World Note:  The History of the Isles - The Merchant Kings

'Trade Town' is the central hub of all Darian banking and economy.  Though its official name is Traton, 'Trade Town' has seemed more appropriate since the powerful merchant sell-swords overthrew the Darian aristocracy.  Nearly 100 years ago, King Calus had just concluded his war with the Darmic Maji and now set his army against the flatland tribes.  The Deltan elves has closed their borders and declared neutrality in the conflict, not wanting to repeat the bloodshed of another kin-slayer war.  The first had nearly decimated both nations; it is rumored that the recent growth of Baddenwood trees along the forest's edge is due to the never-ending rain of elven blood.  Their sanguine coloring a reminder of that murderous conflict, and inspiration to the Deltans to keep the peace. 

The Darians under King Calus were weary from a generation of constant war.  All in the name of 'divine right'.  The king believed that the Isle of Calus was the birth-right of the Darian pioneers.  Nevermind the fact that the elves were here hundreds of years prior, and no one knows how long the flatland tribes roamed the great plains.  King Calus claimed he had been told by Rikus that he must conquer the land from coast to coast, spreading the great god's law to the savage races.  Though the Temple of Rikus and the Knights of the Scale were ever loyal to the king, the people began to resent this vision.  Especially the rising merchant class, who profited from the constant need for weapons, armor, food, and mounts but suffered as their sons were conscripted as officers into a never-ending conflict.  As the king spread his vision of Rikus' glory, the merchants began to meet with the Church of Yore in secret.  The scholarly order advised them as to the true strength of a kingdom... it all lie in the king's silver.  If you control the silver, you can control the country.

The overthrow of King Calus was near bloodless, at least by comparison of the last 30 years.  The king's war had drained the coffers, to which the merchants ensured that the price of steel and horse were at a generation's peak... just when it was needed the most.  The Knights of the Scale found themselves dressed in poor chain mail with wooden weapons towards the end.  All foot soldiers as horses became the sign of a rich man not in the employ of the king.  As the king continued his holy crusade across the isle, the crown prince sat upon the Traton throne.  The people feared the prince as no other man, and it was rumored that the prince was no man at all.  Something sinister had crept in and replaced the prince during his time fighting the tribesmen.  When he returned from the first of the Flatland conflicts, he had taken on a vicious aspect.  Rumors swirled that courtesans would disappear from their bed chambers in the king's castle, taken to the prince to feed his bloodlust.  Whether these rumors of a murderous prince were true or the clever propaganda of the merchant, it didn't matter.  It was enough to whip the commoners into a fury.

In the early hours of Spring, the people of Traton rebelled against their pious king as his terrible son.  Armed with the best the merchant elite could provide, they stormed the castle with a generation's worth of anger.  The Knights of the Scale were tired, ill-quipped, and fought with little heart.  Many fled, believing themselves that the king no longer deserved to rule.  Those that stayed found themselves overrun by the angry mobs.

It is said that the prince escaped into the city streets.  The king away on his crusade and the knights broken, there was no one left to hold the castle.  It was then that the merchant elite entered the throne room to the cheers of the people.  Three in particular approached the throne and addressed the crowd.  They were the financers of the rebellion.  The spoke of grain and meat for all of the patriots and silver to all of the fallen's families.  As they spoke, the citizens of Traton ripped the banners of King Calus from the walls.  The blue banners with their blazing horizon and ship torn to the stone floor.  In their place, they raised three new banners; The black and indigo flag of the Twin Ravens bank, the white and tan banner of The Oaken Wheel teamsters guild, and the bold amber gems of Asterbrok Arcanery set against a field of green.  The first of the Merchant Kings had been declared.

Today, seven Merchant Kings rule the Darians.  The cities of Traton, Peltony, Sal, Daconis, and Harlenton fly their banners.  Covel, on the opposite coast of Kindar, remains the last vestige of King Calus' rule.  The nobility which escaped the uprising either held their ground or fled to the great seaport.  Prince Calus was never found, but the body of King Calus was returned to Covel when the zealous king died in combat.  Slain by a tribesmen's arrow, the likes of which should never had been able to pierce a properly made breastplate.  The merchants were able to conquer the king without laying a finger to him.

The Knights of the Scale collapsed, but not the religion of Rikus.  Though the commoners were angry with the kingdom and the war, they still believed in Rikian law.  The order was born anew, and the Rikian Knights now act as judge to the lawless.  The majority spend their time in courthouses, listening to the commoners concerns and unjust acts.  They dispense justice as Rikus wills it, and their word is final... even to the Merchant Kings.  To aid in patrolling the roads and ensuring that the flatland tribes maintain the peace the Merchant Kings promised them, the Justicarian Order was established, its keep built along the conflicted border of the Covalian Nobles.  The Justicars patrol the road and bring brigands, bandits, and thieves to the Rikians for sentencing. 

The law is strong in the villages and hamlets of the Merchant King rule.  Strangely though, it is not the Rikian Order that holds power in Traton.  The Merchant Kings rule Traton through the Merchant Guard.  Specialized warriors who grace the richest manors and shops of the powerful elite.  They maintain the separation of the Traton city divisions, the three rings which keep the commoners within arm's reach but out from underfoot of the wealthy.  It is the Church of Yore that holds sway in Traton, and it is their alms boxes that overflow with silver.