In the Year 2000 Decus XXI of Mastrin succeeded Decus XX of Aven as
Emperor of Valdrea. According to the history books, he slew him in a
formal Duel for the Lion Throne. However, rumours persist of a titanic
struggle between Law (represented by Decus of Aven) and Chaos
(represented, if the rumours are to be believed, by Decus of Mastrin),
from which Chaos is said to have emerged triumphant.
In the Years which followed a number of Mastrin Emperors occupied the Lion Throne, Decus XXI to Decus XXV of Mastrin reigning in unbroken succession. But the House of Mastrin, both in and out of government, continued to be dogged by tales of its dabbling with Chaos. Such allegations were of course strenuously denied by its leaders, who pointed out that rumour and innuendo were two of DALA's main weapons against Her more powerful foes. Nevertheless, it was widely believed that the Inquisition into Demon Summoning and the High Temple of SARAN were engaged in covert investigations of these matters, especially as both declined to issue either a formal denial or confirmation that they were party to any such investigations.
In the Year 2436 Decus XXXI of Mastrin, Champion of that House and Commander of Fort Venture, led an Expedition into the Dungeons of Mt. Anar, the stated purpose of which (according to the log book at the Fort) was to recover the legendary Book of Law, one of the fabled Nine Books of OMERRON, Demigod of Knowledge, in which it is said is written all that is, or will ever be, known. That Dungeon Expedition was lost without trace. There were no recorded survivors, and no further information regarding them is known to have been obtained from SARAN in Commune, despite the presence of several of Her Clerics in the party. Together with Decus XXXI there was lost Cumarel, Sword of Mastrin, one of the famed Seven Swords of Valdrea, which was wielded by the Champion of Mastrin.
Following that ill-fated Expedition the House of Mastrin was officially disbanded by the Emperor, Narsus XIV of Aven. No official explanation was ever given for this unprecedented action, but proceedings were held in camera before the Rainbow Court, as a result of which several leading members of the House of Mastrin were executed. Others committed suicide (though this was denied by the families of some of them), and a few fled into exile.
In place of the former House of Mastrin, the Emperor granted to Normeikl I of Bavenne, Director of the IDS, an Imperial Charter to form a new Noble House of Valdrea. Thus it was that the House of Normeikl was founded, which later came to glory under Emperors such as Kostof I. Despite the loss of the Sword Cumarel, SARAN did not at that time grant to Normeikl, or to any other officeholder in the Empire, a replacement for the missing Seventh Sword.
In the Year 2501 the Men of Heaven, who had taken sanctuary in Valdran after the Fall of their Heavenly home, mounted a Dungeon Expedition to retrieve the lost Sword of Mastrin.
On Empire Day 2501 the Emperor Arril I of Tarm, by direction of SARAN Herself, granted an Imperial Charter to the Men of Heaven to form a new Noble House of Heaven. This was officially stated to be in reward for the recent efforts of the Men of Heaven in the service of the Empire during its recent wars against the Bandit and Badlander invaders and the suppression of civil unrest in the Western Provinces. A tournament was held to determine the Champions of the new House, the victor of which was Kyarlin of SARAN, the new Champion of Heaven. He was further honoured by SARAN's grant of the restored Seventh Sword, Cumarel, now of Heaven. No explanation was given as to whether this was a new Sword of that name or the old one recovered, or (if the latter) as to the circumstances of its recovery. If it was the Men of Heaven's Dungeon Expedition that recovered it, they were conspicuous in their refusal to take the credit for so doing.
Clearly there was more to these events than was made public. Whatever led to the fall of the House of Mastrin in the Year 2436 must have been serious indeed to have resulted in its dishonourable disbandment in conditions of state secrecy that have endured to this day. Imperial historians have scrupulously avoided the subject. Speculation amongst outsiders has been muted, especially amongst respectable academics, though the general consensus has been that there must have been some truth in the rumours of the House's involvement with Chaos. Enemies of the Empire have been more forthright in their speculation. Most recently the agitator Vozhey (generally believed to have been a Bandit agent) in his subversive treatise "The Pantheon" (which is banned in most civilised nations, and which managed simultaneously to offend both the Elves and the Dwarves) claimed that Cumarel vanished and the House of Mastrin was ended because of the split between Law and Chaos.
It seems likely that the truth will never be publicly known, as the pride of the World's most powerful and enduring Empire is at stake, and possibly also that of one of its most powerful Goddesses. Besides, as the ArchChaosMaster of the Academy of Mount Daykuz in the Underworld once said, "If I were to tell you the truth, you wouldn't believe me anyway!"
The next Anarea 1-Off will be "The Fall of the House of Mastrin", in which we shall run that final Dungeon Expedition of Decus XXXI of Mastrin, and perhaps discover one possible explanation for these mysterious events.
P.R. Wild, 25 August 1993
This 1-off was never run. The above intro was written up ready for distribution at the end of the "Dream Demons" 1-off, but due to my decision not to run any further 1-offs it has been shelved.
The secret of the House of Mastrin may therefore never be known.
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