ensured that the islands do not become embroiled in the intractable and violent war being fought by the countries in the north.
At the time the Covenant was being planned, Derril attracted jurists, diplomats, philosophers, politicians, journalists, pacifists, historians, academics and sociologists from all parts of the Archipelago. Negotiations were complex and took more than eight years to conclude. There followed an administrative period of another five years, during which the organizing clerks translated the Covenant into every main language of the islands. It was also rendered into innumerable patois forms, to be announced orally to indigenous groups.
Another delay followed, for formal consultation and refection, but then all the legislators, judges and Seigniory offcials, and everyone else who had taken part in the negotiations, reassembled on Derril, Large Home, for the formal signing of the Deed of Covenant.
The signing took another twelve months — every island and island group was to take possession of original documents signed by all parties — but in the end it was done, and celebrations began.
In the present day the visitor will be delighted by the impeccably maintained Covenant Palace, where the negotiations and signing took place. There are several museums in the city where many of the original documents are stored, as well as a wealth of other material, such as formal robes, photographs, journals, paintings.
Conducted tours are arranged every day, using several different languages, and Derril City offers many hotels, pensions and guest houses at a range of prices.
The island has largely become a mausoleum to its own past, so other visitor attractions are few. There is a commemorative Yo Tunnel in the hills overlooking the bay, but it fell into disuse many years ago and no one knows how to make it function again. It can, however, be explored on foot. You will be required to use special footwear and headgear, but they may be rented at the site.
Long stretches of the coast have been industrialized — steel founding, ship-building and vehicle manufacture — and the inland areas are now dominated by intensive farming techniques. Much of the landscape is covered with plasticized cultivation tunnels, for the growing of the soft fruits which the island exports across the Archipelago.
On the far eastern side there is an area of the island which has always been leased, even in the years before the Covenant was signed. The Glaund Republic is the leaseholder and has a claim of inalienable right to use and occupy this immense tract of land. It has resisted all attempts by the Derril Seigniory to make it relinquish that right.
It is an ironic implied comment on the existence of the Covenant that the rentals paid by Glaund in effect underwrote the immense cost of forging the Covenant. Even deeper irony lies in the fact that on the island where neutrality was claimed, such a huge area should be operated as a military base.
Artillery and rocket ranges mean that the hills in that area are closed to walkers, in spite of a publicly declared Glaundian policy of openness to the public and a welcome to tourists. Now visitors are warned not to go anywhere near, because of a real danger from unexploded warheads and fragments of depleted uranium. The range is in use throughout the year. There are many submarine pens in frequent use, as are detention, interrogation and redaction centres, military training facilities and two huge airstrips. The whole area is sovereign territory, part of the Glaund Republic, but the matter is constantly in dispute.
Fifteen years after the Covenant was signed, and five years after the ratifcation process had ended, the Glaund base was shelled from the sea by units of the Faiandland Navy. There was much collateral damage to houses and businesses on the main part of the island. A naval and air battle ensued and an invasion of Derril followed, an attempt by the Faiandlanders to oust the Glaundians from their base. Militarily this failed. The native Derril people could only huddle in fear as their newly won neutrality was so cynically breached.
Fortunately, there has been no repetition of this in recent years. Glaund warships are constantly on station in the deep channels around Derril, and troop carriers come and go. The Faiand forces stay away from the area.
They too have their bases around the Archipelago. Neutrality is general but not yet universal.
The artist Dryd Bathurst was in residence in Derril City for a period. His gigantic oil painting entitled
The building where Bathurst maintained his studio was demolished immediately after he left Derril, but there is a small and tasteful commemorative plaque on view in the public square opposite.
There are no shelterate or havenic laws, but because of Bathurst’s sojourn on the island the anti- importunation regulations are strict. No visas are required for visitors intending to inspect only the Covenant Memorials, but those people wishing a longer stay should enquire at their local Seigniory offces before setting out.
Currency: all accepted and converted at market rates. The Muriseayan thaler is the offcial currency.
Derril — Torquil
DARK HOME / HER HOME / EVENING WIND
The largest island in the Torquil Group, also its administrative centre, DERRIL traditionally depended on a mixed economy of farming and mining. In recent years the tourist trade and devotional pilgrimages have become the principal movers of the economy. In the case of tourism, certain recently lifted restrictions on travel (notably the erotomane laws) have opened up the whole Torquil Group to visitors. At the same time, the infux of pilgrims to Derril increases by several thousand people every year, and shows no sign of decline. The south-western area of the island, formerly given to arable farming, is now one of the most visited areas in the entire Archipelago.
Of the island patois names, the former, DARK HOME, appears to be authentic and is mentioned in the historical record. The latter name, HER HOME, is of more recent coinage and was taken up after the Manifestation. It seems that the formal name Derril also began to be used at that time, but we have been unable to trace any record of that.
The earlier name, Dark Home, came into use at the time the island was one of the main exporters of coal. The spills from the pits and the general discharge of smoke into the atmosphere led to many areas of the island being covered by a thin film of coal dust and tar. These spillages made Derril unattractive to visitors and unhealthy to residents, but strict pollution controls have been introduced all over the Archipelago. Because of them, the main island and some of the smaller ones adjacent to it, have been thoroughly decontaminated. Today, Derril is a pleasant, clean and healthy place to visit.
Mining activity, which was anyway confined to the northern part of the island, has now largely been discontinued, but local museums and visitor attractions are open all year round.
The west coast, which has magnificent rocky cliffs and wide sandy beaches, is a popular destination for vacationers. Inland, large areas of virgin forest are found. There is a danger zone on the eastern side, where Faiandland military forces manage a base. Because of constant training exercises, and trials of weaponry, we recommend tourists to stay away. In any event, the perimeter is patrolled day and night by armed guards, and there are abundant warning signs on every approach road.
Normal visitors need have no concerns about this base, provided they remain in known holiday areas. There are many facilities available for visitors to use, all of whom are allowed to travel to Derril by ferry, in the usual way.
It is important to remind intending visitors that before departure they should always check with their booking agent that they are travelling to the right place. The similarly named Torqui Group also contains an island called Derril, which is said by the people of Derril, Dark Home, to be an uninteresting and unattractive place. This is absurd, as Derril, Large Home, is unquestionably the birthplace of the Covenant. (See entry above.)
Even this historical fact has been challenged in the past by more extreme factions on Dark Home, or Her Home as these people prefer to call it. They also claim that Derril, Large Home, changed its name in recent times in an attempt to cash in on the Manifestation. Some of the more ultra-orthodox Derrilians even claim that Derril, Large Home, set up a Manifestation of its own, in an attempt to lure pilgrims.
