Akrarai: Wlitowan Potters
The iron fisted economy of royal Wlitowa is brittle: up to a certain pressure, no common institution requires evolution but carries on stagnant yet stalwart. Just past that point, however, the system shatters into a thousand pieces, leaving a nation's worth of destruction in its wake. Such was the fate of Wlitowa's pottery manufacturing.
The currency of Wlitowa was the wytlingka, colloquially referenced as the wyi. The coin's intention was to represent a day's labor, potentially a week's work in the poorer regions of the country. Because the norm was tied to a specific measurement, the value rarely suffered inflation, deflation, or fluctuations in general. The wyi was considered as immutable as the government itself. It bore roughly two denominations: a wor, meaning "sixth," and the full coin.
Ak'tawo is home to several clay pits, so the pottery profession gathered momentum from the empire's earliest years. Merchants flocked to the city for export to distant nations, but supply met and soon exceeded demand. This brought an average jar's price down to the shockingly cheap amount of a single wor. Artisans arrived at a crossroads.
To one side, pottery could descend to the price of a couple pots per wor. This was deemed the "Raive Barrier." While theoretically possible, the level of continuous effort required and the razor thin profit margin made that option nonviable. Many unskilled apprentices attempted this route; the vast majority failed. Angto Raive, the first practitioner after whom the limit was named, died of starvation and overwork.
The alternative method was to make minor improvements to the craft, emphasizing quality instead of quantity. Craftspeople etched patterns, employed higher concentrations of glaze, and utilized colored pigments. It was less effort than a BOGO system, and it more frequently attracted the eyes of foreign traders. Thus the industry gradually developed towards high end stock. Guilds, schools, and similar institutions arose that were dedicated to the craft.
The industrialism that stemmed from Welkwu was largely ignored by the important names of the sector. Companies set up shop and began systematic harvesting of the local clay pits. Within a year, due to ruthless cost cutting, they broke the Raive Barrier while still maintaining adequate conditions for their employees. Their better trade connections abroad undercut the merchants, and the local artisans were isolated into a niche corner of the market. Most resigned for other employment. A spare few, the best in the business, held firm to a loyal customer base. This remnant, the heir of a long tradition, remains economically suspended by a thread. Only a guild (the Ak'tawo United Kiln Association) and a school (the Tengko Claymaker's Vocational Institute) are left standing to pass the ancient skills on to future generations.
The currency of Wlitowa was the wytlingka, colloquially referenced as the wyi. The coin's intention was to represent a day's labor, potentially a week's work in the poorer regions of the country. Because the norm was tied to a specific measurement, the value rarely suffered inflation, deflation, or fluctuations in general. The wyi was considered as immutable as the government itself. It bore roughly two denominations: a wor, meaning "sixth," and the full coin.
Ak'tawo is home to several clay pits, so the pottery profession gathered momentum from the empire's earliest years. Merchants flocked to the city for export to distant nations, but supply met and soon exceeded demand. This brought an average jar's price down to the shockingly cheap amount of a single wor. Artisans arrived at a crossroads.
To one side, pottery could descend to the price of a couple pots per wor. This was deemed the "Raive Barrier." While theoretically possible, the level of continuous effort required and the razor thin profit margin made that option nonviable. Many unskilled apprentices attempted this route; the vast majority failed. Angto Raive, the first practitioner after whom the limit was named, died of starvation and overwork.
The alternative method was to make minor improvements to the craft, emphasizing quality instead of quantity. Craftspeople etched patterns, employed higher concentrations of glaze, and utilized colored pigments. It was less effort than a BOGO system, and it more frequently attracted the eyes of foreign traders. Thus the industry gradually developed towards high end stock. Guilds, schools, and similar institutions arose that were dedicated to the craft.
The industrialism that stemmed from Welkwu was largely ignored by the important names of the sector. Companies set up shop and began systematic harvesting of the local clay pits. Within a year, due to ruthless cost cutting, they broke the Raive Barrier while still maintaining adequate conditions for their employees. Their better trade connections abroad undercut the merchants, and the local artisans were isolated into a niche corner of the market. Most resigned for other employment. A spare few, the best in the business, held firm to a loyal customer base. This remnant, the heir of a long tradition, remains economically suspended by a thread. Only a guild (the Ak'tawo United Kiln Association) and a school (the Tengko Claymaker's Vocational Institute) are left standing to pass the ancient skills on to future generations.
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