Citizenship, The Run, & Banishment
The Run
The Run in concept is simple. One must make their own way to the city, without being shown the way by those in the know. Without the Silver Circle, no merchant caravan, no sailing ship that has done business with Yaralon will bring in an outsider. To do so is to risk death by duel or exile. It matters not how an outsider manages to make their own way, whether by land, by sea, by air, or some other method, to arrive at the gates of Yaralon will entitle them to a Silver Circle. The marking process is handled at each of the four gates. There is a particularly raw plant known as the Jelly Plant. Through a hidden method of preparation by the Eternal Embrace company, one of the oldest and most brutal of companies, the Jelly Plant fruit is sold only to the guards of the gates. The fruit is applied to the skin of one wishing to receive the mark, entirely optional. Upon completion, a Silver Circle is left on the skin, at a place of the marked's choosing. Anyone with a Silver Mark, while within the region of Yaralon, can intuitively sense when a person is not marked. None have managed to discover how it works. All that is known is that it can only be detected if the unmarked individual is detected by one of the other standard senses first. While abroad, the mark's ability shifts, allowing the marked to detect other marked.
But the Run is anything but simple. In a land surrounded by deadly predators, murderous plants, inhospitable lands, corrupted by major fractures, most of whom attempt the run die before ever even seeing Yaralon, let alone reaching its gates. There's an unspoken agreement that a single individual moving through the lands is not to be molested by mercenary companies in the wilds, but it is not an agreement commonly held true. After all, anything goes outside the walls of Yaralon. And there is no such agreement when applied to groups of foreigners making their way. More often than not, mercenary companies will attack those without a silver mark, no different than bandits.
Upon reaching the gate, regardless of accepting or refusing a Silver Circle, typically a tax is paid to the Mercenary Company that guards that particular gate. Only those with a Golden Circle are exempt from such taxes. This is not handled by a government oversight but rather as a courtesy to those who've earned their place. These taxes help the mercenary company pay for the Jelly Plant, pay guards to protect the gate, pay for repairs on the gate. Guarding a gate is a prestigious position, those who hold it have a steady income and first crack at recruiting new arrivals. This tax is typically accepted in the form of nels, though it isn't uncommon to accept payment in different forms, everything from a share of any goods brought in, or the wagon that carried them in, or even favors from the arrivals.
Citizenship
This ritual involves an artifact blessed by Chamadarst himself, kept down deep in the depths of his temple. The artifact is a single, giant, floating nel, hovering over a bowl. From time to time, 'blood' flows from the nel, filling the bowl. What causes this is a secret kept among the priests of Chamadarst. This blood, mixed with molten gold and a few other locally acquired minerals. This liquid never solidifies after mixed, remaining gold in color with a crimson sheen. This liquid is then drank by the Silver Circle marked. After a full trial's meditation within the temple, the Silver Circle transforms into a Gold Circle. This a physical change alone, the detection skills of the Silver Circle remain.
Banishment
The Banished are to be killed on sight within Yaralon territory. Often while abroad, if a Yari citizen sees a Banished Yari, they will hunt them down and kill them, as a message to the world that Yaralon's customs are to be respected and honored.