The Gates of Arstelem (Classic)

Foreword

In the third year of King Davek's reign, two commoners would come to shape the fate of Noraan. It was in these days that Othenar was recovering from its greatest trials, and across Omnoth the engines of change were restarting after great devastation.

Haniel's return to Noraan had done nothing to sate her emptiness. She had been traveling with Berrand, the king's courier, for almost three months now, as a sellsword hired for his protection.

She had gone into exile during King Salen's purge of the Vekunites, and returned to a homeland in which her people could no longer be found. Her father had been a temple servant in Arstelem, the capital city, and he had been one of the thousand Vekunites hung from the walls of that city.

The war had changed her. The Kithik, an indomitable alien force, had attacked all of Othe, and in her wanderings in the south she had faced war and struggle. Fighting in the service of Ielen, she had watched countless mortals die. At the end of the war, the gods themselves descended to the battlefield, striking back against the invaders alongside their mortal followers.

Berrand had been spared the war, to the largest extent that any had been. Originally a scribe in the court of King Salen, his mentor and patron had been ousted in the ascension of King Davek. Rather than perishing, however, Berrand applied to become a courier of the king, and since the beginning of King Davek's three year reign, he had been working closely with the new ruler, even meeting him once in person to receive recognition for his service.

Together, they had been part of the movement to coordinate the rebuilding efforts across the Kingdom of Twelve, which had become desperate to shore up its defenses against increasing encroachment from its neighbors.