The sun began to set behind twin mountain peaks. These two peaks, named after the gods Orthuah and Tenzan, overlooked the capital city of Tamél. This small mountain range was laid out in a crescent shape, surrounding the city on three sides. It was for this reason the first king of Freyondel made this his home long ago. Now, a large castle stood, nestled close to the rock face. The city spread out before it, leading towards the opening of the canyon.

Never before had this great city been breeched. Of course, no opposing armies had ever come anywhere near it after the first age. Once the kingdom of Freyondel had firmly been established, it reigned over the Freyla continent with an iron fist. No, no enemies had made it near the city for over a thousand years. And King Tediel remained determined to keep it that way. After thirty-seven years of his reign, the old king still felt a passion for his kingdom. He had staved off enemy armies and rebellions, and even managed to foil every inner plot against him. He was confident in his ability to reign to a fault.

However, recently he had been faced with a new challenge. The continent of Freyla was largely under his control. But the countries of Gorthal to the West, and Hanond just above to the northwest, had recently joined together to form a resistance to his rule. These countries had remained docile for centuries, but now seemed to be growing restless. Tediel wasn't sure why they would do this now. But it didn't matter. Furthermore, he knew they were also beginning to receive troops and supplies across the sea from other countries on the continent of Syrinal. His spies had confirmed this the morning before. Now, the king was walking along his throne room balcony, contemplating the situation.

The doors to the balcony swung open as a large man wearing full plate armor and no helmet walked out. He had a young face, but eyes that had clearly seen battle. Though his face was hardened, it bore no scares, for he had not earned any yet.

"Your majesty." The knight said walking over and bowing.

"Yes, what is it Rhydal?" Tediel asked.

"We just received word that Gorthal and Hanond have combined into one nation. They are now calling themselves Gorhandel. They sent a decree by messenger." The knight said.

"Where is this messenger now?" The King asked.

"I met with him at the gates my lord. He recited his message to me then promptly left without entering the city. He was bearing the flag of both countries, however."

"Hmm. That means they do not respect me. But I guess that's no surprise. Still, it's a bold move indeed." The King paused in thought.

"This of course makes matters much more complicated. We'll have to alter our tactics drastically now. Inform Kaldar of this when he returns from The Aufarine Forest. He and his men should be getting back soon if I'm not mistaken. I'm curious to know what that disturbance there was."

"Yes your majesty, it will be done." Rhydal said. "And Kaldar sent a rider ahead of his men not long before the messenger arrived. He said they will be arriving in Tamél shortly after nightfall."

"That is good. You are dismissed." Tediel said.

The King turned back towards the edge of the balcony as the knight closed the door behind him. Tediel looked out over his kingdom, his home.

"If this plays out how I think it will then we might need to bolster our armies." The King said to himself. He knew that what was happening was unprecedented. Never before had two countries voluntarily combined into one nation. Not only that, but they were also receiving aid from other countries overseas. This was shaping up to be quite a war.

He wished he could rely on the help of Arinn, but the king knew better than that. The Great Mage lived in Freyondel and provided counsel to Tediel. But the king knew that was only to take advantage of the nation's resources. Still, Tediel remained hopeful that, should he need it, help would come.

Kaldar was riding atop his steed, leading his regiment of two hundred men back to Tamél. They hadn't found anything helpful at or around the crater in the Aufarine Forest. He still was troubled about it. His brain couldn't make sense of what he saw. As he rode, he contemplated further what this could mean. He knew that this was not simply a natural phenomenon. Or rather, that's what he believed. He wasn't so arrogant as to believe that he held all the answers, but his gut told him that this was all very unnatural.

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Even now, after days of marching, he knew his men were unsettled. Anyone who saw that crater couldn't help but feel a sense of uneasiness. Some of the men whispered of the fey, who legends claimed used to reside in the forest. Other men spread rumors of the gods unleashing their wrath upon the world. And others still spoke of massive fire breathing creatures of myth. However, most of the men thought that some dark magic ritual was performed there, by evil mages attempting to rise up and take over. But despite all the rampant hyperbole running through the troops, they remained steadfast in their duties.

Yes, Kaldar wouldn't dampen the men's resolve by adding speculation of his own. Especially when his own speculation consisted of unknown forces let loose upon the world, unchecked, and uncontrollable. He was sure that was far more likely to finally break the men's willpower. He had made the right call in keeping this to himself and his general, Keaton. But this didn't change the fact that he had no idea what to do. All he could do was inform the king of the few things they did know, and hope he could come up with something more substantial than Kaldar had thus far.

It was growing dark, and they were not far off from the city of Tamél. The troop of soldiers marched down a large dirt path traveling around a small forest. With the trees to the company's right, that left wide open land to their right. As they marched, Kaldar scanned the horizon in the dim light. A habit from being a commander, from being a leader and a knight. There hadn't been a war to fight in over a decade, still he kept himself busy over the years handling larger beasts threatening towns across the kingdom, and the occasional bandit lord who thought they were different from the others Kaldar had subdued. Yes he kept himself busy alright. He made sure he was always sharp. This was a good thing too, for at that moment he tilted his head just in time to avoid an arrow to the eye socket.

More arrows flew, coming out of the forest. Kaldar yelled for his men to take formation and prepare to defend.

"AAAARMMS! ARMS UP MEN! Our journey is not at an end just yet!"

His men did as he said, forming up with I credible speed. With footmen in the front, spearmen supporting them from behind and archers bringing up the rear, they were ready for the next assault. But none came. They remained their, motionless, as all fell quiet. Kaldar didn't like this. It knew it must just be bandits, but bandits knew not to attack a company of soldiers this large; especially not one with a knight at their head.

Keaton came.running up to Kaldar and saluted.

"Sir! Your orders!"

"Get the spies! Send them into the woods. We need to know what we're dealing with." Kaldar said.

Keaton ran off, and shortly after Kaldar could see two dark blurs rush towards the forest and vanish just before passing the first tree. This did not surprise him. He knew that all of the king's spies wore enchanted cloaks and made them almost impossible to spot, especially in a shadowy forest at dusk. They also each carried enchanted blades that would immobilize a target after just one cut. Many orders of men under the King's command possessed enchanted weapons and clothes. All were courtesy of The Great Mage Arinn. Kaldar knew these spies would accomplish their mission.

After a few minutes the spies returned, as silent as ever. They rushed up to Kaldar's horse to report.

"My lord." One of the spies said. "There are no signs of anyone having been in the forest."

Kaldar looked shocked. Surely that wasn't true.

"Are you sure?! There must be something!"

"No, my lord. We scoured this edge of the forest for a good distance along the tree line and back into the woods. We saw no men, no equipment, and no tracks of any kind. It's possible this could be the work of magic."

Magic, Kaldar thought. If that was true then they were in much more danger than he thought. If a mage was involved, with the amount of archers needed to shoot that many arrows, that meant this wasn't mere bandits. Only one of the surrounding nations would have access to a mage, as well as a group of archers. This wasn't good.

"Quick! Sound the retreat." Kaldar said to Keaton.

"We need to make it back to the city. Now!"

Keaton did as commanded, quickly readying the men to march. Soon they were on their way again, this time moving faster. Kaldar knew that something greater was definitely happening now. Something that had not happened before. He still didn't know what it was, or why it was happening. But these occurrences were unheard of in his time, or any time before. He had to make it back to the king to report on what had happened. He'd just have to figure out the unknowns later.