Path of the Magi (Tales of Tiberius) (47 page)

APPENDIX B

A Quick Guide to Currency In the Stewardship

Take a quarter out of your pocket.  Imagine that it is made of 1/5
th
of an ounce of pure silver.  That's a 'shilling' in the Stewardship.  It looks and feels pretty much like a modern American quarter.  It will buy you a hot dog, and five of them will buy you a hamburger, fries, and a drink at the local pub. 

I used to say it was worth about a modern American Dollar or a Euro, but that was in 2003 before gold and silver prices went nuts in our world.  If you want the current exchange rate, look up the current price of one ounce of silver and divide by five. 

Why five?  Isn't it a 'quarter'?  Ah, well there you hit on the one big difference in the currency of the Stewardship and other classic historical currencies that used gold and silver coins.  Like most modern banks, the Stewardship decided to decimalize their coins so it would be easy to make change.  The practical problem in doing this is that the two most popular coins in the old, non-decimalized world, are the quarter (¼ ounce of pure silver) and the old Spanish silver dollar (1 ounce of pure silver, also called a 'piece of eight')  The simple solution was to start chopping silver dollars up into five pieces rather than four.  So ten shillings = 2 silver dollars.  The classic piece of eight (aka the Spanish silver dollar) becomes a five shilling coin. 

The gold silver ratio in the Stewardship is fixed at fifty gold to one silver.    There is a gold coin about the size of a quarter in common circulation worth 50 shillings.  It's also called a “pistole” or a “doubloon.”    

APPENDIX C

The Steward's Code of Chivalry

I. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

II. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

III. Thou shalt defend the Church, respect its teachings, and promote her cause.

IV. Thou shalt love the country in which thou wast born and perform scrupulously thy civic duties, if they be not contrary to the laws of God.

V. Thou shalt live a life of temperance and humility, staying true of heart and exhibiting manners and self control at all times.

VI. Thou shalt be generous, striving always to give largess.

VII. Thou shalt speak truthfully and never bear false witness.

VIII. Thou shalt constitute thyself the defender of the weak, the innocent, and the oppressed, giving mercy unto him that asketh mercy, and succor to women, children, and others in distress.

IX. Thou shalt not recoil before thine enemy.

X. Thou shalt never abandon a friend, ally, or noble cause.

XI. Thou shalt seek to excel in all endeavors expected of a knight, martial, artistic, and otherwise.

XII. Thou shalt be everywhere and always the champion of the Right and the Good against Injustice and Evil.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Richard J. Stuart is a third generation magician, who, as a past president of the Society of American Magicians' prestigious Parent Assembly, is heir to the secret writings of Harry Houdini.  Richard is knowledgeable about magic from every direction, including the dangers that real magic can present.  He has taught Bible studies, attended seminars on the S.A.M.’s psychic investigations, studied ancient texts on sorcery and Elizabethan magic, toured the fairy rings in England, and even written a nonfiction article on “Wizard’s Weapon Use,” for the gaming magazine, 
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
.   He has written fiction for
Aboriginal Science Fiction
and was a staff writer for Prentice Hall’s tax publications division for six years.

He's also a noted historian, having given award winning lectures on American History for the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Daughters of 1812 Society.  His article, "The Naval War of 1812 in Three-and-a-half Ships" was published in the News-Letter of the National Society of the United States Daughters of 1812.

Richard is an accomplished scholar with three degrees: a BS in finance from Ohio State University, a degree in law from St. John’s, and an MBA from Owen Business School at Vanderbilt University.  He studied literature, art, and history on summer study at Oxford University, New College.  Richard is admitted to the bar in the State of New York. His interest in magic has been lifelong, winning his first magic award at the age of six.  In his spare time, he is a judge of the prestigious DRAGON Award for excellence in magic.  Athletically, Richard has studied aikido, karate, judo, archery, wrestling, and fencing. He is also an accomplished dancer.  Currently, he resides in Long Island, New York.

About the Illustrator

Theresa Flaherty has her BFA in Illustration from St. John's University. She has always loved to draw and tell stories, so becoming an illustrator was a natural choice.  When not painting or drawing, she goes for long, rambling walks around her native Queens, NY. Theresa also illustrated
An Elvish Christmas and The Secret of Santa Claus. 

www.theresaflaherty.com