Difference between revisions of "The Remzarian Treasure Controversy"
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According to the half-elven biographers of Baron Cyrus, it was at this time that the disparate wills of the Gondalas first met in intestine conflict, and it has equally been observed by the chroniclers of St. Barst that it was the subsequent events which set in motion the civil war amongst the Gondolas, their eventual dissolution, and the final settlement of Balathar as lord of Mirsaki and baron of Dantareth. History forbids us the innermost details of cause and purpose, mind and body; despite the most intimate accounts of Lord Glenwill, we must suspect his motives in his emoluments to the mercenaries and the poor, much as we must be circumspect in the portrait of house Darlantan: that in order to secure the city from the vices of demagoguery and nascent tyranny, an hero must kill his friend. It may even be that the greed of Alcon, who covetously looted with his faction the choicest treasures, inflamed the avarice of the mob, the sight of which engendered in Balathar the seed of his plot, even when, it is argued, Cyrus only designed a more even and orderly distribution among the mercenaries and villagers. | According to the half-elven biographers of Baron Cyrus, it was at this time that the disparate wills of the Gondalas first met in intestine conflict, and it has equally been observed by the chroniclers of St. Barst that it was the subsequent events which set in motion the civil war amongst the Gondolas, their eventual dissolution, and the final settlement of Balathar as lord of Mirsaki and baron of Dantareth. History forbids us the innermost details of cause and purpose, mind and body; despite the most intimate accounts of Lord Glenwill, we must suspect his motives in his emoluments to the mercenaries and the poor, much as we must be circumspect in the portrait of house Darlantan: that in order to secure the city from the vices of demagoguery and nascent tyranny, an hero must kill his friend. It may even be that the greed of Alcon, who covetously looted with his faction the choicest treasures, inflamed the avarice of the mob, the sight of which engendered in Balathar the seed of his plot, even when, it is argued, Cyrus only designed a more even and orderly distribution among the mercenaries and villagers. | ||
| − | "We are told by Virgil that chief among the debaters were Balathar and Cyrus, and that the treasure might have been given in portion at least to the troops if not to the people had not Balathar interceded on his own behalf. No source records their words, save that Virgil calls their talk mild; the bards of the court at Zlin sing falsely in accusing Darlantan of threats and fury. Their debate, given continued pace and measured words, might have opened into a general council amongst the Gondolas, and we are informed that the other youthful captains were beginning to proffer their own opinions. An accident of choice by a soldier or a townsman may have provoked the calamity, or perhaps as the monks tell us it was the covetous hand of | + | "We are told by Virgil that chief among the debaters were Balathar and Cyrus, and that the treasure might have been given in portion at least to the troops if not to the people had not Balathar interceded on his own behalf. No source records their words, save that Virgil calls their talk mild; the bards of the court at Zlin sing falsely in accusing Darlantan of threats and fury. Their debate, given continued pace and measured words, might have opened into a general council amongst the Gondolas, and we are informed that the other youthful captains were beginning to proffer their own opinions. An accident of choice by a soldier or a townsman may have provoked the calamity, or perhaps as the monks tell us it was the covetous hand of Alcon that first occasioned the general seizure of the treasure by all and sundry. Whatever the initiator, the mob's frenzy imposed the final breach between Balathar and Cyrus, even if, at the time, the gravity of the insult was not comprehended by young Lord Glenwill. The spirit of Balathar was incensed; his mind would or could not condescend to reflect that Cyrus was at best the accidental author of the frenzy, and at worst the insensible executor of an inchoate design. Their debate had been public; the soldiers could hear that the half-elven rogue meant to limit or even withhold their pay; and Balathar was beset with the prospect that his policy, however logical, might be interpreted as greed, and himself be seen as the enemy of the very troops he aimed one day to lead. The wound, even if invisible, was nonetheless unforgivable; Cyrus' weakness, so Balathar thought, was the occasion for his greatness in the eyes of the base crowd; and the very insult which Balathar had received could not but infuriate him in that the insult was the cause of Cyrus' ascension in the public mind. His perceived cupidity forgotten amidst the parallel greed of the mob, Balathar could not forgive what policy demanded he seize as an advantage. Ambition was to merge with vengeance, and it is certain that amidst the mass seizing of gold won through blood and strength of arms, the first germ of the plot to terminate the life of Cyrus was engendered in the mind of Balathar Darlantan. |
-Gibonius, Monk of the Order of the Lake, from his Second Volume of the ''History of the Gondolas'' | -Gibonius, Monk of the Order of the Lake, from his Second Volume of the ''History of the Gondolas'' | ||
Revision as of 02:56, 31 May 2014
"Flush from their victories over the servants of General Remzar, the Gondolas descended the mountains of Thrain with a vast treasure of magic, art and coins, which the canons of St. Barst calculate at a value of over 200,00 gold pieces. The townspeople of Mirsaki, unused to the spectacle of a score of carts laden with glittering spoils parading before their eyes, quickly rose into an ebullient mass, but out of respect for the Gondolas or out of fear of their blades, kept a respectful distance from the new lords of Mirsaki. The youthful adventurers, without a leader or an uniform plan, insensibly proceeded into the town square, and there rested their wagons before the enthralled eyes of both the people and the soldiers. According to the half-elven biographers of Baron Cyrus, it was at this time that the disparate wills of the Gondalas first met in intestine conflict, and it has equally been observed by the chroniclers of St. Barst that it was the subsequent events which set in motion the civil war amongst the Gondolas, their eventual dissolution, and the final settlement of Balathar as lord of Mirsaki and baron of Dantareth. History forbids us the innermost details of cause and purpose, mind and body; despite the most intimate accounts of Lord Glenwill, we must suspect his motives in his emoluments to the mercenaries and the poor, much as we must be circumspect in the portrait of house Darlantan: that in order to secure the city from the vices of demagoguery and nascent tyranny, an hero must kill his friend. It may even be that the greed of Alcon, who covetously looted with his faction the choicest treasures, inflamed the avarice of the mob, the sight of which engendered in Balathar the seed of his plot, even when, it is argued, Cyrus only designed a more even and orderly distribution among the mercenaries and villagers.
"We are told by Virgil that chief among the debaters were Balathar and Cyrus, and that the treasure might have been given in portion at least to the troops if not to the people had not Balathar interceded on his own behalf. No source records their words, save that Virgil calls their talk mild; the bards of the court at Zlin sing falsely in accusing Darlantan of threats and fury. Their debate, given continued pace and measured words, might have opened into a general council amongst the Gondolas, and we are informed that the other youthful captains were beginning to proffer their own opinions. An accident of choice by a soldier or a townsman may have provoked the calamity, or perhaps as the monks tell us it was the covetous hand of Alcon that first occasioned the general seizure of the treasure by all and sundry. Whatever the initiator, the mob's frenzy imposed the final breach between Balathar and Cyrus, even if, at the time, the gravity of the insult was not comprehended by young Lord Glenwill. The spirit of Balathar was incensed; his mind would or could not condescend to reflect that Cyrus was at best the accidental author of the frenzy, and at worst the insensible executor of an inchoate design. Their debate had been public; the soldiers could hear that the half-elven rogue meant to limit or even withhold their pay; and Balathar was beset with the prospect that his policy, however logical, might be interpreted as greed, and himself be seen as the enemy of the very troops he aimed one day to lead. The wound, even if invisible, was nonetheless unforgivable; Cyrus' weakness, so Balathar thought, was the occasion for his greatness in the eyes of the base crowd; and the very insult which Balathar had received could not but infuriate him in that the insult was the cause of Cyrus' ascension in the public mind. His perceived cupidity forgotten amidst the parallel greed of the mob, Balathar could not forgive what policy demanded he seize as an advantage. Ambition was to merge with vengeance, and it is certain that amidst the mass seizing of gold won through blood and strength of arms, the first germ of the plot to terminate the life of Cyrus was engendered in the mind of Balathar Darlantan.
-Gibonius, Monk of the Order of the Lake, from his Second Volume of the History of the Gondolas
