Banking within The Evergreen Realms
For a great deal of the Third Age, wealth was defined against the traditional metrics of Gold and Gems. With growing trend to venture further from home and explore the world, carrying the vast sums of Gold and Gems needed to pay ones way became deeply impractical and very unsafe. Governments and the largest organisations devoted huge resources to protecting their wealth not only from the more malicious members of society but also from the beasts which coveted these precious items, fending off attacks on deposits and transports alike to great cost.
This is where the genius of the modern banking system come in. The banks offered to store the wealth of the richest people in "impenetrable" and undisclosed locations, and issue the owner of the wealth with notes of ownership which could be exchanged as currency. Though the idea was slow to catch on, nations and organisations saw that when the early adopters no longer had mountains of gold to defend, the frequency and intensity of attacks from man and beast alike dramatically dropped. These banks operate outside governmental and organisational control with a very narrow management structure. this allows the cache location to be kept to a very small and loyal number. Most banks are operated by a single family or tight-knit cabal and so far none have had their caches successfully raided. Little is known about where these banks make their money as nearly all do not charge for their service and cite "the greatest of good" as their motivation.
Type
Financial, Bank
Comments