Sapphire Journal

The Journal, which by this point is actually a collection of records, lists the Founding Families of Toresta. Entries record births, deaths, marriages and Expulsions, a formal banishment from the family, typically for political, but sometimes for social reasons.

The First Book of the Journal contains the Founding List. This is a list of the names of all of the original members of the Monteplane Expedition, with addendum for those Halfling families recognized as belated founders. The Second Book reorganizes these names into family groups and is the first official listing of the Founding Families. Subsequent books are made up of a single volume for each family in which births, deaths, marriages and exclusions are recorded. Each book is described by the original family name, as several have changed their name over the centuries for various reasons.

Only those registered in the Sapphire Journal may hold high office in Toresta. One member of each family holds a seat in the College of Electors, which is responsible for electing Toresta's Duke, which is not a hereditary position. Only persons listed in the Sapphire Journal are eligible for election to the Council of Ten.

Members of Sapphire Journal families often serve as ship captains and admirals, commanding the war and merchant fleets. They finance shipbuilding, both sea and air, and trading ventures in general, deriving their wealth from commerce.

The Council of Ten and the City Scribes maintain the Sapphire Journal, whose official version is kept at the Acropolis Precinct's Hall of Records, which also holds other city documents. Of course every Founding Family has a copy of the Sapphire Journal containing Books One and Two and at least their own Book.

The Journal was originally the formal record of the individuals who were part of the so-called Monteplane Expedition, which was undertaken to establish a trading post and port on the Monteplane Peninsula. It listed the Founding Families. It was in some ways a contract between the parties that would ensure that political power would not be wrestled from the founders once the settlement was established.

The Halfling Founders arrived some thirty years later and were initially a separate settlement located at Backbend. By the end of the initial century they were well integrated into the main settlement and considered equivalent to the original founders as far as political and economic power was concerned.

The role of the Sapphire Journal in Toresta politics was not formalized until 473 ATC, when it became apparent that canal construction was have fundamental effects on the Danilov Leyline, tuning it from a low level Strong leyline to one just short of Titanic. The city's leadership saw this as a probable disrupting factor, though one with great potential for the city.

Shortly thereafter there was an influx of people into the city, both of the poor and the rich. The establishment of the Sapphire Journal ensured Toresta natives remain in control.