The Peldak Protectorate’s plan to be hidden benefactors to the nomadic firryans of Foregone had been progressing smoothly. The past decade saw us stealthily build over 11,000 wells, dams, canals, and reservoirs. We were well on tract to integrate the long-enslaved nomads within the next two centuries.

But the D’Sev Holy Imperium muscled in under our ears and started enacting their own plans.

The Imperium is a slave-state and confrontation will be inevitable once we ready our forces for a multi-planetary invasion, but from what we can tell the D’Sev aren’t capturing firryan slaves. They’re bypassing the grand resort city of Foregone and building large ports and trade markets in the bays and coves across the wild continents. We thought the D’Sev were delusional for thinking the tribes would willingly approach foreigners so soon after the end of the slave trade, but it’s already working. The tribes are bringing pelts, exotic fruits, and trinkets and selling them for weapons, tools, and advanced medical procedures.

We’ve identified 17 trade ports developed these past three years. I visited one to talk with their Outpost-Master (Q’elin’Dron in their language).

“The savages were skittish, but a quick application of psychic persuasion alleviated their fears. Accepting their worthless junk a few times made them realize how beneficial it would be to align with us. These tribes have no real national consciousness; they only identify with half a dozen fellow tribes they sometimes interact with on migratory patterns, so we’re going to build their national identity from scratch and align it with the Imperium’s goals. You elf-things aren’t the only ones capable of formulating multi-millennia plans.”

The willingness to admit this is shocking, the D’Sev must think we can’t match their ambitions in the region. We need to them how eager we are to face them.