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Ire- Foreign

Foreign Trade

One of the central struggles of the city has been whether the city should trade with the outside world. This has been the main issue that separates the leadership groups of the Inner Government and the Military. The government feels that the best course of action is to open up to as much trade with the Empire as possible. The exact opposite is true of the military led by the Gothmog Ushar (Horde Master). The military see the best course as raid and take what is needed and forget what the Empire gets in return. The military are afraid of allowing foreign traders into the city for fear of spies, possible troublemakers tipping the scales of power one way or the other, or their "filthy" ways being adopted within Ire. Trade is just one more thing that the military forces hate about the outside world. The government backers see trade as the life blood of the city and indeed has been the reason why the city has been able to survive this long. Of course none in the military camp would admit to that.

There are various trade guilds that manage the goods that go in and out of the city. The main trade guild in the city is the Shatroful Onreinn (see Faction article). This guild has been in existence since the city's founding and is know as the greatest threat to any up-and-coming guild or merchant in the city. The Shatroful Onreinn are aggressive in trying to usurp the trade contracts of other guilds and merchants to hold their position as the strongest guild in the city. The guild also has the backing of both the government and military forces when it comes to preference in starting up new trade missions. This does not mean that it is impossible to setup a trade guild or to be a merchant in the city, it just means that just like everything else in Ire, what you do achieve must be taken at the point of a sword.

The main trade goods produced for export from Ire are:

Stone - excavated from the nearby Khardran Mtns, it is an excellent quality hammered by hand by the stone masons within Ire into fine blocks of varying sizes as well as some orkish crafted figures for adornment of buildings.

Iron - excavated from the nearby Khardran Mtns, it is not as high of a quality for creating premium grade dwarven or elven steel but, it is more than adequate for mass producing of various weapons and other products.

Siege Engines - made right in Ire from the great forges, these siege engines come in all shapes and sizes ranging from offensive to defensive in nature, siege and anti-siege, used and new alike. Some engines that are being sold are either war spoils or were used in famous battles thus increasing their value.

Weapons/ Armor - The surpluses of iron within Ire are used to create various types of medium grade weapons and armor. Again, not as high quality to be called premium but most adequate for any city trying to mass produce armaments quickly for a large force.

Slaves - Ire has one of the best stocks of slaves of any city simply because of the frequency of slaves taken in raids and battles. These slaves usually don't spend much time sitting around unsold and all are fresh from the field and not mere resells from other merchants.

Worgs - one of Ire's greatest accomplishments training, breeding, and raising such ferocious beasts in such a way that they can even be used as a commodity is a feat in itself. Ire worgs are Empire renowned for their effectiveness in battle.

The main trade goods needed for import into Ire are:

Food - the sheer number of inhabitants of the city combined with the lack of orcs that don't want to be farmers or animal caretakers creates a sever lack of food in the city. Orcs do not have an exquisite taste for cuisine nor do they look for particulars when they want to eat. The orc diet is mainly meat with the occasional vegetable.

Potable Water - the orc population is content with drinking the rain water that accumulates within the caverns of the city but the more refined races have made the need for potable water a required import.

Barley - the strong angry brew that orcs drink require tons of this import. The orc brew is so strong that the other races in the city are forced to import their own barley to make a less powerful drink.

Wood - the forges of Orckon belch smoke day and night requiring large amounts of wood to keep the great fires burning.

Oil - when the focus of the city is upon arming large forces, the stocks of wood get very thin. The stock of oil is then used to light the homes and buildings of the city. The orc war machine uses this product as well.

Livestock - a large herd of livestock is kept within the city as a live storage of food for those tough eras. Orcs will eat all normal livestock including their own horses if the need be. The only mount they don't eat is the gristled worg.

Foreign Relations

Probably the most difficult and tenuous positions the leadership of Ire face is the relations with its neighbors. The city sits within the Empire protected by an agreement which has more than wore out its usefulness. The agreement that was reached between Emperor Constantine and the first City Master of Ire has enabled the city to stand as a solitary island within a sea of hostile intent. The orcs were given the right to govern themselves and live as they saw fit as long as the delicate balance between the city and the rest of the Empire was held intact. This is made ever so harder as new leaders take power both in Ire and in the governments of the Empire and the local provincial seats. Era after era it is a battle to keep the peace not just within the Sherian Provence but also its neighbors. There is always someone or some event that threatens to break the peace and shove the balance of power one way or the other. This inevitably leads to wars and conflict. The City Master of Ire must gather friends and allies to counterweight the actions of the orc's enemies and even the fool hearty actions of the overzealous Gothmog Ushtar (Horde Master) at times. The current state of relations between Ire and its neighbors stands at this:

State of Relations

as reported by the government of Orckon

Sheria Provence
Taralon: Tenuous leaning toward war
Vers: Tenuous
Narim: Good. Under occupation
Autumnus: Good. Under occupation

Enamoria Provence
Daltina: Tenuous
Malice: Good. Ire tending to refugees

Prime Provence
Aelyria: Tenuous leaning toward war