The Golden Claw Fellowship

Before he had a seat within The Council of Basilla, Joqei Ikati was a traveling merchant that learned the ways of trade from his mother. She was a jewelry maker and a pillar within her community, only to lose her business to merchants that threw their gold around to get their way. Basilla had a very active economy, but it was a chaotic mess that left so many struggling while the wealthy rigged the system to benefit themselves. Joqei spent many years on the road, but after seeing how other cultures handled the issue of commerce, he went back to the islands with a new goal in mind.
With enough like-minded people and his silver tongue, he was able to found a merchant's guild, which he named the Golden Claw Fellowship. The guild was fraught with infighting from the very beginning. Too many wealthy merchants were unwilling to loosen their control of the economy and small businesses were suffering for it. Joqei wasn't discouraged and with enough time, he managed to trick them and back them into the corner. He tossed around the idea of making the guild exclusive for high class individuals and large companies that could pay their way in.
His targets pounced on that opportunity, so he presented them all a contract. With clever word play and contradictions that painted other concerning aspects of the contract in a good light, a majority of these merchants signed away their control. When the rouse was revealed, several tried to buy their way out of the contract, but doing so would mean their business would be chased off of the islands. While it was a shady and legally immoral, Joqei had successfully wrangled some of the economy's chaos. The Golden Claw Fellowship became a leash on any merchants who tried to bully their way onto the markets at the expense of small businesses.
After a few years and more partners within the guild that had an active interest in seeing Basilla flourish, the Golden Claw Fellowship opened up a proper marketplace on the main island. The undesirable members were bought out, their companies assimilated into Basillian owned companies. Small businesses have joined the guild out of respect and for their loyalty, they've received financial aid in times of need. With Joqei's admittance onto the council, he's hoping he can stabilize the economy further by getting the guild and government to see eye-to-eye.

"Always move forward."

Type

Guild, Merchant

Alternative Names

Golden Claw, Ikati's Guild

Location

The Isles of Basilla

Controlled Territories

• The Chaos Wheel