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Currency
The currency of the realm are roughly minted and stamped coins of gold, electrum, silver, and copper - but many merchant are willing to barter goods for goods and even accept foreign coin or jewelry as long as it comes in the form of precious metal. It remains a universal currency and is judged by purity and weight, which master metal manipulators and alchemists can ascertain.
It depends on the merchant if they're willing to trust the purity of a foreign coin or precious metal object, gold typically far more acceptable so than silver. However, it's only copper gavits and electrum levis that are accepted in the city, as copper only has worth in the form of stamped coins backed by government issue and the amount of silver to gold in electrum cannot be determined by anyone other than an exchange worker. While some merchants will accept your goods and foreign coins, it's recommended one get them properly turned into local currency by the money changers.
Trivantis produces a wealth of silver from their dwarven slaves - as such it is highly devalued in the city and is used as a major export where it retains greater value.
- 1 Gram Gold = 15 Grams Silver
- A silver pallor is smaller than a gold luceat, but is much thicker coin.
- A silver creper isn't a lot smaller in diameter to a pallor, but it's much thinner.
- Silver crepers and copper gavits are roughly the size of a penny - which the latter just happens to strongly resemble.
- An electrum levis is roughly .25 Gold and .75 Silver. Electrum is more commonly known as 'pale gold'
Gold Luceat ( lu.ke.at )
1 Gold Luceat = 4.5 Grams Gold = 67.5 Grams Silver
1 Gold Luceat = 3 Levis and 1 Pallor = 13 Pallor = 26 Creper = 104 Gavits
Electrum Levis
1 Levis = 1.125 Grams Gold + 3.9 Grams Silver = 5.025 Gram Coin
1 Levis (.308 Luceat) = 4 Pallor = 8 Creper = 32 Gavits
Silver Pallor
1 Pallor = 5.2 Grams Silver
1 Pallor = 2 Creper = 8 Gavits
Silver Creper
1 Creper = 2.6 Grams Silver
1 Creper = 4 Gavits
Copper Gavit
1 Copper Gavit = 2.6 Grams Copper
Equivalent to 0.65 Grams of Silver in the monster empire.
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money_changer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_coinage
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_currency
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_economy
http://www.coinweek.com/education/byzantine-coins-become-cup-shaped/
Imports and Exports
This is a city with truly everything - trade routes from all around hit Trivantis and supply them with a wealth of goods. A great deal of money is made from selling goods from the east to the west.
Exports include a wealth of silver, silk, fine textiles, wine, grain, pine cones, fish, livestock and pets, slaves, and (in rare dealings with the queen directly) a rare mineral known as 'duml' only found in the quarries of the 'bridged lands' and the islands in the small southern sea.
What comes through includes wax, gold, salt, spices, ivory, and cotton from the south; sugar, raw silk, leather, iron, and copper from the east; from the far east, rare jewels (coral, amber, jade) and enameled glass, spices, and herbs; from the west and far north, oils, grains, furs, pitch, honey, cavier, wheat, and wood. It is from all over that slaves come through.
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The people of Trivantis have access to a broad variety of fare thanks to both trade and the fertile lands in which the city resides; the waters where strait meets seas are teeming with fish and the fields lush with fruit, grain, and herbs. The people here love their sauces and spices - they use them in everything from fish paste (garum) to wine.
You should expect to eat a lot of legumes and wheat, seafood first followed by game and poultry (chicken and pork), eggs, fruit (especially olives, pears, grapes, and figs), and plenty of vegetables (especially lettuce, onions, cucumbers, and squash) In general most dishes are heavily plant based. There's also plenty of consumption of snails, grubs, and fattened dormice.
Water and AlcoholEveryone drinks a lot of wine - children and adults, morning to night, watered down wine is a major staple as clean drinking water is not readily available. It is somewhat easier to find here due to elemental cleansing magic, but for the most part your go-to drink is going to be diluted alcohol. When not drinking wine, there is also plenty of beer.
Meat and Dairy
tuna, mackerel, mullet, anchovies, shrimp, oysters, scallops
It's eaten fresh, dried, salted, smoked, pickled, and especially fried and boiled. Garum or fish paste, is used to garnish just about everything.
eggs, pork, lamb, poultry (chickens, pheasants, geese, duck, quail, and more), rabbit, deer, gazelle
Not a lot of beef is consumed due to cattle mostly being used as grazers to prepare the fields.
There are many demands among aristocracy for rare and exotic fare like flamingo and rodents - and many cooks eager to impress.
A lot of eggs are eaten, with spongy omelettes a favorite. It's a major staple.
Spices and Herbs
hazel, ginger, nutmeg, rosemary, thyme, lavender, cloves, tumeric, caramom, cassia, cinnamon, peppercorn, basil, sage, chive, bay, droll, fennel, mustard
no: tobacco
Fruits and Vegetables
A large range of jams, jellies, and fruit preserves - fruit is also dried for the winter. Salad is extremely popular and olives and olive oil are a very important staple.
asparagus, yellow squash, parsnips, carrots, beets, chard, mushrooms, onions, turnips, radishes, cabbage, lettuce, leek, celery, cucumbers, artichokes, garlic, yams, eggplant, spinach, apples, oranges, lemons, olives, figs, legume, grapes, pears, plums, dates, cherries, peaches, strawberries, blackberries, apricots
newer: spinach and eggplant are imports from the east and have been around a while now, but only a few hundred years
no: bananas, potatoes, tomatoes, green beans, peppers, corn, zucchini
Nuts
almonds, walnuts, chestnuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts and pistachios
Grain
lentils, barley or groats, acorns, millet, rye, wheat
Ever the staple food, there is a wide range of breads in all forms - leavened, unleavened, the commonly found lentacaulm, rounds stuffed with cheese - grain is incredibly important in the empire. The favored bread of the rich is white bread made from wheat.
There is a form of rice pudding that is a luxury item for nobles, often made with lashes of honey - as rice is an import from the east, it is quite expensive.
Sugarshoney
Beekeeping is an important occupation - honey and wax are in high demand and the empire does not produce enough on its own, making it a major import.
Cannibalism / Sennibalism
Law and Order wrote:While it's been decreed illegal to buy or sell the flesh and blood of sentient beings as intended for consumption, sennibalism itself is not exactly illegal and the thriving slave trade makes enforcing the law difficult - murder is absolutely not tolerated, but the slaughter of slaves or 'owned flesh' by masters does not generally count and sennibalism itself is still a vital component of many local and nearby cultures. Including the minotaur, the naga, spiderfolk, many therianthrope, and even dragons.
While sennibalism has not yet been outlawed due to strong voices (notably minotaur with religious rituals involving the consumption of their enemies), as a public practice it is highly discouraged and being pushed into the shadows. While the use of mind-altering substances is perfectly legal and even the norm, the darkest parts of the underground criminal trade instead deals in much darker things, including specific demands in fine dining.
There are some smaller beast races that are considered a delicacy among some taur and known targets of slavers and kidnappers for this reason.
Notes:
- There is perhaps unusual use of spoon and fork - the humanoids to the west still slurp their soup and eat with their hands, to the disgust of some nobility.
- The lower class eats a lot of cereals, vegetables, olives, cheeses, eggs, and legume. Just about every household has some form of poultry.
- For nobility, aside from expensive meats, ample fruit, and exotic delicacies like rice, there are a lot of 'sweetmeat' confectionery made from flower petals, fruits, gums, and sugar.
Additional References:
http://blogs.getty.edu/iris/what-did-byzantine-food-taste-like/
http://www.helleniccomserve.com/nutsaboutnuts.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Roman_cuisine
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_cuisine
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_cuisine
http://www.cooksinfo.com/byzantine-food - There is perhaps unusual use of spoon and fork - the humanoids to the west still slurp their soup and eat with their hands, to the disgust of some nobility.
