LOREBOOK

Wages

A month’s wages in Soltherra means something different depending on which rung of the ladder you are standing on. These are baseline figures for regular work — what a person earns when the work is there, the season is ordinary, and nothing has gone wrong. At least two of those conditions are usually false.

Currency runs on two denominations: the Crown (standard coin, minted by the city) and the Bit (smaller copper piece used for everyday transactions). Ten Bits equal one Crown. Most wages are quoted in Crowns. Most daily purchases are quoted in Bits. The gap between those two scales is where a great deal of Soltherra’s arithmetic lives.

For context on how these wages fit the broader economy, see Economy. For the caste system that determines which row of this table you were born into, see Society.

Monthly Wages by Occupation

Occupation	Caste	Monthly Wage
Day laborer (when work available)	Casteless	3–5 Crowns
Scavenger / rag-picker	Casteless	2–4 Crowns
Pit fighter (per fight, not monthly)	Casteless	1–3 Crowns per fight
Dock worker / fish gutter	Lower	10–12 Crowns
City guard (outer districts)	Lower	15 Crowns
Licensed lighter (street lamps)	Lower	12 Crowns
Caravan guard	Lower	18–22 Crowns
Woodcutter (outside walls)	Lower	20–25 Crowns (danger pay)
Fisherman	Lower	12–16 Crowns
Shopkeeper / market vendor	Lower–Middle	18–30 Crowns
Relay station channeler	Middle	40 Crowns
Institutional channeler	Middle	45–60 Crowns
Skilled artisan (non-magical)	Middle	35–50 Crowns
Channeler-artisan (enchanter)	Middle	50–80 Crowns
City guard (inner districts)	Middle	35 Crowns
Merchant (established)	Upper	150–400 Crowns
Court channeler	Upper	200–300 Crowns
High Caste	High	Not salaried. Estates, investments, and holdings generate hundreds to thousands of Crowns monthly. Money is not a concern.

A Note on the Casteless

The figures above assume regular employment. Many Casteless have neither. Day labor means showing up at a hiring corner before dawn and hoping someone needs an extra pair of hands that morning. Some weeks the answer is yes. Some weeks it is not. “Monthly wage” is an optimistic framing for people who may find paid work only a few days in any given month — and who have no recourse when they do not.

The arithmetic of this is not accidental. A back-alley Corruption suppression subscription runs 12–18 Crowns per month. A legitimate one runs 20–30. A Casteless day laborer earning 3–5 Crowns in a good month cannot cover either. The city has never passed a law requiring this outcome. It has simply never passed one preventing it.