Faendryl Spice Trade

Imperatrix Lylia Rashere the Sorceress

She appears to be a Faendryl Dark Elf.

She is taller than average and has a slender build. She appears to be in the spring of life. She has wide-set storm grey eyes and cool-toned alabaster skin. She has waist length, thick auburn hair swept back from her temples by a delicate yellow-throated crocus and crystal-entwined vaalin circlet, the remaining tresses intricately woven into a thick plaited braid resting gently over one shoulder. The smooth symmetry of her face lends a patrician grace to her angular features.

She is in good shape.

She is wearing a miniature obsidian amphora bound in silver, a tasseled silk wrap embroidered in autumnal reds and golds, a hemisphere of golden amber set in a wreath of silver leaves, a matte silk gown dyed to match the trio of saffron bumblebee clasps at the waist with a honey-hued silk chemise underneath, a silver-framed bracelet inset with skyglass panels, an antique silver wedding ring inlaid with an amber cabochon, a slim ki-lin horn stylus bound in silver, and some gamboge plumille slippers embroidered with thin copper threads.

Lylia begins, "What is more precious than gold, weight for weight, and yet can hide in the very braids of your hair or the hem of your robe?"

Lylia rapturously continues, "What is so sought after that the desire for it is never sated, even though its very nature helps us sate our hunger?"

Lylia asks, "And what is as desired by Patriarchs as it is by paupers, yet accessible in some measure to all?"

Lylia says, "Of course, I speak of spice."

Lylia authoritatively states, "That humble shaker of pepper on your table or the dusting of cinnamon that graces a sweet treat has noble lineage and a storied history -- a history that the Faendryl have helped write."

Lylia says, "I recently discussed the spice trade in the context of our own region here near Darkstone Bay," she nods at Kayse, "but tonight, we shall learn more of the Faendryl roots of the spice trade, including some of the more romantic myths that have grown up about it and its sometimes perilous nature."

Lylia says, "We shall discover why spices hold their value so well and how often we enjoy them, often without even realizing all the ways in which they give life its savor."

Lylia explains, "I have both a personal and a professional interest in the subject, although I am not directly in the business at the moment."

Prismatic silken streamers flow outward from Lylia's bracelet, dancing through the air majestically. She makes a complex gesture and the streamers coalesce to reveal a Faendryl Basilica illusion.

Lylia explains, "Many of my family members are in the spice trade in New Ta'Faendryl as part of the Emporion, the mercantile aspect of the quintipartite Faendryl structure known as the Pentact."

Speaking to Lylia, Kayse offers, "Yet?"

Lylia turns to face a Faendryl Basilica illusion.

Speaking to Kayse, Lylia agrees, "Yet."

Lylia says, "Before you is an image of the central portion of the Basilica in New Ta'Faendryl, seat of the Patriarch in his glory and the beating heart of the Emporion spice trade, among other vital roles."

Lylia says, "Not terribly far east of there, I grew up surrounded by elegant women in luscious perfumes of sandalwood and cinnamon. Saffron stained my uncle's hands, and it was a mark of prestige that he dealt regularly in such a rich commodity."

Lylia offhandedly remarks, "My family is not the wealthiest, but as New Ta'Faendryl's wealth is built partially on the spice trade, it is certainly not the poorest. Our roots run deep in their new soil, and even a wasteland can be made a paradise, as the Agrestis can tell you."

Lylia briskly says, "But enough of such familial details. Let us talk a bit more generally about how great wealth could be built from a few handfuls of fragrant spice."

Lylia says, "Wealth is a topic we all appreciate, after all."

Lylia suggests, "You can undoubtedly think of some reasons yourselves, so sing out. Let me hear what you think about why spices are so sought after, how they are used."

Anstara says, "Well, I suppose we learned about perfume earlier."

Anstara says, "And palatability."

Lylia says, "Yes! Yes, good. That is one."

Ysharra says, "Because you can use them to eat things that are unpalatable, or preserve them."

Lylia says, "Another, and another."

Hadya quietly says, "It is something we use to set a mood, honor a patron, offer in trade."

Ysharra says, "So if you're...temporarily relocated into a hostile environment..."

Jaysehn says, "I have found it often that some spices, rare and expensive, help to seperate the fare of the aristocrat from the commoner."

Lylia says, "Just so."

Lylia says, "Fascinating -- and true."

Lylia nods at Jaysehn.

Ysharra says, "Herbs condition the soil they grown in."

Thrassus says, "They can be used to throw off pursuing bloodhounds."

(Lylia holds a well-manicured finger aloft for each item as she repeats it, counting some of the suggestions she hears.)

Lylia says, "Culinary. Medicinal. Aromatic. Other, more specialized properties that some rare spices have, such as...throwing off hounds."

Speaking quietly to Thrassus, Hadya whispers aloud, "Or conceal a fresh offering."

Opalina quietly says, "Wonder if they could grow in the cold cold winterly snow."

Lylia says, "You have touched on many of the reasons the spice trade is so lucrative and always has been."

Lylia explains, "When we think of spices, of course we think first of the pleasure they bring to dining. Spices delight our senses, none more so than that of taste. To a talented chef, they are their own kind of magic, adding fire or ice to a dish."

Lylia says, "Delicately sweet blade mace, garlicky charnushka, tart anardana, they are all familiar to the Faendryl cook and have not made their way here yet, but many other flavors have."

Lylia says, "One of the most beloved is here before you, in fact."

You help yourself to a square of dark chocolate brownie dusted with cinnamon.

Lylia suggests, "Try the brownies, if you have not already. You can see the dusting of cinnamon -- yes, it is cinnamon and not cassia -- but they have a bit of heat to them too from locally grown and dried peppers."

(Lylia is silent for a moment as she finishes a bite of brownie, her eyes briefly closed in pleasure.)

Lylia notes, "Without that unexpected kiss of heat from the cinnamon and peppers combined, they would be too simple, too common."

Hadya quietly says, "I am not fond of sweet things, you will forgive me."

Speaking to Hadya, Lylia says, "Of course, although these are less sugar and more fire."

Lylia says, "But food is not the only use for spices. We are familiar, sometimes too familiar, with medicinal herbs to heal wounds and cure scars. Some such plants could also be classed as spices -- that is, the seeds, dried flower buds, bark, or other parts of the plant aside from its leaves."

(Jaysehn takes a polite bite of the brownie, adopting a gambler's stare and slight smile.)

Lylia says, "Tkaro root, with its mildly astringent heat, also acts as a calmative, for example. Clove oil can help a toothache until you see a healer."

Anstara asks, "What exactly is the difference between herbs and spices?"

(Lylia glances Jaysehn's way and smiles slightly.)

Lylia says, "Good question, and one that becomes murky at times. Technically, an herb is a leafy portion of a plant, whereas spices are the other bits. All the other bits. But the terms are often vague."

Lylia adds, "Spices are typically dried, too, whereas herbs are often served fresh or dried."

(OOC) Xorus's player whispers, "The tiny chicken has a secret blend of herbs and spices."

Lylia says, "Those of you who heard us discuss perfume earlier know that scent is an evocative but underrated sense."

Lylia lights the cardamom incense, which flickers and begins to burn.

The sharp scents of ozone and ash linger briefly before a passing breeze dispels them, leaving only a trace of incense in the air.

(Lylia waves her hand over the incense in the burner, wafting the scent of cardamom through the air.)

Lylia says, "Yet our insatiable appetite for perfumes, incense, and scented oils suggest we pay more attention to it than we may consciously realize. Fragrance lifts the mood, evokes nostalgia, and -- as perfume -- attracts all the right kinds of attention."

Lylia explains, "What you are enjoying now is a cardamom incense, sweet and warm with an almost resinous note. It is one of my favorite flavors and fragrances; I am not alone in this affection as it is sometimes called the 'Matriarch of Spices' in the Faendryl tongue."

Lylia says, "From cozy bakery fragrances to lush, exotic concoctions that would delight Ivas herself, some favorite perfumes have spices at their heart. Combined with rare woods and resins or softer floral notes, they take on a wholly new character as a composed fragrance."

Some black incense burns softly as a stream of cardamom-scented smoke rises from its smoldering ashes.

Lylia says, "While some spices' fragrances are notable, others have unique characteristics that make them particularly valuable."

Lylia continues, "Saffron, for instance, transforms into a lambent sunset orange as a dye, and although it is wildly expensive, nothing else quite compares. The gown I wear today is dyed with saffron, which comes from crocus blossoms such as the ones comprising my circlet."

(Lylia runs a hand over her gown, its silken skirts dyed a golden orange hue so richly saturated that it almost seems to glow in the ambient light.)

Lylia says, "Turmeric also produces a yellow color, but it is less vivid, less intense. It also requires a good deal more of the raw ingredient and certain mordants to produce lasting color than saffron."

Lylia notes, "It has, in fact, been used as an adulterant in saffron dyes, although any member of the Spicers or Dyers found responsible for this is treated almost as harshly as if she had poisoned someone -- which in a sense, she has, by poisoning the public trust."

You carefully say, "Speaking of which, it is said it is the dose that makes the poison; this is true of spices as well as toxins, and it is one reason why the spice trade has sometimes been closely monitored, even harshly controlled."

Lylia says, "Innocent nutmeg tastes of holiday sweets and the warm, mellow coffee that Gert Fessel serves in Jastatos, but it is a potent hallucinogen, creating visions in those who consume a great deal of it. This is ill-advised, however, as a slightly larger dose is a lethal poison."

You remove some nutmeg from in your wrap.

Ysharra says, "It's all a matter of the dose."

Ysharra says, "Some spices are only edible once."

You simply say, "When ground, one of these would kill many of you, and three would kill even the hardiest."

Lylia says, "And the visions you would see before death are gruesome, if the reactions are any indication."

You murmur, "Or so I have heard."

You surreptitiously glance at Xorus.

Lylia says, "Indeed, some spices can also be weapons. Ask anyone who has sampled some of the fiery orange peppers that grow not far from here. Perigourd mentioned using them in this way when I spoke on spices for the Darkstone Bay Consortium, and he is correct."

Lylia adds, "These are the ones Thrassus spoke of, that can confound seeking hounds."

Lylia says, "Powders or oily essences of these hot peppers can be so intense that they sear the skin and eyes. A sachet of the powder tied in a stocking and swung at the face of an assailant can incapacitate without leaving marks."

A

You lightly remark, "And we would not want to leave marks, now would we?"

Prismatic silken streamers flow outward from your bracelet, dancing through the air majestically. You make a complex gesture and the streamers coalesce to reveal a map of Elanthia illusion.

(Lylia waves a hand at her illusory map and traces lines along it that glow in saffron gold. When she begins to talk again, her brisk tone signals a shift in topic.)

Lylia says, "But! Let us return to those trade routes and talk of how they have formed, and where, and why."

Lylia says, "While I do not wish to give a lecture on the entirety of the spice trade's history, especially as we might not wish to be here for a fortnight, it is vital to understand the broad sweep of it, if not the particulars."

Lylia says, "Old Ta'Faendryl, our ancestral land, was also home to an abundant array of spices, both cultivated and wild."

(Lylia indicates a point on the map in the northeast.)

Lylia explains, "The Elven nations have always had their specialties. While Loenthran vintners produced the finest wines and Ardenai graced tables with delectable fruits, the Faendryl added savor to it all with spice."

Lylia says, "Cinnamon groves in the south, black pepper in the lowlands near the Lake of Shadowed Sorrows, and the crocus flowers that produce saffron once thrived in the region. Formal gardens were fragrant with herbs, and the city's spice markets overflowed."

You tersely say, "That was not to last."

Lylia purses her lips in disapproval.

Lylia says, "During the period of our exile, it is said, some those who tended and harvested these precious spices were able to carry something of their home with them."

(Lylia traces a jagged slash from the northeast to the southern part of the map. Unlike the golden lines earlier, this one is an angry red.)

Lylia adds, "Many Agrestis Faendryl will regale you with stories of how their ancestors smuggled cardamom pods or caraway seeds all the way to the Southron Wastes as one of the few belongings they could carry such a distance."

Lylia says, "Some of them may even be true."

Lylia says, "Speaking of stories, Spicers have a few of their own. Nothing drives up value like the perception of rarity, and of course there is also the matter of maintaining secrecy of sources."

Lylia says, "One such tale was of cinnamon-birds, massive and ferocious beasts that could carry off an unlucky traveler."

Lylia continues, "Cinnamon-birds, it was said, created clifftop nests from the choicest pieces of cinnamon bark, and Emporion traders were the only ones who knew the spells to subdue them enough to shake apart their nests and collect the branches."

You ruefully note, "This briefly led to a trade in crested grifflet eggs being sold as 'cinnamon-bird eggs,' but this scheme cracked almost as soon as the eggs did, as this species of grifflet has remarkably ungainly chicks that look and smell nothing like the majestic cinnamon-birds of legend."

Ysharra stares at you.

You confide, "They smell of carrion."

Ysharra says, "I can't believe you did that."

Ysharra says, "...cracked."

Lylia smiles smugly, looking quite pleased with herself.

Lylia says, "Stories of serpents lurking among pepper trees may have had their roots in truth, though, as abyran'sa and other demons are often mistaken for snakes and were sometimes summoned to guard groves."

Lylia says, "The difference between white pepper and black pepper was said to be related to whether the 'serpents' were driven off by balefire or not, as black peppercorns look burnt while the milder white peppercorns are round and pale."

Lylia says, "This part, of course, is a bit of fiction traders deployed to make their wares seem more valuable."

Lylia says, "But let us turn back to history and away from fantasy, however amusing the latter may be."

Lylia says, "Nothing grows easily in a desert, yet with careful husbandry and over the course of decades, it began to bloom, thanks to those with an affinity for growing things."

Lylia says, "Eventually, those scant handfuls of spices became some of the earliest planted seeds of New Ta'Faendryl's wealth. Discoveries of new plants that grew regionally, including balsam and sandalwood, enriched Faendryl perfumes and dishes."

You proudly say, "Within a mere five centuries, growers began to export."

Lylia says, "The stories they told may have been fantastical, but some of the dangers for early traders from New Ta'Faendryl were quite real."

Ysharra says, "Herbs, as I mentioned earlier, do not on average need as much water and other nutrients as most crops."

Lylia says, "And even become more vivid in flavor and fragrance without over-watering, I believe."

Prismatic silken streamers flow outward from Lylia's bracelet, dancing through the air majestically. Lylia makes a complex gesture and the streamers coalesce to reveal a distorted night sky illusion.

(Lylia traces thin, sparkling lines between the stars in constellations that are subtly different, shifted from the familiar skies above the Landing to reveal more southerly stars in unfamiliar configurations.)

Lylia says, "Guided by the stars and lit by the moons, traders traveled mostly at night, in part to avoid the searing heat, but also to evade other travelers. Spice merchants were targets both for their wealth in silvers and for their useful cargo."

Lylia says, "Hadya's people no doubt know the value of the best times to travel as well."

Lylia says, "Emporion traders also learned how best to blend in, where possible, and when to stand out when needed."

Lylia says, "Eventually, trade routes carried Faendryl spices that thrived in our new home everywhere, and imports from lusher climes, such as vanilla, nutmeg, and ginger, have made these routes even more extensive."

Lylia says, "Today, you may even find some of these spices locally in some form, although familial pride compels me to assert that the imported versions from distant southern groves are more flavorful."

You haughtily assure, "Helga is not using New Ta'Faendryl's long pepper or sumac in her stews. She could not afford it at her prices."

Lylia says, "If you want to sample the fuller flavors of Faendryl spice yourselves, feel free to try anything you like in the Spire, and if you like it enough, talk to me. I might know someone who knows someone..."

Opalina quietly says, "I wonder if that's the spicy heat that our Inn in Icemule uses. .He must pay the premium prices for such fiery goodness."

Hadya quietly says, "From the odor of her tavern in general, I do not think she knows much of anything that comes with offering anything pleasing to her customers."

Ysharra says, "I love that empires and city-states have been founded and raised upon something so taken for granted."

Lylia concludes, "I hope you have enjoyed a brief journey through the history of the Faendryl spice trade and why it remains an important part of our status and wealth today."