Abstract: The So-Mitana Company (literally "Of-Islands Company") is a royal charter company that was formed in 2E 892, flagshipping the Crown’s campaign to incorporate the various rural sovereigns of the countryside. Their purpose was to purchase land for the Crown and facilitate trade with the outer Abecean by regulating commerce, servicing ports, and protecting trade routes. Their first act was to broker land deals with islander farmer leagues and cultivate tax credit by introducing new technologies to innovate on local agricultural techniques. From there they would sell their shares in the ports of Stros M'kai & Gilane and introduce leachlye to coastal alchemists & apothecaries. Their land policies were initially met with contention among the islander sovereigns, culminating in the revolt of 3E 05 which saw a fringe Altmeri resistance group of farmers set fire to a siyat plantation in the Systres. The resistance was quelled, and negotiations were brought to the table which granted the islander leagues more bargaining power.
By 3E 16, a charter reissue would sanction the Company to manufacture flashgrit in order to augment mainland infrastructure efforts, which came with the power to license their reserves out to other companies and miners leagues. The first industrial-scale flashgrit manufactory was to be established in the western outskirts of Gilane, and they would begin contracting miners leagues to prospect and cultivate Hew's Bane and the Abecean isles of its bitterstone deposits. The Company became the biggest purchaser of leachlye, and would have to levy steep price control in order to stabilize its circulation among Abecean markets.
Today, the Company works closely with Sentinel entreprenuers to assist in military innovations that serve to augment border citadels along the Dragontails following the War of Bend’r-Mahk. Though these experimental artillery weapons symbolize technological achievement to Breton and Cyrodiilic observers, their application is still met with skepticism even among some Forebear polities as it has always been more cost efficient and tactically flexible to augment regiments with battlemages.
Flashgrit: An illegal compound of leachlye and sulfur known to combust from mere friction. It was popularized by pirates during the Tiber Wars and went on to become a crucial tool in Hammerfell's following development for its value in mining & industry. The So-Mitana Company is the only entity sanctioned to manufacture it, and they protect it as a trade secret by only licensing it out to other companies and miners leagues. Flashgrit is produced in guarded facilities isolated from civilian settlements and always stored in small quantities inside specialized containers.
Soap: Soap craftsmanship is a rich Abecean tradition with origins in the early Second Era. Altmer sailors had little access to quality alchemical goods from Summerset, and so began distilling alchemical properties into oils to be combined with one another and infused into tallow. This would create a stock of reproducible salves, solutions, and ingestibles with minimal ingredients that could be stored indefinitely. The practice naturally settled among islanders who introduced leachye into the process as a highly potent and reactive substitute for tallow, which greatly expanded its potential applications. Though still not an officially recognized principle of alchemy by the Mages Guild, Abecean soaps and soap artisanry have become a trending commodity among fine alchemists across the Empire today, and it proves especially convenient for wayward pilgrims and adventurers who prefer to pack lightly.
Locations:
- Stros M'kai: The Company headquarters are stationed in the harbor to direct imports & exports and coordinate with the Constable to regulate the flow of commerce. A decently sized flashgrit facility is situated on the northern coast of the island, which houses a miners league contracted to harvest the bitterstone deposits under Mt Jaro.
- Gilane: The Gilane station imports and trades islander goods and contracts local miners leagues to cultivate Hew’s Bane of its bitterstone deposits. A large and highly guarded flashgrit facility is situated in a bay on the western outskirts, and is the oldest and largest flashgrit manufactory.
- Hegathe:
- Rihad:
- Charach: Owns a small warehouse stationed in Charach to import and trade goods.
- Nabasi:
- To’Siya:
- Siladri:
- Lillandril: