In a message dated 9/6/2002 4:41:09 PM Eastern Daylight Time, scs at di.org writes: > The impression I worked from is that Sethra Lavode has already advised > Sethra the Younger that this isn't particularly useful, but the Younger > has decided to go ahead anyway. If she's unable to learn from advice > and wants to bang her head against the wall, let her. She'll be the one > who pays the political and personal cost. This last part is, so far as I can tell, the primary reason that in 200,000 years the East has never been fully conquered by the Empire -- politics. I haven't re-read the two Khaavren romances in a month or two, but my impression from them -- specifically from FHA -- is that the Empire's army gets shifted around at the whim of politics. It IS limited in size, after all, and the Empire seems to be large enough (and pugnacious enough) to have recurring enemies on every side, as well as have the 'occasional' internal trouble. In addition, remember that Fenario -- which is, I'm still convinced, the Pepperfields (see postscript) -- is only one of many different 'Easterner' lands. All of this means that getting the Might of the Empire together to totally conquer the Easterners would be an exercise for ... for ... hmmm. Good question. Quite possibly only a Phoenix, an Issola, or a Yendi would be able to get all the nobles working in the same direction on that one. Certainly Tortaalik has enough problems getting the Princes together just to hammer out a budget... Then again, even if the Empire HAD conquered the East, how would we know? It's only that nobody's mentioned it. I have the growing impression that Sethra Lavode Knows Something about the Easterners that Sethra the Younger does not -- and that the various Easterner kingdoms are ready and waiting for an Imperial attack. Felix Eisen P.S. -- Pepperfields/Fenario. Different people, different traditions, different names. Fenario was 'named' after Fenarr, who (a thousand years ago) forced a treaty with Kav the Elf by holding him at swordspoint -- said sword being filled with the Power of Faerie (tm). Bolk (aka 'Wisdom') did the whole mystic trust thing, yadda yadda -- we know the Brokedown Palace story, right? Remember also that the pass between Faerie and Fenario is narrow and difficult; this seems to be a prime sticking point for lots of people, who point out that there is no such difficulty between the Empire and the Pepperfields. Pardon my French, but bullshit. To these people, I refer you to the description of the passages into the Pepperfields -- one where the amazingly crooked bridge is, where many battles between the Empire and the Easterners have occurred, and the other that is suggested by a comment about the 'direct climb' which is apparently so steep and perilous it cannot be used by horses. As well, the Pepperfields are wanted by Fenarr (and his army of Easterners) simply to live in and farm, a political state that Khaavren and the rest seem to be at ease with. To sum up: the Fenarians consider themselves to be independent, but have a 1,000 year old peace treaty with Faerie, enabling them to live in comparative peace and prosperity. The Empire consider the Pepperfields to be their own territory, albeit used by a group of Easterners who haven't sworn alliegence to a noble -- but if they were, they'd be under the dominion of that realm's Baron (or whatever). Fenario IS the Pepperfields, believed by both sides to be owned by themselves, but 'under treaty' with the others. No muss, no fuss, no invasion. No problem.