Portal Exchange

The Portal Exchange is a network of portals located on the plane of Rol'na, founded to provide safe and easy access to key locations across Fillimet. The Exchange is considered neutral territory, outside of any wars in Fillimet, and to break this understanding results in a ban from participation in the Exchange. While the Exchange itself is very open to any who have the appropriate Portal Token, the Rol'nara and their home towns remain secretive and off limits to travelers without a personal connection to them. There are no permanent residents in the Exchange with the exception of the innkeeper and their family. Everyone else is just passing through.

Demographics

Those passing through the Exchange come from all participating nations and walks of life, with a higher proportion of the wealthy and well-to-do merchants. The Rol'nara are a common sight as well, especially due to their work as Portal Guides. The only permanent residents of the Exchange are the innkeeper and their family, who traditionally reside at Travelers' Respite.

Industry & Trade

The Exchange is built entirely around the portals and the infrastructure to maintain and regulate their use. All needed income and supplies are obtained through the sale of Portal Tokens allowing travelers to utilize the portals, with some added income through the sale of short term permits to allow merchants and traders to sell their wares in the Chromatic Market. The Portal Guides themselves are not paid a salary, instead relying upon tips or goods from the Travelers they escorts through the portals. Most guides also being their own Portal Horses, allowing them to collect the fees from those renting the horses to pull their carts through the portals.

Infrastructure

The Exchange hosts the thriving Chromatic Market, home of an every-changing collection of merchants from all across Fillimet. This Market District is now an official section of the Portal Exchange in an effort to clear up the congestion formerly caused by shrewd merchants setting up pop-up stalls randomly throughout the Exchange to entice sales from travelers before continuing to their destinations. The Travelers' Respite is the Exchange's inn, hosting overnight guests who wish to rest before continuing their journey. The inn also contains several meeting rooms which are frequently rented by those seeking a neutral territory for delicate trade negotiations or even peace treaties. The most notable part of the Exchange, however, is the large collection of permanent portals to allow for safe Portal Travel. These portals are divided into sections depending upon location and owning nation, and are only accessible by those bearing the correct Portal Token.

History

The Exchange was founded by Lai'na Starbit, earning her the honorary title of Cha'riv for her success in improving the lives of those on her home plane of Rol'na. Prior to the Exchange the Rol'nara were a poor but close knit community, sharing what little they had amongst their friends and neighbors. The success of the Exchange has brought new opportunities to the plane, for both trade and travel. It has also cemented Rol'na as an officially recognized and respected neutral territory. As the success of the Exchange grows so too does its size. Originally a small collection of portals from major cities the Exchange has grown to include hundreds of locations, with most cities vying for a portal as a boost to their trade as well as a sign of their success. Eventually the Travelers' Respite was built to allow for meetings at the Exchange between distant parties, while also allowing travelers to stay overnight. Soon after the Chromatic Market became an officially sanctioned and regulated part of the Exchange, allowing merchants and traders easy access to the large volume of travelers passing through. Due to its success the Exchange is still growing in size and in influence. So far the Rol'nara themselves have kept to their close knit values, although the Exchange has had a market influence on their culture in the form of the vast array of items passing through as well as their value of colors, especially those caused by heavy exposure to Portal Travel.

Population

Related Ethnicities