Route to Valena
opened after years of no contact
Scouts have discovered
that the ancient North Road, long since impassable, and virtually
destroyed by the Comet is now nearly usable again. Lord Rhaleth
dispatched work parties to try and clear the final obstructions.
Shortly afterwards Lord Rhaleth
Draken presented the following information to the Realms.
*******************************************************
Citizens,
I have just returned from what was a most disturbing but interesting
meeting with Caelyan Dennyn, the Prelate of the town of Brenhaven
which lies close to the southern border of Valena, little more
than a hundred miles north of Alforpia. This meeting has far
reaching consequences that I will explain below.
Long before the comet struck,
the road to Valena had become difficult at best and suicidal
at worst to traverse. Many foul creatures lurked along the route
and only the stoutest of adventurers could try and force a passage
along that long northern trail. With peoples attention occupied
with the Black Knight, and other issues closer to home, it fell
into complete disuse. Then, when the comet struck, entire leagues
of the northern countryside were decimated and the road was
abandoned entirely. Drakenwood was cut off completely from the
outside world.
Ever since the trade route was
reopened between Mirrortown and Rathowen, I have put thought
to far off Valena and have tried on several occasions to discover
the old North Road, but so great was the decimation wrought
by the comet that it thwarted my best trackers and I. This route
is important though, as Drakenwood has a historic link with
Valena. It is from Valena that we gained our independence and
from Valena that the first settlers arrived after Melissa Draken
first founded what was to grow into Drakenwood.
As I explained before, the road
has now been found and we are very close indeed to being able
to regain regular contact. Due to the length of the journey
only stagecoaches will initially be able to make the trip, but
we expect that dedicated adventurers may be able to brave the
wilds on foot one day. However, what I have discovered is disturbing.
Prelate Dannyn was extremely
welcoming to me, and was enthusiastic about reopening trade
links with, as she called us 'our southern cousins'. It is clear
that Valena is still the bastion of freedom that it ever was,
a foil to
the monstrous Aerdian Empire that lies further to the northeast.
And it was this Empire that disturbed
me. Historians will know that Valena
and Aerdy have long since been at war, with the Valean forces
holding back the vastly superior Aerdian troops as much through
sheer courage as anything else. After several close, and lucky
victors the old 'Aerdian Ogre' was beaten back and only minor
skirmishes had taken place for many decades.
However, since we were last in
contact it would appear that war has flared up again, and while
a long way from Brenhaven, our Valean cousins have become slightly
more militarised than they were historically. Prelate Dannyn
has explained that this has not filtered down to Brenhaven,
but as you travel north there is a certain zealousness that
often pervades. She was keen to explain that this is due to
the constant pressures of a violent and powerful adversary constantly
looming over the Kingdom, and while she believes it regrettable
that some of the ancient freedoms have had to be curtailed in
the interests of security, she does believe that this is understandable
given the circumstances.
The Prelate certainly felt that
the south, Brenhaven included, was much more libertarian than
the north, but even in the town I noticed that Rogues were completely
outlawed, and Warmages viewed with great distrust. Clerics and
Fighters, however, seem to be held in very great esteem.
One detail which did emerge,
although perhaps more as an aside than as a deliberate topic
is that while Valena is still a Kingdom, the King or Queen can
only be chosen from among the clergy. It is thus perhaps more
a Theocracy than a Kingdom in nature if not officially. Certainly
it did not escape my notice that the Prelate was a Cleric of
no little power.
We discussed mutual aid, and
I have agreed to send a regiment of Alforpian Spearmen to help
them in their cause in return for help setting up trade links
and for exempting our people from close scrutiny given to outsiders
from other lands. I would warn Rogues to tread with great care
though, and our magicians need to not forget that Aerdy has
long since been a hothouse of the most foul sorcery, so their
attitude to you may not be warm.
One topic of great interest is
that I met with several people the Prelate introducted as Heroes
of the Marches. These are some of the most experienced Adventurers
in Valena, and seem analagous to our Nobles. These people are
treated with great respect in Valena and are held up as an idealised
image of the best that we as humans and demi-humans can aspire
to. Equally interesting is that the Nobles of Valena do not
seem to be chosen based purely on experience, but according
to powerful and ancient political ties between the ancient Houses.
Their Nobles wield vastly more influence than do ours, but paradoxically
are often personally weaker, reigning through influence rather
than personal strength of arms.
The Prelate and I discussed this
issue at great length. While a clearly contentious issue, we
have agreed that it would be wise politically to adopt their
Valean system. Valena could be a key political ally to ourselves
against the growing might of the Aerdian Empire, and to risk
offending their Nobility by using the same titles in a very
different context would be unwise in the extreme.
Thus from this day on, we shall
be calling our Nobles, Heroes of Drakenwood instead. Once negotiations
have progressed further and we have a clearer picture of the
political situation, we will be able to reform our own Noble
system in such a way as to ensure maximum mutual respect and
cooperation. It goes without saying that our Heroes will retain
all the ancient rights, privileges and abilities that they held
as Nobles. To all intents and purposes this is a change of title
only.
I thought long and hard on this,
and I will explain further what swung the matter for me. It
would appear that some of the Heroes I encountered had managed
to hone their skills to a level above even our own Dukes. Our
northern cousins thus hold the key to opening an extra level
of advancement, and I deemed this to be of paramount importance
given the military risks potentially down the line.
We ended our discussion with
a promise from the Prelate to help with the effort in clearing
the road between our two lands, and with their aid what would
have taken us months will now likely take only days, if that.
Valena is a vastly bigger Kingdom than our own and their resources
are significant. I would encourage you to consider a visit to
take in the sights yourself.
Lord Rhaleth Draken
(26th April
2004)
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