So I was looking for something in the core book when I came across this, and something jumped out at me..."soldier-slaves"? The val'Virdan? Why were any val considered slaves during the 1st Imperium? Am I forgetting something?

I don't have my books in front of me, but off the top of my head I believe that the Nierites attempted a coup, and were almost wiped out in the ensuing war. A few survivors were kept as slaves because of their martial prowess. Over generations the slaves multiplied.

Hello Scott,

Yes - the val'Virdan were soldier-slaves for quite a while! You'll get the full low-down when you read the massive history section in the Cradle of Empires Sourcebook.

But I can say that the val'Virdan - val'Emman enmity springs out of the events that took place at that time.

Well, according to the Canceri Sourcebook, the val'Virdan left the First Imperium to form their own Kingdom after the val'Assante' Emperor (trying to woo Emman) gave up the lands promised to Virdan to Emman. Virdan was incised, and in the resulting meeting at Court, was laughed off by the assembled Vals and whatnot. He left, formed his Kingdom (apparently centred on Nier's Spine), and ruled from there until the First Imperium conquered modern day Canceri during its period of expansion. The val'Virdan, as the losers, were enslaved following the war.

Is this the TRUE story? Probably not (entirely), but it is what we know in canon so far.

Cody,

As Paul Harvey used to say, "And now, the rest of the story..."

Nope, that's just the tip of the iceberg. Correct as far as it goes, but it glosses over some very important events.