>From: Theo Posselt <tposselt_at_dttus.com>
>Subject: What do the Lunars want in Dragon Pass, anyway?
>
> Forgive me if this is a bit of a newbie question, but, as the title
> says, what do they want there, anyway? From my viewpoint:
>
> * Peloria has never been occupied by DP
> * Pelorian involvement in DP has always led to maximum harm to Peloria
> (e.g., Dragonkill war, fall of the Bright empire)
> * Peloria has repeatedly been invaded from out near Pent (first age
> rule, Sheng Selaris)
>
> From my perspective, based on history, DP (and the Orlanthi in
> general) offer very little active threat when avoided, and a great
> deal of risk if disturbed. Pent, on the other hand, represents a
> continuous, active threat.
>
> Am I missing something? In general, what is the motivation of the
> leaders (Emperor, Bellex Maximus, whomever) for invading DP?
Well, one thing that the Empire lacks is an outlet to the sea, so
Dragon Pass would be a natural step in that direction. Blocked at Building
Wall, they turned down into Prax and took Pavis and Corflu.
One could also look at the traditional problem with imperialism.
Imperial borders usually need defending from the people just on the other
side of the border. Imperial authorities usually decide that the best way
to defend a border is to grab the territory just over the border. But this
is a catch-22, because all it does is create a new border that needs
defending, and so empires tend to get pulled along willy-nilly. This
happened to both Republican Rome and the British in Africa.
Andrew E. Larsen