Character of the Radium Era
The Radium
Era, era 88, lasted 3,889,328 days. This amounts to 158
Uranian years, equivalent
to 13,310 Earth
years.
Because of the sketchiness of
this summary, it often seems as though we spend more attention
on the transitions between eras than on the eras themselves. And so it is
on this occasion: we must glide lightly over the Conquered Era,
and zoom in on the extraordinary character who brought it to an
end.
It was not in fact an utterly "Conquered Era".
Though in most cities Ghepions seized control, in belated revenge for
the pogroms of era 81, and enslaved or dispossessed the human
inhabitants, this did not happen everywhere. Thanks to the
rearguard action by fighters of the era of "Syoom's Last Stand", four
great cities were never conquered: Vyanth, Lysyon, Pjourth and Skyyon
itself. They persisted as islands of human rule in a sea of
kalyar and
Ghepion rule and general Fyayman
domination.
It is also true to say that as time went
on the Nenns won back a lot of ground (though they could not yet reconquer
any of the cities), until by the end of the era, while the Ghepions still possessed
21 of the 25 great cities, free men mostly occupied the plains, forests and
mountains between them.
Of course, this was not a time of perpetual
conflict. For those living in the midst of era 88 it must have
seemed the natural order of things for free men to live on the land and
for Ghepions to hold most of the cities.
The Invaded Soul
The sunnoadex was revived early in the era, and
it endured under restrictions. In the last few hundred
thousand days there was something of a Renaissance of Syoomean pride and
culture, and a feeling grew that the great days would
soon return and the lost cities be reclaimed.
The man who, more than any other, actually accomplished the reconquest of
Syoom, was perhaps the most controversial character in Uranian history
- even more so than Nalre Zitpoidl 4854. Many Uranian historians believe
that Sunnoad Tu Rim 78860
could not have been a man at all; to achieve what he did, he
must have "sold his soul" to a Fyayman power, or in other words, agreed
to a partial mind-switch with a more powerful entity.
We take the view that Tu Rim was
merely a man with special abilities, who was mislead by those abilities
into over-reaching himself.
He did reconquer the 21 lost cities from the
Ghepions, and this must always be counted in his favour. However,
he did so in a manner which served his own power, and tried to convert
the traditional privileges and aspects of a Sunnoad's reign into
a despotic rule. He had excuses, but none were good enough to
satisfy his nemesis, which happened to be none other than the second
incarnation of Taldis Norkoten - the famous 64,702nd Sunnoad who had
lived in the Osmium Era.
We can visualize the ex-Sunnoad as playing
Juarez to Tu Rim's Maximilian - except that Norkoten had
no interest in supreme power this time. All he aimed to do was
to overthrow Tu Rim and free the sunnoadex from the
shame of despotism, and this he did. Tu Rim fled, was deposed; Norkoten convened
a conference to discuss ways in which to prevent this
story every happening again. After much debate it was decided that the best
way to ensure the future innocence of
the sunnoadex was by means of a powerful symbolic prohibition. It was therefore
agreed, that never again could a Sunnoad make his home
in Skyyon; never again could a Sunnoad even spend the night in
Skyyon. From now on the Sunnoad's Palace would be
used for other purposes - as a city hall, a Noad's residence, a museum.
Henceforth the Sunnoad must be content with having his official home in a
hut (well-appointed, to be sure) in the village of Melikon, 90 miles
outside the Sunward city.
Some time was spent in discussing how this
measure might be put to the people of Syoom for their
confirmation. But as the news spread, it was met with such
satisfaction and calm joy and acceptance, that the air trembled with an
eomasp, and this transition to a new era was
regarded as more than adequate confirmation of the rightness of the
decision.
>> The Actinium Fulfilment
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