올레이의 카프리스 동전

위대한 놀음판에서의 승리는 단순히 한 사람이 가진 권력이나 인맥, 혹은 책략만으로 결정되지 않는다. 무엇을 포기하느냐에 따라서도 결정되는 것이다.

 

가장 명확한 예시로 카프리스 동전을 들 수 있다. 전통적으로 사람들은 이 동전을 선물로 주고받았다. 이것들은 한때 연인이나 후원자들이 슈발리에에게 존경이나 호의를 드러내기 위한 표식이었다. 동전을 분수에 던지는 전통은 미신에서 비롯된 것이다. 전장에서 슈발리에를 안전하게 지켜주길 바라는 의미를 담아 안드라스테께 바치는 공물로 삼은 것이다. 물속에 동전을 더 많이 던져넣을수록 변덕스러운 운명에서 벗어날 가능성이 커진다고 한다. 시간이 지남에 따라 미신적 관습은 대부분 사라졌고, 오늘날 카프리스 동전은 지위의 상징이 되었다. 동전을 많이 지닐수록, 동전을 뿌려 대중에게 구경거리를 자주 제공할수록 놀음판에서 더 높은 지위를 차지하고 있다는 뜻이다.

 

—알시온 부인 저, 마님의 상류사회 적응을 위한 휴대용 도감에서 발췌

 

Victory in the Grand Game is not merely determined by what one has at one's command, one's connections, and one's machinations, but what one is willing to give up.

 

The clearest example is the Caprice: each coin is traditionally a gift. They were once tokens of regard, favors for chevaliers from their lovers or patrons. Throwing them into a fountain was rooted in superstition: the token was offered as a sacrifice, a bribe to Andraste to keep the chevalier safe on the battlefield. The more one had to offer to the waters, the better one's chances of escaping the caprices of fate—hence the name. Over time, the superstitious aspects of the custom faded; now the Caprice is a mark of status. The more coins one has, the more public the spectacle of throwing them away: the stronger one's position in the Game.

 

—From The Dowager's Field Guide to Good Society by Lady Alcyone