 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
course, were lamentably predictable. Like wolves, the Chereks cut
the fleet to pieces and sank every single ship.
Advised of Tolnedra's presence by these two unfortunate
encounters, Cherek pirates soon began to appear off the west coast of
Arendia and Tolnedra.
* This was significantly modified in Belgarath the Sorcerer. The notion that a
race of pirates
had never heard of the richest place on earth before is obviously absurd. As an
aside here,
note that in 'Beowulf', the original King of the Spear-Danes (Car-Dena) is
referred to as
'the Sheaf Child', an obvious derivation from the Story of Moses. The people of
the dark
ages did have contacts with each other, and some Viking stole the idea and
shamelessly
used it in Beowulf'.
The city of Tol Vordue was sacked and
burned eight times in those bloody centuries, and Cherek vessels,
groaning under the weight of Tolnedran treasure, wallowed back to
the north like some great sea-caravan.
Finally, in the first years of the 26th century' Ran Vordue XD(
fortified Tol Vordue, building high walls to the seaward and increasing
the garrison of his ancestral city ten-fold. Three expeditions of
Chereks were beaten off, and they soon turned to easier prey. Tol
Horb was sacked twice, and only the great iron chain across the
Nedrane River prevented the Cherek fleet from ascending the river
to the gates of Tol Honeth itself.
At about this time the last Emperor of the SECOND
VORDUVIAN DYNASTY died without issue, and, in addition to its troubles
with the pirates from Cherek, the nation was thrown into the
turmoil which always accompanies Dynastic succession.
THE FIRST BORUNE DYNASTY 2537-3155
(618 years, 24 Emperors)
It had been generally assumed during the closing years of the reign
of Ran Vordue XX that the Throne would once again pass to the
Honethite family, and several worthy members of that numerous
clan had already begun the expensive but necessary task of bribing
various members of the Council of Advisors (which body
incidentally had increasingly assumed certain legislative functions to
relieve the Emperor of that tedious task in the increasingly complex
Tolnedran society). But by that very maneuvering, the Honethites
effectively barred themselves from the Throne when Ran Vordue XX
died, since the Council found itself deadlocked with no one noble of
the Honethite Family receiving a dear majority. After eleven months
of bickering, the Council was finally forced to turn elsewhere.
When the name of a young Borune noble was put forward
by those members of the Council elected from his district, the
VORDUVIAN and Horbite factions in the Council quickly swung their
votes in his favor, since it is unfortunately true that the Honethites
have never been extremely popular with the nobility of other cities,
given their propensity to be a bit over-proud and their habit of
dispensing Imperial largesse preponderantly to the citizens of Tol
Honeth.
The Honethites reacted with a vigorous campaign against the
young Borune noble, making a very large issue of his questionable
background. (His mother was a Dryad.) But in the end the coalition