As the Mellertang Way heads east towards Jalkin, roughly three quarters of a mile from the Westgate, a long line of statues begins. They stand in pairs on either side of the road, at even distances. The statues were first begun in 1094, after the Mellertang was re-routed to take in the Cities and also after the Statue Park idea blew up in the government's face. Originally they were supposed to fulfil the same functions as Statue Park - a place to honour recently departed dignitaries. Thus the first two were of Dryac Prieson (Chancellor of the time) and Tars Tukas; the next of the Baron of Dorlaf and a recently deceased Jalkin Chairman. But the idea mutated over time and the Mellertang Way became the place to sculpt both icons in Christotan history and the abstract ideals the Confederacy is supposed to embody. In essence, it has become a statement of national identity. Thus, pride of place right beside the Westgate and a huge lotus flower (the emblem of Jalkin) and a marble cast of seven linked stars, the federal badge. Tukas has retained his place but his more obscure fellow ex-Chancellor was bumped back further down the line, to be replaced by Ferent Tachlan. Other heroes and heroines have taken their place, such as Myran Bennett, Myers Lianti, Stayson Cooper, Helden Gorric, Mankho Arner and (gar. uprise. heroine. There are also statues purporting to symbolise Truth, Honesty, Diligence, Compassion and so on, sometimes in the form of stylised figures, sometimes through bafflingly abstract images. Religious figures also appear, though carefully balanced. For ever Garran character there is an image of Ella opposite it, and each of the recognised deities in Teraf's pantheon are represented somewhere. A fresh pair of statues is commissioned every two years. A large ceremony has been developed around each unveiling, supposedly held in the middle of August though it has become something of a moveable feast. The commissions are quite lucrative and greedily fought over by the Cities' sculptures. Though the final choice is made by a specially formed committee, Cities residents are also invited to have their say in the weeks before the final commissioning. This doesn't prevent shocks sometimes being sprung on the people; the Cities was outraged in 1286 when presented with the form of a naked man, supposed to represent Candour (it stood for eight years but was then replaced). A rather swifter removal occurred in 1322 when a likeness of the notoriously incompetent Chancellor Falcan Ollia was unveiled; the crowd rioted and promptly smashed it up. The money for the statues comes from a complicated mixture of Council, Provincial and federal funds which alters each year. The arrangement is a result of protracted and achingly predictable squabbles over who is the chief beneficiary of the undoubted positive impressions which the long lines of statues creates.