The Smarillion Trade League

== The Smarillion Trade League ==
Created by u/Lionfyre 
=== Geography: ===
Surrounded by huge mountain ranges from the north and south and vast seas to the east and west, the dense jungle of Kirta is probably one of the most isolate spots on the entire continent. For this reason, the region boasts a diverse and unique ecology. Many brightly coloured species of flora and fauna populate the jungle. Due to how narrow the land is, the jungle is also unusually cool compared to the surrounding lands due to the artic winds carried north from the Pontos Ocean, and a heavy monsoon season occurs during summer months.
=== Biology/Ethnicity: ===
The Meelians are a bipedal reptilian race, scrawny in stature and often ranging between 4’ to 4’6” tall. They bare a strong resemblance to Chameleons, though they lack a prehensile tail, have fingers rather than claws (3 fingers and 2 thumbs on each hand) and have much less pronounced crests their brows. They have two eyes that are controlled independently of one another, but he Meelians most distinguishing feature is their ability to change colour. A fully grown Meelian is capable of shifting their skin to any colour of the rainbow almost instantaneously. Very few Meelians are able to change colour on demand though and shifts in colour are a response to the Meelians emotional state. Green is their “default” skin colour, and the colour of all juvenile Meelians until their skin is fully developed (which usually occurs during adolescence). Heightened emotional states, such as excitement, anger or fear will cause shifts into brighter shades of red, yellow and orange, while more subdued emotions such as sadness or content will invoke darker shades of blue and purple. Because of this, the expression “keep your green” is a common amongst Meelians, meaning to remain calm and keep a level head. While female Meelians tend to be taller than males, the most distinct difference is in skin colour. Males have much more vibrant skin while females are much more muted, often leading to the assumption that male Meelians are more emotional than their female counterparts. 
=== History: ===
The Meelian race are not gifted warriors or hunters, so Meelian society has survived thus far due to their isolation and the nigh impenetrable rainforest they inhabit. These factors also meant that civilisation took a long time to develop in jungles of Kirta. With very little suitable flat arable land, no draught animals and a lack of near surface iron ore, the development of agriculture was a slow process. Despite these many hurdles, groups of Meelians began to band together around these scattered flat lands, clearing the huge jungle trees and cultivating crops of rice and maize. The lack of suitable living space forced these fledging tribes to cooperate and eventually centralise. Over time these settled tribes developed into villages which eventually developed into large cities constructed of sturdy jungle timber. The only animals Meelians were able to domesticate were large cyan coloured moths, whose larva produced huge quantities of silk while Meelians utilise in many walks of life. The steep hills and dense foliage of Kirta meant that over land trade routes were not sustainable for early Meelian traders, so they instead relied on sea trade, which meant many inland cities or cities on opposite coasts were completely isolated from one another.
Combining the two resources they had in abundance (fine silk and sturdy lumber) Meelian traders began to build ships cable of travelling greater distances. Particularly adventurous Meelians undertook great voyages, searching out new lands to settle, but they instead found a plethora of new markets. They discovered races and societies entirely alien to the Meelians and their little jungle. It was only travelling outside of the jungle that they realised how bland the rest of the world was. Kirta was filled with huge crimson coloured beetles or cyan colour moths, or large tropical birds with feather of every colour imaginable. Even the Meelians themselves were a marvel to the inhabitants of these new lands, with their skin of ever-shifting colour. Meelian traders immediately began tapping into this abundant resource they until now did not realise they had, producing dyes and dyed fabrics of every colour. Meelian traders became incredibly wealthy off the dye trade, and the new resources they were bringing home such as iron tools and beasts of burden allowed the Meelians to carve out more land in the great rainforest. Roads to isolated inland cities and even to cities on the opposite coasts were finally made possible, and the scattered Meelian cities were finally connected into a somewhat harmonious network.
Until recent history, each of the Meelian cities was ruled separately either by an elected monarch or a council of landed nobles. These noble families were worried about the rapidly growing wealth and influence of the new merchant families, and many cities had even gone as far as to pass laws to put limits on these merchants. In response to this, a group of wealthy Smarillion merchant families grouped together to coordinate their efforts and protect their interests against jealous noble families. The emergence of this group led to a rise in similar merchant guilds in other cities, who then also began cooperating until they formed a network of wealthy merchant families across a dozen cities. Fearing that this coalition of rich and powerful families would turn on the nobles and bring about their downfall, the council of Smarillion offered these Merchant families a seat at the council. The merchants accepted, and in no time at the network of merchants had peacefully taken power sixteen major Meelian cities. Inspired by the cooperation between hundreds merchant families, the sixteen cities came together to form the Smarillion Trade League to protect the interests of their traders in foreign countries. Over time the League continued to grow, as merchant families came to power in more cities and accepted the invitation to the League which is now comprised of all twenty-four major cities in the Kirta Jungle.
=== Society: ===
The Smarillion Trade League is a confederation of cities ruled by the high council. Each city within the league has its own governing council who determine how each city and the land surrounding the city is ruled and is responsible for collecting and spending taxes. These council are made up of a single member of each of the prominent merchant families in that city. How a family goes about being considered eligible for councillorship differs from city to city, but by the law of the League a city must have at least 5 councillors to have a legitimate quorum. These city councils then elect a proxy to represent them at the high council. The high council is responsible for creating laws to govern all the league members, and handle relations with foreign powers. One Proxy is picked out from all the rest to hold the role of Doge, who has greater power to enact or reject laws should the High Council come to a standstill and is chief diplomat when representing the interests of the League abroad. The Doge rules for life and is selected on a rotating system, so when a Doge dies or is otherwise removed from power, the position passes to the next Proxy on the list. Every city is listed in order of their membership into the League, with Smarillion the capital at the top and the most recent member at the bottom. This is to ensure that each city has an equal level of power in the League, and no single or group of cities can dominate the position of Doge.
=== Culture: ===
Meelians are a fastidious people, who for much of their history have had to make do with what they have. This has led to a tradition of gifted craftsmen and artisans, most notable for their sturdy wooden furniture, shipbuilding and fine silk clothing. Bright colours are a staple of Meelian life. Outsiders first travelling the street of Smarillion are often bombarded by how vibrant the colours are. The small amount of living space also means Meelians are a very communal people. For this reason, very few Meelians actually leave the Kirta Jungles. Traders will travel to cities across all kinds of seas, but only a very small number of Meelian families and chosen to permanently emigrate to another part of the world.
=== Occurrence of Magic: ===
Due to the lack of natural resources in the region, any great Meelian feats of construction and engineering were only possible with magical intervention, such as stone tools enchanted to be more durable or wooden buildings enchanted to withstand the furious downpour of rain during monsoon season. For this reason, magic using Meelians are often highly revered individuals, enjoying positions of wealth and importance in their home city. In recent years, taking a leaf from the merchant’s book, magically gifted Meelians have gathered together in the city of Gestansa (located on the convergence of two leylines), forming a ‘Magicians Guild’ to share ideas and develop new ways of aiding the Trade League. Though the Meelians have no innate magic properties (their colour changing is purely evolutionary) the leyline running directly through the jungle means many other denizens of Kirta do possess magical gifts such as the speckled fire-breathing tree-frog, whose abilities should be fairly obvious. So, while magical Meelians might be rare and highly sought after, magic is not entirely uncommon occurrence in Kirta.
=== Major Exports/Imports: ===
==== Exports: ====
Dyes, silk, tropical wood, ships
==== Imports: ====
Precious metals, iron, livestock, gunpowder
== Posts Directory ==
u/Lionfyre Claim (2019-01-31) The Smarillion Trade League
u/Lionfyre Lore/Story (2019-02-05) An Author's Humble Beginnings
u/The_ArchMetropolian Lore/Story (2019-08-20) Lizards With Dynamite