Welcome to Gaia! ::

Whew! Ok, guys. I'm going to give you all a little more info about the history of the 9 Provinces.
They can be a bit convoluted, but I'll try to give you some of the basic background.

Over the past several hundred years, each of the 9 Provinces have always struggled for control over the others. Each province has a resource that gives them an advantage:
Silvermarch has control of the Wyldecrystal mines. Northshine has gold, pure and simple. Marshcastle, though located in dangerous swamp is known for it's powerful herbs. Holtzbrook is surrounded by a great forest filled with the strongest wood in the provinces. Liefmarch has produces the strongest textiles. Drywell is located in the southern desert and offers rare and exotic incense and spices. Easthearth's main export is coal and stone. Meadowreach is south of Easthearth and located on the coast. They control the southeast coast and supply pearls and fish to the other provinces. And of course, Westhaven is known for their strong steel.

When King Tybaut took the throne of Silvermarch, he used the Wyldecrystals to raise an army and force the other provinces under his rule. Only a few skirmishes actually occurred, but that was all it took to convince the other provinces that they couldn't withstand the might of King Tybaut. In return for their pledge of obedience, Tybaut promised to begin selling the Wyldecrystals (at a steep price, of course). This ended up making Silvermarch the richest and most powerful Province. What's more, is King Tybaut was only 16 when he began this undertaking.

Excellent Question! 10 copper=1 silver, 10 silver=1 gold.
Most coins are left over from the eras before King Tybaut's reign, however, once Silvermarch became the most powerful of the provinces, they began melting coins from Northshine and re-printing them in with Tybaut's likeness.
Before the Tybaut's reign, it was common for people to use half-coins, too. However, King Tybaut has declared it treason to cut the coins with his likeness (not that it doesn't still happen).

A couple coppers will usually buy you a meal. 5 will buy you a night at a tavern. Depending on the Province, 500 gold (your final reward) would buy you a decent home with a small parcel of land.

Empower, no. Wyldecrystals have a finite amount of power, however, practice can eventually allow you to gain stronger control over your crystal. Some crystals also get stronger when they reach certain environments (as in the case of Nier's crystal being optimum, the darker it is).

I have provided a little tension to the group! (Tee Hee~! whee ) So lets see how we work this out, I also have several other dark secrets working and spinning about in my evil head of mine. Muhahaha! I also don't mind having my characters killed off if they become very detrimental to the group and everyone can't forgive them.

Cue the "dun dun dun duuun".

Same for Kosaka, he's simply the drunk mercenary for now

LOL! I know, I'm super excited! This is the first RP I've been in that has lasted more than a few posts. XD