to be exposed to the light. The Tradeswheel is overseen by the Tin Cans, the guards of the Makers. Concerns with suspicious, ill-balanced, or otherwise seemingly incorrect deals may be brought to the Tradeswranglers, a group of experienced managers and traders who have largely retired from their former roles to instead help with administrating the smooth running of the commune's trade.
Purpose / Function
Bring a pig, get a cow! Bring a toy, leave with a different one! Bring gold? Leave with.. metal? We don't trade in coin!Without a central hub for trade, trade fades. When a hub is offered, it is encouraged. Before the Tradeswheel, the Makers peddled their goods via passing traders, and through going out and selling their own wares. Nobody came to them unless situations were dire, and gradually, their numbers fell.
Tradeswrangler Jekhor by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
When the Great Disaster happened and the Tradeswheel was erected in the ashes, the Olmekh Makers seemed to be on the brink of collapse - but the Tradeswheel was an open call to all across Iskaldhal (well, maybe except for the Gildóns) to come and see what these strange folk could make.
Capitalising on the tragedy to gain nationwide attention, the Makers soon found themselves flush with new members of the commune and a plethora of trade deals.
The wheel serves this same purpose today. It grants a home for any and all trade, both with the commune and as a safe place for others to meet. Some incredibly high-profile trade deals have been made here, such as the legendary appearance of the lich Seiðrkolva to offer rare collaboration with a group of northern witches, and a number of revolutionary technological advances have had their basis in small deals that began here.
Alterations
Well, we couldnae leave it a smouldering wreck!The Tradeswheel has indeed changed significantly since its original state. Once a waterwheel, it has since been enlarged, built upon, and built around. Glass and metal now form a central dome and multiple inner sections and extending spokes, and bridges and internal platforms give the entire structure a new multi-layered life. The inside of the wheel was initially lit by a series of torches and gas lamps that were manually fuelled every day; over time, this was upgraded to a fully-automatic system handled through fuel pipes. When worries arose on the safety of this, the lights were upgraded again - to a magical system this time, powered by ambient magic in the area.
Maker's Lamp by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
Dinnae tell them about the secret roof paths! Those're for us only!
Wheelsmeet by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
Alternative Names
the Great Exchange
Type
Guildhall
Parent Location
Owning Organization
Olmekh Makers logo by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
Additional Purpose
Interestingly, the Tradeswheel is frequently used as a jumping-off point for adventurers, who consider the commune a fantastic place to lodge at when going off on or returning from their adventurers. Access to almost anything can be found in the Tradeswheel, as it is one of the most grand exchanges, and the constant presence of adventurers is boon to commune and traders both. It is highlighted by the Kartovian Exploration Society as a relatively politically-neutral area to seek Quest-related information. Whilst the Makers themselves eschew heavy use of magic, the sheer variety of others visiting the Tradeswheel has encouraged strong trade in all areas. Indeed, the presence of adventurers alone is enough for specialist crafters to send their assistants to the wheel!History of the Wheel
We cannot be caught up in what was lost. We can only move forward as they would want us to.The Tradeswheel was originally an immense waterwheel that served a metallurgical factory in a side district of Ukhursgard. As one of the largest structures to have ever existed in the commune, the factory was greatly relied on as a source of mineral processing, alloying, and casting for any purposes needed throughout the commune. Indeed, as time went on, more and more was added to this one pivotal factory.
It was all the more devastating for the Olmekh Makers, then, when the factory exploded in the Great Disaster of 5184. Molten metal and flames shot through the city, killing hundreds. The wheel, protected with a series of enchantments, resisted the explosion well enough to stay intact, and quick thinking by the city's mages saw it being used to quickly ferry large amounts of water onto the spreading fire to stop greater disaster. A flood was a lesser danger, in this time.
As time went on, though, more and more visitors began to make their deals whilst standing in the wheel's shadow, or from within. Ten years after its initial fall, the Makers were already turning it into the Tradeswheel and enshrining it into their community.
Tradeswrangler Jekhor by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
On older buildings, signs of this disaster can still be seen in the strange embedded metal droplets, the char marks, and the lingering waterline from the ensuing flooding.
Once the disaster had been cleaned up, the matter of the wheel had to be dealt with. As one of the only remaining features of the original factory, it was suggested that it be turned into a memorial - especially as it had been let rest in the place of where the factory had been once its aid was no longer needed.
Initially, it seemed this would be the way to go - until some members of the commune pointed out that, well, it was a lot of space to take up with nothing. They suggested making the memorial functional: allowing it to serve as a place for the Olmekh Makers to rebuild and remember, for visitors to come and see what their greatest and most tragic creations could be.
Thus, instead of a pure memorial, their decisions saw the wheel instead being established as a meeting place.
Wheel's Spokes by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
For some reason, at first my brain was imagining it working like a sushi conveyer belt. XD I love what it *actually* is, though. I love the memorial part of it.