Overview
For so long the Andashi people have struggled to reclaim their lost identity, swallowed under the sands of Grand Andash. For each step forward in the form of uncovered ancient sites and artifacts by brave Delvers, two steps are taken back by the loss of Janissaries and their life’s coin in the dunes, and the pilfering of willed antiquities by hoarders. Each loss of life, of coin, and of the unspoken structures that hold Andash together, weighs heavier on the shoulders of all Andashi people.
And herein lies the great need for Andashi Patrons - the people of Andash responsible for safeguarding the wills, coins, and contracts of their fellow denizens. As the individuals who hold the accountability for the economic stability of their community, they stand in the way of the grasping hands of the sands that wish to claim back the homes and hearts of Andash.
Need:
Business or Farm Investment
In order to be trusted with the funds and futures of Andash, it is vital that Andashi Patrons demonstrate their ability to maintain an economic venture, whether that be through the support of Andash’s agriculture, its arts, or simply its general activities.
Recommended:
Divine Lore: Panoply
As the safeguards of many people’s livelihoods, Andashi Patrons are well-positioned to encourage those around them to strive for glory and persevere against failure, knowing that, at the very least, their family’s will be cared for through their wills. In this way, many Andashi Patrons already walk in the golden light of the Sphere of Glory, making the additional step to officially becoming a Priest of Panoply no great leap.
Shouldn’t:
Combatant
There is no logic in holding the responsibility for continuation of Andashi culture, promising to keep it safe, and then dying in a ‘glorious’ battle. The safety of oneself, and so the safety of the future of Andash is more important than any single bout of combat.
Costume Marker:
Patron’s Trusts
For all Andashi Patrons, their Trusts are a symbol in which they take great pride - they represent the totality of their community’s belief in them to be responsible for their wills and wealth. Worn around their neck or shoulders, they are a series of carefully-made coin pouches that hold all of the resources given by their community into the accountability of that Patron.
Depending on the individual Patron, these pouches may reside within one larger Trust around their neck, or may form a ‘bandolier’ of sorts across the torso. Due to the close connection between the Patron and those whose resources they protect, many Patron’s choose to embroider or otherwise decorate their Trusts with individualised symbols, representing their conferrers.
A Patron’s Trusts weigh heavily upon the Patron as their conferrers grow in prosperity and population to remind them of their growing responsibility within their community. Upon the untimely loss of a Patron’s conferrer, it is the Patron’s responsibility to ensure that any provided wills are followed, and, in the event that a will does not exist, determine what occurs with the remaining funds. Following this redistribution of wealth and resources, the Trust of that conferror is moved from the front of the Patron’s collection, and is instead worn empty on the back, to represent a duty fulfilled.
Becoming a Andashi Patron:
The process to become an Andashi Patron is a deceptively simple one; in order to be recognised as an Andasi Patron, five or more other people must trust you with their coin, wills, or contracts at the same time - these things must make up half or more of that individual’s wealth. For example, an individual who holds twenty Locks may give a would-be-Patron ten Locks, while another may provide a will for all of their funds in the case that their money returns but their soul does not. Similarly, a child who holds three Keys may confer two of them to a would-be-Patron for safekeeping at the end of a Summit. In the eyes of Andash at large, these three examples are of equal weighting - just as with Tithing, it is the proportion of an individual’s wealth that counts towards becoming an Andashi Patron, not the mass of the wealth itself.
Although the initial five Trusts must be held at the same time for one to become an Andashi Patron, one does not cease to be a Patron if their conferrers pass or choose to spend their coin. Only in the event that an individual chooses to take back their wealth due to lack of trust in their Patron, or chooses not to grow their Trust as their wealth grows does this occur - if this choice leaves a Patron with fewer than five true Trusts, inclusive of those who have since passed, then they are no longer a Patron.
History:
Andashi Patrons, rather than being a lost Grand Andashi tradition reclaimed from the attriting force of sands, are a recent reaction to such losses. Too many artifacts were buried with Delvers who carried them as lucky trinkets, and too much treasure was drowned with Corsairs who tarried at sea. As such, Andashi Patrons have grown out of necessity for the economic benefit and continuation of Andash as a whole.
It was said that the first Andashi Patron held the wealth of a whole generation of Civisello farmers, keeping them safe following the everflowing trades with Obregon. Such was the weight of their Trusts that movement from Civisello became difficult, and so the Patron’s own coin was spent on cultivating a variety of exotic crops within a subsection of an acreage. Here the Patron spent much of their time, assisting the younger generations in the growing of their own field through knowledge and time.
As they began to grow older, and wiser for it, so too did their peers, with many of the Patron’s Trusts being moved to their back as their friends and family began their Journey to The Spheres. With the years, and the emergence of younger Patrons, this Patron’s Trust slowly formed a cloak, made up of duties upheld for those who trusted and respected them.
The first Andashi Patron passed away soon after their final conferrer began their Journey, suffused in the sounds and smells of their patch of Civisello land. The patch remains, now maintained by the youngest generation of would-be-farmers, as does a statue of the first Andashi Patron. Even now, as folks pass the statue on their way to their acreage, many pat the Patron on the back as a thank you for duties done well.
Three Things Andashi Patrons Are:
Trusted Titheholders
To part ways with your coin, resources, or will - to place much of your livelihood in the hands of another - and to know that it will, without doubt, be safely returned, takes a great deal of trust in that individual. And above all, the Andashi Patrons are trusted members of the community, often protecting the funds of their Tribe or Clan - it is known that a future tithe maintained by the hands of an Andashi Patron is safer than one in any bank, vault, or treasury.
Merchants of Repute
Andashi Patrons do not just hold others’ wealth, but are beholden to spend their own, propagating the Andashi economy through the purchase of things of academic and artistic interest. For some Andashi Patrons, this commerce takes the form of purchasing great tapestries to create galleries suffused with life, or perhaps the collection of great tomes of knowledge, to form an ancient arcane library. Regardless of personal interest, it is always noted that Andashi Patrons are as fair in their acquisition of goods as they are in their maintenance of funds.
Transient Traders
Although Andashi Patrons elect not to engage in combat, they are certainly not house-bound. Instead, they are often some of the most-frequently travelling of the Andashi people - there are new relics and resources to be found across Andash and beyond, and getting the best deal often relies upon travelling to the source. An Andashi Patron that hides themselves away at home is one whose wits and coins will surely begin to dull.
Two Things Andashi Patrons Aren't:
Masters of the Tithe
Andashi Patrons are, first and foremost, the economic protectors of Andash, but they are not judge nor jury - an Andashi Patron claiming to have the authority to collect or decide the tithe of another is just as much of a liar and a thief as a common thug may be. While certain individuals may entrust money that they intend to tithe to their chosen Patron, at no point should said Patron take it upon themselves to divy up coin in any way not written in a will upon an untimely death.
Money Hoarders
An Andashi Patron’s Trust may grow heavy with the clinking of currency, but their personal coin-purse should not - their role is to encourage trade and commerce within Andash, and while squirrelling away funds for a rainy day in the desert may seem prudent to some, it often only accomplishes a dry economy dwelling within dry sands.