[Imperial Court] Office of the Imperial Exchequer

[Hsin]

The Imperial government’s tendrils and feelers extended in a million different directions from within the marbled halls of the palace complex sitting in the very heart of the capitol of Alleria Prime. All power derived its mandate from the favor of Diana and through the will and wishes of the Empress Arabella de Lylles. In practice the supreme ruler of the Allerian Empire could not possibly oversee and manage every facet of Her government without help. Thus the Allerians and the gods had willed the creation of an Imperial Court composed of the finest minds and most skillful hands to direct the day to day running of the empire. Of these the Imperial Ministers wielded immense power over a single organ of the body of government. The Lord Imperial Marshall controlled the might body of Imperial legions and the swift fist of the Imperial fleets. The Lord Imperial Judicator possessed the power to prosecute nobleman and commoner alike for violation of the laws of the land. The Lord Imperial Magus bore the power to regulate every mage of every sphere in the Empire. But there was power, and then there was power. Without money the fearless legions would desert, the prison gates would be thrust open, and all manner of mages would wreak havoc across the Empire. The responsibility for the collection of taxes and the regulation of the economy fell upon the shoulders of the Imperial Exchequer. Beneath him lay, in theory at least, the Imperial Mint, the Imperial Treasury, the Imperial Bank, and all manner of other bodies and agencies. The head of the Ministry of Finance lay in a marble building in a busy corner of the Imperial Forum. Its actual location was hidden within a veritable maze of corridors filled with bustling clerks and busy accountants.

At the end of a long, quiet hallway was a simple pair of oak doors bearing a simple brass plaque bearing the following words in simple, plain text:

Office of the Imperial Exchequer
Hsin Zhou

The atrium of the office was decorated with a strange blend of Kemite and Imperial art. Watercolor paintings of trees and rivers in the traditional style of Zinn’sunn shared the dark wood paneling with portraits of past Emperors, Exchequers, and other notable personalities. The hard wood floor was covered in a rug imported from Arakamat. On both sides of the door were twin lines of identical chairs for petitioners to sit while waiting in line to see the Exchequer. The left wall of the office was covered completely with enormous bookshelves bearing heavy tomes of tax records and statistics gleaned from the depths of the Imperial archive. The right wall was lined with a number of large windows pointing towards the western sunset. In the middle of the room was a simple desk bearing the all the signs of occupation and use by a scribe or clerk of some sort. Indeed, it was here that an elderly Kemite man kept himself busy with office work or, when the work was done and no one was in the office, turning simple squares of paper into complex folded sculptures. Hochen Rakyocha kept the Kemite’s schedule and served as a sort of secretary/butler/and sometime coachman for his much younger employer. Beyond his perch was another pair of double doors leading to the inner sanctum of the Ministry of Finance.

Both the eastern and western wall and the southern wall were covered with tall bookshelves reaching from the floor to the ceiling. Big books wrapped in black leathered contained statistics and information on population, income, taxation, and expenditure from across the length and breath of the Allerian Empire dating back to the fracturing of the Aethergem. Other shelves contained all manners of text on tax law, politics, science, arcana, alchemy, literature, and philosophy. It was the young Kemite’s one concession to his scholarly past. In the middle of the right wall stood a large black marble fireplace. The floor was covered with the same Arakamatian rugs as the atrium. Light filtered in through four tall glass windows mounted on the northern wall. Between the windows and on the sides hung a small collection of memorandum from his ancestral home: fans, a sheathed katana disguised as a walking stick, a wood and paper lamp used in the celebration of the new year in Zinn’sunn. The most dominant piece of furniture was a large black walnut desk. Pens, inkstands, paper, and books were all kept in neat piles awaiting their master’s beck and call. His chair was chosen more for simplicity and comfort than anything, and its well worn cushions had been patched once or twice already. Two more chairs were on the opposite side of the desk flanking a low, round table used to serve tea to those who wished to speak to the Imperial Exchequer. The last piece of notable furniture was a globe in the northeastern corner of the room showing only the lands of the Allerian Empire. Each province had been crafted carefully from the best of maps, giving a quick and easy access to the geography of the Empire without the need for piles of maps.

Those who wished to meet the Imperial Exchequer would first have to approach the secretary’s desk in the atrium. Hochen Rakyocha would rise and bow to each visitor before inquiring politely, ”Serale and welcome. Do you have an appointment to see Master Zhou?”

[Nell du'Galle]

TS: Optia Era XII

To His Imperial Excellency, Lord Hsin Zhou,

Thank you for the recent letter regarding the taxes due from the Sherian province. I will give full assistance to the local branch of the Imperial Treasury regarding the collection of these taxes and also with the future assessment of taxes, and look forward to hearing from them in this regard. Further details of the information would be helpful though as to how the current levy has been assessed with particular regard to Sheria, so that myself and my advisors can responsibly handle the efficient matters of taxation within the province. Would this information be gathered from yourself or the local office? The name of the head of the provincial branch and the location of this branch would be a great assistance if the latter is the case,

~Nell du’Galle

[Elle Kaldres Lothain]

A letter of Reply was returned to the Office of the Imperial Exchequer, a cycle after the original correspondence was delivered to the Office of the Consul of the Western Realms.

To Her Excellency, the Imperial Counter of Crowns,

Vedui and Salutations unto yourself in the name of the Sacred Three. This parcel contains the revised budget for the Western Realms, reducing the number of staff to provide better salary to those that remain. The records of the Rakrya seem better suited to being tinder for fire than basing the Empire's budgetting upon them.

In Service to Her Imperial Excellency-
Lady Lothain, Consul of the Western Realms.

Revised Budget of the Offices of the Consul of the Western Realms Salary
Imperial Consul: 6000 crowns per cycle.
Provincial Manager: 500 crowns per cycle.
Branch Manager: 300 crowns per cycle.
Group Manager: 150 crowns per cycle.
Manager: 125 crowns per cycle.
Clerk: 75 crowns per cycle.

Administrative Upkeep
For the Senator:
4000 crowns per cycle for administrative staff & costs. (Expenses billed directly to the Imperial Treasury)
3000 crowns per cycle for living stipend. (Expenses billed directly to the Imperial Treasury)

For the Provincial Managers:
1000 crowns per cycle for administrative staff & costs.

Staff per Province:
Branch Manager: 1
Group Manager: 4
Manager: 20
Clerk: 100

Provinces: 3

Staff for all Provinces:
Provincial Manager: 1 (500)
Branch Manager: 3 (900)
Group Manager: 12 (3600)
Manager: 60 (7500)
Clerk: 300 (22500)

Total: 376

Total Salary: 35,000 crowns per cycle (1,750,000 crowns per era)
Total Upkeep: 4,408 crowns per cycle (220,440 crowns per era)

Administrative Upkeep and Outfitting: 4,000 crowns per cycle (200,000 crowns per era)
Building Upkeep: 6,000 crowns per cycle (300,000 crowns per era)

Total Budget: 45,000 crowns per cycle (2,250,000 crowns per era)

[Hsin]

Early Optia, Era XII
~~++====++~~

Lord Zhou unhappily reviewed the column of numbers and their associated expenses for the last time before closing the thick black tome and returning the heavy book to its proper place on his bookshelves. The position of the Imperial Exchequer carried with it a certain professional pride expected of a minister with the reigns of an Empire in his hands. Only a handful possessed the will and skill to excel and render unto the Crown its dues. The Rakrya had no such sense of pride, or even the common decency to leave behind a meaningful record of their income and expenses. Often their Exchequer’s fiscal conduct walked the fine line between fiscal incompetence and criminal conduct. Thus the former members of the mage-government found themselves living forever under a writ of execution. Hundreds of Auditors and Accountants poured over the fragmented remains of their ledgers and tried to piece together a budget based on the ghosts of a bygone past. These had been sent to their respective Ministers, and formed the basis for the first revision of the Imperial levies during the tenure of the small, tired Kemite. But enough of that. His own office too could benefit from introspection and revision. Reforms were needed, and to that end the young journeyman had already purged a collection of managers linked with the wrongdoings of the illegal regime. His dark eyes brightened noticeably as the Kemite returned to his desk with another ledger bearing the ominous title of the Budget of the Ministry of Finance. This was the work of cycles compressed into its basest form, a tale of a thousand changes in the pursuit of a singular goal. Beauty lay in the eyes of the beholder, and to the Imperial Exchequer Hsin Zhou this was indeed beautiful.

The core of his domain was the Imperial Treasury; the mechanism through which taxes were collected and revenue doled out to the deserving. Eada Arthelian, Chairman of the Imperial Treasury, ruled her department with a velvet glove and an iron fist. Her one good eye watched employee and citizen alike with the intensity and cruelty of a hawk. She was an Auditor by training, though the middle-aged Esh’lahier was more than skilled in other aspects of finance and management. Beneath her the Imperial Treasury divided further into three departments. The Department of Tax Collection were charged with the careful analysis of a province’s status to decide (and subsequently collect) the Imperial Levy. The Department of Auditing (more well known as the Imperial Auditors) were the most feared branch of the Ministry of Finance; black clothed individuals charged with the investigation of financial waste, mismanagement, and corruption. The last branch was the Department of Accounting, who’s clerks and managers were charged with allocating money to the myriad of different government offices.

Personnel of the Imperial Treasury
Chairman of the Imperial Treasury: Eada Arthelian

Department of Tax Collection (Imperial Tax Collectors)
Director General: 1
Director: 9
Assistant Director: 18
Division Head: 54
Group Manager: 162
Tax Collector: 648
Assistant Tax Collector: 1296

Total: 2,188 (Divided amongst provinces, with greatest concentration in AP.)

Department of Auditing (Imperial Auditors)
Director General: 1
Director: 9
Assistant Director: 18
Division Head: 54
Group Manager: 162
Auditor: 486
Assistant Auditor: 972

Total: 1,702 (Marginal permanent presence amongst provinces, with most in transit or in AP.)

Department of Accounting (Imperial Accountants)
Director General: 1
Director: 9
Assistant Director: 18
Division Head: 54
Group Manager: 162
Accountant: 810
Assistant Accountant: 1620

Total: 2,674 (Divided amongst provinces, with greatest concentration in AP.)

Next was the Imperial Mint. These craftsman (and the not-insignificant amount of guards they hired) were charged with turning gold bullion into the Crowns upon which the Empire demanded for currency. Their employees were almost entirely concentrated in the Imperial Mint in Alleria Prime, save for some experts who consulted with the Imperial Auditors in the pursuit of counterfeiters. The Imperial Moneyer was an open, outgoing dwarf named Blint Steelglint, an Empire renowned goldsmith.

Personnel of the Imperial Mint
Imperial Moneyer: Blint Steelglint

Director General: 1
Director: 5
Assistant Director: 25
Division Head: 125
Group Manager: 625
Craftsman of the Mint: 3125
Assistant CoM: 6250

Total: 10,156

Third came the Imperial Board of Trade. Lord Borst Guilderstein sat as the Chairman of the Imperial Board of Trade along with eight other members. The Chairman of the Imperial Treasury, the Imperial Moneyer, the Governor of the Bank of Alleria, and the Commander of the Treasury Guard all held a seat, as well as the power to nominate a single outstanding economic mind to the commission. Their mandate extended from the establishment of imperial tariffs to standardization for equitable trade, import and export criteria, and the oversight of all commercial entities, merchant leagues, and trade guilds.

Personnel of the Imperial Mint
Imperial Moneyer: Lord Borst Guilderstein
Members of the Board of Trade: 4

Director General: 1
Director: 3
Assistant Director: 12
Division Head: 36
Group Manager: 108
Clerk: 540
Assistant Clerk: 1080

Total: 1,780 (Divided amongst the provinces with the majority in AP.)

Fourth came the immense and arcanic Imperial Bank, the details of which filled three volumes even after Hsin’s own staff had distilled the raw data. Suffice to say that the Lord Lyonnais Torveskalardim, Governor of the Imperial Bank, wielded great power over the economy.

The very last department was the Treasury Guard. General Burgess Rackham recruited his soldiers not only for their martial excellence, but also for their trustworthiness and loyalty. Their mandate was twofold: to protect the Imperial Vaults and those who worked within. There were ten units in the Guard: First and Second Guard based in Alleria Prime and the Third through Tenth Guard based one in each province. Each Guard was furthermore divided into another ten units further divvied amongst the main Vault, local branches, and the transport of the precious golden crowns. They had never been intended as an army, but rather a guard to ensure the uncompromised transport of funds. The Exalted were expected to coordinate their activities with the soldiers of the Imperial Legions. This was not to say that the Treasury Guard could not hold its own in the defense of their shipments. Their transports were each planned meticulously with the care of a surprise raid, and it was a doomed bandit that attempted to raid one of their caravans.

Personnel of the Treasury Guard
General of the Treasury Guard: General Burgess Rackham

Eternal: 3
Exalted: 10
Revered: 100
Honored: 300
Brother: 900
Acolyte: 3600
Initiate: 14,400

Total: 19,313 (Divided amongst the provinces with the majority in AP.)

The young journeyman spent another candlemark reviewing dispatches and reports from his officers before summoning Hochen and asking his secretary and butler to have the carriage prepared. It had been a long day, and every passing day would only be longer. With a soft sigh, Hsin replaced the book, extinguished the lamp, and left his office.

[Alicia Elsdragon]

Timestamp: End of Ioannes, Summer.

Alicia Gil'dae did not have an appointment. She knew that, but she came here anyway. The young elven woman walked in to the reception area that brightening, wearing a pair of blue trousers, the same blue as the sky on a summers brightening, and a white shirt, loose and flowing over them. Her hair was held back loosely and her face wore no make up.

The young elven beauty walked in and smiled at the receptionist with a minimum of fuss. Had she managed to ditch her bodyguard it would have been better, but she considered that she had more hope of actually physically removing her fingernails one by one. Her bodyguard stood behind her, not even considering the possibility of thinking about leaving her.

So, Alicia Gil'dae came in and smiled Serale she said quietly My name is Alicia Gil'dae, I represent the Province of Centripax. I wonder, would it be possible to make an appointment to see the Imperial Exchequer? At his earliest convenience, of course she smiled gently, and waited.

She smiled slightly, looking around. In truth, Alicia liked nothing better than order and she wondered at what sort of man this Hsin was. He had held a job in Centripax before she became Governer there, but she had not met him, in her memory. So she wondered and kept an interested expression on her face.

[Hsin]

No other guests wished to worship in the inner sanctum of the Ministry of Finance this particular day, and since the first rising of the sun the Imperial Exchequer made little use of his secretary and sometimes butler. With very little to do of his own, Hochen Rakyocha retrieved another report and slowly began to skim the cramped script. His old and wrinkled fingers deftly folded a small square of red paper into the likeness of a crane. All in all, it was a rather dull afternoon—until the first turning of the door announced the presence of an unscheduled visitor. Sweeping his paper sculpture into a drawer, the old Kemite rose to his feet and bowed low with his hands clasped in front of his chest. ”Serale and welcome Your Imperial Excellency,” he spoke in a pleasant voice with the hint of a Kemite accent. ”I pray you would give me a moment to consult with the Exchequer. Please do take a seat.”

Without another word the old secretary turned and pushed open the inner doors ever so slightly. Words were exchanged in a language neither Alicia or her guard were likely to recognize, and without pause the receptionist turned back to the guest. He addressed the elf again in the same polite and polished tone. ”You are free to enter, thought His Imperial Excellency would wish your guard remain outside. If that is acceptable, I will leave the door ajar if you need call for his assistance.”

Once she’d consented, Mister Rakyocha rose and held open one of the doors for Alicia to pass through before closing it halfway and returning to his desk and his reading

~~++====++~~

Hsin Zhou sat still and silent in the comfort of the well-worn leather cushions of his chair. As always his office existed in a state of impeccable order. Even the quills stood perfectly perpendicular to the smooth surface of the large mahogany desk. Only a pot of tea and a white Zinn’sunn teacup marred the otherwise unoccupied top of his desk. His grey coat hung on a coat rack by the door, leaving the Imperial Exchequer clothed in a simple crimson shirt and grey pants fastened around the waist by a simple black belt. ”Serale Your Imperial Excellency. It is a pleasure to finally meet the Governor of the Administrate of Centripax,” greeted the Exchequer as he rose and performed a deep bow in the tradition of his people. ”Please take a seat.” continued Hsin as he walked to a small cabinet built into the bookshelves lining both sides of the office. Opening the polished wood doors revealed a small collection of spirits and wines along with a pitcher of water. ”Could I get you something to drink? Or perhaps you’d like a cup of green tea imported from Zinn’sunn. I have a fresh pot on my desk.”

His voice had never been loud in the best of times, and the furnishings of the office swallowed his precise Medonian before it spilled into the atrium. After he’d fulfilled Alicia’s request, the Imperial Exchequer returned to his seat and poured himself a cup of tea. [b]”Now then. What did you wish to speak to me about?

[Alicia Elsdragon]

Alicia smiled and nodded to the receptionist and she glanced at her bodyguard behind her. The blonde haired youth merely nodded his assent and Alicia smiled gently and turned to the elderly secretary. Thank you so much. she said, speaking softly and gently to him. She bowed low, a sign of respect to the elder man and walked gently through into the office as she was given leave.

She smiled at Hsin, and bowed to him It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Imperial Excellency. Thank you, green tea would be most pleasant she said, and then made herself comfortable while he got that sorted. She smiled at him then as he asked what she wanted to speak to him about.

Well, I am Prime anyway, and I wanted firstly to come by and meet you. Although we have not met, I recall that you used to work for Centripax, and I wanted to pay my respects. The second thing, of course, was to discuss the taxes levied and to speak to you regarding them. I would be interested in finding out how you came to those figures and would like to offer my assistance in providing information as well as I can

She smiled, folding her hands in her lap and looked at him calmly. Her mist grey eyes were friendly and she had an open expression on her face.

[Hsin]

Sadly, Hsin Zhou had procured the Kemite memorabilia decorating the office of the Imperial Exchequer at a not insignificant price. Very few goods warranted the cost of overland transportation from the city of Zinn’sunn to the capitol of the Allerian Empire, and arcanic transportation simply raised the price from expensive to ridiculous. Carefully the young Exchequer picked up a china cup from the cupboard by the small saucer with one hand before closing the door with the other. A craftsman had painted the likeness of cherry blossoms hovering over a small stream on the inside and outside of the porcelain with glaze before the final firing. He placed the cup and saucer on the front of his desk and filled it halfway the green-yellow liquid from the small tea kettle. With a half-bow the young mage handed the cup to Alicia before returning to his seat behind the desk. ”Brewed from green tea from Zinn’sunn,” he explained softly as he sat. ”Unlike the normal black teas, green tea’s best served fermented for a short time. It possesses a more delicate taste though I find most elves and humans find all Kemite teas somewhat of an acquired taste.” Hsin let the carpeted floor and the full bookshelves absorb the last faint strain of his voice before speaking again. ”And I, too, did not have the chance to make your acquaintance in Primus Gaudeo. It is a pity that the former Governor Tiyribi Andares took sick. I wonder if my successor as the Provincial Exchequer renovated my offices. There was an iron maiden in one corner as a joke of sorts. Contrary to the opinion of my colleagues, I do on occasion show symptoms of humor. Truly a horrible disease.” He smiled sincerely enough, but his eyes did not change when he did.

” I cannot tell you precisely how the Imperial taxes are calculated. Quite simply there is no single equation we use to determine the magnitudes of our levies, and I would be a derelict in my duties if I pretended there was such an equation.” continued Hsin with only a moment’s pause. ”There are things which cannot be distilled solely into numbers, things like trade, military threats, and political instability. The Department of Tax Collection within the Ministry of Finance engages in a detailed analysis of the state of each province, as well as the distribution of Imperial resources therein. Of course we consider the obvious: population, income, et cetra. But we also look at trade between your cities in addition to trade with your neighboring provinces. To one degree or another these can be recorded, however roughly, in terms of numbers. Then my staff takes a broader view of your province, considering issues from crime to the military deployment of your provincial militias to events in recent history. All this is compiled and travels with the Director of the hitherto mentioned department to Alleria Prime, where the information is transformed through an arcane ritual into the final levies. I jest, but in truth the accounting is complex and not particularly interesting. More importantly, if you province prospers economically and politically, you need not fear the Imperial levies. My Directors will contact your Provincial Exchequer and his office with requests for information regarding the state of your province, and improved cooperation between the two would no go too far amiss.”

”If you wish, I could delve deeper into the various factors we consider while preparing the levies,” he continued after a sip of his own cup of tea. ”However, I must impress upon you that this Ministry is charged with the financial and economic well being of the Empire, and if your province is in need of assistance please do not hesitate to ask for aid. For you, in particular, there is the issue of Zerdargia. How goes the reconstruction and rebuilding? I was not Exchequer for long enough to see the full scope of the devastation, though now I wish I had. My uncle died there, you know, as part of the contingent sent from Midpoint.”

[Alicia Elsdragon]

Alicia took the tea and sipped it gently after a moment or two, enjoying the taste. She put the cup down and spoke, quietly, once Hsin had finished.

I want to co operate with you in every way that I can, but I must be honest with you here. Centripax is in something of a state, frankly. Financially the Province has been beset in the past, as well you know and the Provincial Government suffered greatly. At arond the time that you left, and please, do not think for one moment that this is anything to do with you, but we lost seventy percent of our Provincial Staff. Then, the Governer became ill. Now, things are slowly, oh so slowly starting to get back on their feet, but the Province is fragmented and financially in difficulties. I would appreciate greatly any help that this Office can give me in getting the finances to rights, making sense of the quagmire that we have.

She sat back and looked at Hsin calmly, with an honest expression Please forgive my bluntness, but I felt that I needed to come and talk to you in order to lay things out clearly. I want us to co operate as much as is possible, but I need to be clear with you that things are not cut and dried

understatement of the pattern, Alicia she thought dryly to herself and waited for his response.

[Hsin]

More than a lifetime’s of collective experience provided the raw ore with which Hsin had forged himself an impassive mask of cold flesh. Behind this public face the Kemite could witness the entire spectrum of human experience without shedding a tear or speaking out in anger. It was a necessity of his existence, and for that he apologized to no one. However, as was often the case, every passing brightening slowly revealed some greater truth about the world of Telath and its denizens. He’d learned quickly the value of the saying that honey caught more flies the vinegar, and soon the young minister had begun to craft an altogether friendlier image. The old mask of flesh was not gone, but simply hidden behind a painted mask of clay. As he listened to the governor recite the ills of her province, his lips curled into a friendly smile. ”Nothing is ever cut and dried,” he spoke softly after the elf had finished. His thin fingers were clasped in his lap, intertwined in a fashion used by Kemite in meditation. In a more cheerful tone he continued to respond to her report. ”Though sometimes the simplest answer is indeed the truest. I do not suppose that it would comfort you to know that a number of other provinces are experiencing a similar dilemma. Very well. There are a number of different paths we may take together, some simpler than others. I could walk the simplest path and take control of revenue collection in the Administrate of Centripax and conduct all provincial collections with my own staff. I mean it is the simplest path in that it is neither practical nor desirable. I have neither the staff to do so, nor the inclination to hamstring the recovery of your government. If needed, my Ministry can assist in the levying and collection of Provincial taxes. However, I would believe you and I can agree it best of any Imperial intervention works toward the rebuilding of the civil service, and not merely serve as a temporary crutch.”

”The Ministry of Finance has three departments. The Director of Tax Collection can help you with the assessment and procurement of provincial taxes. The Director of Accounting can help you allocate funding for your reformed government. The Director of Auditing can help rid you of waste and whatever agents may drain away your funding,” continued Hsin after a brief sip of his warm tea. ”As needed, I can assign staff from other branches of the Imperial Treasury to Centripax to provide assistance. What Departments intervene, the length of their intervention, and the breath of their efforts, however, depends on your plans. Do you have an idea already of what you need accomplished?”

[Alicia Elsdragon]

ooc: so so sorry once again! <dances into the thread! >

Alicia watched Hsin, the Imperial Exchequor with an expression that was calm at all times. She nodded, listening to him as he spoke Well, let me be clear that I have no wish to simply hand over the collection of taxes to yourselves or your office, as efficient as you undoubtedly would be, I would take that as a sign of my own failure and I make it a habit to not allow that wherever possible, frankly. I am currently in the situation where I am more or less alone in the Provincial Government, there is no Lt Governer, no Exchequor, no Thane of the other cities. I need time and then I can get my Province in order. What options do I have regarding that?

She sat back and looked at Hsin and watched what his reaction was to this straight talk. She really should learn politics one of these days, she thought with a small smile.

[Venn Drega]

The 20th Brightening of Imperos, XII PF, Late Afternoon

A letter arrived at the office of the Imperial Exchequer. The words found within it were written in an unusual yet elegant script. The message was cordial and concise, belying an ingenuousness:

To His Imperial Excellency, Hsin Zhou, Imperial Exchequer,

Vedui.

Having been newly appointed as the Senator of Centripax, I would like to request any information you have regarding the operating budget for my office. If you would also kindly make the said funds available retroactively to the first brightening of Imperos, Twelfth Era Post Fractum, it would be very much appreciated by my staff who are patiently awaiting their remuneration.

I thank you in advance and look forward to our interaction in the brightenings to come.

In humble service to the crown,

Senator Venn Drega