Tales of a shattered world - Gold Root Files

9 - The Hub

The Hub

The following is an account of the Joriel Trade Hub, also known as 'The Hub.'

The Hub is a structure through which trade across all realms is centered. It is unique in that it is not a single location; rather, it is a set of spaces connected through spatial magic that is connected in a way that resembles a single structure.

Origin

During times of war, changing battle lines often means regions get cut off and isolated. As war rages on, these regions often fall not when an army breaches and invades but when they are forced to surrender due to limited supplies. During the 'Great Divide,' the paramount war between heaven and hell resulted in many 'isolated' regions that were eventually felled.

Past the early stages of the war, a group of Jotir, one of the original inhabitants of the primal realm of space, established a service that would provide supply routes to these regions in exchange for a price. Using powerful spatial magics, they could carve out and connect fragments of space to connect regions across large distances. During this time, multiple powerful seals and magic barriers were established to prevent and hinder the creation of such portals. The Jotir bypassed these by channeling their spatial pathways through the fragment of the primal realm of space that they occupied.

During the 'Great Divide,' the Jotir were seen as neutral. As long as they were properly compensated, they indiscriminately provided their services to either side, even extending their services to realms uninvolved in the conflict. While the Jotir sometimes aided in the smuggling of illicit goods across realms, they never used their pathways to aid military affairs. This was likely to remain on fairly good terms with both sides and avoid retribution.

After the war, the Jotir continued to provide their services in transporting goods across realms. They began to use the connections they gained during the war to facilitate trade and established the Joriel trades guild, which grew to be central to trade between realms. Eventually, they connected a series of fragmented spaces to act as a central point for their business, the Hub.

For more detailed information regarding the Joriel guild, please refer to the appropriate documents.

Composition

The Hub is comprised of individual rooms, or 'points,' connected through portals. These portals are always active and stable enough that no spatial distortion is reported when passing from room to room. These points are believed to be scattered between multiple realms, and some, even exclusively built for the Hub, possess no true entrances besides the portals.

The Hub is divided into several sections:

1 - Foyer - Points that act as entrances and exits for customers. Here, customers will be vetted to determine whether they will be allowed access to the deeper sections of the Hub. Entrance and exit to the deeper levels are strictly monitored. Unless permission is given, customers can only exit through the point they entered.

2 - Free market - Large points that act as commercial spaces. Vendors can freely trade goods and services at these points. Only goods of a certain class are allowed into the free market, and there is a levy for the entrance and exit of goods to and from the free market.

3 - Parlor - Private, luxurious rooms where trade negotiations take place. Often, there is a Joriel mediator to oversee such affairs.

4 - Warehouse- Believed to be the largest points where goods are stored before being transferred. The conditions of various warehouse points are controlled to allow the preservation of certain goods. These points are inaccessible to the general public.

5 - Yard - These points are used to transfer goods between realms. These points often open up into or include a dock for transport vessels.

6 - Sanctum - Points where the executives of the Joriel Trades Guild conduct meetings. Only limited, second-hand information is available regarding the sanctums.

7 - Cabinet - Points where trade documents are stored. These points are divided into further sub-sections depending on the nature of the documents stored.

Due to the nature of the Hub, its exact composition is unknown. There may be sections that have yet to be identified.

Through an interview with (redacted), a Joriel trades guild executive, it has been identified that each point is connected only through the gateways, and breaching through walls will not allow access to other points. In the event a wall is breached, the point will be disconnected from the Hub until a thorough inspection is carried out. Even if one point is compromised, the rest of the Hub can function. Furthermore, entrance and exit between various points are strictly monitored, ensuring spies and thieves cannot access restricted areas. This is especially true for the more sensitive points of the cabinet, ensuring no critical information is leaked.

The validity of the account given by (redacted) cannot be confirmed. However, investigations do not reveal any major breaches. The reliability and convenience of their services have allowed them to create and maintain relations with nearly all major and lesser realms.

Conclusion

It is recommended that relations with the Joriel Trades guild are maintained. Loss of relations with the guild would result in major trade disruption and devastating economic losses. Currently, there are no active operations to breach or gather information.

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