Almost six hundred years ago, the first man to set foot in the wilds of Er’Rets was Kinsman explorer King Echad Hadar. Arman, the one-god, called Echad to cross the great sea in search of a new land. And upon arriving in Er’Rets, the one-god bestowed a special gift upon King Echad and his descendants: the gift of omniscience.
This ability was in no way as strong as Arman’s omniscience, but the power enabled King Hadar to know the hearts of his people in a special way.
King Echad landed at the southernmost tip of Er-Rets. There he built a small manor with a tower to watch the seas. He named the manor Er’Rets’ Point, because Er’Rets meant “land” in the Kinsman old language, and in time, Er’Rets would become the name of the entire continent.
In the land surrounding his new manor, King Echad found beasts, birds, and fish that he’d never before seen, but he found no people. Yet with his omniscient ability, he sensed other life existed on Er’Rets and wanted to find it. He left a small group of men to guard the manor and traveled north, searching for signs of life.
He sensed people to the north and set out around the mountains that separated the southern grasslands from what mysteries lay beyond. Before he reached the mountains, however, King Echad discovered a huge lake with waters like glass. He found the area so breathtaking, he could go no further. He commissioned a second manor, this one of even greater magnitude, to be built in the center of the great lake. There it would be nearly impossible to penetrate.
During the construction, Echad took a small party north to explore beyond the snowy peaks. They soon entered a forest with trees as high as small mountains. Here Echad discovered the first life in this new land that wasn’t beast, bird, or fish. He discovered giants.
Thankfully, the giants were peaceful. Although they did not speak the same language, the two groups found ways to communicate. The giants had lived in this land for only a short time, having come from the east. They had no interest in traveling beyond the forest where they’d made their home. King Echad stayed with the giants for a few weeks before continuing his journey. He stayed his course north, following his sense that more people lived there.
Echad passed through a barren swampland. Further north he crossed orchards and wild fields thick with fox, rabbits, and deer. He approached another mountain chain and travel to the east of it. He discovered vineyards ripe with plump grapes but sensed no people nearby. He followed a river west into the mountains, and after a week, exited on the western side of the land. There he found another forest, smaller than the one the giants lived in, but swarming with a pale race of humans. This people, who called themselves Poroo, lived quite savagely. Although the Poroo didn’t not attack, Echad sensed their hostility, so he turned south. Before long he came to a sea. It did not seem like he should have traveled the whole land yet, so he followed the shore inland until he came to familiar swampland. He crossed back into the giant’s forest, then traveled west, to see how far he could go.
The forest gave way to a dry, barren land, and eventually a desert. A pack of rabid wolves attacked, and Echad lost nine of his men before killing the wolves. He continued west until he reached the sea, then followed the coastline south, hoping to return to Er’Rets’ Point. As he rounded the mountains, he met a third people. They spoke a similar form of his language, although he had never seen men with such olive-toned skin. These people called themselves Chuma and claimed to have come from the west. They called their city Jaelport. It was a richly decorated castle on the coast of a peninsula. The Chuma were hospitable, but practiced magic, which greatly disturbed King Echad, so he decided to continue on. The Chuma were kind enough to ferry King Echad and his men across an inlet, which likely saved them three day’s journey.
Great billowing smoke on the horizon alluded to more life ahead. The king and three of his closest men went closer to see what burned. From a distance, they witnessed a barbaric tribe of people. Since their numbers were limited after the wolf attack, the king chose to bypass these barbarians. Further south they encountered another olive skinned-city. These people lived more simply than the Chuma of Jaelport. Their magic also made King Echad uncomfortable, so he continued south along the coast until he saw the tower of Er’Rets’ Point.
King Echad returned to the great lake to check the progress on his fortress. Having found no place more beautiful in all Er’Rets, he decided to live there. He named the castle Armonguard, for Arman would always be its guardian and he wanted the castle to be a tribute to his creator and a reminder to his descendants.
As the years went on, many kings ruled at Armonguard. Scores of wars were fought and won. King Echad Hadar’s descendants eventually stretched out across the land, building manors and claiming land. Over time the kings grew further away from Arman’s ways, abusing their omniscient abilities, which they now called bloodvoicing, since the ability passed down through the blood of kings. As a result, Arman gifted the people less and less.
During the reign of Silmal Hadar II, two hundred and forty years ago, the gray-skinned Otherlings from the north started a war, which later became known as The Great War. Eventually the Chuma, Poroo, and giants became involved as well. A great illness came upon King Silmal II, leaving him bedridden. His son, Willham I, secured his father at the refuge fortress of Noiz, then took charge of defending Armonguard.
Arman sent his son to Er’Rets in Kinsman form to teach truth to the people, which even King Silmal II had begun to forget. As Câan fought for truth, then sacrificed himself to save his people, most did not see what he’d accomplished. They deemed the Son God a weak warrior and chose to continue worshiping false gods. Er’Rets fell further and further into an abyss of evil and selfishness. Over the years, a small group of Câan followers gathered, inducting into their ranks the young Prince Axel Hadar. When Axel became king, he brought with him an obedience to Arman, which had been absent from the House of Hadar for nearly one hundred years. He proclaimed Arman the One God. Many dukes and lords found the young king’s beliefs folly, but some took it as treason to their way of life. A plot developed among King Axels enemies. The next spring, as the king passed through Allowntown on his way to meet with Duke Amal of Carmine, his procession was attacked. The king and queen were murdered, and their three-year-old son, Gidon, vanished.
Instantly, a great Darkness stretched over the land of Er’Rets, starting in the west and settling above Allowntown, where the king and queen were murdered. Many thought the gods were cursing the people for the death of the king. The remnant of Câan, called the Way, believed evil had become too great in Er’Rets. If the people didn’t turn back to Arman and give up their wickedness, Darkness might continue to grow until it covered all Er’Rets forever.
For months Kingsguard soldiers searched for the prince but could not find him. They had given up hope when a young man called Luas Nathak arrived in Mahanaim with the boy, wanting to return him to the Council of Seven. Luas claimed he found the prince child wandering the land near his home and only knew he was royalty because of the signet ring he wore around his neck on a chain.
The Council voted that Luas be knighted for his heroism. The prince was sent to his uncle, Prince Oren Hadar, to be raised, but for reasons unknown, Prince Oren refused to raise him. Sir Luas volunteered to do so, having grown close to the boy during their time together. The Council declared Sir Luas Nathak warden for Prince Gidon Hadar until he came of age. Funds were given to make Sir Luas’ home more suitable for a prince, thus Sitna manor was built.
Without a king, the Council of Seven governed Er’Rets and would continue to do so until Prince Gidon came of age. Having declared King Axel’s Kingsguard incompetent, the Council inducted a New Kingsguard to protect the prince. Dissenters began to sprout up all over the land, weakening the Council’s power and turning the people against each other and the young prince before he even had a chance to rule.
Time passed, and now the prince has reached his sixteenth year. And after his coming of age celebration and tournament, he will be presented to the Council of Seven to claim the throne that is rightfully his.
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