Greetings! I'm glad you've found your way to our applications section; I'm Duke Nicholas, your Minister for Applications and Settlement and /u/Captain_Mayday, if you found us through our recent reddit advertising.
As a matter of course, to start out I'll point you in the direction of our FAQ:
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=192. If you haven't seen it already, it offers a good introduction to the basic principles and traditions of the Mercurian Empire. You may also want to check out our Applicant Introduction, where I go in-depth on the application process:
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=58.
Now, on to your application!
I
love your thoughts on getting involved in the economic side of the Mercurian Empire. In my opinion, it's a fascinating aspect of our world. I am Guildmaster of the Merchant's Guild, one of the numerous organizations of Hermertia; my guild has the goal of facilitating trade and the exchange of resources across the Empire. Projects currently in works include the establishment of Guild Halls and trading posts across the realms of the Empire (you can see one in Concordia, our spawn) and the organization of mule caravans for transporting bulk trades through the nether lines. if it sounds like something interesting, I'd be happy to go into some more detail about it.
I also see Tree was born in the Kingdom of Ertia? I myself have a long and great history with that realm as, until fairly recently, I was a Duke under King Arjen III before setting off on my own to found the lands of Wysteria. As to your thoughts on creating new stories in the presence of a good (not to mention long-lasting; some of us have been around 5 years) community; yep! It sounds like you are looking for the very qualities that our community is best at, aha.
As to your thoughts on claiming land for yourself: all newcomers to Hermertia start out under an established vassal, where they typical rise to the rank of Count and, in doing so, prove their commitment to the values of Hermertia. After that, they are free to set off on their own (which typically has some benefits of increased autonomy) or remain under their liege (which allows access to that realm's resources, among other things). It's your choice, but both are definitely great options that allow you to accomplish many things.
Finally, I would appreciate it if you could provide some answers to a few questions I typically ask of new applicants:
-Does Tree have any special skills he could bring to Hermertia? (Redstone engineering, architecture, farming, you name it.)
-Are you particular to building in certain biomes?
-If you ran into conflict where you and another player wanted to build in the same location, how would you resolve the issue?
-Do you have any past builds you could show off?
I'll leave these thoughts with you good sir! Over the next bit you should see some more community respond to your application; many will no doubt have questions of their own. Again, I'll refer you to our discussion of the application process (
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=58) for the run-down of what you can expect next. While you're waiting, I absolutely encourage you to take a look around the forums at the many different aspects of life in Hermertia, and to shoot me a pm or reply here with any questions you might have.
Until then, I'll leave off with an introduction to the Imperial motto since time immemorial:
For Glory!
PS: Would you like your forums name changed to Tree, sir?