“For eons The Tribe of Man stood coequal amongst the supreme races of Ánudil. During the period of Pax Manah, the tribes of Ánudil thrived and lived amongst one another in peace and solidarity.

As centuries went on, nation states had begun to form within the various tribes. Separation began, and the period of Pax Manah ended with the massacre of Áth’n committed by the Tribe of Man upon the Tribe of Kun. In their insolence Man began to war with the races of Ánudil, to the dismay of the supreme races.

The ancient records fail to state how and why the Tribe of Man lost the war. What it does however state, is that during the long futile war, our arcane well of power turned corrupt, man could no longer wield the arcane powers without scarring their minds and souls permanently. 

We know not what happened to the rest of the tribes of Ánudil nor the supreme races, other than that we had presumably lost war.

Memories has turned to legends. Legends turned to myths and now those myths are nothing more than stories we tell our children in their sleep.

We know not whether the ancient records tell the truth. Ancient civilizations did truly inhabit this world, whether they were of human origin we know not. Their remains still lie hidden beneath our feet and some above.

As a student of history, I know firsthand the cruelty and misery men commit upon one another, I simply cannot fathom the extent of our forefather’s cruelty towards the other races. If the races of Ánudil ever return, I fear for the future of man.”

Yaris J’hamen.

The lost records on the Tribe of Man.

___

Prologue

“Where is he now?”

A gruff voice sounded inside a small room hidden above the newly opened tavern outside the city of Tenebrae. Three men stood inside the small room, hiding their faces from one another by molding the darkness of the room into masks.

They all had their bodies clouded by the darkness of the room as well. The man with the gruff voice was not tall in stature, yet he possessed of a strong upper and lower body. His shoulders were wide, large and thick arms with thighs immense twice in size to them. The men before him were both thin and did not possess any large physical attributes like his.

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As the man, who seemed to be the leader of the group received no answer to his question, his hand fell hard upon a nearby table, crushing it to numerous pieces. The two other men did not flinch, they continued their silence standing before him. They stood and waited for their orders. The leader then sighed and began to massage his temples as he started to calm himself.

“The plan is no more. If we still are unable to apprehend and execute the boy by dawn, the king will have our heads. I, for one, treasure not only my head but also my life. Time is of the essence, and it would seem we have almost none of it left. 

The northern delegation is set to arrive by midday, the boy’s presence would not only foul the ceremony but would in all certainty ruin our goals for unity between the north and the south.”

He sat down on the only chair in the room which could sustain itself under his immense weight.

“The plan from henceforth is changed. The boy has extraordinarily continued to evade us for weeks. He has made an utter fool of his majesty. Disgraceful.”

He said with a sigh at the end. The two men continued to stand in silence, not moving the slightest.

The leader then proceeded to take out a cigar from his pocket, he lit it with his finger and started to smoke it.

“We have received information that he is to rendezvous with the son of Morim in a few hours, according to the information the boy will sneak into the house from an open backdoor to the estate. 

Your orders are as follows: The very moment the boy sets a foot inside that house, apprehend him without being discovered. Then proceed to return him to Astor, who I presume will continue the… interrogation of him.

I repeat this, as it is vital for the success of the ceremony, all this needs to be taken care of quietly, is that understood?”

The two men then for the first time responded to his orders with a nod. They saluted before turning to smoke and disappearing from his sight.

Now alone in the room, the man continued to smoke his cigar.

He stood and turned to look outside the window seeing the outer walls of the capital a few kilometers away. 

“I have been ever faithful to the crown, I have done much for the security of this kingdom and have proven myself trustworthy time and time again. For him to ask me of this… it would seem i had thought wrongly of him from the start.”

He then bowed down while sitting, with one hand he held the cigar and the other his eyes as tears began flow, dropping onto the coarse wood floor.

“Timur. Our nation. Family. Friends and… even I, your grandfather have chosen to abandon you for the greater good of the kingdom and its citizens. Nothing I say or do henceforth will make this any better. I hope that I and all others that have done you harm in this life shall repent to you in the other.”