Above the mage!

Chapter 558 Anivia
In a world dominated by the gold standard, the circulation of currency appears to follow the principle of "purity is king":

In theory, gold coins, provided they are of sufficient purity and weight, can be used as an equivalent regardless of their country of origin.

However, in reality, the "acceptance" of a currency still exists, and the gaps between them are extremely large.

Gold coins minted by small principalities often had exceptionally difficult circulation even in neighboring countries.

However, the gold coins of major powers can become "hard currency" and even cross continents.

The most recognized and widely used currencies were undoubtedly the Plantagenet coins of the Plantagenet dynasty and the Imperial Throne Gold of the Holy Empire.

The root causes of this gap are mainly three: circulation efficiency, credit security, and scenario binding.

First is circulation efficiency.

For merchants, "whether the currency can circulate quickly" is more important than "whether the currency itself is pure gold".

After all, business is all about speed of turnover, and no one wants to waste time verifying or exchanging a single gold coin.

Large nations, especially the Plantagenet dynasty and the Holy Empire, had vast territories and dense trade routes, allowing their gold coins to circulate directly among all city-states within their borders and even neighboring vassal states.

Once merchants receive the currency of a major country, they can use it to purchase goods and complete the next round of transactions on the same day without any exchange.

In contrast, gold coins from small countries circulate only within their own country or in neighboring small areas. Merchants who collect these coins must then go to a gold shop to exchange them for gold coins from larger countries before they can continue to use them, which is not only a waste of time.

In addition, exchange fees and exchange rate differences must be paid, making the cost even higher.

Another key aspect of liquidity efficiency is whether currency can be verified quickly.

Larger countries' currencies are also more standardized, resulting in lower verification costs.

Large countries typically have unified official coinage standards, and their currencies are mass-produced using sophisticated gold-refining machines.

The weight, size, and thickness are completely consistent, and the coin surface is flat with regular edges.

Merchants can quickly verify coins when they receive them, but smaller countries often cannot do so precisely, resulting in coins of varying sizes and weights, making verification more difficult.

Credit security is also very important.

The strength and stability of the Plantagenet Dynasty and the Holy Empire make Plantagenet coins and Imperial Throne Gold coins less risky, avoiding hidden losses and becoming synonymous with credit security.

On the continent of Nolan, or rather, in the entire mage plane, most countries are facing the problems of war, destruction, and regime change.

For example, the Duchy of Westerlands, to which Elsa belongs, is a typical example.

It was annexed by the neighboring Principality of Russo-Voka, and its legal tender, the silver and copper coins, was abolished and became obsolete.

Even the Westin gold, because its markings were invalidated by the Principality of Ovoga, instantly changed from "currency" to "pure gold ingots," requiring remelting before it could be used.

The losses suffered by Siddi gold holders were not only due to the inevitable losses from remelting, but also to the appreciation of the currency itself.

Ancient dynasties like the Plantagenet dynasty never experienced the collapse of their regime or the invalidation of their currency.

The Holy Empire was at its zenith, still expanding and enjoying great prosperity.

This gave the currencies of the two great empires an exceptionally long shelf life, or "credit security".

In addition to their stable regimes, the Plantagenet dynasty and the Holy Empire possessed more advanced minting techniques, with intricate designs that made them extremely difficult to counterfeit.

This move significantly boosted the creditworthiness of both countries' currencies.

If "circulation efficiency" and "credit security" are what make merchants "voluntarily choose" between the Golden Bird Flower coin and the Imperial Throne Gold coin...

So "scenario binding" means making merchants "have no choice" to choose it.

In layman's terms, scenario binding means that major countries, by setting rules, deeply bind their currencies to core transaction scenarios, creating a situation where "it's impossible to move an inch without using them."

Like the Plantagenet dynasty, which has strict and clear regulations:
Within the dynasty's territory, all official transactions and large transactions exceeding a certain amount must be conducted using Golden Bird coins. Violators will be fined 50% of the transaction amount, or even have their goods confiscated.

The Holy Empire had similar regulations, even more stringent ones.

For merchants to cooperate with the officials of the two great empires, they had to accept these rules.

This "official coercion" made the Golden Bird Flower Coin and the Imperial Throne Gold Coin "a stepping stone to doing business with major powers".

In addition to mandatory rules, the two empires also encouraged caravans to use their own currencies through tariff preferences.

The Plantagenet dynasty established specific customs regulations in its coastal ports:
Paying customs duties with Golden Bird coins entitles you to a 10% reduction.

If customs duties are paid in other currencies, they will be converted at a premium and no preferential treatment will be given.

Under this rule, the same batch of goods, when converted using Golden Bird coins and other currencies, can have a price difference of over 10%.

This disparity forced caravans to exchange their gold coins in advance, as no one wanted to waste money.

The Holy Empire even implemented rules at certain checkpoints:

Paying customs duties with Imperial Throne Gold allows for priority passage (no need to queue).
Payments made in other currencies will take at least 3 days and require additional collateral.

For caravans that prioritize speed, this time cost is more unbearable than the monetary cost, so they will naturally prioritize the Imperial Throne Gold.

This dual constraint of trade route monopoly and tariff guidance made the Golden Bird Flower Coin and Imperial Throne Gold Coin essential for cross-border trade.

Even with all of the above, and despite the difficulties of implementing a national currency, including low acceptance and obstructed circulation, any country with an independent government, even a tiny country with a territory of only a few hundred miles, would inevitably mint its own currency upon its founding, and there is absolutely no possibility of directly using the currency of a major power.

While arguments such as "cultural imprint" and "symbol of sovereignty" have some merit, they are not the root cause.

The real reason that made the rulers of various countries make up their minds was actually only one thing: seigniorage.

What is seigniorage?
That is, the profit from the difference between the face value of the currency and the cost of minting it.

When a country mints a coin with a face value of 1 gold coin, if the total cost of gold, labor, equipment, etc., for minting this coin is only 0.8 gold coins, then the difference of 0.2 gold coins is the seigniorage that the country receives.

For any country, seigniorage is by no means a dispensable revenue, but rather an important source of national revenue.

If a country abandons minting its own currency and instead uses the currency of a major power, it means handing over this huge profit to another country.

No country can accept this.

Including the northern border.

More importantly, although Gao De did not have an in-depth understanding of economics, he still understood that the significance of the right to mint coins went beyond fiscal revenue.

The right to issue coins also implies autonomy in monetary policy, which is an important means of regulating market stability.

For example, when food prices fall, the money supply can be increased to stimulate consumption; when metals are in short supply, the minting of coins can be reduced to stabilize the value of the currency.
Gaode's goal wasn't just to collect seigniorage from minting coins, but also to prevent the Northern Kingdom's currency from becoming a self-contained currency of a small, isolated nation.

While it may not be able to rival the Golden Bird Coin and the Imperial Throne Gold Coin in the future, it should at least become a currency that can circulate in most regions.

This will definitely require a lot of effort, and most importantly, the North needs to be strong enough.

Of course, that happened later.

The first thing to do now is to ensure that the currency of the North has the "high standards" of a major power's currency from the minting stage.

"The three-tier grading system of gold, silver, and bronze is the foundation; it's a universal system that can't be changed."

Neither Sunefa nor Elsa objected to Gaode's explicit request; in fact, they both thought so too, with Elsa taking the lead in setting the tone.

“But we can work on aspects like standardized specifications, purity, anti-counterfeiting technology, and cultural symbols to make Northern currency closer to the standards of larger countries from the very beginning.” “In addition, we can start with silver and copper coins.” Sunefa nodded slightly and said.

Elsa agreed: "These two levels of currency, because of their low value and low raw material prices, are mainly used within the territory of large countries like the Plantagenet Dynasty and the Holy Empire."

"So we'll use them as practice first. Even if we make adjustments to the final design, the impact will be relatively small, and we can use them to refine the coin-making process."

“The name and symbol of currency should be strongly related to the culture of the country,” Elsa added.

This is a consensus.

Just like the bronze coins of the Plantagenet dynasty, which were engraved with the national guardian stone statue: the glorious colossus, hence the name bronze stone coins.

The silver coins are engraved with half-length portraits of the ancestors of the Wang Mian family and the silver dragon bird, a national treasure of the dynasty, hence the name Silver Dragon Coin.

The gold coin features a bust of Liszt I and the coat of arms of the Plantagenet dynasty, hence its name.

Because they are strongly related to the national culture, the implementation of these three levels of currency went relatively smoothly from the beginning.

Conversely, as the Golden Flower Coin became widely circulated in the Mage Realm, people also gained some understanding of the culture of the Golden Flower Dynasty.

“Zhenbing, [North Wind], [Blizzard], and Ice Jade Wutong.” Based on this idea, Gaode quickly proposed the four iconic elements of the North, or rather, Phoenix.

“And you, War Mother, and Lady Flora,” Elsa suddenly spoke, her gaze shifting between God and Sunefa.

If a nation were to be established, God and Sunefa would be the so-called "first generation," the founders.

Traditionally, the two figures' busts would be engraved on the currency.

This is not only an honor, but also a symbol of the regime's legitimacy.

The only controversy may lie in whose bust should be placed on the gold coins in the future.

“And Yugathaira and Anivia.” Sunefa, who had been listening attentively, spoke up at this moment, her voice calm yet carrying an undeniable power.

Yugathira could understand that although it was a new thing in the North, its importance to the North was now unmatched by anything else.

But another word, "Anivia," surprised Gao De, who raised an eyebrow and looked at Sunefa.

This term is both familiar and unfamiliar.

The familiarity lies in the fact that when Gao De advanced to the second ring and awakened his specialty [True Ice Bloodline], he knew that he actually had the blood of Anivia flowing in his veins.

It was the blood of Anivia that granted him the Bloodline of the True Ice.

But God had no idea who Anivia was.

He asked Sunefa, who couldn't give a clear answer at the time, but believed that the records related to Aenevia must have been lost to history.

Why are you suddenly bringing them up again?

Sunafa met Gao De's inquisitive gaze.

She naturally understood what Gaode cared about and what he was wondering about.

“I had never heard of Anivia before and knew nothing about her.”

"But after killing that void creature last time, for some reason, the solidified power of the Iceborn bloodline in my body inexplicably loosened."

"With this loosening, a few days ago, during the Winter's Hammer, the power of my bloodline actually erupted, not only awakening several more True Ice spells for me, but also bringing in a fragmented knowledge inheritance carrying an ancient aura."

"It was during this short period of knowledge transmission that I first learned the name Anivia."

Gao De stared intently at Sunafa, leaning forward slightly to signal her to continue.

Sunefa took a deep breath, her voice filled with awe: "Anivia is an ancient guardian of the North, a great being who wields the power of life, death, and resurrection."

"She brought the ballad of the first snow to the North, a snow that was not the biting cold, but a gift wrapped in life, falling on the barren ice plains, allowing hardy plants to break through the soil and fish and shrimp to emerge from the frozen rivers."

"She helped the people of the North survive the most dangerous first few centuries, and thus they were followed and worshipped by the ancient people of the North, who regarded her as the mother of the North."

"More importantly, Anivia brought the North the greatest and most precious gift."

At this point, Sunafa paused, unusually keeping everyone in suspense.

"True Ice, Anivia created True Ice!" Finally, she revealed the answer.

This answer made Gaode's heart skip a beat.

True Ice, such a powerful substance, is also a symbol of the North.

It was actually created by Anivia?

Just how terrifying is Anivia's power?

"Then what exactly is she, where is she now, and why has she disappeared from the history of the North?"

"This short piece of knowledge transmission did not tell me what Anivia's true form is."

Sunefa shook her head and said regretfully, "This legacy is too fragmented. It only vaguely mentions that her power is connected to the land of the North. Perhaps she is an elemental spirit, or perhaps she is an even more ancient being."

"I may only be able to see the more specific details after I advance to the fifth ring and gain more memory inheritance."

"As for why she disappeared from the history of the North..."

Sunafa said softly, "The reason given in that fragmented knowledge inheritance is that in ancient times, the Northern Territory suffered an extremely terrible catastrophe."

"During that catastrophe, Anivia exhausted all her primal power to protect the North and quell the calamity, but she also fell."

"After she fell, as time passed and the tribes of the North changed, people gradually forgot her name."

"Originally, she existed within the knowledge passed down through the Iceborn bloodline, which allowed her name to be passed down forever. However, the inexplicable weakening of the Iceborn bloodline's power has made it difficult to access the memories related to Anivia."

Even a pure-blooded Iceborn like Sunefa only gained some knowledge of Anivia when she was at the peak of her fourth ring.

"You mean, Anivia sacrificed herself in ancient times to protect the North?" Gaudy frowned.

“There was no sacrifice,” Sunefa shook his head, saying with absolute certainty, “Anivia possesses the powerful ability to resurrect, and as long as the North exists, her soul is immortal.”

"Therefore, although she fell, she did not die, but transformed into a flower, waiting for the opportunity to be reborn in a slumber of thousands or even tens of thousands of years."

After speaking, Sunafa lightly snapped her fingers, and a faint blue light emanated from her fingertips.

Tiny ice crystals instantly condensed in the air. These ice crystals seemed to have their own consciousness, spinning and colliding in the air, gradually combining into a flower the size of a palm.

The petals are a dreamy pale purple, gradually turning into a deeper indigo from the edges to the center of the flower.

Each petal has a smooth curve with slightly curled edges, resembling the outstretched tail feathers of some creature. The texture is so delicate that it looks as if it has been carefully sculpted, yet it is covered with a layer of translucent ice film, beneath which tiny specks of light can be faintly seen moving.

Instead of the usual pollen found in flowers, there was a cluster of pulsating golden light at the stamen.

Its flickering light evoked images of flames.

"This is the flower that Anivia transformed into after she fell; it's called the Purple Jade Flower."

(End of this chapter)