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The part of the Lighthouse in this layer also contains the Mint, which engraves the shed copper scales of the Demiurge with arcane symbols and pay them as wages to the working Long. The Demiurge sheds his skin like a snake, and pay comes when the scales have been removed from the skin and engraved. The remaining skin is then used as an isolator, being capable of keeping out heat, Nowhere, and Glory-light alike. The conversion rate between the scales and Spintria changes frequently and irrationally, and conversion between them requires tons of bureaucracy, cementing the kafkaesque nature of trying to leave the New Mansus. The New Mansus is also one of the only places where they're legal tender. The Mint also acts as the timekeepers of the New Mansus, as time is measured according to the time between sheddings. As the Demiurge has several forms which do not shed their skin, this gives him nearly full control over time in the New Mansus by simply deciding when to shed or not shed.
The Overseer of this Sphere is the Grand Merchant, an odd fellow dressed in heavy yellow robes. Whether a Long or a mechanical creation lies beneath these robes is an enigma, and nobody knows where the Grand Merchant appeared from or what it was before becoming a Name. Like the Spokesman, it spends much of its time outside the New Mansus, but it prefers the waking world to the Mansus. There, it travels the wastes, offering deals that seem too good to be true in exchange for material and insubstantial things. It is through The Grand Merchant that most get the rare materials required to construct a Bronze Gate. The majority of these profits go towards the purchase of new goods from the Demiurge, but some always remain the Grand Merchant's own, at least for a while. When the Grand Merchant visits the New Mansus, they enjoy gambling at the Second Sphere casino known as the Red Pearl, co-owned by a GraiGrail-Long known as Aramintha and an Amaranthine Aristocrat calling herself Esmerhild. The Demiurge has attempted to acquire the Red Pearl several times, but Aramintha and Esmerhild have so far refused to sell it. There are rumors that they have connections to the Scarlet Mandible Cabal or that they have gained access to information that allows them to exploit the Grand Merchant to their own ends, but nobody dares accuse them, as they have several Long and possibly a Name in their pocket.
The Aspects of the Grand Merchant are Lantern and Grail.
