Ba'al Street

Ba'al Street is the largest Soul Stock Exchange in all of the realms. It is the place where Devilish Stock Traders can take stock of the various species of Totania and, even, other realms.

How Does It Work?

There are two ways that Ba'al Street operates: Devil Brokers and Soulless Machines. Still, they function in the same way, with Stock Traders going to a Broker or a Soulless Machine and bidding in auctions.
When it comes to Devil Brokers, they will respond organically, as they are real people. They are not all Devils, as a matter of fact for most species, it is actually a member of that species that serves as a Broker. They will auction of stock in a certain species, and whoever wins that auction gains a certain amount of stock that will then result in a later profit. If, within a certain time frame, large amounts of people in that species die, or various high priority souls, then those souls will pass on into the pockets of the Stock Traders that invested in them.
Soulless Machines respond much slower, and only with a set amount of responses, as they are programmed to. They are not actual machines, instead being golems created by President Zagan, the President of Manhottan.

President Zagan by Jarhed

Stocks

There are all sorts of stocks, from every species. What one gets from stock is a portion of the souls of that species who die.
It costs more to get stock in a species that is dying more than others, so if a great tragedy has happened in one nation, stock in that species is going to be sold at a much higher price, as there is a higher chance for returns at that point in time. Most expert Stock Traders will agree, then, that it is better to invest in a species that is dying less and hope that something bad will happen to them. Some will even intervene themselves to make sure it happens.
The species on the Ba'al Street Market include:

Expressive Mastema by Jarhed

• Humans
• Elves
• Dwarves
• Draconians
• Dragons
• Korvians and Avians
• Orcs
• Genies
• Halflings
• Gnomes
• Emetians
• Nereids
• Goblins
• Zavese
• Fairies
• Ophidians
• Lizardfolk
• Anurans
• Crocutions
• Felids
• Centuars
• Satyrs
• Kamejin
• Mammen
• Giants
• Mishans
• Wolfmen
• Fenns
• Devils and other Infernal Creatures
• Angels and other Celestial Creatures
• Gods
• Fiends, Demons and other Unthinkable Creatures
• All Half-Breed Species including: Half-Elves, Half-Orcs, Jinn, and Nephilim

Profit by Jarhed

The Big Five

Ba'al Street is basically run by its five biggest Stock Traders, a group of incredibly powerful Devils known as the Big Five. These Devils have sway politically, economically, magically, and physically. Their mere presence can cause fear to grow, tensions to mount, lives to cease, and pockets to empty.
They are as follows:

1. Profit- Also known as Cousin Garry, Profit is the most well known Devil. His name echoes even on Totania, as both the top Stock Trader and also head of the prominent Devil family known as the Cousins. He treasures family above all else, viewing it as the greatest profit of all. This Cousin family includes both actual Cousins, like another prominent Stock Trader named Cousin Parry, or a member of the Seven Deadly Spawn, Profit's elite fighting force, named Mastema.
2. Mantra- A hard worker with a solid work ethic, Mantra gets carried through the day by one singular phrase, his mantra, which helps him get motivated to work and earn money.
3. Eternal- Eternal does not act, instead he waits and watches, with a view of the entirety of Hell. Eternal always knows when something is going to happen, and is ready to use his money to make it benefit himself without him needing to actually lift a finger.
4. Master- Master does not do any of her own work, instead enslaving others to work for her with her Area Devil Ability. She exploits them for everything they have, though she has some slight care for her slaves. After all, they are her possessions. She chose to own them, and they help her.
5. Sorrow- A Devil who can steal memories, Sorrow gets off on the misfortune of others, and ruins people's lives and afterlives simply because it is what he likes.

Many of the more major races, like Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and Draconians are often better to invest in, as there are more of them and therefore more of a chance for a large number of them to die. The safest bet is always Orcs, as they are often embroiled in wars, or Korvians, as they have incredibly short lifespans.
There are very few times when anyone invests in the Gods stock. This would require a God to die, which has only happened once in the entire history of Totania. Therefore, it is deemed a fairly useless stock, and is run by a Devil instead of a God, because no God would be a broker for their own deaths.
Angels are also fairly uncommon, as there is nothing a Devil can do against an Angel. Due to the Divine Trifecta, Devils are weak against Celestial creatures. Not only that, but Angels are immensely powerful, and so killing one is considered to be one of the greatest ordeals. Any Devil who does invest in this and actually gets a return on the investment is often

Soul Money by Jarhed

considered a Stock Trading legend in Ba'al Street, and is immortalized in some way.

Claim Days

There is more to do in Ba'al Street than take individual, racial Stock. Devils can claim a day about twenty years in advance. Few do this, but when they do, all souls that die on that day are taken into their profits. This requires an investment of souls like all other Stock investments, and it is rare for there to be a return of investments due to it being difficult to predict the day of a great tragedy.
Not to mention this option to claim a day is only available on something called "Claim Days" which only happen once every quarter. One can only claim a day that is twenty years later on Totania, and in the same quarter of the year as the current Claim Day.
Stock Traders will often either plan attrocities on days they claim (if they claim a day at all, which is incredibly rare), or they will be informed by a third party of a coming attrocity that will occur twenty years from that point, and therefore will cause an influx of souls on that day. This is called "Insider Trading." A good claimed day can make a Stock Trader incredibly rich. A bad claimed day can set a Stock Trader back by hundreds if not thousands of souls.