User blog comment:Doctor Ibrahim/Ask the Doc and his Family!/@comment-27550231-20161206055232/@comment-28358106-20161207180402

Adelaide's gaze doesn't waver, and she continues to smile. "The column you see before you is the result of my seneschal's thorough and rather detailed delineation of the entire process. I can say, happily, that not all of it requires filling out.  You will find the majority of it to be regulations.  As for what the 'big deal' is, Miss Golzky..."

She leans back and lights a cigarette with the tip of her finger. "We ban the items we do because here in the realm we maintain a delicate balance between different races that have traditionally slaughtered each other for thousands of years. The laws we have in place are meant to minimize cultural misunderstandings and preserve the peace. Ours is not a Mamono-biased realm, though all Mamono are welcome here.  As such, we do what we do in order to make available to all peoples the right to live as they wish, without coercion or magical interferences."

She blows a stream of smoke to one side. "And if you take your time in reading the regulations before you, you will find that we thrive as we do because we have the lowest taxation rates on the continent. Our primary source of capital comes from the provinces' collections, not taxes levied on commerce or the common man.  The other provinces have to pay dues to be a member of the Free States Charter.  We have merchants that have waited for months to become a part of our market here.  The fees laid out by the guilds give them leverage against monopolies."

She picks up her glass of wine. "As for the danger in the countryside, while the scenery is bucolic, I can assure you that travel here is extremely safe, well under the rate of expected incidents in a Mamono-harboring realm. Otherwise our rural settlements would not thrive as they do.  But far be it for me to convince you to stay." She takes a sip of wine, looking at Dasha over the top of the glass.