The
Aelyrian Stock Exchange (commonly referred to as the "ASE", the "Stock Exchange", or "The Exchange") is an institution and organization in
Aelyria that provides a facility in which to trade
shares of merchant and adventuring guilds. Seated in
The Exchange in downtown
Aelyria Prime, the Aelyrian Stock Exchange is the oldest commercial trade center in the world, and anyone who wants to invest in business ventures listed on the exchange can do so and expect to earn a share of its gains - or losses. Thousands of guilds, companies, and ventures are listed on the ASE, and its total market value exceeds 9 Trillion
Crowns.
History
In 8791,
King Constantine began encouraging guilds of adventurers and ventures of heroes, mercenaries, and explorers, to embark on quests throughout the world, austensibly to spread the glory and fame of Aelyria, but also to plunder and profit by defeating beasts and ridding the world of menaces. To support them, the King authorized the use of monies collected through
taxation to fund the costs to arm and equip, train and prepare these adventurers.
The Crown could expect a share of the gains or losses of such ventures, and thus was born the first
Age of Chivalry. The practice of taking a shared risk with adventurers yielded impressive gains, when the
First Expeditionary Guard joined in the Conquest of Lux in 8795. The model was so successful and popular, that soon other nobles throughout Aelyria began to emulate this practice of patrimonial patronage. A
feudal lord was considered backward if he did not nurture and challenge his local heroes by funding and rewarding them. The idea was revolutionary, and transformed the old practice of posting bounties or issuing rewards in the
Guild Hall of Adventurers, and a deep partnership between heroes and royalty was born.
During the
Elven Rebellion,
Empress Michelle created a series of professional ventures called
Expeditionary Forces designed to strike deep into the heart of foreign lands, especially the rebellious territories of
Coldmoon. Other famous ventures formed shortly thereafter included
Queen Charisma's famed royal
Musketeers who would compete with the
Order of the Black Rose on how much treasure they could plunder in the name of the Crown. Yet, throughout this time, funding ventures was largely a decision made by nobles and aristocrats. So, around the outside portico of the
Bank of Aelyria, adventurers began to speak wth rich merchants and wealthy nobles as they went about their business and make their case for funding. The Stock Exchange was born.
Formalization
Once merchants and adventurers began to barter for venture funding, mighty new adventure-merchant hybrid ventures called
companies were formed, and began to leverage trade across cities to return profits to their
shareholders. The wealthiest of these was
Laurylco, which had cornered the market on trading virtually all dry goods - from paper, to soap, and even gadgets and reagents. Its investment benefactor, the Duchess
Aubi of
Lauryl, quickly rose to global prominence by leveraging the connections of her family, the
Lylles, to maximize profits across lands and kingdoms far and wide. The
gnome Duke of
Zerdargia,
Veldar, saw a tremendous opportunity to partner with Aubi, and the two of them purchased the building used by the Bank of Aelyria, now called
The Exchange, and created the Aelyrian Stock Exchange in 9522. Three years later, Aubi would become
High Queen Melody de Lylles, and Veldar appointed first
Exchequer of the Realm.
Operations
The Aelyrian Stock Exchange allows any organized group of adventurers or merchants, commonly called a
Guild, to list itself as being active for trading, and these stocks begin with a default value of One
Gold Crown with one hundred
shares. As shares are purchased by investors, the value of the stock rises and the owners of the guild begin to earn funding. As share are sold by the investors back to the owners, the value of the stock falls. The value of stocks also fluctuates with the changing value of the enterprise. A merchant guild that earns high profits will find its stock rising in value; a failed adventuring expedition could become victim to a sell-off and eventual de-listing.
All stocks are bought and sold in
The Exchange of
Aelyria Prime, but this has not kept other enterprising individuals from participating on the exchange regardless where they may be. Traders routinely establish proxies on the trading floor, trading on behalf of others, receiving their orders by message. The
Society of Kalendryas affixed within their tall observatories large crystals and lenses, enchanted magically, to send messages across the realm using a code of blinking lights, and soon became fabulously wealthy by charging small modest fees for sending messages from one observatory to the other. The result has been an astonishing network of trade across the kingdom, with communication able to be sent in as little as an hour from a prospective buyer in
Aslangrad to the trading floor.
Governance
The Aelyrian Stock Exchange started out as an informal cooperative between merchants, adventurers, and traders, but with the rise of
Melody de Lylles, its jurisdiction fell under the perview of the
Exchequer, who appoints a
Stadtholder to oversee the day-to-day operations. His elegant offices encircle above the trading floor with columned galleries and ornate balconies, so that he can ensure the smooth functioning of the market. The Stadtholder has the power to stop trading - an unheard of horrific occurrence - if the market becomes volatile, such as being subject to an emotional sell-off that could trigger an empire-wide financial crisis. He can also de-list stocks at will, and every stock and bond issued by the Exchange bears his signature and seal.
Current Status
After the collapse of the
Rakrya Magocracy, Lord
Aramil Thamion, the
Exchequer under
Empress Audrey de Lylles and
Emperor Valerian Constantius ordered the Aelyrian Stock Exchange closed indefinitely. Successive administrators and officials have not ordered its re-opening, a decision reserved to the Crown, for fear that it would trigger the financial - and complete - collapse of the Aelyrian Empire.
Aelyrian Stock Exchange
Linear Mode
