220 / 10 / 13 - Envoy from Caresnas
A representative from the kingdom of Caresnas arrived in Chirin on the 12 Saum. The representative, Aiden Klive, is a human man in his early twenties. Though young he has been given this task due to his being a member of the hereditary ruling class that controls Caresnas. Aiden's hereditary title is Baron, which means he is one of the least powerful of that class, controlling relatively little land. While his title is of little import to anyone in Chirin, sending one of the less powerful of the ruling class is clearly intended to be seen as an insult. Despite this the Council met cordially with him to hear what word he brought.
Aiden presented a proposal from the ruler of Caresnas, Caspian Greth. Caspian is ruler not through ability, but through being the eldest son of the previous ruler. His title is King, and the people in Caresnas (that he would call his subjects) call him "Your Majesty". As the latest in a line of hereditary rulers, Caspian believes that he has a right to not only rule over the land claimed by his forebearers, but also to expand his rule. The proposal Aiden presented was clearly born of this belief as it contained an offer to make Chirin a part of Caresnas.
Needless to say, the council rejected this idea as soon as they heard it, with several of the councillors laughing in Aiden's face. It must be said that despite how he came to be in a position of authority, Aiden had been well trained for this task, as he showed no sign of surprise at the council's response and moved straight into the second missive he had brought. This second message was of a far different tone, as it provided notice of an increase of tariffs on all goods brought from Chirin into Caresnas. When these new tariffs go in, on 25th Saum, the Kingdom of Caresnas will charge 5 times the current rate for goods brought from Chirin. This will mean that for every silver spent on goods from Chirin, the kingdom will require a whole silver in tarrifs.
While this will not have much effect on the day to day activities for most of our citizens, it is likely to affect some high value goods which are sold to Caresnas. High tariffs like this will reduce demand for these goods, which will mean less coin flowing from Caresnas to Chirin. With less coins coming in the Council may have to reduce the amount spent on protecting the city, or take the drastic step of raising taxes.
This increase in tariffs is clearly intended to put pressure on the people of Chirin to accept Caspian's demands that we relinquish our freedom and become part of his domain. Despite the threatening tone of his mission, the council thanked Aiden for conveying Caspian's messages and asked that wait until 16th Saum so that they could prepare an appropriate response
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