When Yagand Varraline came to the throne, the war that his father had fought against Dran seemed to be a distant memory. Despite the worst fears of Arcites, Dran had not split the empire, in fact the removal of Dran from the empire had been beneficial for Arc. Not only had the most divisive of the cities in the Arclands ceased to wield any power within the empire, but other city states (Gol, Harenis, Wardenhal and Hothis) rallied to Arc's banner out of a sense of familiarity, but also because their leaders weren't foolish enough to assume that Dran's promises of economic and cultural rejuvination were possible outside the empire. The careful planning of his father's generals had brought about an unexpected economic benefit, the opening of the Prayadine caravan route between Arc and the newly settled lands of Veska. The lands in the east had always been avoided because of the presence of the great, hideous giant creatures, the Gorins. As Veskans slowly fought back the vile creatures, learning the secrets of Gorin Stones, great plains opened up for the cultivation of wheat, maize and for the rearing of cattle. Arcite generals and diplomats recognised that this massive source of food and wealth would would cancel out the insurrection of Dran and reduce its rebellion to an irrelevance.
Ghotharand and Veska
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Yagand Varraline
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Sourchun Varraline
Era beginning/endSourchun Varraline's father was the Arcish Yagand, but his mother was the Veskan Neidhe Na'Gaan. As the Veskan kingdom slowly began to establish itself, Sourchun looked with uneast to the north east as a Ghothar Kingdom also developed. His mother's tales of the Ghothars filled him with foreboding about the new power on the continent, a foreboding that was amplified by the development of ties between the Ghothars and the city of Dran. Sourchun was advised by the nobles at his court to avoid the impending war between Veska and Ghotharand, but the far sighted emperor wagered that Veska would not only win as the Ghothars marched on Veskan lands, but that the growing relationship between Veska and Arc would be cemented by Arcish help. Sourchun had no intention of sending Archish soldiers to intervene directly in the east; even before its independence, Dran had reserved for itself the right to exercise power east of the Arching Mountains, which is where its title 'Hammer of the East' had originated. However, post independence, Dran saw all lands from the Greater Arc Sea to the eastern oceans as its 'greater fiefdom' (no matter how absurd this claim was in reality). Instead of armies, Arc sent gold, and Sourchun ensured that the Veskan kings had enough treasure to equip and feed their own forces, buy as many ships as was needed to supply their ports and river fortresses, and eventually to hire mercenary companies from across Aestis to defeat the Ghothars. Sourchun is known in Veska as ‘Sourchun Tavilai’ - ‘Sourchun the saviour or ‘our saviour’, though he is less well remembered in Arc. Sourchun was the only Arc emperor to have his own lands in Veska, in recognition of his mixed heritage, and in gratitude to his help to the fledgling nation, and he is the only Arc emperor to be laid to rest outside of Dancare; his body is entombed at his family castle in Fiichwain. He is of course reviled in Ghotharand as a national enemy and murderer of the Ghothar people, a view that has been encouraged by Dran for generations.
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Harriland Varraline
Harriland Varriline does not command the impressive historical legacy of his father, Sourchun and in many ways did much to reverse his forebear's achievements. A bored and spoiled young man, Harriland came to the throne interested in glory and adventure as much as he was interested in the continuance of the Arc Empire. He used his family's connections to Veska in order to involve himself in Veskan politics, at one point even suggesting that he as Arc Emperor become protector of the Veskan people and King Saigh An Cul be reduced to the position of a nobleman in service to the emperor-king. Relations soured with Veska, but nobles and merchants on either side, made enormously rich by the trade in grain, had a vested interest in discouraging this behaviour. The culture of political language and courtly manners in Arc was direct and unambiguous, however Veskan manners were much harder for the emperor to read, and the existence of the Veskan Underkingdom was completely hidden to him. It was decided not to assassinate Harriland, though plans to end his life were widely discussed in both Arc and Veska. However, his fate at the hands of the Veskans was if anything more damaging to the future of the empire. He was gradually ostracised from the country of his birth and when he made rash and hot headed plans to invade Veska, claiming that the crown belonged to him, he found a wall of inaction and resistance from every courtier, general and bureaucrat in the empire. The Veskans found it far easier to influence matters in Arc than the other way round. Harriland died in a hunting accident in the Arching Mountains years after his plans for war against Veska had collapsed. The combined merchant classes of Arc and Veska had ensured that the relations between the empire and the kingdom were unaffected by Harriland's folly, and this made the position of merchants in Arc largely unassailable.