Godanqs the Younger

Godanqs the Younger was a Ramoran bureaucrat and biographer of interest to thaumatologists because of his work documenting the relationship between the government of Ramoros, the cult of Zargyod, and the merchants who visited the city. He also wrote biographies of two wizards, Morogyad and Black Yelbrys which researchers value as important historical sources on the pre-Wesmodian practice of magic.

Biographical details

Godanqs himself inaugurated the sobriquet 'the Younger,' using it when he indulged his habit of referring to himself in the third person. This is presumably to differentiate himself from a prominent parent, although he never discusses his parents in any detail. Indeed, for a figure who occupied an evidently prominent position in the economic life of Ramoros, very little is known about his life. All that is known comes from his writings, in which he is apt to speak well of himself. He claims to be a skilled negotiator with a number of friends in the government, the clerisy of Zargyod, and the merchants they serve. It is unlikely that such a person could develop this sort of network without a degree of intergenerational patronage, hinting again at a prominent family. His writings on the cult of Zargyod also display a clear and obvious reverence.

Thaumatological significance

Godanqs the Younger's longest work by far is long essay On the Public Courting of Favour, in which he gives a series of closely-argued and well-written lessons on the macroeconomics of a large maritime city. Propserity, Godanqs argues, is a matter of careful liaisons, and he gives a number of convoluted but illustrative examples demonstrating the value of clear and honest communication between stake-holders. Composed with considerable skill and demonstrating a clear grasp of mathematics, the essay fills a substantial book and is one of the foundational works of economics in the Eleven Cities, notably being promoted highly by the Commercial Guilds, all of whose branches possess multiple copies.
Of more interest to thaumatologists, however, are his two biographies of noted pre-Wesmodian wizards, which are regarded as reliable, if conspicuously opinionated, source of information on both figures.
* Life of Morogyad is a biography of the wizard Morogyad noted for its focus on his early life and education. Although short on details about Morogyad's numerous subsequent magical feats but contains details about his education which, despite being sometimes questionable, are valued by many thaumatologists.
* The Doings of Black Yelbrys is a lurid account of an evil witch Godanqs claims arrived in Ramoros from Loros during his career working as a port bureaucrat and undertook a series of bizarre schemes to sow discord and suffering in the city. The short book is regarded as one of the canonical literary accounts of the Shadow Men and as such a potential source of information about the pre-Wesmodian cult of Maryas.