Interlude II: Patriarch Hamid of the Northern Clans

Patriarch Hamid stared at the letter that lay open on his hand, deep in reflection. His thoughts turned toward the challenges the free clans had been facing against the Imperials and Nobles of Tanga. Additionally, the demons were venturing further inland due to the failure of the ancient formations. His beloved clans were situated between demon lands to the east and the hated nobles to the south. The nobles, he sighed. They would rather condemn the entire plane to demons than accept that a group of people dared to live free. To make laws that favored every person.

The clans had even humbled themselves to the point of sending some of their most talented children to study at the Academy in an offer of peace. As if, the Academy could teach anything the descendants of the last guardian couldn't. This concession was meant to be a gesture of good faith to allow for a concerted effort against the demon horde. However, the Silicians had broken faith and continued raiding farms and conscripting free northerners to be used as slaves and demon fodder.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

These thoughts made his blood boil in rage. Many a warrior had advocated for outright violence and a massive push south. The hotheads were still living in denial. Many nights listening to Keepers had filled their heads with a sense of invulnerability. Hamid knew the truth, provoking the Southerners would only lead to ruin.

The clans had lost much. The Imperial armies had razed their most prized monuments to the ground when the Guardian had fallen. Their libraries, armories, and temples had all been destroyed. Many years of strife had followed turning the hitherto jewel of Tanga into a derelict land, its beauty only told in campsite fires.

The letter felt like a furnace in his palm. It spoke of an ember in the ashes. If his daughter was correct, and she was rarely wrong, a true descendant walked the plane. The descendant was oblivious to the weight of responsibility awaiting his young shoulders. However loath Hamid was to the task, it was imperative to summon the Council of Masters.

This information could not wait. He scribbled a hasty message to his daughter. They must remain close to the descendant at all costs. Their lives may depend on it. The lives of all of Tanga may just depend on it.