[Obviously, you'll have to wait for the Con Book to get the actual coin. I digged it out of a coin book from my local library...]
Excerpted from "Numismatics of old Dara Happa", an anonymous treatise published in Darjiin in 1597. Whatever its academic merits might be, the document was obviously written to honour the memory of Manimat and his descendants. It was suppressed by the Lunar authorities following pressure from the Raibanth senate.
Coin Portrait of the Emperor Mathiman I, known variously as "the Impaler",
"the Drunkard" and (erroneously) "the Usurper". Reigned 371 - 388 S.T.
The coin depicted here is a fairly mediocre example of the Dara Happan *solidus*, an immense gold coin used more as a unit of exchange than actual currency. Examples of notable artistic merit are sadly lacking for the reign of Mathiman (371 - 388 ST) , for the Impaler's hold over the northern province of Kestinaddi (whence came much of Dara Happa's gold) and the southern city of Alkoth (whose senatorial mint was acknowledged the finest in the Empire) was nominal at best. Indeed, only the Emperor's personal charm and diplomacy - now conveniently forgotten by most historians - prevented these wayward provinces leaving the Dara Happan fold altogether during the critical period following the assassination of Mathiman's ill-fated predecessor, Khorzanelm the Magnificent.
Although remembered as "the Darjiin Usurper", Mathiman's accession was in
fact legitimate - his great-great grandfather was none other than the
god Vantestos the Red King, sent by Emperor Manimat to allow his heir
to sit upon the Dara Happan throne. Indeed, during the early days of
the High Council Mathiman even styled himself as "King" rather than
"Governor" of Darjiin, though only to to impressionable foreigners.
Meanwhile, at Raibanth he continued to profess his loyalty to his
master Khorzanelm and was privileged to serve as the Emperor's
footstool.
It was in such a supine position, with the golden sandals of Khorzanelm pressed upon his neck in the traditional gesture of domination, that Mathiman was so close to the throne when the Emperor was slain by the troll warlord of the Council, Kwaratch Kang. Pausing only to kick aside the destroyed remains of Khorzanelm, Mathiman immediately surmounted the Kalestan (the sun-throne), taking up the Orb of Might and the Sceptre of Command. Then, the King of Darjiin crowned himself and proclaimed to all that he was Mathiman the First, legitimate Emperor of Dara Happa.
Despite this unorthodox route to the throne, Mathiman's coin portrait is utterly conventional, depicting him as Emperor of the Cosmos and Lord of the Four Quarters. Only the lack of moustaches gives away his Darjiini antecedents; other than this, there is no attempt at a realistic portrayal* or anything to suggest an illegitimate accession. Although the 5-year-old son of Khorzanelm was prudently proclaimed co-emperor by Mathiman soon after, the late Emperor's heir is nowhere to be seen on the coin. Mathiman legitimised his hold on the throne by marrying the boy's mother, the beautiful and resourceful Penemara, widow of Khorzanelm, and then schemed to be rid of them both. Just before he attained his majority, Mathiman had the younger Khorzanelm strangled by the silken cord at the hands of his most loyal follower, Wahnakar the Bison Heir. It is said the lad went willingly to his death, for Mathiman had promised him that by doing so, he would be bodily incorporated into the new god.
The reverse side of the coin depicts Mathiman and a general,
impaling their enemies. The general has erroneously been
identified as Palangio the Iron Vrok, who continued as
General of the Armies of Dara Happa into Mathiman's reign, but
was soon supplanted by Wahnakar, whom Mathiman named first, the
"Iron Bison" and then, to gall Palangio further, the "Adamant
Bison"** (After an unsuccessful attempt to slay Mathiman in personal
combat, Palangio withdrew to Alkoth and remained in a state of
simmering discontent, yet afraid or unwilling to face the Emperor
openly again). Who the enemies on the coin are is debatable - the
age of the Broken Council was a tumultuous one, and the Impaler
warred with many of those around him throughout his reign. Suggestions
include the Council itself (the Dara Happans briefly withdrew after
Korzanelm's assassination), the trolls, and the dwarves (Mathiman
had an irrational dislike for the Mostali and had a whole delegation
hoisted onto the stakes until talked out of it by his wife). Mathiman
also pronounced a sentence of death on the whole of the Third Blue Eye
People in his lands for some imagined slight by their leader Yuko
Dostipikis, though no Blue Eye folk in fact lived there***. It is
also possible these enemies might be a depiction of the rebellious
Kestinaddians or Alkothi, for Mathiman had no qualms about impaling
those of his own - Holy Estorex and Kestinelm of Kestinaddi were
reportedly dropped onto poles (with blunted ends) for their
incompetence and failure to follow Mathiman's dictates during
the God Project.
Mathiman has been called "the Drunken Emperor" by some, but one could argue the only thing the Impaler was drunk on was power itself. This is exemplified by the crowning glory of his reign, when he forced to the great Trollish demi-goddess Cragspider to prostrate herself before him, licking his golden sandals in a gesture of submission and contrition for the slaying of Khorzanelm. Although the Dara Happans could later chose to conveniently forget the "Darjiin Usurper", such a prestigious event could not be passed over, which is why in most standard histories it is placed in the otherwise unremarkable reign of Mathiman's successor Radaidavu, another son of Khorzanelm.
*A contemporary account describes Mathiman thus, "...as for his personal appearance, it betrayed the natural nobility of the man, for his eyes were light-blue and fiery, the eyebrows not overhanging nor sullen, nor yet extended in one straight line, like a woman's, but well-arched and indicative of his pride. The eyes were neither deep-set (a sign of knavishness and cunning) nor yet too prominent (a sign of frivolity), but they shone with a brilliance that was manly...." Such would be difficult to capture in a coin, especially in profile.
**Later, during a temporary fall from grace, Wahnakar was briefly called "the Jelly Bison".
***Wahnakar placated his master by rounding up some criminals, painting third eyes on their foreheads and impaling them for Mathiman's pleasure.
c.1995 M.O'Brien
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