callously deposed his father and ascended the Imperial throne.
In the years following Vo Mimbre, Mallorean society had
fractured back into its original components of Melcena, Karanda,
Dalasia and ancient Mallorea. Indeed, there was even a movement
in some quarters to further disintegrate the nation into those
prehistoric kingdoms which had existed on the continent prior to the
coming of the Angaraks. This movement toward separatism was
particularly strong in the principality of Gandahar in southern
Melcena, in Zamad and Voresebo in Karanda and in Perivor in the
Dalasian protectorates. Deceived by Korzeth’s youth, these
separatist regions rashly declared independence from the Imperial
throne at Mal Zeth, and other districts- and principalities, notably
Ganesia, Darshiva and Likandia gave strong indications that they
would soon follow suit. Korzeth moved immediately to stem
the tide of revolution. The boy-emperor spent the rest of his life on
horseback in perhaps the greatest internecine blood bath in history;
but when he was done, he delivered a reunified Mallorea to his
successor on the throne.
The new Emperors of Mallorea, the descendants of Korzeth,
brought a different kind of rule to the continent. Prior to the calamity
in the west, the Emperor of Mallorea had quite often been little more
than a figurehead, and power had largely rested in the hands of the
bureaucracy. Now, however, the Imperial throne was absolute. The
center of power shifted from Melcene to Mal Zeth in keeping with
the largely military orientation of Korzeth and his descendants. As is
almost always the case when power is consolidated in the hands of
one supreme ruler, intrigue became commonplace. Plots, ploys,
conspiracies and the like abounded as various functionaries
schemed to discredit opponents and to gain Imperial favor. Rather
than move to stop these palace intrigues, the descendants of Korzeth
encouraged them, shrewdly perceiving that men divided by mutual
distrust and enmity would never unite to challenge the power of the
throne.
‘Zakath, the present Emperor, assumed the throne during his
eighteenth year and gave early promise of enlightened rule. He
appeared to be intelligent, sensitive and capable. It was a profound
personal tragedy, however, which turned him from that course and
helped to make him a man feared by half the world. In order for us
to understand what happened to ‘Zakath, we must first examine
what was taking place in Cthol Murgos. As is generally the case
when a nation survives for more than a few centuries, the Kings of
Cthol Murgos may most conveniently be considered in dynasties.
Upon their first arrival in the west, the Murgos had debated the
actual necessity for a king. Their aristocratic background, however,
coupled with the fact that the nations around them all had kings,
made the establishment of a Murgo throne inevitable. At first the
Kings of Cthol Murgos were for the most part ceremonial, with the
real power residing in the hands of the commanding generals of the
nine military districts. The military commander of the District of
Coska was elevated to the throne largely because he commanded
the oldest military district in the kingdom and because it was
decided early on that Rak Coska would be the capital the nation
would present to the world.
In time, however, the Coska Dynasty became corrupt. The
trappings of power with no real power behind them all too frequently
leads to self-indulgence. While other kingdoms endure periodical
bad kings in the hope of better successors, Murgos tend to be more
abrupt. Thus, after several centuries of misrule by the admittedly
limited kings of the Goska Dynasty’ the military commanders of the
other eight districts ruthlessly moved against the King and
exterminated him, together with all his heirs, ministers and functionaries.
The palace coup was followed by several decades of rule by a
military Junta until, once again in need of a figurehead to present to the
outside world, the generals offered the crown to the most capable of
their number, the commander of the District of Gorut. The General
of Gorut, however, declined to accept the crown unless the position
of king was given a bit more meaning. This procedure has been
repeated with every dynastic change-over until presently the King
of Cthol Murgos is the most nearly absolute monarch in the world.
The near-disaster which has enveloped Cthol Murgos for the past
several centuries has been the result of an hereditary affliction
strongly prevalent in the Urga Dynasty. The Urgas came to the
throne with much promise, but the inherited affliction appeared in
the second King, and has been almost inevitable in every Urga King
since. The insanity in the house of Urga is difficult to diagnose, but it
is characterized by extreme hysteria, suspicion, rapid fluctuation of
mood, and ritualized behavior. In no Urga King have these
symptoms been more pronounced than in the present occupant of the
throne, Taur Urgas, the tenth Urga King.
The reign of Taur Urgas of Cthol Murgos has been marked by the
fear and suspicion which are so characteristic of his disease. Though
the mad King fears and hates all Alorns (the Algars in particular), as
have all members of his family, Taur Urgas carries his suspicions
even further. He is fearful of a possible alliance between Tolnedra,
Arendia and the Alorn Kingdoms, and he has saturated the west
with his agents with instructions to stir up as much discord as
possible. The secret fear which haunts the sleep of Taur Urgas, however, is
the dread that Mallorea might move to play a greater role in the
destiny of the kingdoms of the western continent. It is evident that
the discovery in his youth that Mallorea was at least twice the size of
Cthol Murgos filled Taur Urgas with an unreasoning fear and
hatred. The contempt with which the average Murgo views the
Malloreans has in the case of their King crossed the line into open
hostility’
Thus, when the young Emperor ‘Zakath ascended the throne at
Mal Zeth, Taur Urgas immediately instructed his agents to provide
him with the details of the new Emperor’s background, education
and temperament. Their reply filled the King of the Murgos with
alarm. It appeared that ‘Zakath was precisely the kind of man Taur
Urgas had feared would be the new ruler of the world’s most
populous nation. Desperately, the King of the Murgos cast about in search
of a way to neutralize the Mallorean’s obvious talents.
The opportunity Taur Urgas had been awaiting came when
reports filtered back to Rak Goska that ‘Zakath was in love – or at
least strongly attracted. The lady in question was a Melcene girl of
high degree with a powerful family which had nonetheless fallen
upon difficult times. The conditions were perfect for the Murgo
King. Calling upon the almost unlimited wealth of blood-red gold
which yearly poured from the mines of Cthol Murgos, Taur Urgas
bought up all of the outstanding debts of the Melcene girl’s family
and began applying pressure upon them for repayment. When the
family was sufficiently desperate, Taur Urgas, acting through his
agents, presented his proposal. The girl was to encourage ‘Zakath’s
attentions and to lure him into marriage by whatever means
necessary She was then to exert all her influence upon the young man to
prevent his ever considering adventures in the west, and failing that,
a Nyissan poison was provided and the girl was to be instructed to
kill her husband.
The failure of the plan was largely the result of a basic Murgo
inability to understand the complexities of Mallorean intrigue.
Murgos appear to automatically assume that everyone they bribe
will remain bribed. In Mallorea, however, such integrity is the
exception rather than the rule. Thus, a relatively minor participant in
Taur Urgas’s scheme soon found an opportunity to sell the
information to certain officials in the government of Emperor ‘Zakath. When
the entire matter was placed before the Emperor, the young man, in
a sudden fit of outrage, ordered that all participants in the intrigue
be rounded up and immediately be put to death. Certain evidence
emerged after the order was carried out which suggested strongly
that the Melcene girl (for whom ‘Zakath appeared to have a genuine
affection) was not only innocent of any participation in the Murgo
scheme, but may even have been totally unaware of it. When this
tragic information was conveyed to the young Emperor, he very
nearly went mad with grief, and when he finally recovered, his
personality was so altered that even his own family could not
recognize him as the same man. The previously open and gregarious
young man is now quite often surreptitiously referred to as ‘the man
of ice’.
‘Zakath’s first act upon his recovery was to direct the
now-famous letter of remonstrance to Taur Urgas. The letter read as
follows:
To His Majesty, Taur Urgas of Murgodom,
I was unamused by your recent attempt to influence Mallorean
internal affairs, your Majesty. Were it not for current world
conditions which require that there be no apparent rupture between the