Although the new Temple of the Reaching Moon was to be the magical and religious center of the province, Boldhome remained the administrative center for the Lunars. The Provincial Governor of Dragon Pass (Euglyptus, Fazzur, and Tatius) served as the Red Emperor’s proxy in that province, and was overseen by the Provincial Overseer. The provincial governor combined military, religious, and civil functions and was assisted by personal staff. The primary responsibility of the Provincial Governor was to secure and expand Lunar power in Dragon Pass and beyond.
To the extent possible, the Provincial Governor was to be financially self-sustaining, collecting taxes and tolls, and imposing other tribute in order to pay the large number of soldiers assigned to Dragon Pass. In 1625, there were approximately 15,000 Lunar soldiers in Dragon Pass. In addition, from 1613-1625 the Provincial Governor was responsible for the construction of the Temple of the Reaching Moon, a vast monumental building covering 10 hectares (about the same size as the Upper City of Jonstown).
This meant that not only was the Provincial Governor collecting money from merchants, tribal leaders, temples, cities, etc., but was receiving regular infusions of silver from Glamour. Several treasuries were set up. The first was in Boldhome. In 1622, construction of the Temple of the Reaching Moon had progressed far enough that a second treasury was established there. A third treasury was established in New Pavis, for the Lunar Prax province. These treasuries stored silver, minted coins, and a small army of scribes tracked receipts and expenditures.
Argrath seized the New Pavis treasury when he took that city in 1624 (despite efforts by the Provincial Governor to escape with the treasury). The treasure at the Temple of the Reaching Moon was lost to the Dragonrise, and is believed to be at the bottom of the chasm called the Dragon Rest. The Boldhome treasury was seized by Kallyr Starbrow shortly after the Dragonrise, and it funded her attempted Lightbringers Quest later that year.
As always, these are notes for stuff I have been working on that I thought might be of interest. This was a short note that I wrote to try to think how Kallyr Starbrow was able to pay for her massive Short Lightbringers Quest. The answer was – the Lunars did!
And this is a question I ponder any time I write about a temple complex or a magnificent city structure – who built it and how were they paid? Same thing with armies – how are the fed and how are they paid. Sometimes the answer is a cheat – who built Boldhome? The dwarves! How were they paid? Only Sartar knows! But even that “cheat” explains a lot.
Where did the workers come from that built the Temple of the Reaching Moon? I imagine many of the workers were actually hired Sartarite stonemasons, who are noted for their skill and ability.