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[[File:Coat of Arms of House König and the Mercenary Bank.png|thumb|Coat of Arms of House König and the Mercenary Bank]]
The ''Mercenary Bank'', established in the Minecraftian Dark Ages by House König as the ''Institution for Financing Mercenary Protection'', often just called ''The Bank'' or ''The'' ''Institution'' is an incredibly powerful supranational financial institution that plays a pivotal role in the global economic landscape. During the late Third Era it emerged as the primary internationally recognised bank, wielding significant influence over the world's financial systems. Although other private banks still exists, the vast majority of all wealth in Minecraftia is kept by the Mercenary Bank. 

== History ==
After the Great Grief destroyed the old world and plunged Minecraftia into darkness, the peoples of Redstonia knew their kingdom would soon fall. Wanting to escape the chaos of this new world, King Von Roterstein took his army and the majority of the population of Redstonia, and engaged on a long and difficult journey west, past the Mediori Sea, into a land no-one had explored before. 

As they passed the ruins of the Kingdom of Helmsia, once the wealthiest of the three kingdoms, Colonel Johann König, together with a the majority of the Redstonian soldiers under his command, decided to desert the Redstonian forces, preferring to stay in the ruins rather than go into the vast unknown west. 

Due to their superior arms, they managed to capture the former royal palace of Helmsia, establishing it as their new base of operations. Under the palace, they discovered the vaults of Helmsia. Opening these uncovered the Helmsian Treasury, still intact, instantly making König the wealthiest man in Minecraftia at that time. 

Instead of keeping the vast fortune for himself however, he decided to keep this great fortune a secret, using parts of it to renovate the palace and gather arms and soldiers to protect it. Having done so, he established the Institution for Financing Mercenary Protection, offering the countless warlords and aspiring rulers the means to finance their mercenary armies. As the Dark Ages continued, the Institution grew wealthier and wealthier. The concept was simple; The Institution was neutral, any party could borrow money to finance their wars, and, if successful, not only had to pay interest over their own loans, but also the loans of those they had defeated. If one refused to pay their debt, they would simply pay another group of mercenaries to destroy the indebted party, seizing all their assets.

After fighting off an attempt by a group of warlords to capture the vault of the Institution, Johann's grandson, Laurens König, decided their organisation needed an overhaul. They moved the entire treasury to a secret vault they constructed far away from the ruins of the old world. They also changed their name from the Institution for Financing Mercenary Protection to a simpler 'Mercenary Bank'. They however did stay at their old headquarters. This worked, and the Bank continued to earn money as the warlords continued to fight over their princedoms and faux kingdoms. 

As Richard Viromaro, heir to the Kythiran throne, returned to Attica and began the conquest that would eventually earn him the title of Great, he ultimately became the most important client of the Bank.  He, his son Francis and his grandson Henry II would borrow vast sums in order to establish what would become the Kythiran Empire. Emperor Richard II Viromaro tried to establish a national currency and bank, the Green Dragon Emerald and the Imperial Central Bank, but these both failed, being unable to match the sheer wealth of the Mercenary Bank. Imperius tried to do the same, establishing the Reichsmark, but this too failed. In response to this, Richard II Viromaro, the Imperius Kaiser and Marcus König came together to discuss the establishment of a new, international currency, issued by the Mercenary Bank. This would eventually result in the Treaty of Gold, establishing the Florynt as the sole recognised currency in Minecraftia.  

Today, the Mercenary Bank's headquarters and hidden Vault are officially considered, as part of the Treaty of Gold, to be part of no nation. The König family have since become respected citizens of the Kythiran Empire, living in a modest city mansion within Helmira, and having a small fortune of 650,000 Florynts in their private account. Their Mercenary Bank however, aside from holding most of the wealth of Minecraftia in her vaults, also still has a reserve of 1,588,252,000 Florynts.  

Their unwillingness to allow Emperor Louis Viromaro to lend the money he needed to pay reparations to the Imperius Reich after the Grand War, whose government they considered unstable, ultimately resulted in the Reforma Carta, and the forced abdication of Emperor Louis.   

== The Florynt (ƒ) and its value ==
The Florynt (ƒ) is the globally recognised currency in Minecraftia. It is printed exclusively by the Mercenary Bank, and most of the world's Florynts are stored safe within the Bank's secret vault, hidden somewhere in Minecraftia. In order to prevent inflation, only a finite amount of Florynts were ever pressed, exactly 7 billion.  

In general, 1 Florynt is enough to buy a loaf of bread, with 5 Florynts generally being able to pay for a night in most inns. 12,500 Florynts is enough to buy an average middle class single family homes in a modest city. The average annual income of a working middle class family is 17,500 Florynts before taxes. Meanwhile, an upper middle class townhouse in a city like Helmira would cost around 95,000 Florynts. Palaces or castles are much more expensive. For instance, [[Radenór|Radenór Castle]], the summer residence for the Kings of Ardoragh, was estimated to have cost around 2,2 million Florynts to construct. House Viromaro paid around 4 million Florynts for their hunting lodge in western [[Ardoragh]]. As another example, the Mediori Fleet, with her 62 ships, cost the Kythiran crown around 18 million Florynts to construct, at around 290,000 Florynts per ship, not including the docks.   

The [[White Gold Tower]], although priceless due to its historical value, cost around 158 million Florynts to erect, and is the most expensive building ever constructed in Minecraftia. The [[Kythiran Invasion of Imperius]], although relatively brief, still devastated the Kythiran economy, costing the crown upwards of 840 million Florynts, plunging the Empire into economic turmoil which ultimately resulted in the [[Reforma Carta]], which effectively ended the absolute monarchy, reforming it into a constitutional one.  

== Bank Statements ==

=== Reserves of the Mercenary Bank: ===
Total: ƒ1,588,252,000

=== Kythiran Empire ===
Noble Families, Wealthy elites: ƒ347,390,000 

Other individual bank accounts: ƒ489,000,000

Kythiran Crown: ƒ176,000,000

Imperial Treasury: ƒ980,000,000

Kingdom of Ardoragh Treasury: ƒ326,000,000

Kingdom of Alcanzar Treasury: ƒ290,000,000

Kingdom of Attica Treasury: ƒ319,000,000

Kingdom of the Heartlands Treasury: ƒ126,000,000

Kingdom of Camuria Treasury: ƒ23,000,000

Kingdom of Redstonia Treasury: ƒ36,000,000

'''TOTAL: ƒ3,112,390,000'''

=== Raggisar Republic ===
Wealthy elites: ƒ170,390,000 

Other individual bank accounts: ƒ348,000,000

Republican Government: ƒ93,760,000

Federal Reserves: ƒ1,730,000,000

'''TOTAL: ƒ2,342,150,000'''

=== The Aqumis Republic ===
Wealthy elites: ƒ43,562,000

Other individual bank accounts: ƒ6,570,000

Republican Government: ƒ1,776,000

Reserves: ƒ5,300,000

'''TOTAL: ƒ57,208,000'''

== META ==
For the ease of everybody involved, and to ensure a sense of realism, 5 Florynts, the price of a stay at a simple inn, would be around 160 euros in 2023, the price of a decent hotel room for a night. Most of the calculations above have been based off of this standard. 















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