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SIXTH FIRETRUCE (3891)

Wresting Order from Chaos
The Children rebounded by the time of the Sixth Firetruce, however. Alvarada "Firespear" Mari Menai yl-Harabec, grandniece of Anachrussa, ruled the Children of the Phoenix with fiery passion and iron will. Like her ancestor, Quinn Istvan, she was a powerful, ambitious leader concerned about her place in history - and she refused to allow the Firetruce to die. Unlike every other Phoenix Prime to that point, Alvarada possessed a violent temper and little patience for those who disagreed with her. Some contemporaries believed she struggled to clear her name of the taint left by her great aunt's legacy. Others joked (though not to her face) that she was switched with a Blood Eagle at birth. Regardless of her motivation, Alvarada commanded enormous respect among not only the Children, but the other tribes as well. It was whispered that she was the lover of Harabec - even that she was an incarnation of Harabec. Her martial prowess was legendary, her personal charisma nigh-irresistable. She represented the epitome of the tribal warrior-chief, and her fame swept through the wilderzone. Only thirty-two at the time of the Sixth Firetruce, Alvarada Mari Menai never married; neither did she have children. She was "born to war," she would reply when asked about producing an heir. And at the Firetruce she reached her prime.

Times were hard in the wilderzone in the years before the Firetruce. The Tribes of Man fought constantly. A mysterious blight had crippled agricultural output on scores of worlds. Raids and bloodfeuds were common, and the balance of power had shifted dramatically. The Children of Phoenix had lost a disturbing number of worlds prior to Alvarada's rule. The Diamond Sword and the Starwolf had ascended to challenge the Children and the Blood Eagle for dominance, whereas the Gorgon Killers had fallen into dissipation and decay hastened by the stark fact that their worlds were the most heavily damaged by the blight. Common consensus among the tribes held the Sworders and Wolves as Great Tribes and dismissed the Gorgon Killers. Grievers and opportunistic independents attacked outlying worlds and slaughtered entire holdfasts.

Initially, few tribes expressed interest in reviving the "dead" Firetruce. Alvarada had to use all of her considerable charisma and power to convince the Tribes of Man to attend. First she offered Tycho Brahe IV, one of the jewels of the Children's holdings and perhaps the most beautiful planet in the entire galaxy, as the site for the Firetruce. Then, in a move calculated to draw attendance by its sheer audacity, she challenged the leaders of the Blood Eagle, the Diamond Sword, and the Starwolf to personal duels, wagering key star systems on the outcome.

With such drama behind it, the tribes came to the Firetruce in droves. This time, the Children of Phoenix kept the peace, with the "gracious assistance" of the other three Great Tribes. Alvarada's Unity speech was the shortest ever. Surveying the assembled warriors and holders, she simply said, "We shall see if you are worthy," and left the platform. Subsequent nonplussed speeches by the other tribal leaders were largely ignored. The Grand Duel was anticlimactic. The Starwolf champion defeated a Diamond Sword warrior, but everyone looked forward to what the harpers were calling "Firespear's Challenge," and the other events were afterthoughts.

Alvarada did not disappoint. On successive days, she defeated the crafty Starwolf leader Sekreh M'klannin, the enigmatic Diamond Sword Court of Blades champion Autumn Thunder, and Alvarada's warrior-queen contemporary, the Great Eagle Helena "Harridan" Konovalev. The awe Alvarada awakened in the spectators was infectious. When a limping Konovalev embraced her after their battle, the stunned silence exploded into a deafening roar of approval.

The rest of the Firetruce was a riotous celebration that tribal historians describe as one of the wildest parties of all time. Certainly the mood was jubilant. The goodwill from this event lasted for the next fifteen standard years, as many independents "returned" to the ranks of the Phoenix, the Blood Eagle put aside many of their feuds, and the severity of raids plummeted dramatically. The glory and promise of the Firetruces had been restored.

Unfortunately, the reign of the Firespear came to a sudden, bloody end in 3893, during a campaign against the Gehenna Shark tribe on the jungle world of Ashkelon III. A sniper round severely wounded Alvarada during a siege of the G-Shark base. Though the wound itself was not fatal, the local microbes caused an untreatable and fatal infection. Alvarada died three days later, naming her great-grandfather Alexi Stefanos as her successor. Though ancient, Alexi was still hale, and he possessed a keen mind and wealth of experience that served the Children well.