Scholars and innovators

Mining technologists

Duke Forobor invested much of the kingdom’s resources in the development of mining technology, which includes methods for detecting veins of ore, extracting the ore, separating it (by physical and chemical means), refining it, and testing it. Heelis is full of chemists, alchemists, engineers, and inventors. Some of the small workshops and cooperatives devoted to mining technology that have sprung up in recent years are doing extremely innovative work and have provided a new path by which the children of laborers can rise through the social ranks. As a result, some communities in Reda have begun to hire teachers and invest in local schools, hoping that their children can make their fortune in the capital or at least live comfortably in the smaller mining towns.

A fad for discovering “forgotten wisdom” of the mining industry has also driven many would-be inventors to beg the Librarians for any documents concerning mines and metallurgy.

The Distributed Libraries of Reda and Beyond

While the local writing system may have been invented by the Arasterian Empire, Arasteria is no longer the repository of the oldest documents in the region. Empires have a way of erasing records that don’t fit their version of history, and libraries are often the targets of conquering armies. Furthermore, empires often make documents vulnerable by putting all of their eggs in one basket. Ever since the Great Library of Arasteria was eaten by termites, an event no one has definitively proved to be sabotage, the Distributed Libraries have been the keepers of the oldest authentic historical documents. The Distributed Libraries are a network of small archives scattered throughout Reda and neighboring territories. Libraries frequently host Librarians from other outposts who come to make duplicates of certain manuscripts, increasing the redundancy of the archives and the local availability of texts. Some Librarians choose to become Librarian-Chroniclers, traveling the countryside to witness events first hand and record them for posterity. The Libraries are officially politically independent, and exchanges take place across official borders, though it would be naive to imagine politics have no influence at all on their operation.

Some Libraries have wealthy patrons. Librarians also make money working as scribes for nearby communities or operating the local school for a town or estate. None of these jobs are lucrative, but, if they have other sources of income, the Libraries are keeping them secret.

People trying to prove their claim to a particular tract of land (or mine), as well as those looking for ancient texts about dragons, will find the Libraries invaluable. Of course, not everyone is above bribing or threatening a Librarian to get what they need, or even burning a Library outpost to destroy inconvenient records.

Scholar and innovator characters:

• Inventors

• Engineers

• Chemists

• Alchemists

• Tutors

• Science advisors

• Librarians

• Chroniclers