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Karlan Trade, founded in 1090 by Enciodes Silverash, is Kjerag's face to the world, spanning trade, arms, real estate, education, tech, and construction. Named after Mt. Karlan, holy mountain of Kjeragandr, it has close ties to the Kjerag government.
Company records claim history back to 1065, when the previous Silverash patriarch, returned from Victoria, founded factories opposed by local conservatives. Enciodes inherited the business at fourteen after his parents' death in 1082, took refuge with the Victorian Duke of Caster, and later returned to found the company.
After a 1097 restructuring, the company—once solely Silverash-controlled—employs Browntail and Paleroche nobles and foreign experts. Concord between Enciodes and his sister, the Saintess heading the Vine-Bead Court, ended clerical and clan opposition, making Karlan Trade Kjerag's de facto representative.
Its structure divides employees into executives, managers, and enforcers. Main constituents are the board, production departments, functional departments, and the Consultation Committee, the latter answering directly to the board and staffed mostly by nobility and Vine-Bead Court representatives.
The author, having visited headquarters and the Lateran branch, recounts a vendor's tale that the company's fortune began with selling "Kjerag mountain ice water."
Karlan Trade, founded in 1090, is a Kjerag company whose business spans virtually anything called "trade": import and export of everyday goods, arms trading, and land and real estate brokerage, plus education, tech, and construction. For most Terrans it is the only insight into Kjerag. Its founder, Enciodes Silverash, was schooled in Victoria, and Victorian influences are clear. The company is named after Mt. Karlan, holy mountain of Kjeragandr, and its close ties to the Kjerag government mean its employees often represent Kjerag diplomatically—making it, in public representation, effectively the Kjerag government.
Company records claim history predating the 1090 founding: in 1065 the previous Silverash patriarch returned from study in Victoria and founded factories and Victorian-style enterprises, the company's precursor, which met strong opposition from local conservatives. Enciodes inherited the business at fourteen after his parents' death in 1082. Facing mortal danger, he took refuge with the Victorian Duke of Caster, cousin to his maternal grandmother, and maintains "close ties" with Victorian relatives even after returning to found Karlan Trade in 1090.
A 1097 restructuring gave Karlan Trade powers to modernize Kjerag. Once solely Silverash-controlled, it now employs nobles of the Browntail and Paleroche, and non-Kjerag natives may hold high positions. A concord between Enciodes and his younger sister, the Saintess of Kjerag and head of the Vine-Bead Court, removed clerical and clan opposition.
Its vertical model separates members into executives, who propose and vote on important matters; managers, who divide instructions into tasks and filter issues upward; and enforcers, regular employees carrying out tasks. Executives and managers are mostly Kjerag nobility and intellectuals, with recent foreign recruits; enforcers come from the common folk. The main constituents are the board of directors, production departments, functional departments, and the Consultation Committee. The first three resemble an average Victorian company; the Consultation Committee, comprising field experts answering directly to the board, coordinates departments and makes recommendations based on Kjerag's overall interest, its members mostly nobility and Vine-Bead Court representatives.
Because such a behemoth squeezes the market, the Vine-Bead Court and Tri-Clan Council require annual reports and roadmaps, and joint conduct of any national-defense-related business. The author, having visited the Kjerag headquarters and the Lateran branch, sensed a youthful vitality there, with busy, smiling employees, contrasting with stuffy Victorian noble enterprises.
The mission is to "unite all forces that can be united, and work together for the peace and prosperity of Kjerag"—a slogan Karlan Trade has consistently maintained, winning over former opponents. Yet how it all began remains vague. Karlan Trade's own materials credit Silverash's hard work and family support. A Forte vendor, however, revealed a finely wrapped bottle of "Kjerag mountain ice water," behind the "mountain ice water tea" fad that swept Victoria; Gnosis Edelweiss, the project's brain, was once chief technical officer. In Kjerag one hears: "Hail to young master Silverash, the great entrepreneur!"
KARLAN TRADE CO.,LTD.
EPIGRAPH
Over the past year, the collective efforts of our employees have led to significant growth in all aspects of Karlan Trade's operations. The trust and support of our clients have built a firm foundation for our future success. We must not forget, however, that as our strategy grows, so does the responsibility that falls on all our shoulders...
- New Year's address by the Consultation Committee representative, 1099 Karlan marketing materials
The Kjerag company Karlan Trade casts a wide net in terms of its business, encompassing virtually anything that falls under the banner of “trade”, from the important and export of everyday goods, to arms trading, to land and real estate brokerage. It is also active in many other areas, including education, tech, and construction. For most Terrans, Karlan Trade, founded in 1090, offers the only insight into Kjerag. The company founder, Enciodes Silverash, went to school in Victoria, and the Victorian influences are clear.
Karlan Trade was named after Mt. Karlan, the holy mountain of Kjeragandr, god of the Kjerag people. The people of Kjerag are devoted to their faith. Even the name Karlan Trade itself highlights its close ties to the Kjerag government. The employees of Karlan Trade often represent Kjerag on diplomatic occasions; in a sense, it is the Kjerag government, at least as far as public representation is concerned.
While Karlan Trade was formally founded in 1090, company records claim a history that dates back several decades more. In 1065, the previous patriarch of the Silverash returned to Kjerag after studying abroad in Victoria, founding a series of factories and Victorian-style enterprises that formed the precursor to Karlan Trade. But new things were not welcome in Kjerag at the time, and these ventures met with strong opposition from local conservative elements.
Enciodes Silverash inherited the family business after his parents' death in 1082. He was fourteen years old at the time. Inheriting such fortune and station at such a young age immediately put him in mortal danger, but the young Silverash was sharp and decisive, and quickly took refuge with the Victorian Duke of Caster, who was cousin to his maternal grandmother. Receiving an excellent education
Other than a few specially engaged experts, the management of Karlan Trade is almost exclusively members of Kjerag's noble clans, the majority of them from the Silverash. It is the first of its kind in Kjerag, a company that is financed, created and managed by nobles, though this model is commonplace in Victoria. These corporations have a tendency to entice support from those in power with their noble titles and the pretense of local development, but inevitably reveal their true, selfish colors in a few years. After all, it is not development itself that the nobles care about, but the benefits that such development brings them. It is my sincere hope that Karlan Trade will prove an exception to the rule, and become a new hope for this land.
under the care of his relatives, the new leader of the house maintains “close ties” (direct quote from Karlan Trade’s public materials) with his Victorian relatives, even after he returned home to found Karlan Trade Co., Ltd. in 1090.
Karlan Trade underwent a major restructuring in 1097. Per Karlan Trade’s official statement: “The nobles and clerics of Kjerag have recognized the reality of our rapidly evolving society through the tireless efforts of Karlan Trade, and have collectively agreed to bestow upon Karlan Trade the powers needed to modernize Kjerag in these changing times.” Karlan Trade has since become the face of Kjerag, and its de facto representative. The restructuring resulted in significant changes in the company’s organization: Previously solely controlled by the Silverash, the company now employs numerous nobles associated with the Browntail and the Paleroche, and non-Kjerag natives are now permitted to hold high-level positions in the company. The concord that president Enciodes reached with his younger sister, the Saintess of Kjerag and head of the Vine-Bead Court, removed any opposition to Karlan Trade and Silverash’s reforms from the clergy and clans.
Karlan Trade’s new vertical model of operation separates its members into three groups: Executives, managers, and enforcers. Executives are the company’s top leadership, with the power to propose and vote on important company matters. Managers are the leaders of their respective departments, responsible for dividing instructions from the executives into tasks and assigning them to employees, and for aggregating issues encountered by employees and determining whether to report them to the executives. Finally, enforcers are regular employees who are responsible for carrying out tasks according to the instructions of the managers. Executives and managers consist mostly of Kjerag nobility and intellectuals, though foreign experts have also been recruited into their ranks in recent years. Meanwhile, enforcers generally come from the common folk of Kjerag.
The main constituents of Karlan Trade are the board of directors, production departments, functional departments, and the Consultation Committee.
Though many have not even heard of his name, the leadership of Enciodes Silverash is inseparable from the success of Karlan Trade, which has expanded its operations from remote Kjerag to most of Terra’s major countries in less than a decade. The blue-blood Kjerag entrepreneur continues to fight for opportunity in a rapidly changing land, with Karlan Trade as his weapon. Most who know him believe that he is as committed to serving Kjerag with his talents and vision as Karlan Trade’s marketing department claims. Throughout the course of history, however, such geniuses rarely see just a single corner of the land.
Silverash knows that, for business visitors to Kjerag, Karlan Trade represents the face of the Snow Realm. He has therefore hired the best designers to build the reception room in Karlan Trade’s Kjerag headquarters. Combining modern concepts with traditional aesthetics, the hall presents Kjerag tradition in an avant-garde manner.
The first three are no different from an average Victorian company. In the end, all major decisions are made by a small group of people sitting in a meeting room. The president is the highest authority in the company, while the chief executive officer oversees the day-to-day operations of the departments. The production departments consist of the company's factories and farms, while the functional departments consist of administration, R&D, security, and other functions.
The Consultation Committee is distinct from the company's regular management structure, and the most interesting part of Karlan Trade. Comprising experts from various fields, it answers directly to the board of directors and is responsible for coordinating the various departments and making recommendations based on the overall interest of Kjerag. Because of its independence, a high degree of loyalty is called for amongst its members, who are mostly nobility and Vine-Bead Court representatives.
The international nature of Karlan Trade's operations require the company to be able to respond to a rapidly changing society. It seems inevitable that Karlan Trade will add new departments in the future in response to Terra's unpredictable international situation.
The presence of such a behemoth undoubtedly squeezes the market, and so certainly regulatory measures are necessary. The Vine-Bead Court, Tri-Clan Council and Karlan Trade have reached a series of agreements, to ensure that Karlan Trade will always have Kjerag's best interests at heart. Karlan Trade is required to submit annual reports and roadmaps to the Vine-Bead Court and Tri-Clan Council, and any business relating to national defense must be conducted jointly with the Vine-Bead Court and Tri-Clan Council.
I have visited the Karlan Trade head-quarters in Kjerag, and the company's Lateran branch after I moved to Laterano. Despite the distance between them, I sensed a common youthful energy and excitement between them. By "youthful", I am referring not to physical age, but vitality of spirit. Compared to the stuffy, pressure-filled traditional noble enterprises that I have seen in Victoria, Karlan Trade and its employees demonstrate an unfamiliar quality. I spent a fair amount of time there, watching busy but smiling employees go about their business at a brisk pace, hoping that this is a quality that they can maintain for the long-term.
The mission of Karlan Trade, and the Silverash's management philosophy, are to "unite all forces that can be united, and work together for the peace and prosperity of Kjerag". The slogan seems trite, deceptive even, but it is one that Karlan Trade has consistently maintained. This philosophy manifests itself in how Karlan Trade managed to earn the support of those within Kjerag who once staunchly opposed the changes it championed. While Karlan Trade is rapidly growing, it remains relatively unknown in most countries. Perhaps that, too, will change in time.
Karlan Trade's business spans virtually every area of everyday life, which leads one to wonder: Where did it all begin? Karlan Trade's own materials claim that Mr. Silverash founded Karlan Trade after he returned from Victoria through his own hard work and with the support of his family. Well, that hardly answers any questions, does it?
When I mentioned this question in passing with a local vendor in Kjerag, the Forte, who was about my age, furtively took a finely wrapped box from under his stall, and gave it to me as a gift. "This, sir, is how young master Silverash made his fortune," he said. When I returned to my room, I opened the box and found a bottle of drinking water. It reminded me of the "mountain ice water tea" fad that swept Victoria a few years back, and this little bottle of "Kjerag mountain ice water" was behind it all. Gnosis Edelweiss, the brain behind the project, was apparently Karlan Trade's chief technical officer at one point. I made a cup of tea with the water. As I caught a whiff of the aroma, I was reminded of a salute that I had heard more than once in Kjerag: "Hail to young master Silverash, the great entrepreneur!"
Karlan Trade's special limited-edition mountain snow-water. The labels said it was taken from Mt. Karlan, and was the embodiment of Kjeragandr's breath.
Karlan Trade's claim of "Completely Pure, Zero Originium" may well be true, though the amount of Originium present in most drinking water is negligible. Cases of adverse reactions from drinking water with excessive Originium has only been known to occur in areas with severe industrial pollution.