Sunday, May 17, 2009

Travels with the World Wise

Törpek Ötödek like Tolarr are far-travellers and often have information about places and customs of men that others do not. Indeed their viewpoint on the lives and cities of men is often clearer than those of men.

Tolarr was greatly impressed by the physicians of Lazargorod and the feats of manna demonstrated in Vedetimova as he wandered through the world. These cities were founded as noochracies and still retained many laws and priviledges from the days of the founders not found elsewhere. Further from home he passed through the great city of Kirlyovsk with it's royal palaces and strange domed churches. Even a stone-dweller törpek could not fail to admire the great walls and gates and the fine art of Kirlyovsk.

Many years later he had a chance to compare the splendour of Kirlyovsk with industry and wealth of Heimbrechtstadt many leagues to the west and the dignity of Hrabenberg on the great river and was able to understand as few are the breadth of humankind's achievement.

Other places such as Kasmirova, Czernebogsk or Gogol Merski painted an altogether less favourable picture of the works of man: deceit, corruption and the exploitation of the weak and poor. Tolarr, though not given to introspection, observed all of this and learned from it. Above all other races, men and their deeds could face in two directions.

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