World domination through coins, How the Masks play Politics
The Masks have tried and failed to establish a Scarterra-wide hierarchy, that they can all agree on, but they do have a Scarterra-wide agenda.
If the Masks can't get in the good graces of the local king or queen, they will work on the king's courtiers or vassals. When dealing with lesser nobles, the Masks are not nearly as humble obsequious as they than they are when talking to kings and queens. It's easier to get away with making a veiled threat to a baron rather than to a king.
Beyond veiled threats, the Masks will engage in direct espionage from time to time. It's rare for the Masks to engineer a coup, but if they come across a coup started by someone else, they might slip in among the conspirators if they hope that a more Phidas-friendly ruler emerges when the dust settles.
Very few people believe that the Masks are motivated by pure altruism, but they will still take the free food, free clothing, or free entertainment. In this way, the Masks hope that even if the general populace doesn't trust them, at the very least they won't attack Phidas temples with torches and pitchforks.
Short Term Goal: Win over the local rulers
by me with Midjourney
The Masks will use any combination of bribery, flattery, clever lies, or veiled threats to try to get a foot in the door of the local powers that be. A typical Mask spends almost as much time kneeling before monarchs as he does kneeling before altars of mighty Phidas.
In a perfect world, every Scarterran king or queen would have a trusted Mask advisor providing guidance. In practice, most Scarterran monarchs are at least a little leery of getting too close to the Masks, so they keep them at arms' length.
Short-Term: Placate the local peasants
Portrait of Niccolò Machiavelli (public domain) by Santi di Tito
If Niccolò Machiavelli was a Scarterran, the Masks would surely have tried to recruit him. Machiavelli believed that a ruler can be simultaneously feared and loved by the masses, but if you could only pick one, fear is a more reliable method of control. But if you can't be loved, at least make sure you are not hated.
Phidas is not a popular god with the peasanty, and most Masks have accepted that nothing they do will do will convince the masses to love Phidas, but they want to at least make sure that the masses don't hate Phidas (and by extension don't hate Phidas' loyal servants). To that end, the Masks sponsor numerous public charities to help the poor and downtrodden....as long as people are looking.
Medium Term: Maintain skilled warriors
Phidas is not a war god, but he is not opposed to warfare in general. The Masks are well-known for fighting with cloak and dagger tactics, but they are not wholly opposed to fighting with swords and lances from time to time. Most Mask temples make it a point to finance and train a small cadre of elite holy warriors collectively called the Order of Phidas' Shield. The Masks don't expect to be able to dominate their rivals with brute force. Their goal is to make sure that if order breaks down, Phidas' temples do not look like easy targets. They want to project enough strength, so that in the event of a military crisis that they can buy some time to assess the situation. Once they assess the situation, then they will pledge their warriors towards whichever faction seems most likely to win. They won't hesitate to switch sides if they need to. "Dynasties rise and fall, but the Masks always prevail" is a saying the Masks speak in private amongst themselves.
Medium Term: Accumulate Wealth
The Masks are quietly accruing wealth selling banking services and so called "temple cheese" and trying to make wise investments. In addition to accuring favor with as many monarchs and nobles as possible, they are also trying to gain influence over as many guilds as possible. They lobby monarchs and guild leaders alike to pass business friendly laws, and they remind wealthy Scarterrans that their wealth is due to Phidas' grace, so they should show Phidas some deference, hint hint.The Mask's Long-Term Plan
Long-term they want to eliminate all barter, or at least eliminate barter as much as possible. The Masks believe that Phidas gets a tiny bit of power every time coins change hands. As long as every good or service as a measurable price attached, Phidas has a degree of influence over those things. The more coins change hand, the more power and influence falls onto banks. The Masks already control or at least influence nearly all of Scarterra's banks and institutions of lending, but these moneylenders are often low on prestige and low on clients. In the future, the Masks hope to have banks that transcend national boundaries, so a traveler can make a deposit in a Phidas temple bank, pay a small fee, sail a thousand miles and withdraw their funds.Components and tools
Banking is a major plank in the Mask's political platform. On Earth, medieval banking was really complicated and faced a lot of obstacles.. Scarterran bankers face most of the same challenges the Medici's and other bankers of yesteryear had, but the Masks have two advantages provided to them by the god Phidas.
First, moneylending in Scarterra has a level of legitimacy that Medieval Europe didn't have. Usury was considered a sin, so medieval European bankers had to write convoluted laws and jump through hoops to charge interest but not look like they are charging interest.
Scarterran bankers don't have to do this. Phidas may not be a popular god, but he's still one of the Nine. If Phidas says charging interest is morally acceptable, Scarterran rulers cannot create anti-usury laws, at least not on a massive scale. Doing so would literally provoke a god, along with his horde of spirits and theurgists.
Second, unlike Earth, Scarterra has metaphysical laws backing their vows and oaths. Most preindustrial Earth humans took vows and oaths very seriously, but Scarterra takes it even father. Swearing an oath in the name of one of the Nine means there is a small but very real chance that the god or goddess will curse the mortal if they break their oath. Phidas is said to be especially fastidious about backing oath.
Medieval Earth bankers (much like 21st century Earth bankers), have to worry about their borrowers not paying their loans back or merchants not completing their end of the transaction. But in Scarterra after concluding a contract either verbally or in written form, a Scarterran can add the phrase "As Phidas is my witness". That means effectively you are saying, "I will invoke the displeasure of a god if I break my promise."
This means it's a lot easier to guarantee long distance financial transactions without modern communications technology. It's not foolproof, but it's a lot better than what medieval Earth bankers had to work with.
Masks in Uskala: Victims of their Own Success
by Me
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