 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
of Vorduvians, Borunes and Horbites pushed the vote through the
Council, and the name of the young Borune was carried to the
Temple and presented to the Priests of Nedra. Following the
confirmation by the priests, Emperor Ran Borune I was crowned and
assumed the golden Throne in Tol Honeth.
The young Emperor soon proved to be a happy choice. After
examining the problem of Cherek depredations along the coast, he
set the legions to work constructing a highway along the coast
between Tol Vordue and Tol Horb. There was much grumbling
among the legions about this, for the men had grown accustomed to
garrison life in the cities and were unhappy at being forced to lay
aside their dress uniforms and the abundance of young (and not so
young) women who always find soldiers attractive. Powerful
friends of legion officers protested to the Emperor about this
unseemly disruption of the social lives of the soldiers, but Ran
Borune remained firm.
The import of his plan soon became evident. The legions were
spaced at intervals along the entire northwest coastline with each
legion assigned its own section of road to complete. Thus, wherever
the Cherek freebooters came ashore there was a legion awaiting
them. The benefits to the nation achieved by this single plan were
enormous. A fine highway was constructed, the legions (softened by
garrison life) were restored to fitness, the Chereks were persuaded
to seek entertainment elsewhere, and the unhealthy influence of idle
soldiery on the political, social and moral life of the cities was
removed. Following a wave of resignations by young officers and
private soldiers who no longer found military life attractive, a new
and tougher breed entered the legions, and the service was much
improved. Since the benefits obtained from putting the legions to
work were so obvious, the Borune Emperors laid out a vast network
of highways reaching to all parts of Tolnedra which was to occupy
the military for a thousand years.
it was also during the FIRST BORUNE DYNASTY that the
Diplomatic Service was instituted. At first the Service consisted
mainly of merchants who regularly visited foreign nations, but they
were soon replaced by genuine professionals whose skill in
handling relations between Tolnedra and frequently difficult and
much less civilized nations is legendary' Evidence of that skill is to
be found in the fact that there was a full diplomatic mission in Vo
Mimbre during the later years of the lengthy border dispute
between the Mimbrate Arends, who sought control of the forest of
Vordue, and the Empire, which insisted that its northern border was
at the River Arend. Further proof of the brilliance of the Service is
found in the fact that Tolnedra maintained full diplomatic relations
with all three Arendish factions throughout the entire Arendish Civil
War with missions to Vo Mimbre, Vo Astur and Vo Wacune.
The major thrust of Tolnedran policy (which is to say Borune
policy) throughout the period of the Arendish Civil War was to
maintain, insofar as possible, a balance of power between the
three contending duchies. So long as Arendia remained divided,
Tolnedra's northern border remained secure. When a philosopher
delivered a formal remonstrance to Emperor Ran Borune XXII about
the immorality of fomenting war and untold human suffering in
Arendia simply for Tolnedran advantage, the Emperor replied
blandly, 'But this is politics, dear fellow, and has nothing to do with
morality' One would always be wise to keep the two completely
separate. Morality deals with what we might like to do, but politics
deals with what we must do. There's no connection between them at
all.