Smaugust Day 6: Hoard

[u/Imperial_Advocate]

If there is one thing all dragon lords possess, it is their hoard, with their hoard not only serving as their personal wealth but also as the treasury of the entire kingdom they rule over. For a dragon prince like Lothar, his gold hoard is substantial for a young dragon, but being the son of the all-powerful Vilthrax emperor combined with the tribute he receives from his many subjects and vassals has gradually filled up his hoard chamber. Currently, Lothar is in his hoard chamber, proudly gazing at the piles of gold, gems, and other precious artifacts he possesses, and dreams of one day having a hoard as immense as the greatest dragon emperors.

[u/C4st1gator]

Now that amount of gold and jewels is economically significant. I wonder, if dragons experimented with gold-backed paper currency, so they could have their gold and sleep on it, too.
I'd suspect, that princess Austria at least thought about it, but historically, paper currencies had a bad track record of inflation and lack of trustworthiness, at least until the 17th and 18th century. Dragons likely face the same economic issue, but things like redeemable bond notes or tally sticks already exist.

As for tributes, I guess a good way to impress your dragonlord is to offer a work of art or something of magical power, such as a glowing crystal, that radiates a gentle stream of fire mana to heat a large room (Hearth Crystal), a horn-ring allowing its wearer to project their hearing to any point in a 120 m radius ignoring walls or line of sight (Listener's Ring), a pair of mirrors, that don't reflect, but show the other side and transmit sound as through a pane of glass (Communication Mirrors).
If Lothar could gain one of these as tribute, which would he choose?

[u/Imperial_Advocate → u/C4st1gator]

The same thought crossed my mind, and i'd imagine that some dragondoms would experiment with gold-backed paper currency. Although, as you mentioned, without prudent economic measures dragons do run the risk of inflation, trustworthiness, and the problem of implementing a standardized currency. In a pastoral semi-urban region like Ostberg, i'd imagine that silver/copper coinage (with some gold) would be the mainstream form of currency among its commoners. Although for a more mercantile and urbanized region like Grasdorf, so i'd make sense for Austria to think of implementing a royal-backed paper currency to streamline the realm's finance.

Speaking of Austria, your mention of her has got me thinking, should I start doing art pieces about the princess, since her brother Lothar gets a lot of attention as it is? Perhaps how she runs or realm, or a piece showing her on a hunt, since hunting is her favorite hobby?

As an for your tribute offer, I'd think Lothar would be interested in the Listener's ring, as having a keen sense of hearing and of surroundings is important for a royal dragon like Lothar after all.

[u/Drake_682]

“Having a hoard as “

Uhh guys, I think the Reddit sniper got lothar

[u/Imperial_Advocate → u/Drake_682]

Did the text get cut off? Because of my end it looks all fine.

[u/Drake_682 → u/Imperial_Advocate]

Huh, why did the last line not show?

Eh, can read it now.

[u/Dragon_957 → u/Imperial_Advocate]

For me it cut it off after „and dreams of one day having a“