In partnership with the Senate, the Lady Nera governs the Commonwealth wisely. She fortifies her domains, building long walls to guard the boundaries.
Lady Sina's heirs and near kin are killed or driven from the Commonwealth. Her other relatives swear allegiance to the Senate and the Chancellor.
In the Hinterland Baltas and his sons after him are content to rule their Kingdom. They do not challenge the Commonwealth.
In due course Nera is succeeded by her son, Cheren VI. He rules the Commonwealth for 59 years. Men will call it the Long Peace
He is succeeded by his grandson, Iswed III. Like his father and grandmother before him, he pledges to respect the rights of the Senate.
All seems well. Nominally the Commonwealth is peaceful, its borders secure. But undercurrents of discontent are running. Men say that the Chancellors have given too much power to the Senate, that there is no force to curb the greed of the Nobles. The peasants and townsmen grumble. Rumors spread of secret societies, growing hotbeds of sedition. Some dare to question the Chancellor himself. From the Hinterland come rumors of war.
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