"Somewhere, the Borderline must be drawn."
(The Emperor Valder I, from his Speech of Declaration of the First Empire of SARAN)
"There are no barriers to My Love."
(FIDAR, from The Book of Peace)
"For so long had I been on the brink of a deeper understanding. But now my eyes had been opened I found myself at the edge of a deep abyss, where I had imagined a flight of stairs. I decided to take the plunge into knowledge. For me there is no turning back. I have crossed the borderline of what is meant to be hidden. And that is a decision which every body must take for himself. I will not drag you after me. Here my account ends."
(Bjørn II, 'Demon King' of the North, the closing words of his Grimoire)
"The Stars are but the sparks that fly when the edges of the World scrape against Chaos."
(CAERULAS, from the 'Reassurance of the Faithful', translated from the Kayani by Ichixal)
"The boundaries of the Third Empire are defined to be the boundaries of the Third Empire."
(The Emperor Arril I of Tarm, to Olak-Ksirrin)
At Dawn of 19 Destri, the first day of Spring, 2501 Arril I formally announced the return of the full Clerical power of SARAN, and the extension of the boundaries of the Third Empire: in the North by adding North-West Gap, Caldrick Moor and Garf Lea as Military Areas, the latter extending to the River Garf; in the South by extending the Three Rivers Province to the edge of the Elven Roads, adding Kris Province extending to the River Krissat, extending Torel Province to the mountains, and re-naming Border Province as Hazki Province; and in the West by annexing the Bandit Kingdom as Rockholme Military Area. He announced "special safeguards" for the status of the formerly independent peoples of the North and South, and especially for the towns of Krisford, Korred, Eralham, and the survivors of Hotif and Fobren. The Bandits did not deserve such favourable treatment, but would be allowed "time to adjust".
To assist them, his cousin Hugran, Third Champion of Tarm and Imperial Weaponmaster, was appointed their first Military Governor. Hugran was already in place at Rockholme as de facto Bandit King, a position he had achieved with the help of Arril's friend Glaivir the Axeman, following the abdication and subsequent destruction of the Evil Chaotic Corex. Even now, the Army was moving to his support.
Corex had sought to bring his Evil Chaos to the Empire, but Arril, with his friends and allies, had hunted him down a week ago and personally despatched him with the Sword of the Emperors. It appears that something of Corex escaped into the Evil Chaos, but that was subsequently destroyed, and Corex with it (as far as one can tell). WAGREN claims the credit for this, and that is no doubt true, directly or more indirectly.
The Emperor's announcement was cheered long and loud by the citizens of Valdrea. It even received a guarded welcome from the Temple of FIDAR in Valdrea, although they were concerned that the "Pax Valdrensis" should itself be spread peacefully. To this end they, and the Temple of Peace on Earth, would be liaising as closely as they might with the military, and with the civil authorities.
That led to the Temple of Peace on Earth formally requesting, on the 21st, Arril's permission to establish a Second Temple of Peace on Earth in the Inner Citadel of Rockholme, as an expansion of the TPE Mission to the town. Permission was granted the following day, and the Higher Powers arrived on the night of the 25th.
To the existing list of Approved AMV Teleport Points have been added Rockholme, Eralham, Hotif, Krisford and Korred. The old Border Points at Border, Torel, West Post, Scralham, Alyrion and Hapral, as well as the Gateway to Valdrea (at Valdran), remain legal. The AMV is erecting statues of famous dead Magic-Users to mark these points. The statue at the Gateway is of Toban of Normeikl; first Director of the AMV under the Third Empire, and originator of the Gateway concept. The TPE proposed Corex as a model for the Rockholme statue, but that was firmly rejected by the Valdreans.
Isolated terrorist incidents continue, and not just in Rockholme. The worst was a massacre in the poor quarter of Bjarmigen on the night of 25 Aval, rumoured to be the work of HAERIM. Two weeks of curfew followed in Bjarmigen.
In Rockholme Hugran tightens the Empire's grip, and the anarchy of Corex's reign has died down, much to the relief of many of the shattered populace. However, there are signs of the emergence of an organised resistance. For example, soon after Glaivir established Hugran in Rockholme the rumour swept the city that Glaivir was in fact Harrek of the North, meddling in Bandit affairs under a disguise.
Harrek himself was invested as Duke of Grinen (the city he helped save from the Evil hordes) on the 14th. On the 19th he matched Arril's announcement with the news that the full Clerical power of ESCUS had also returned, and he and King Bjørn published a bulletin declaring a Special Military District of the Kingdom of the North over an area which provided the staging ground for the Evil attack on Grinen. This area was stated to be all lands East of the River Garf, and the River itself East of a line down its middle, but excluding the towns under the special protection of the Empire.
So it was that overnight the Valdrean Empire and the Kingdom of the North achieved a common borderline.
Your orders are requested for the month of Kemel 2501, which I shall be running during April and May 1984.
© P.R. Wild, 18 February & 3 April 1984
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