Blood Red Wednesdays: The Ward of Gildguld

Mirrored City: The Ward of Gildguld

(God of Tax Collectors- The Merchant District)

Called the Lifestealer, Gildguld was a mountain spirit, a giant of the deep inner earth. Mined from the earth by the Hungry Empire and forged into coins; Gildguld was thus sacrificed and elevated to the status of Dead God of Tax Collectors. In his new role as enslaved deity of coin and taxation, Gildguld diverts the populace to look at his false wealth and false prosperity and then demands a share of their labors back to fuel the Hungry Empire.

The Ward of Gildguld is divided into three Districts: the Cudgel District, the Abacus District, and the Flag District. The Cudgel District is the location of the Home Office for the Tax Enforcement Division of Imperial Tax Collectors, and also the site of the statue of Gildguld The Patrician. The Abacus District is the location of the Home Office of the Tax Assessment Division of the Imperial Tax Collectors and the site of the statue of Gildguld The Provider. And the Flag District is the location of the Propaganda Assessment Office, which operates under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Tax Collectors, and the Flag District is also the site of the statue of Gildguld The Patriot. 

The Ward is orderly, though dusty and cluttered with paper litter. Ghost folk who inhabit the Ward tend to wear middle class clothing worn until threads are smooth and and holes are worn in knees and toes. The dominant colors of the Cudgel District are the black and white of cracked and peeling paint and the dusty brown of dry rot timber and aging leather. In the Abacus District the dominant colors are the dusty beige and faded yellow of paper records, piled high and then sorted and then forgotten until useful as blackmail. The Flag District stands in stark contrast to the other two Districts of the Ward, sporting gold and crimson against black and white. The Flags and patriotic posters that seem to spread across the Mirrored City begin here in the Flag district and extends outwards like a blast radius. There is a garishness to the color though. The gold is flaking paint and certainly not real gold. The red is uneven, as the cheap pigments used require frequent touch ups that are not always done as frequently as would be necessary to avoid fading.

The Men of Black and White patrol here, of course, but the Imperial Tax Collectors (staffed by the nobility) are the real power here- big fish in their little pond. Being noticed here is rarely a good thing, There is always time for a tax reassessment.