The North PacificBoard

A Madruejian Opium Poppy

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While agriculture might seem almost impossible in a nation primarily made of desert, Madrueji nonetheless manages to produce a large number of agricultural goods. Advanced irrigation techniques, coupled with the frequent use of canals allows Madruejian farmers to irrigate large swaths of otherwise unusable land. Rivers and deltas that dot Madrueji are rich in silt, and when they flood, they transform the desert wastes into productive farmland.

The most lucrative organic items grown in Madrueji are cotton and silk, generating vast revenue for those who are able to control such an important trade. Other important agricultural and organic products include yucca, cedar and other sturdy trees, woolen and golden textiles, dyes and organic resins, coffee beans, woven carpets and rugs, hides and leather, fish and pearls, salt, and certain spices only found in Madrueji. Alcohol, in all its forms, also makes up a sizeable amount of Madruejian exports.

Madrueji is also heavily invested in the drug trade, and tobacco leaves, opium poppies and cannabis plants dot the landscape, often providing a humble farmer with a far greater amount of income than if he grew traditional crops. Of course, the state tries to maintain as much of a monopoly on this trade as possible and doesn't take too well to any kind of competition. While no official laws exist to prevent farmers from growing this crop, rumor has it that the state will go to great lengths to ensure any independent grower fails in their endeavors.

An ornately made Yatagan

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What is more expected of Madrueji is its vast material and mineral wealth. From the most common of metals to the rarest of gemstones, Madrueji is a literal goldmine, with much of her treasures buried far beneath the ground. Madruejian miners work around the clock to free such valuable items from the depths below, though none seem to have as much success as the Desert Dwarves have.

Officially, all rare gemstones are property of the Shah, but the reality is a bit different. The Desert Dwarves, for example, are only required to surrender a relatively small portion of what they find to the Shah, and average workers and miners will often "pocket" what they find instead of selling their gains to official brokers. These gems go for far more on the black market, even if it is a much riskier proposition.

With all the metal in Madrueji being so abundant, sometimes more than wood, artisans and craftsmen can devote their time to creating all sorts of metallic wonders, such as with the automata of Madrueji. The Shah is always in need of weapons and armor, so much of the metal also go toward this purpose. Gems and other rare stones are likewise used for a variety of different things, some magical in nature, others far more mundane. Nonetheless, some worry that the rate of mining that occurs in Madrueji is depleting its resource far faster than they can be found. Only time will tell if such fears are warranted, for the Madruejian Economy could not survive without the vast amount of metal and gemstones that are found within the country's borders.

In addition to precious stones and metal, Madrueji also has a large quantity of oil within its borders, although such a substance is used mainly in the production of incendiary weapons or as a light source.

A silver Dirham

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Coinage

Madruejian coins come in a variety of different shapes, sizes, and material compositions. Here is just some of the various coins found throughout the nation:

-Circular coins: these include the copper Fals coin, the silver Dirham coin and the gold Dinar coin. They are all circular in shape and are supposed to have a specific weight to them so that all coins hold the same value, although in practice this is often not the case. Many iterations of these coins have been struck throughout the history of Madrueji.
-Knife coins: knife coins take the shape of everyday utility knives. Legend has it that a military commander who was low on coin authorized his coin-stricken troops to barter with their knives in order to secure supplies from villagers. While no one knows of the legend is true, these coins are surprisingly popular within Madrueji, and are also made of copper, silver, and gold. Because they are larger than circular coins, they tend to hold more value and are surprisingly popular in Madrueji.
-Spade coins: spade coins, or shovel coins, are coins that represent farming instruments. Farming is fairly widespread in Madrueji but is nevertheless still rather difficult to achieve in many places. Thus, farming instruments often took on a great amount of practical and symbolic worth and transitioned from tools into actual coins. These coins fall somewhere in between circular coins and knife coins in worth.
-Tyger Tongue coins: Tyger Tongue coins are used exclusively by the elite of Madrueji, and are only made in denominations of silver and gold, never copper. They bear a passing resemblance to the tongues of the aforementioned creatures. Because of their elite association, these coins are often worth far more than their face value or material content.