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for the Sea of the Winds at Riva is bitterly cold throughout the year.
Rumors persist, however, long after reason despairs, and the Rivans
have painstakingly tracked down each vague hint or clue. Scores of
impostors have emerged over the centuries, but the Rivans would
appear to have some ultimate test which none yet has passed.
The quest for the heir to the Rivan Throne was interrupted only
by the Angarak invasion of the west under Kal-Torak in 4865. It was
the thirty-first Warder of Riva who was the overgeneral of the
western forces and who led the assault upon the rear of the main force of
Kal-Torak before the walls of Vo Mimbre in 4875, and it was this
same thirty-first warder (traditionally named Brand - although the
Warder is selected rather than ascending to his position by birth) who
met and defeated Kal-Torak in single combat. (See the prose epic
'The Battle of Vo Mimbre' for a colorful though basically accurate
description of that duel.)
Following this amazing display of prowess, the assembled rulers
of the west pledged allegiance to the Rivan Throne in an outburst of
enthusiasm over the crushing of Kal-Torak, and only the presence
of mind of Mergon, the Tolnedran ambassador to the court at Vo
Mimbre forestalled the immediate installation of Brand XXXI as
Emperor of the West. The concession wrung from Mergon in exchange
was the aforementioned Agreement of Vo Mimbre, which specified
that upon his return the Rivan King will be given to wife an Imperial
Tolnedran Princess.
Upon the completion of the battle, Brand XXXI returned to Riva,
and since that time Rivan traders have been seen throughout the
known world. Although they are shrewd bargainers, it is commonly
believed in the highest governmental circles at Tol Honeth that these
'merchants' are in fact agents of the Rivan Warder engaged in that
centuries-long and obviously futile search for the heir to the Rivan
Throne.
Whatever their motives, the Grey-Cloaks are a welcome addition
to the world of commerce, and it is to be hoped that in time the
Rivans will outgrow their secretive ways and assume their proper
place in the family of nations.
COINAGE
GOLD
1. A 1 ounce gold coin called a 'Rivan Gold Penny' equal to a
Tolnedran 'Noble'.
2. X ounce gold coin called a 'Rivan Cold Half-Penny' equal to a
Tolnedran 'Crown'.
SILVER
1. A 2 oz. silver coin called a 'Rivan Silver Double-Penny'. 10
Double-Pennies = a Gold Penny = a Silver 'Imperial'.
2. A 1 oz. silver coin, a 'Silver Penny'. 20 = 1 Cold Penny.
3. A '' oz. silver coin called a 'Silver Half-Penny' = a Tolnedran Silver
Crown.
BRASS OR COPPER
Called a brass' or a 'copper'
Theoretically equal, but in practice a brass is worth 2 coppers
100 brass = a Silver Half-Penny
200 coppers = a Silver Half-Penny
COSTUME