Year 491 of the Second Age

The Year of the Golden Flame


(159th Year of the 6th Unknown King of Duinnor)

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Fearing that an influx of wealth from Vanara to Glareth may lead to powerful new alliances between arriving Elifaen and Glarethians, Duinnor imposes the Road Tax. This compels each municipality, village, town, and county outside Vanara to exact a fee upon any Vanaran Elifaen traveling through it. However, it is left to each local authority to decide the amount of the fee to be levied upon each Vanaran traveler, and Duinnor requires that only one-third of the fee may be kept by the local authority, the rest to be sent to Duinnor. As a result, very few Vanarans who are forced to leave Vanara as a result of the Duinnor leases arrive in Glareth with their wealth intact. Duinnor, acting as though to relax these requirements, makes a provision in the law that permits Elifaen to travel through Duinnor lands without fee. However, to travel from Duinnor to Glareth down the River Osterflo requires the purchase of boats and the hiring of boatmen. The fees and taxes upon these activities bring new revenues to Duinnor, and more than make up for the loss of Road Taxes collected.

Naturally, the Road Tax is extremely unpopular in Vanara. Queen Serith Ellyn is outraged by it, and sends vehement protests to Duinnor, threatening to cut off all trade and to expel all Duinnor citizens, including Duinnor military forces. At the same time Queen Serith Ellyn will secretly negotiate with Altoria and Glareth so that the Road Tax is not fully enforced in those realms, and so that travelers from Vanara to Altoria may go unmolested down the Iridelin to Draymoor and from there board ships to Glareth.

Vanara's protests and threats are ignored by Duinnor. The King knows that Vanara relies upon Duinnor trade and Duinnor's military support against the Dragonkind.




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