"This is pure Law: the fruit of your true service to My cause. You will allow it to grow, nurturing it with your fidelity, and thus will We achieve Our ultimate destiny."
(SARAN, Goddess of Law, in answer to the Commune of Decus XX and the Privy Council, 4 I 2000)
"Maintain a balance in all things, or this one precious World will be no more."
(from the Creed of KOROS, God of Neutrality)
"Relax, and enjoy yourselves a little!"
(Namaja, ArchChaosMaster, on abandoning his disciples to the Imperial Guard before the Massacre of Lake Zarak, 1 IV 1997)
At Dawn of the first Caeriad of the first month of the Two Thousandth Year, there began the Duel in which the Valdrean Emperor Decus, the twentieth of that name, of the House of Aven, won the Lion Throne.
At Dawn of the first Caeriad of the first month of the Two Thousandth Year, there appeared a white opacity at the heart of the Sun Diamond, which marks the centre of the one thousand mile radius Empire, and is said to have been placed by SARAN in the centre of the City of Valdran at that same time on that same day in the Year Five Hundred.
By Dawn of the following Caeriad that strange opacity had expanded into a sphere just over two feet across, subsuming the Sun Diamond, and it was continuing to grow: to just over four feet across by the next day, and to well over eight feet across by the day after. In fact, it appeared to be doubling in size each Caeriad.
More subtle changes were taking place too, in the Temple of the Sun Diamond. They were not apparent to those actually there, but on thinking back to a visit, one might remember that everyone had seemed to look and speak the same.
Naturally the Temple and the Privy Council suppressed the news of this apparition. The Council Communed with SARAN for guidance on the 4th, and were told there was no cause for concern. It was a good and great thing, which they should welcome and foster. The Emperor (who had not earned the sobriquet "The Lawful" without good reason) therefore ordered a halt on all attempts to try and affect it by physical or magical means.
But Decus of Mastrin, Champion of that House (and therefore a Privy Councillor), who was now the leading contender for the Lion Throne, remained seriously concerned, although he too was one of SARAN's most faithful Paladins. As his friend Castor, Champion of Bavenne, had pointed out, if the Sphere continued to expand at its present rate, it would engulf the entire City by the 17th of the month, the entire Empire by the 23rd, and the whole of the known World shortly after. Their fears were shared by the KOROS faction on the Council, whose leader, Gaius, Champion of Satril, had been warned by his God that pure Law is one of the most serious threats possible to the Balance of the World, and was likely to result in the end of the World if not counteracted.
Immediately following Decus XX's defeat of the old Emperor (Decus XIX of Aven), Decus of Mastrin had challenged the new Emperor Decus XX to a Duel, and the contest would therefore take place at Dawn of the 7th. He had no illusions as to his fate if he lost, but if he could win, he would, as Emperor, be ideally placed to take some action to deal with the threat of the Sphere of Pure Law.
So it was that at Dawn of the seventh Caeriad of the first month of the Two Thousandth Year, there began the Duel, in the highly-Lawful Arenas in the Temple of the Sun Diamond, between the six Law-Clones of the Emperor Decus XX of Mastrin, "The Lawful", and the six Law-Clones of the Challenger Decus, Champion of Mastrin, bidding to become the Emperor Decus XXI. At stake was more than just the Lion Throne, more than the lives of the losers. At stake was whether the Quest to break the Law that threatened Anarea would even begin.
"Breaking the Law" marked a return to the 1-off as a game, after the fall-out over "Ten Kings". But it still pitted players against each other, and was marked by disagreements between those opposing the Law, which led ultimately to a second victory for Andy B., as the Law Player (after he won the initial duel, and we started again). To be fair, the puzzle was a difficult one to solve, and asking some of the players to roleplay factions representing whole Alignments was perhaps over-ambitious. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable session. So much so, that I tried to run it again.
What was the solution to the puzzle? Well, for that you have to understand the story of Decus and Namaja.
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