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History mercilessly records the first words of the new King. They
were as follows: 'I pray you, your eminences, have a care for your
finery. I have just well-manured the bed you are kneeling in.'
The assembled notables, it is reported, rose quickly to their feet.
They discovered that Fundor's name had been placed in
candidacy by his neighbors before the first ballot in order that they might
have some recognition of their district in the tremendous
proceedings. Fundor had believed that his name was no longer on the ballot
after the first vote and was overcome to learn of his election. To
cover his confusion, he invited the whole party into his kitchen for
cakes and ale.
History reports that Mrs Fundor (who was to " become Queen
Anhelda) was none too gracious about a group of manure-smeared
strangers in her kitchen.
A sooth-sayer who accompanied the throng pressed the new King
for a prediction, believing as they all did that each word the King
spoke that day would be of tremendous significance.
And the King spake thusly: 'I believe it's going to be a good year
for rutabagas - if we don't get too much rain.'
The King and his family were rushed to the capital at Sendar
where he was duly coronated and installed in the Royal Palace.
The rutabaga harvest that year, incidentally, failed miserably.
From that date no one has ever taken the Sendarian monarchy
seriously - least of all the Sendarian monarchs. Remarkably enough,
however, they are actually very good kings. They are just,
evenhanded and open, caring more for the welfare of the people than
they do for their own pomp and prestige. They seem to all be
possessed of a wry good humor that makes the court at Sendar a
delight to visit.
Sendaria avoided the upheaval which shook the world at the tirne
of the assassination of the Rivan King and continued her existence in
uninterrupted tranquility and prosperity until the invasion of
Kal Torak in 4865. The Sendarian monarch at that time, Ormik the
Warlike, raised an army of Sendars, a mismatched and motley
crowd, neither infantry nor cavalry' with an odd assortment of
weapons, and joined the forces marching south under the
generalship of the Rivan Warder. They fought bravely, however, holding the
center against repeated onslaughts of Malloreans at the Battle of VO
Mimbre.
Following the defeat of the Angaraks, Sendaria suffered a
temporary economic decline as a result of the closing of the North Caravan
Route and the cessation of the cattle drives from Algaria to Muros
for the years which were required to restore the Algarian herds. The
decline of the Sendarian economy, however, was only temporary
and did not have the permanent and disastrous effects we witnessed
in Tolnedra.
The present monarch of the Sendars is Fulrach the Splendid, a
short, rather dumpy man in his mid-fifties who is, like his
predecessors, an able administrator, but who has made no truly notable
achievement in the twenty years since he ascended the throne. He is
good-natured and soft-spoken and wears a short brown beard.
Sendaria
COINAGE
Because their kingdom was established by hnperial decree at a time