that time?Lassenrecalled what he had been taught about the ambitious rulers of thenow defunct nation of Varadan. Horem Ferrenda took advantage of arift in the royal family when Rovar, eldest son of Wylan Essendri,sought to depose his ailing sire in the belief that twas time hestepped aside, he duly recited. His attempted usurpation andsubsequent rebellion nearly tore the country apart and divided theYlandrin nobility and military. This allowed the Ferrendas to sweepacross the northwestern border into our country.Thatis correct, Rohyr said. And even then they failed to takeRikara. So they fell back on Ziana instead and declared it the newcapital of the occupied territories. They ruled the northwest fornigh on seven years. But Wylan named his second son Diorn heir andcommander of the loyalist forces. Four years into the occupation,Diorn succeeded in quelling Rovars revolt. He was far moreruthless than his sire and dealt with the rebels accordingly, evenexecuting his own brother and the bluebloods who had supported him.Andused the vacated titles and accompanying lands to reward the nobleswho fought under his banner, Lassen interjected, obviouslyabsorbed in the account.Thefollowing year when Wylan died and Diorn ascended to the throne,Rohyr affirmed approvingly. He also preempted future attempts atinsurrection from within theranksof the aristocracy by demanding oaths of fealty and liege homage fromall his nobles. Oaths that stand to this day. A Herun who so much asspeaks sympathetically of any instance of rebellion against the Crowncan be charged with sedition.Itmust have been quite easy to extract those oaths from the newly madefief-lords and barons given the wealth and privileges he had bestowedon them, Lassen remarked, fascinated by the historicalmaneuverings that had shaped Ylandres present political structure.And it put pressure on the rest to follow suit, didnt it, lestthey be suspected of harboring disloyal leanings.Rohyrregarded him with such open appreciation, Lassens bashfulnessreturned. He nervously gestured to the Ardan to continue. Smilingfaintly, Rohyr obliged.Sowith the nobility now solidly behind him, Diorn rallied the RoyalArmy and concentrated on driving the Varadani out of Ylandre. Andthis is where the tale turns black. Do you recall the reversion ofthe Varadani to the worship of the ancient pagan god Xeras? WhenLassen nodded, Rohyr said, I had thought no other transgressionequal to that deed, that they dared mass apostasy in favor of abarbaric deity long repudiated by our forebears. The Ferrendas provedme wrong.Barelyconcealed revulsion now limning his speech, the Ardan went on. OnceDiorn united the Ylandrin forces, he was able to turn the tide and,by the last year of the occupation, had routed the greater part ofthe Varadani army and regained so much territory that Horem becamedeathly afraid of defeat and retribution. Hearing that Diorn waspreparing to march on Ziana, Horem ordered that sacrifice be offeredto Xeras. His victims were the priests and servants of the Temple ofZiana. They were ritually defiled on the Horn of Xeras, then left tobleed to death before that unholy altar.Lassenshivered at the harsh timber that shaded Rohyrs voice. The Ardanseyes gleamed darkly, as if he were seeing something that filled himwith sorrow and rage.Whenhis entreaties predictably went unanswered, Horem had the city burnedthen fled the