Arcue Cathedral, overlooking the market place.

Arcue Cathedral, overlooking the market place.

Frank was watching people busily buying and selling goods in the market place

Traders were robbed, and their donkey frightened away, after a day at the market

They looked around the dungeon, knocking cobwebs away and trying to avoid standing in the worst of the grunge scattered about the floor

Down in the strong room, Frank liked to handle all the glistening gold coins

Eric and Harry often sat leisurely chatting as the headquarters of their business empire quietly hummed below

Don’t bother with all that bowing stuff, take a seat and tell me how you’ve been

King Walter liked the idea of smartly dressed soldiers marching up and down outside his palace

Eric’s sudden movement awakened Nancy

Albert was in the business of making wheels

Even after a few trials, it took Albert more than a week to make one spoked wheel

After becoming familiar with their respective tasks and working together, Albert’s staff was able to produce nine or ten wheels a day

Albert dreamed of making luxurious carriages with elegant spoked wheels, and of them being pulled by teams of thoroughbred horses transporting finely dressed people to important places

In front of the King and Harry was a painting of a striking woman still blessed with the beauty of her younger years

When it was finished, the King proudly inspected the new harbour

Harry and Emma’s wedding

James became the Duke of Arvin

Baron Ranty had ideas of a water-powered saw-mill

William was feeling very uneasy in the restaurant

Harry and Emma’s purpose-built country mansion was situated beside a wide lake

William told the other bankers about his meeting with Baron Ranty

Eric went out and about visiting popular taverns

Ranty’s castle

Before cheques were introduced, some customers withdrew large amounts in cash

Using cheques made large transactions easy

Grand balls were held occasionally

No one suspected that the country’s upbeat disposition was being clandestinely orchestrated by a highly-secretive Special Intellectual Group

New university departments and scholarly foundations were established by means of seemingly benevolent donations

The Organisation was able to inconspicuously guide and ease the passage of carefully selected intellectuals to positions of power and influence

Miles and miles of canals had been constructed in Areho soon after its development of large scale industries

Countries tried to increase their stocks of gold by way of foreign trade

Areho’s ability to organize its armed forces, and produce powerful weapons abundantly, far outstripped any of its neighbours

Huge factories employing hundreds of people appeared

Work in factories was usually hard and unpleasant

Work was usually tedious and repetitive, and workers rarely found any interest in the stuff they helped to produce

Companies owned by members of The Organisation, as recommended to each king, were awarded building contracts

Insurance schemes were not always reliable

Members of The Organisation were aware of the economic difficulties

Sailors told about faraway lands where many interesting things were bought and sold

To Jeremy, people seemed to have all they needed. He did not understand why growth was essential

People in an imaginary land were quite happy exchanging their goods for other things. They did not need money.

The Spud Bank promised to exchange its money notes for bags of potatoes, on demand, at any time during working hours

Despite the economic situation, members of The Organisation were still able to enjoy themselves

Jeremy and James watched the trade ships sail away

Excitement and anticipation surged throughout the land when it was reported that sails had been observed on the horizon

The captain of the lead ship was greeted by the king’s Minister of Economic Affairs

The people of the distant lands had all the things they needed

Sitting in groups, members of the Organisation’s secretive elite group continued expressing their displeasure at the contents of Semsit’s report

The visitors could see there was a wide variety of goods for sale in the distant land’s markets

Under the guise of buyers, three of the Organisation’s most able men volunteered to sail with the ships

The people of the distant lands lived peaceful lives and seemed to have little experience of violence

Young people enjoyed working for the services committee

There was a big national celebration with lots of singing and dancing each time a new ‘president’ was selected

Some workers occasionally tried to persuade their fellow workers to campaign for fairer wages but there were ways of averting their efforts

Some factories had to close because there was insufficient demand for the goods they produced

The King told everyone he didn’t want war

Without any mention of war, the King’s refusal to back the army was reported in newspapers

The economic crisis soon became a barely remembered issue of the past

Businesses were being offered for sale and once again the economic system was running into difficulties

Unemployed people became very unhappy

Ruined hopes, dreams and ambitions drove normally quiet people onto the streets to protest

Business owners wanting to sell had to lower their prices

The King was furious when he knew the generals no longer supported him

Abdication was the only way the King could survive the unfolding events with dignity

The new King’s right to the throne was celebrated by his supporters

As Election Day approached, interest in democracy gained momentum

Telslow Hall

With democracy, desperate people were more inclined to begging than to protesting

Unemployed people looking for work were more likely to find abuse

Unemployed people were encouraged to start their own small businesses

Areho’s Central Bank, the only one in fairy-tale world, was soon up and running

Members tried to be inconspicuous as they travelled to the meeting, but they didn’t want to be late

The visitors were able to learn that the display teams were only part of a sizable army

The Yevadian Embassy

Privatisation money was allocated to the manufacture of guns and ammunition

Privatisation money was allocated to building new warships

Privatisation money was allocated to increasing the size of the army

Army practice intensified

Large amounts of food were needed for the enlarged army

Excited by the prospect of imminent war, generals were keen to discuss their ideas of strategy and tactics

It was reported that the old King, Thomas IV, had been assassinated

Schemowt Hall

The plan was to offer a generous selection of gifts to the bandits

Ships were to be filled to capacity with arms and ammunition, including new field guns

The plan was to provide the bandits with all the arms and support they’d need

Guns were to be fired from a ship to reveal their power and accuracy, and to show the bandits what could be used against them if they became hostile

People were to be told that a ship had returned with news of serious civil warfare occurring in Yevad

The bandits were to be shown how to operate the field guns

It was expected there would be opposition to intervention in a foreign civil war

James Schemowt took the opportunity to be with his son, Jeremy, and answer his many questions

Jeremy expected Yevad would be in ruins after the war

It was expected that people would make donations to help the distressed people of Yevad

Continental Union Headquarters

Special Forces will ensure that useful economic facilities are not unduly harmed

The Esehems will be instructed to destroy all gathering places where Yevadian customs and values are promoted and cherished

Jeremy and James preferred to sit and talk in an isolated wing of the mansion where they knew they would not be disturbed

Harold told his audience he had one or two things to say

Trial steam engines were able to demonstrate the possibility of long convoys of heavily laden wagons being pulled large distances on steel rails

It was thought that when wireless equipment had been fully developed it would be possible to transmit messages over very large distances

If it becomes possible for messages to be broadcast far and wide, to be heard by any receptive listeners with inexpensive receivers, claims of government dishonesty will become very difficult to curb

Fighting started in Yevad when four Yevadian soldiers were ambushed and killed by a squad of Esehem fighters hiding in thick undergrowth

Using the new field guns, the Esehem rebels attacked Yevadian border fortifications

Unseen by onlookers, troops started to go aboard awaiting ships

Thick black smoke could be seen issuing from the Cathedral’s towers

Two men dressed in garments characteristic of the Esehems were found running away from the burning Cathedral

People were outraged, they cried out for war

Suddenly a huge explosion, far more powerful than the earlier detonations, occurred from deep inside the building

‘Why did the Cathedral blow-up?’ the boy asked. ‘Why didn’t it just burn out?’

In Yevad, as planned, Esehem leaders were instructed to withdraw their fighters and return to the wild regions.