The fallow time ends

[Scott of Hyperborea]

A crack still rent the city of Thule in two, evidence of the earthquake that had destroyed most of the old capital. The losses had been few. The tellurologists had given ample warning of the event, and the population and important artifacts and manuscripts had been evacuated with days to spare. The city had not been reconstructed. It lay as an open air museum, lovely but desolate, silent but for the classes of schoolchildren there exploring the ruins of the past.

One advantage of the site of the new capital, Tala, was the excellent view it accorded of Thule. You could look down from almost anywhere in the city and see the remnants of the past staring back up at you. And nowhere was the view better than from the top ior-kidun of the twisted spire that formed the Elder's Tower.

"Admiring the view, Nith?" came the familiar voice.

Nithi Kirenion, Elder of Raikoth, nodded. He did not turn around. "The snow has almost completely covered the ruins. It will not be long before they return to the waste, at least for the season."

"But not all the past is erased as quickly, bright one. Did you know one of the line of Mors is Rhasi-Semion once again?"

"Is that so?" asked Nithi, not without interest. He turned around and gave Aeri Lusunion a good look. "You seem...none the worse for wear."

"The expedition was not difficult. We crossed the ice without incident and arrived in Elwynn. It has returned almost completely to civilization. The trek to Shirekeep was simple, and we were well cared-for."

"Lirikoth civilized? That is good news. I suppose you should tell me the whole story now."

So Aeri explained how his expedition had crossed the icy straits near Valsya and arrived in Wintergleam, one of the first people to leave or enter Hyperborea since Shireroth's central authority collapsed several centuries ago and the icebreakers that kept the straits navigable stopped their service. He had found the court of Duke Harald, a man of mixed Stormark-Elwynnese lineage whom the new Kaiser had appointed to re-establish Imperial control over Elwynnese lands. He bore good news - the Andelarion family, fast friends of Raikoth, had survived the interregnum in their ancestral lands near Eliria; and worse news - the Osmanis, Babkhan interlopers who were rarely up to any good, had survived as well, or else sent a client branch of the family from Kamalshahr to reclaim their old position.

"What is your opinion of the new Duke, Aeri?" asked Nithi, after a few minutes considering the information in silence.

"My feelings are...mixed," he said. "He is obviously of strong character. Elwynn had devolved into several fragmented principalities after the death of Letifer II, the last strong Kaiser, and reunifying them could not have been an easy task. And those Elwynnese to whom I had a chance to speak said he rules justly and well, and keeps the Osmanis under control. But..."

Nithi tilted his head.

"...but he has renamed the area. It is no longer Elwynn. He calls it Froyalan now."

This was strange news indeed. It had been Elwynn since before the Hyperboreans had ever arrived on their island, since the beginning of history. Legend had it that the Treesian goddess of the same name had spent her childhood there and named it after herself, giving it her blessing. Such a holy name could not be cast aside without grave consequences; even the Raikothlin, whose relationship with the Trijayie was polite interest at best, realized that.

"I see. I will inform the Nine of the matter. What of the Rhasi-Semion?"

"Called Mors V, an impressive man by any account. Killed his distant cousin, Letifer III, who had been continuing the policy of corrupt and lackluster rule that marked the Continent for the past three centuries. His right hand man, a Straylighter, got the nation's infrastructure running properly only a few months after he took the throne. For the first time in the history of Shireroth, there are trains that are running on time; only a few, but it does happen, Elith as my witness. After that was fixed, the rest of it fell into place. Most of the old Duchies weren't too happy with the nation's fragmented state themselves; they'd only been ignoring the Kaiser because Shirekeep was too weak to be credible. Once it became clear that the nation was in competent hands again, they fell into line pretty quickly."

"Even Yardistan?"

"Even Yardistan. Now ruled by a descendant of Loki, according to some. Or a Melangian, say others. The story goes that he killed a hundred Cyberians with his bare hands, though why he was off killing Cyberians I don't know. I didn't hear much from Kildare, but from what I gather, there's someone named Jonas in charge, a man of mystery. Oh, and Straylight's become something of a power too. All the old Duchies back,, save Lothlaria, out of which no one's heard a peep in centuries, and Antica, which was invaded by fish-men in trousers and polo shirts who returned to the sea as mysteriously as they came."

"Right," said Nithi. "Did they ask about Raikoth?"

"Yes," said Aeri. "And I told them the truth. I told them that since Shireroth collapsed, we have...not quite prospered, but kept ourselves alive and happy. That there is a new capital, that some of the old ways are gone, and others are preserved still. I told them that we swear loyalty to the Kaiser, as we always have, but that we do not welcome his interference. That the Line of Kalir still lives and offers its congratulations to its cousin on the Throne. That the house of Dornan remains safe in exile in waiting for the day when it can take the Treesian throne once more, and that our island is well fortified against those who would do it harm."

"And did you give Duke Harald the message of the Nine?"

"I did," said Aeri, "just as you told it to me."

"Just as I told it to you?"

"Of course. 'All these lands are yours, except Hyperborea. Attempt no landings there.'"

[andelarion]

(interesting, I want more! :P)

[Harald of Froyalan]

Quite an amusing story, isn it?