Primus, Rulers of the City

The Primus Guild is the current top dog of the city's famed banking guilds and the *\_de facto\_* ruler of the city. The guild enjoys this power thanks to a recent change in the political wind. They had the foresight to partner with the arcane guild and advance them a line of credit even while the guild was still clandestine and underground. In return they got a lion's share of the profits and got to manage the accounts of the arcane guild as well as its prominent members. At the time, the arcane guild couldn't export goods, and the iron fist of the church prevented them from producing/selling too much in Ethax. Primus is in perpetual competition with two lesser guilds; in fact their current name comes from the phrase *Primus Inter Pares*- first among equals. This is more a convention than anything else; for the past century or so it has become traditional for the dominant ruler to take on this name and shed other titles. The only reason it's possible for a dominant guild to emerge is because of compounding advantage; the moment a guild gains even a minuscule advantage, it makes the most of it. Once a guild gains a small victory, it tosses the scraps to the others, keeping them too busy fighting with each other to ever ally against the powerful one. Sooner or later, the Primus will grow too powerful and tempting, and their opponents will ally to bring him down. But even after the change in leadership, the city will go on, manufacturing and exporting.

The current Primus Guild has only been extant for a quarter of a century. They are sometimes condescendingly spoken of as 'Nouveau Riche', usually by people whom they have displaced; this puts Primus in the same class as the arcane guild (to an extent- The arcanists are so useful that they are far more accepted even by the religious). In addition to the economic power they wield, Primus controls much of the nobility. The head of Primus \_ostensibly\_ has a single seat on the council. However they have indirect influence over most other members; at least those not solidly part of other factions. This system is stable because of two factors:

1. The banking guilds implicitly recognise the need to keep the city growing, since they have a direct stake in it.
2. The banking guilds are lazy on almost all fronts; the system is completely powered by self-interest, in the true capitalist spirit.

However in a society as driven by trade as one of the renaissance (and even today), economic and political power are two sides of the same coin, and the distinction between the nobility and the rich is basically non existent.

The Primus guild has interests in political education as well. It teaches a unique syllabus where the seminal texts are Machiavelli's Prince and an early text on economics published by the guild of merchants (in a previous incarnation), which anticipates the works of Adam Smith. The sessions include lectures by Primus functionaries- it's considered good form to try to usurp them at least once (and *\_extremely\_* bad form to succeed.); they are briefed to spar with professors and intelligent students for control of the classroom. The functionaries give well prepared lectures which give students just enough information to make them better than the competition, as well as some strategically placed (and amusing) misinformation. This practical study contrasts with the 'pure' liberal arts courses which usually end on Socrates or at the divine right of kings.

The Primus guild has a sort of 'pragmatic popularity' among the people. Citizens complain, but also acknowledge that the guild keeps the city running. Primus is happy with this, and generally tries to avoid overt displays of power or importance, such as parades or artworks. This is an oddity in its time, compared to the Medici fascination with all the art; it's also one of the reasons why Ethax is somewhat looked down upon by the mainlanders. For all that, they still make better ships than Venice and are richer than Florence, so he can't be doing that badly.