>The PCs in my campaign are working (indirectly) for the Spoken Word. They're
>going to research the rumours about King Moirades' strange plans. They're
>not sure if these plans are real, if they're realizable, if they're good or
>bad or both for the Empire's interests.
>So I would like to know your ideas and guesses about these plans; I don't
>mind if they're canonical or not.
King of Sartar mentions an obscure political entity known as the Good Empire. It's described in the Argrath Saga as a name change by the Lunar Empire to either change its nature or to fool people into believing it had (KoS p28). AT one stage, it appears to be lead by the Red Emperor while after Argrath returns from the Lightbringer's Saga, it's apparently lead by King Phargentes, son of Moirades.
The question is why would people call themselves the Good Empire? The Dara Happan and the Heartlanders wouldn't do so as they already consider the Empire to be good. The only people whose mythology considers the Empire to be evil (for the label of Good Empire to be meaningful) are the Orlanthi. Therefore in my opinion, the Good Empire is an attempt to forge an Empire in Dragon Pass - its very name is a statement of its agenda.
Given that a Tarshite leads it at one point, the Good Empire is a Tarshite plot. By seeking to become an Empire, the Tarshites involved in the plot are committing High Treason against the Red Emperor and his local representatives (the Provincial Overseer, the Governor-General, the Provincial Church etc). For that part, the plans are secret. What are they?
Moirades allows his son, mere student that he is to dabble in petty
politics in his name while he concentrates his energies on a vast
spell to transform Tarsh.
Fortunes have already been spent to prepare the spell and many
more are required for completion. He plans to build seven
sprawling palaces to drench the land with massive Lunar Energies.
Such is their magnitude that a rash of disappearances, atrocities,
chaotic transformations and other disturbing events are likely
to plague the lands nearest to the temples. Moirades knows that
such ripples are nothing compared to what Tarsh will become.
UW#1: Tarsh in Flames p10
Pharandros the current regent knows about the plan to build the temples but has been kept in the dark about the ultimate plan of the Good Empire. He also knows that Moirades has been implementing Dara Happan style changes, such as calling himself a Khorz, but he does not realize their purpose.
A point that should be mentioned is that the people involved in these plans are devout Lunars. While their schismatic actions will damage the Empire, their faith to the goddess is unchanged. A second point is that King Moirades plan will be successful. When your heroes have gathered enough evidence to blow the whistle, the Empire will be wracked by another crisis elsewhere and the Good Empire conspirators will feel strong enough to throw away their cloaks of secrecy.
--Peter Metcalfe
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