DEITY: Mezlo, the Abundant

~ MOREVER ~ MOROVER ~ MEZZLIN ~
Domains: Abundance, Excess, Banking, Profit, Commerce, Empires & Great Cities, Ambition, Greed, and More, More, More
Symbols:
Beasts: Beasts of burden
Civil & Trade Roles: Banks, Coiners, Merchants, the Wealthy, Monarchs
Colors & Materials: Gold, Silver, Copper; Precious metals and gems
Minions: Obligons
Clergy Orders: Numiss (bankers), Numidon (order of guard), Numismatics (minters)
Devotions: When finding a coin on the ground, keep it in a special place for 14 days, then give it to a temple (coin wish).


Mezlo is the god of abundance and all the comforts that it brings. People pray to Mezlo to have enough money, food, etc. that they need not worry for a while. That extends to wealth, gluttony, greed, hunger/desire, and even expansionist empires (for which nothing is ever enough). Mezlo embodies the good times and more, more, more.
Unlike other gods, Mezlo teaches the importance of profit in the trade. The desire for profit improves the quality of one's life, where equal barter sustains an existence until life's natural shortages hurt everyone. Having an abundance allows you to "bank" the excess, which will sustain you through the cycles of shortages that always come. Grain and bread can only stay so long, but the coin is good in every city during the cold of winter, drought, or famine.
The clergy of Mezlo run banks to keep money safe and offer loans or usury pawning. The Grand Temples of Mezlo are formidable and fortress-like, windowless with stone walls that are 5' thick at the thinnest and often 10'-12' at the ground. They use lead linings and Etherite aggregate concrete to fill between walls. Only cities can host these massive constructions.
The Numiss Order run the temple banks and the Numidon Order guards them. The Numidon embrace arcane, divine, martial, psychic, philosophic and contra-theft disciplines to protect the Temples in Mezlo's name. The Kurrants are enforcers of legal coinage. This militant group are typically given great leeway and autonomy by the authority of the land in their pursuit and punishment of forgers and trimmers.
The clergy of Mezlo are often the minters of new coin within kingdoms. The Numismatic Order run minting operations, completely independent of the Numiss Order of the Temples. These divisions of powers are often at odds.
prefix: mezzi- a thousand of

Mezlo gifted the races with the monetary standard of the mezzicopper (gMc) gold standard, using three of the most abundant and easily mined from ore metals (copper, nickel, silver) to handle values less than gold.
Gold Mezzicopper Standard
1 gp = 1,000 coppers (cp)
1 gp = 100 nickels (np)
1 gp = 10 silvers (sp)
10 gp = 1 platinum (pp)
gMc pricing: pp gp . sp np cp

For instance:
21.875 gMc = 21gp plus 8sp 7np 5cp
The five coin currency scales well and places great value upon gold and platinum. Each coin weighs 1/50 of a pound. (NOTE: for comparison 80 U.S. Quarters weigh 1 pound) Copper, Nickel, and Silver pieces are a 1" round coin, while Gold and Platinum are 3/4" rounds. Gold and platinum are minted with more detail, often piercing the thickness of the coins. The coins weigh roughly the same. While nickel and silver can be slightly similar, silver can be polished easily, while nickel retains a dull finish. The coins are often stamped with a symbol of a local government. Mezlo coins are stamped with a raised faceted gem within an engraved circle of fourteen stars. The minting standard was adopted by every major empire as it made worldwide trade simpler. And the religious devouts of Mezlo would never mint false or irregular coins.
The jerri is an oversized coin, often used by the wealthy, worth 25 gold pieces or a half-pound of gold. Platinum's rarity meant some regions had little access to platinum currency outside of trade bringing it in. The jerri was added in most regions and is sometimes more popular over the platinum-largely because it is a more impressive coin and showy. Jerri's are 2.5 inches round and 1/4 inch thick, better pressed with greater detail and designs. Many of the smaller common coins can appear sloppy or worn. High bribery took on the name in phrases like, "My friend Jerri can get that done for you."

by Royal Frazier

The mezzibar is a 20-pound bar of gold, equal to 1,000 gold pieces. The bar is 6 in. x 3 in. at the base and 1.8" tall. The top has two 1/10" squares risers that mate to two squares indents beneath for secure and stable stacking in either horizontal direction.

by Royal Frazier

A 1-foot cube of mezzibar is worth 56,000 gold and weighs 1,120 lbs. The mezzibar is used to exchange large amounts of gold or currency. It jingles much less than 1,000 gold coins.
The second gift was the uniform standards, measures, and shipping containers. The Bushburk dynasty propagated Mezlo's gift across the globe. Uniform measures, shipping sizes, and weights made trade easier. Localized variations in size, weight, or packaging create complications and suspicion in trade. Some places do cling to their colloquial measures and this tends to reduce exchanges with outsiders.
Society
From the continent of Impernia came the association of Mezlo's Feast of the Fatted Pig. Long considered the greatest of meats there, feasts in his honor always serve fatty meats of the pig, slow cooked to a luxurious richness. Mezlo banks refer to their deepest vaults as larders—after the jars where you collect all the excess fats from rich meats. The larder holds the excess "wealth" of meats. Being fat with wealth is an allusion to this. And some societies associate wealth with being fat enough to consume such excess. Pig-shaped pottery painted as a pig are used as a bank in homes. Sometimes they are shaped to be a fat-bellied man. Keeping wealth safe and unwasted is key in his teachings.

A COPPER SAVED IS COPPER EARNED.

SQUANDERED SILVER IS LOST GOLD.

These are amongst the sayings propagated in Mezlo's teachings. The saving of money for later when things are harder is key. Wealth is more about not spending foolishly than about earning more. But these lessons are often forgotten by the wealthy who live lavish and foolish lives.
Desires for such lavish lives often drives greed, which is still within Mezlo's domain. Greed creates excessive wealth and grandeur that cities and empires are known for. Abundance for the select few is still an abundance to be enjoyed by all.
Worship
Acts of worship greatly surrounds the symbols of money and wealth. Hiding away something valuable, earning a wage or profit, and donating coin to the Grand Temples of Mezlo. Placing coins into the Holy Wells of Mezlo is as much a symbol of status as it is a prayer for his gifts. Most of the population lacks spare coins after the basics and any taxes from city, nobility, guild, or landlord. The wealth to be able to do this, especially outside a holy day, is a sign of success.
Lazura, the last day of the week and final day of rest is Mezlo's day. Any events in his name are always held on Lazura. The most common are rich feasts of pig and local foods.
During late winter (Hardning), on a Lazura (13th day of week) at the sign of first dark buds, families celebrate the Thanks of the Gifts. This is the time when winter stores are at their lowest, and the families who have not saved for a hard winter suffer. For the family that does not suffer the length of winter, they hold this day in Mezlo's name. The day is spent fasting with a meager meal of bare breads and water when the sun sets. At each sense of thirst or grumble of hunger, a prayer to Mezlo is said in place of food and a small sip of water.
In western Krahnis, the custom of knocking on each cabinet door or vessel twice to hear how hollow it is, is followed by a phrase of prayer. It is said that if two knocks are heard from the other side, then Mezlo has left a gift for them within the empty winter cabinet. Parents would sometimes trick young children into thinking there is an answering knock only to find the last sweet cookies, saved and hidden all winter long, for the children to enjoy during the last dark days of cold.
During the season of Festival, Lazura is the Day of a Thousand Feasts. It is a high holiday amongst Mezlo and Mahnahouk. Members of the community combine their greatest offerings together for a common feast and revelry. Small portions (mezzas) are eaten by many, sampling dozens of different foods during a normal mealtime. A meal of so many flavors and recipes is considered a luxury by Mezlo teachings. It is a time when cooks prepare their most sumptuous and celebrated recipes. Often, self-defined neighborhoods would celebrate amongst themselves, closing their streets to anyone not living there. Such street parties happen en masse across major cities. Roasting a large pig or boar would be common sight.
Mezzas (meals of dozens of dishes) can be held to revere a guest or commercial venture.
While risk taking within commerce is part of the trades, betting and gambling in games of chances or sport are forbidden. 
And old custom, disavowed by the temples, was the nailing of copper coins above the door of a home, upon the front of a wagon, or the timbers in a business. It was an old sign, often the first money made from a business, or brought into a home. It was a sign of waste in belief that much more would follow. Many temples see such waste and defacement of coinage as an insult to true teachings. But the custom remains popular in regions.
Mezlon prayers are quietly spoken and very repetitive, often just short phrases repeated. Some are sequences, which string together in longer and longer stanzas. Polishing a symbol, coin, locket, broach, or even metal housewares are done during the recitations. Some trades people will perform the prayer during any repetitious work.
Long devoted families have a Family Gift Chain. This is a prayer that starts with an acknowledgement of today's great gift, then repeating today's, plus the previous one, then the next older followed by each newer. The head of the family decides when today's gift is so great that it is to be added to the family chain. It is recorded and passed down through the family. Some aristocracies have Gift Chains that are hundreds of gifts long, recorded in cherished books. They are so long that they are recited only once a year in their entirety. The most jaded hire others to perform the mindless and punishingly monotonous task. The daily chain often only goes back to a parent or elder's first entry for practicality.
Temples
Mezlo's temples have coin wells where a coin can be slid down spiral grooves in hopes of catching Mezlo's eye and blessing them. This is a large circular depression that has highly polished and oiled grooves, each the size of one of the standard coins. The stone platform has flat slots where you place the coin and say a prayer of thanks or need while resting a finger on the coin. Then you slide it forward into a descending groove that spirals down. If your coin gets stuck, it is said Mezlo will not answer your prayer, or that it was an unworthy prayer. The coins spiral until they approach the center where they drop into a hole. They collect in an offering chamber.
There is an Oblation Wheel within a public worship area. The oblation wheel is a round, highly decorated metal structure, usually about 8 feet in diameter. A series of metal turning pins radiate outward at a three-foot height. Inside the metal, shell is an ornately carved stone wall. The metal shell is spun around until it lines up with an opening in the inner stone wall. Inside is a dark chamber, less than four-feet high. The inner stone is a semiprecious and highly polished stone. Oblations (offerings) are placed into the chamber during the week. A ceremony is performed, and the shell is rotated to close the opening. The floor has a clock of the year with a gap where the offering opening is. The metal opening is moved to line up with the time of year when the ceremony is performed which seals the chamber. It is spun seven times then left until the sun rises again. At sunrise, the metal shell is spun forward until the opening is exposed. Overnight the offerings vanish.
Within the dark of the closed Oblation Wheel, the objects offered are said to be collected by obligons. Obligons are the humanoid minions of Mezlo. Short muscular creatures with a saggy belly which hides a fatty pouch where they can keep things. They are dark gray and black furred creatures with large hind legs that they can walk on standing or hunched over. They have white eyes without pupils which glow lilac in the dark. They have goblin-like jaws, wide, rounded with lots of small spiny teeth. The Oblation Wheels become teleportation circles after the ceremony. Everything is teleported to the Endless Vaults of Mezlo where the obligons collect the treasure from it. An unaccepted gift would be left on the circle and will teleport back to the oblation wheel before sunrise.

DESIGN NOTES

Mezzicopper Monetary System: Adding Nickel Adding nickel and sliding silver and gold up in value makes an easier system. Gold is now worth 10 times more than before. Which means treasure is 10 times lighter. It is easy for Americans to remember because our penny is copper, then comes our nickel, then dimes & quarters are next (both silvery). I like the $1USD = 1cp. Convert real world, modern prices to copper pieces. This makes a nickel piece is worth $10USD, silver is $100 USD, and gold is $1,000 USD. Of course, you need to make adjustments to how things are valued. Technology and magic are similar, but a lot of our technology is extraordinarily cheap. Using that scale, you would expect all daily purchases to be nickel & copper, while more expensive items would be silvers. Only large, high luxury items would require gold. This makes gold=wealthy, which is what it meant in history. In D&D, gold is very common and used every day. When making up prices, D&D's prices are all over the place and make little sense. Cloth to make clothes is more expensive than an entire outfit. Using real-world knowledge, I know how much people make and what is expensive and what is cheap. Players can relate to it well. A private room and bath at an inn for 1 sp ($100 USD) is a cheap price, too cheap in a lot of cities. And a high-end one or one with a lot of demand would be 4 sp and up. Luxury would be 5sp to 10sp ($500-$1,000USD).