In a message dated Sat, 7 Sep 2002 4:58:22 AM Eastern Standard Time, FelixEisen at aol.com writes: > 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. That was then, this is now. We see in BP that the path has been deteriorating for quite a while now. >Pardon my French, but bullshit. I've always wondered where this idiom came from; why French in particular? > 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. Just checking TPG, I don't see anything from Crionofenarr about *living* in the Pepperfields. Growing peppers, yes, but nothing about living there. > 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. Except that the terms we're given for the treaty stake explicitly that the Pepperfields are overseen by Dragaerans, and that the Easterners are explicitly forbidden to carry weapons (page 377-378 pb). The treaty also ends the raids to and from the Easterners' other lands. Nothing in the history of Fenario given in BP says anything about getting rid of the Dragaeran overseers. BTW, I've long been of the opinion that Morrolan is the current Duke of Eastmanswatch, and therefore also the Baron of Pepperfields, and thus Miklos' "baron" who rules lands ten times the size of Fenario. --KG