Magi'i of Cyador

XIII

EVEN THE EMPERORS of the Land of Eternal Light embody the elements of paradox that infuse and suffuse Cyador ….

Most paradoxical is the treatment of the memory of the Emperor Alyiakal. Despite his many successes in establishing the current borders of modern Cyador, and his formalization of the balanced power structure that has come to govern Cyador, he has become the “One Never to be Mentioned” among the Magi’i and Mirror Lancers of Cyad. TheMagi’i wish to forget him because he was a stronger magus than the First Magus and turned his back on what he saw as the ever-narrowing traditions and inbreeding of the Magi’i, then became a Mirror Lancer officer who used his magely abilities to lead the northern Mirror Lancers in the devastation of Cerlyn and the establishment of the northeastern cuprite mines. By doing so, he assured peace with the northern barbarians for more than a generation, and a continued supply of cuprite ore for the continued formulation of cupridium. When he used those same lancers to become Emperor, he insisted that the chaos energies be diverted from mere experimentation to power chaos-cells for stonecutting and thus the building of the Great Highways of Cyador, the completion of the Palace of Eternal Light and the strengthening and lengthening of the Great Canal …. Yet for all this, for which he and his memory should be revered, the paradox is that he remains the magus of whom the Magi’i will never speak.

The Mirror Lancers avoid his name because it reminds them all too clearly of their deficiencies in arms and other skills and because his success continues to imply that merely being a Mirror Lancer is less than sufficient to be a successful or great holder of the Malachite Throne …. The simple fact that no Lancer commander has since matched his feats makes the comparison even more odious … and, again, the paradox is maintained: the greatest Mirror Lancer officer in the history of Cyador is the least known as such.

Even the merchanters dislike the image of Alyiakal, for they have none of the talents that he embodied, and, therefore, they cannot aspire to place one of their own, truly their own, upon the Malachite Throne, yet it was largely the result of his policies as Emperor through which they came to prosper ….

Paradox of Empire

Bern’elth, Magus First

Cyad, 157 A.F.