Economy on Ione

The prevailing—though not exclusive—economies of Ione are based on redistribution, gifting, I-owe-you’s, necessity and capability.

Trades

Reciprocity: “Help thy neighbor” is a courtesy that extends across space and time. You may not be owed food and shelter directly, but people willingly offer it because someone once did it for them.

Mutual Survival: Traders who carry goods that regularly spoil or fail locally. Nothing must be wasted: if it is unneeded or cannot be used where it is, circulators bring it to where it can be of use. No single settlement is self-sufficient. Circulators are recognized as trustworthy and reliable.

Monastic supply networks and temple granaries.

Information Trade: Exchange stories, maps, warnings, news, rumors, techniques, lore. Invited to councils. Asked “what X settlement is up to or in need of currently?”.

Pilgrimage: Movement as meaning. Follows seasonal routes. Specializes in symbolic goods and refuses certain trades as “improper”. Observes rituals at stops. Fulfilling vows, personal discipline. “Circulation keeps the planet alive; stillness invites decay.”

Journeyman: Goes where things need repair or expertise is required. Diagnose needs on arrival. Trade services for materials. Always leaves things better than when they arrived. Pride in their own competence and a desire to be useful.

“Profit” is replaced by social currency: access to places, systems, and people; safety (warnings, escorts, knowledge of shelter); trust and reputation; accumulated knowledge; identity as an essential, dedicated, dependable resource.

Raw money or wealth roles may be replaced by: favors, reputation level, granted and revoked permissions, reduced risk in travel and other situations, and narrative boons.