The third short story about Rhiel is an diary entry by Soric Flasyra, the Guardian of Rhiel. In it, he sums up formative events in his life and tells of an ambition that has had a great influence on the recent history of the world of Syncanite …

We have fought for our right to exist. We fought for the Second Judicial Triumvirate. But above all, we took an equal, if not superior, place between the states. Blood and iron, sweat and patience. The lives of millions of Zerians, sacrificed for the empire of the West – engulfed by the flames of the Phoenix and its ideals. This is how some describe Rhiel’s legacy. We do not. For we have neither factored in the sacrifices of other peoples, nor have we examined the motives behind the deeds of three hundred years of history. Instead, we have always seen the victories. We have suppressed the defeats and subjected ourselves to dogma.

At the latest with the Cloud War, the end of the Era of the West, it should have been clear that Rhiel would have to develop further as an alliance. Avadur gave up its claim to the Cloud Sea, Tycos lost itself in internal politics, holding only the central provinces and trying to control the trade guilds. There were problems that affected all players on the continent and demanded our attention. Although the union of the three states in the fight against the Racyrs has existed for centuries, it has never occupied a special position. Only rarely did the asuras of the states form good bonds with each other, because ultimately they are the ones who have to bleed for their faction – the players between whom wars are decided. However, the threat posed by the Racyrs led to a situation that required extraordinary measures.

And so it was that a letter from the IV Judicial Triumvirate reached me, summoning us all before the tribunal in Ileos. Seven Asurians from three realms, assembled before the Triumvirate – an event that had rarely occurred in the thousand-year history of the continent. The events that followed welded us together and allowed the original idea of this alliance to blossom. My best friend a Tycan – my love an Avadin. Our daughter would be the first mixed blood of the last hundred years. A sign of reconciliation, the basis of limitless potential. Sometimes we joked that we could unite the factions. To be architects of a golden age. For peace came to the continent, lasted longer than ever, allowed us to rethink and corner our real enemy.

Little by little, we decimated the Racyrs, fumigated their temples, saved the world from the influence of the half-blooded offspring of false gods who ruled this world before the dawn of time. An order from the I Judicial Triumvirate, issued hundreds of years ago – the moment when it first became clear that the power of Syncanite could empower an individual without limit and cause entire states to fail. It is the genes of the false gods that make the Racyrs so sensitive to the aether energy of Syncanite. Combined with their background, the cult of their ancestors, this makes them the enemy of the world freed from the yoke of the gods, which justifies the priority of matters connoted with it – at least that is how it should be.

If there is one thing that unites our countries, it is the fear of falling. The loss of our independence and ability to act. It was this simple truth that made the bonds between our generation of Asurans possible – on the basis of which we were able to develop far more. Now it should be the factions and their peoples who develop more. Trust, cohesion, a common line on the issues surrounding the Syncanite. For too long, the alliances had been working against each other, relying on dogmas and their own values, failing to reach a consensus, and instead fighting. Although there was the Judicial Triumvirate, which upholds a basic law, a basic constitution and protects us from tyrants, it takes far more than a tribunal, far more than the blind sword to unite – a parliament. A place where perspectives could meet without fear of anything worse than a verbal exchange of blows. At first I was laughed at, but Wamelor and Ellyndra supported my proposal and each let me speak before their Zeron – the idea succeeded.

Tycos became the host of the Imperial Council, setting up a separate hall for the delegates of the states, hoping to be able to act globally more easily. It suited Rhiel, the people rejected interference in the affairs of the other states in accordance with their dogma. Likewise Avadur, although it was more a lack of interest there, especially as the journey to the eternal ice did not suit anyone. Within a few months, we Asurians became the focus of global political attention, were elevated from mere watchmen to diplomats, and gained great legislative influence despite our function actually being limited to the executive branch. The jokes came true, our work began.

The golden age of consensus, of reason, dawned, heralded by a boozy idea and the mere wish for a better future. Dreamy, that’s how it sounds to me sometimes when I think back, and a second word comes to mind. Naivety. Perhaps we had a forum, but we lacked the strength to unite. It was to be expected that it would not yet come from the peoples, the rifts of history are too deep, the wounds are far from healed. It would take decades, if not centuries, for the masses to accept this state of affairs and see it as commonplace. But even then, our philosophies are still too different, and compromise is always associated with compromises.

The promise of Rhiel’s independence began with fire and blood, held through drill and deterrence – seemed to fade into paper and words. The federal structure of the country was called into question for the first time, as was the dogma of strength and independence. Protestants saw freedom and idyll, their timelessness in danger through the transfer of powers, and strictly rejected the paradigm shift. But there were also supporters of the government’s course, originating from the middle classes. The merchants, scholars, all the Zeres, who were already looking beyond the borders of the West.

Whether the promise of independence could be replaced by Rhiel’s alliance and its dominance by anything other than a monopoly on the use of force was the great experiment at the beginning of the Era of the East. The joking idea of the Rhilian asurian Soric Flasyra, which was confirmed by the other asurians and triggered unexpected developments. A coincidence, made possible by a problem that needed to be solved in new ways and the courage of the asuras to do just that. Nobody could say what the outcome of all this would be, but Rhiel’s leadership prepared all possible outcomes from their point of view – remaining pragmatic and true to themselves.