Orsarian Caprice

The Orsarian Caprice is a coin made of intricately filigreed gold, depicting a bird with beautiful plumage on one side, and a glimmering city on the other. It is known to be very valuable - beyond its weight in gold in fact, as it is not simply a coin, but signifies an owed favor from the nobility of the Orsarian Empire - even those who have no chance of even seeing Orsarus or any of its nobles can trade a noble of their origin country for a favor for the coin, and often the noble who gains this coin will gain much more from it than the original person would know to ask for, so they are keen to carry out any favor for someone who possess the coin.

## History

The Orsarian Caprice is a coin that was made in a very limited minting, and were only given to families of the workers in the rich Orsasrian gold mines who died working for them, the mines being the backbone upon which the great and lavish nation was built. The Orsarians were known as shrewd financiers but benevolent and fair rulers, so when the mines needed worked with great haste, they knew the conditions would be dangerous and less than optimal. Any one who perished in the mines were granted a Caprice coin that was passed on to their families, and those families often became quite wealthy and influential after such a coin was spent, some others were not so lucky.

During this time, the poorer Orsarians were stirring up a revolution against the upper ruling class, as the wealth gap was getting more evident and so to ease their concerns and open direct communication between the classes, the Caprice was invented. The Caprice did a number of things, most notably

* Offered the poor a hope of being raised to the noble class through luck and good deeds..
* Favors being cashed in forced the perception of a more even distribution of wealth among the classes.
* Grounded the nobles and ruling class as they often dealt with the kind common folk of Orsarus.
* Connected the Orsarians to the ruling class indirectly, some favors being just to deal with a social or financial situation affecting the poor.
* Kept the people honest and good willed toward each other without the need for constant scrutiny or policing, even if only for the chance at a caprice..

All this while also thwarting most means to obtain the valuable coins through illegal or devious methods, due to the powerful enchantment, the origins of which are lost. This stabilized the country's internal social and financial situations for an age, but as ruling families and nobles died out, the Caprice coin became more rare, and the coins were seen maybe once or twice a lifetime, but when they were found, most Orsarians did their best to do good for the people of Orsarus

## Enchantment

A powerful enchantment exists on the Caprice, that if any blood is spilled to obtain the coin, or if anyone harbors ill will when using or obtaining a coin, the Caprice vanishes and reappears in the Orsarian vaults under the original family's name where it can be retrieved for re-use or returned to the rightful bearer.

Since the coin is safeguarded against most violence and treachery, it reduced attempts to obtain these coins through false methods, and led to a safer overall monetary system within the Orsarian Empire by means of placebo, as the rumors spread and children were taught that money is a reward for good hearts and hard work - if your good will and intentions vanish, so too does your money.

This isn't to say that there were no issues with having the Caprice around, there were those who tried to steal or assault others over the ownership of the token, but it never worked. Most who were given a Caprise didn't linger, and most Orsarians had spent their entire lives thinking on what they would ask for in return, so most decisions were quick, and offered little chance to forfeit their opportunity.

Since the coins themselves are not magical in any way, it is said that there is a diviner who sits on the Orsarian Court who watches over every coin and plucks them from the ether when he spies any bloodshed or ill intentions. It is also said that since many of the original families have died out that, when such coins appears under that family's name in the vaults, someone carries the Caprice back into circulation, often granting them to people who perform great deeds of goodwill or benevolence. There are even reports of strangers being gifted these coins half way around the globe from the Orsarian Empire, but were well-deserved.

## Modern Uses

Since the Orsarian Emprie was absorbed into the Great Empire several hundred years ago, and the Orsarian culture these coins are not well-known, even within the original borders of old Orasrus. Those who do know its value are not quick to reveal their bounty however, since knowledge of the coins has faded, so too has the knowledge of its safeguards - and many coins have been lost because of the hostile and violent altercations that arise over its simple weight in gold, unknowing of its true purpose of value, the coin is easily wasted.

Some too don't recognize the coin for it being anything other than a simple gold coin of a long-forgotten empire, and rarely notice its missing due to their shifting intentions.