The opportunity the Daka Trade Alliance's Grand Archons had been waiting for arrived very soon.
After deliberation, the Gold Coin Federation's Merchant Faction decided to partially emulate the Northwest Republic and implement, within limits, a policy allowing commoners to take surnames.
The specific rules were as follows:
First: Those who had been settled in the Gold Coin Federation for at least three generations; had no criminal record in the past twenty years; had served in the military or enlisted multiple times; or had taken part in the Great Migration—those meeting three of the above four conditions could obtain a surname.
Second: Retired adventurers settled in the Federation; those who had paid taxes continuously for the past twenty years; those who had made kills in battle; those possessing a practical skill such as medicine, clerical work, or accounting; or those with an official residence in the Gold Coin Federation where they had lived continuously for at least ten years—those meeting two of the above conditions could obtain a surname.
Third: Those whose family had fought for the Gold Coin Federation for over twenty years; those who had received official commendations for meritorious service within the past twenty years; disabled veterans and families of fallen soldiers; or those owning an independent trading house officially registered with the Merchant Alliance—those meeting one of the above conditions could obtain a surname.
Furthermore, the Gold Coin Federation did not care if surnames were duplicated. So long as one wished it, one could take any surname. Even if there were a thousand people surnamed Siliwu—silver—or ten thousand surnamed "Gordon"—gold—it would be entirely acceptable.
Once this decree was issued, others were one thing, but the Gold Coin Federation itself was the first to boil over.
The Noble Faction naturally flew into a rage, each of them cursing