Deep in the library of the fortification known as Enduron Castle, a tired man in plain clothes continued his thorough efforts to peruse one of many books. As he analyzed the various literature, a pile of detailed notes accumulated on the desk, their penmanship not matching the effort that went into the thoughts they represented. Most people knew not to bother this man without good reason. This wasn't just because he was busy, or because of the seemingly dry subject matter of the books, but because of [i]who[/i] he was. He was none other than the current Emperor of Vivesper, Aricius. As Emperor, he had one duty - ensuring the survival and advancement of the Empire of Vivesper as a whole. In the day of his ancestors, before the land was unified, such a thing would, more often than not, be a matter for the battlefield. However, with wars across the continent becoming a matter for history books, and with the Empire having found stability, the attitude needed to shift. That was, at least, as far as he was concerned. The people of Vivesper had fought and struggled so long nearly to survive. The current population, while much larger than its lowest point, was still a far cry from what it was many centuries ago, when the people first came to this land. Famine, dehydration, frostbite, and hypothermia had claimed so many as they tried to eek out a living in a land that wanted them to die. Humanity was not simply a stain to be wiped out at the caprice of nature, however. As it came under a unifying vision, it pried life from the maw of death. The people had to make many sacrifices to survive; over time, they had gotten better and better at it. When every man did his job, and could count on his fellow men to do theirs, then what was nature or divinity to stand in their way? Yet there were those who would never be content with survival. There were those who were willing to cheat their fellow man even when they had more than enough. Aricius had just overseen the execution of a count by burning earlier in the day; the noble's provisions for his people did not reflect what he took from them, and investigations revealed embezzlement. The local leadership was a reflection of the Empire as a whole to its subjects. If they cheated their people, then the Empire was cheating its people; if they were willing to cheat their people, then they were willing to cheat the Empire. In the end, it didn't matter who they were, commoner or noble. They all needed to know their place in the Empire. Though there were those who tried to ingratiate themselves with the emperor, Aricius was rather fickle, and would just as quickly put someone on the chopping block as he would show a seemingly favorable attitude towards them. "Emperor!" a voice called out, piercing the silence of the expansive library. The call was 'Emperor' as opposed to 'Your Majesty', as Aricius' ancestors had decided that it was more important they be identified by their role in Vivesperian society than their informed superiority. As much as it made Aricius irate to be interrupted, he identified the voice as a member of his Royal Guard. This matter was evidently important. Aricius picked his head up from the tome he was poring over - a theoretical analysis of the motives of humanity - and looked squarely at the interrupting guard. The guard was taking hard breaths, obviously having been in a rush, and in the guard's hand was a scroll case. "You're going to want to read this, Emperor," he urged. Aricius took the scroll case from the guard, pulling the scroll from it and analyzing its content. ---- [center][i]Greetings, Emperor. Though I have preserved the original report in the event you wanted to see it, I have decided to write to you personally regarding this matter, as it is a matter of pressing interest to Vivesper as a whole. While a wyvern scouting party that was assigned to the area of the Rift was performing their usual survey and patrol of the land, the Rift reportedly underwent an event which was reported as "cataclysmic". Though the scouts were not grounded, they still felt and heard very loud tremors, and the Rift glowed incandescently as it stabilized. Our scouts were not close enough to identify more details, and returned as soon as the event concluded. Though we do not yet know at this time, we believe the Rift might be open once again. I would like to send a team to investigate the matter further. Supplies would be a major consideration, due to the Rift's distance from any location with readily available food and water. Ultimately, what I am able to organize regarding the matter is dependent on the approach you wish to take. As your ultimate decision would likely involve input from your other top men, I have advised them to be ready to be summoned. Sincerely, General Tiller[/i][/center] ---- Aricius was already considering many possibilities before he had even gotten to the end of the letter. Should he be ecstatic, or worried? He needed a more clear picture. "Have every one of my advisors summoned to the throne room for an emergency meeting," he ordered the guard, as he stood up from his chair before taking a long stretch. "And have someone bring those back to my room," he ordered again, pointing at his notes. The guard nodded. "Right away, Emperor," he confirmed, as he rapidly set off. The meeting meant that Aricius had to get dressed in clothing that actually reflected his status as the Emperor of Vivesper, as comfortable as more plain clothes were. He didn't have a problem with doing it, however - it was his duty. ---- The throne room, and the throne itself, weren't particularly decorated, though some sculptures and pictures had been put in the room in order to better reflect its significance. Aricius' many advisors answered his summons, dropping whatever they were doing at the time. Compared to his ancestors, there were considerably few military commanders, with the lack of constant war having lowered the need for them. "Hello, everyone. Thank you for answering my summons on such short notice. Now, let's get right to business," he started, cutting through the pleasantries. "First, what are considerations as far as threats go?" General Tiller, the writer of the previous scroll, took the question. "That largely varies based on what's on the other side, and how logical they are," he supposed. "Overall, I predict little threat to Vivesper overall, though there would be ever-present danger to whatever research party we send to investigate. Given how far the Rift is from any viable target, and how desolate the area is, a ground invasion would not be possible for most unless they have a lot of supplies prepared. In the worst case scenario, we would evacuate the civilized areas, taking our supplies and destroying anything they can use as we move. The survivors of any invasion force here through winter would likely be too frostbitten to remain a threat." "I don't think we'll have to immediately draft our army, then," Aricius deduced. "We may, however, want to potentially start training more troops, once we have a good idea of what we might be facing. Now, how about potential resources?" Marcus, Aricius' head steward, took this question. "That would, of course, be dependent on what we encounter," he suggested. "Should the area - or areas - on the other side be more hospitable, then that may bode well for us. We might be able to establish trade opportunities, at the very least. We're currently limited by how much desolate land we can transform into arable - with a consistent trade partner willing to provide more food, then we can shift more of our focus to other areas." Aricius considered the possibility. Trading... that, of course, required providing something of equal value. Many societies valued gold; historically, its value was less than that of iron in Vivesper, due to its lack of use in a land where people struggled to survive, but gold was slowly gaining value as the Empire stabilized, and it was something they could shift more focus into if others valued it. there were, of course, potentially other things; it would largely vary based on what they encountered. Though Aricius listened to his various advisors as they discussed the new circumstance, there was one constant - the fact remained that too much was up in the air at the moment. They needed more information. "Arrange for a transport route to be established to the Rift," he ordered. "We'll support a base there while our researchers discover more. I'll also need our bravest, most experienced scouts. If we can go through the Rift, then we need to identify whether the trip can be made both ways, and we'll need a good idea of what's on the other side. We'll keep some soldiers at the base as well, for smaller threats, but we're not keeping a fortress there. That should do for today. You're all dismissed." As his advisors set off, Aricius lingered a moment. Vivesper had been content to survive against the odds for so long. Perhaps, however, this would be the ultimate triumph of man over gods and this accursed land. Perhaps the greedy criminals within the Empire had a point. Perhaps it [i]wasn't[/i] enough anymore just to survive - it was time to thrive.