7.10 Fulmara · Mercantile oligarchic republic · Chartered-company capitalism (new in v0.2)

Aspect	Design
Inspiration	Historical merchant republics governed by councils of wealthy families (structures broadly like Venice, Genoa or the Dutch Republic) and modern concerns about corporate capture of the state. Stylized; no real city, family or company is depicted.
Land & climate	Storm-lashed headlands and archipelagos; tall rod towers capture storm energy into Stormcells (stored energy used in industry, signal lamps and fast ships – engineering, not magic).
Capital	Arcport.
Currency	Charge (CHG) – free float; mostly bank money issued by the Bank of the Arc, a chartered bank owned by Charter Shareholders. Dividends are paid in Charge and in Toll Coupons – tradeable dividend tokens redeemable against future port-toll revenue. Intended as the busiest currency on the World Exchange.
Religion	Chartered pluralism: any faith may operate once it buys a temple charter (fee set by the Grand Council, capped); congregations may hold shares. The Fair-Wind Vow is the customary faith of crews and convoys, with a chapel in every port, but nobody must belong.
Government	The Grand Council is the body of shareholders voting by Charter Shares (human holders vote their own; AI-held shares vote only through the capped AI bloc, Section 11.9): a fixed register (e.g., 1,000 shares, scaled to population [ASSUMPTION]) of tradeable shares, one vote each, cap 5% per citizen and per linked-account group. The Grand Council elects the Council of Ten (executive) each game year and the Lodestar (head of state and chair of the Ten) by a multi-round lot-and-ballot procedure – random draws of electors alternating with votes – for one 3-game-year term (90 real days), no consecutive re-election. Non-holders and small holders elect, one person one vote, an AI Tribune of the Docks with one veto per session (30 real days) and the power to call a Dock Strike.
Economy	Chartered companies win route monopolies (trade routes to each nation, convoy escort, marine insurance) at Grand Council auctions; low taxes (port tolls, excise); state revenue mostly from charter auctions and tolls, part paid back as share dividends; bond markets for public works. New shares can be issued only by a 2/3 Grand Council vote (dilution politics).
Freedoms	Medium-high: free movement and commerce, full cosmetics, a free press that is mostly owned by trading houses; political voice proportional to shares except through the Tribune.
Pay-to-win guard	Charter Shares can be bought only with in-game Charge earned in play; there is no real-money path to Charge, shares, votes or charters (Section 26), and anomaly detection watches share flows between linked accounts (Section 20).
Weaknesses	Extreme inequality of political power; cartels and hostile takeovers; strikes can halt the economy; low baseline security.
Aesthetic	Government: the Arc Exchange and the share register posted in public. Climate: rod-tower spires, canals under thunderheads. Currency: coupon tickers, bank-house mastheads, trading-house liveries. Religion: Fair-Wind harbor chapels hung with votive ship models; chartered temples of every faith along the quays. Palette: storm violet, electric blue, copper, verdigris.

Why you’d choose it

Fortune is the franchise: trade, insure convoys, outbid rivals for a route charter and buy the share votes the AI board must follow – or join the docks behind the AI Tribune and make the oligarchs pay.