Furthermore, I recall that several of the characters involved in attempting to merge Summerdale and Thulsoma back in the day got lightning bolted for their efforts, and that case was similar. If that was an illegal realm merger and this isn't, I'd be curious to know why people think this is different.
First, I don't recall any lightning bolts (could've been during one of my away periods), so its very likely I could be missing an important point from that specific situation. But playing the king of Libero Empire at the time, I do recall some of the ideas floated before any lightning bolts were used. They were very much of a joining as equals concept in order to be more powerful against neighboring realms and unify as northmen. The difference between then and now is that Duchess Khari is not also Queen of Asylon or some other arrangement where they 'merge' together. There is a difference between realigning one's loyalties and merging realms.
