The Furnace Levy

The Furnace Levy gathers ore, grain, captives, conscripts, charcoal, beasts, coin, carts, winter fodder, and village labour into Drazakar's war economy. Its tablets smell of soot, wax, old leather, and fear carried in from provincial roads. Every shortfall is recorded as moral failure as much as arithmetic. Sareth Vhun's predecessors learned generations ago that an army starves first in ledgers, then in mud. The Levy keeps soldiers fed and foundries awake. It also teaches the conquered that even hunger can be itemised, assigned, and punished.