Trade Season

Beginning at the end of the June Holidays and ending at the beginning of the August Holidays, the July Trade Season has become a celebration of cross-cultural appreciation in Duilintinn, specifically in the capital city of Cordoire.

## Origin

During the summer, groups of traders will come to Duilintinn and do business throughout the kingdom. These groups come from a variety of places. Some are official merchants representing foreign nations, while others might be independent traders who visit Duilintinn as part of their own business strategy. The peak of this trade season is in July, when the capital city of Cordoire hosts thousands of traders from around the world. Over time, this tradition has evolved from a simple trading season to an official holiday.

### Merchants from Duilintinn

For context, most full-time traders/merchants from Duilintinn will take a ship (or several, if they’re part of a company) south towards Tandeli in the Fall, which is usually your best shot towards traveling between the two storm zones later in the year (Eastern Sea = Winter Storms, Southern Sea = Summer Storms). They’ll stick around that portion of the continent during the worst part of the Eastern Sea’s storm season, spending most of the Winter traveling between Grancinco, Tandeli, and Borrike and trading everything they brought with them for goods in these countries. In the Spring, they’ll return back to Duilintinn and spend a few months preparing for the Trade Season.

Traders who originate in Duilintinn use the Trade Season to restock and trade the goods they’ve acquired during their time abroad. Typically, these traders will set up shop for the full month and then spend the rest of the summer traveling to the edges of the kingdom with their remaining wares. These groups all follow their own consistent annual routes, usually hitting all of the major cities before returning back to Loch Domhainn at the end of the summer.

By fall, all of these groups are traveling towards Tandeli, preparing to thread the needle between the summer storms ending in the Southern Sea and the winter storms about to begin on Duilintinn’s coast. Thus, on and on it goes each year.

### Foreign Merchants

Foreign traders follow a similar pattern. Depending on the group, these traders will begin to arrive in Duilintinn as soon as the winter storms on the coast of the Eastern Sea have waned. Similarly, these groups all leave at varying times, but consistently before the winter storms begin again. Most trade occurs between May and August, although some arrive as early as April or stay until September.

Since these traders also want to hit other kingdoms on the Eastern Sea, not just Duilintinn, they usually only stay for a week or two during this period. However, since they come in waves, with new traders replacing those who have moved further up or down the coast, it certainly feels as if the whole world has blocked off its calendar to send all of their traders/merchants to Duilintinn for an entire month of July.

## Traditions

Cordoire is the center of the Trade Season. Not only is the capital a central hub of the kingdom, but it is a mere three days’ ride by cart from the coast. This makes it the perfect place for traders to hawk their wares to the kingdom as a whole. Unfortunately, House Jameson and House Marvin are too far away to reach by carts laden with goods. However, it’s common for citizens to take trips to the capital during the summer months to see what goods the traders have to offer. In addition, many enterprising business men and women will buy goods from the traders, travel to far corners of the kingdom, and sell them for a profit. It’s a bit more expensive, but if you are unable to travel, it’s your best bet.

During their stay, foreign traders will pitch small shelters outside the city walls that function as both living spaces and temporary storefronts. While some traders might be lucky enough to get official permission to set up shop within the city walls, the roads, open to any wishing to sell their wares, are the true center of the celebrations. The colorful tents and shops will stretch out from the front gates for miles and miles. If you were walking or riding to the city gates from a distance, it might look like the circus had come to town!

Economically, the trading season is also celebrated as an opportunity for the shared beginning of a prosperous business year. Traders from within Duilintinn will set up shop next to traders from foreign lands, children will run in the streets with old pals and new ones as their parents shop for imported goods, and people from all houses will meet in Cordoire to mingle and celebrate as a united culture. Local craftsmen welcome the opportunity to learn and share with craftsmen from other kingdoms, while merchants and traders from across the world will compare their wares and bond over the similarities and differences between their shared careers. There isn’t any underlying hostility competition between these businesses, except maybe the joking, friendly kind. It’s kinda like a great big trade convention!

## Significance

The June Holidays officially mark the beginning of the business year, but the trading season is the celebration that ushers it in. The August Holidays remind everyone to seek new knowledge and remember their history, but the explosion of cultural appreciation during the trading season is what encourages many to pick up those old books and tales.

Just as the December Holidays bring people from all houses to Cordoire in thanks for the year they survived and the new year ahead, the Trading Season brings cultures from all over the world to Cordoire in a celebration of the hope, success, and unity that comes from bringing people together. December is about relief and thankfulness for what you’ve been given, but July is about hope and excitement for what you can learn and discover in the coming year.