Ror had better be right, thought Gund. No sooner than Magni’s master lens had been positioned to view the new star, or the Titan’s Torch, as it had been dubbed, Ror had insisted without letup that it be moved again, this time to spy on Moonveil.

“We haven’t had trouble with the Bladedancer since before you were born,” Gund had argued.

“Two hundred thousand goblins on the move don’t frighten you?” Ror had countered.

“Any number of goblins frightens me. Every last one of them is a lunatic. But we can kill goblins.”

“And they can kill us. I read the records of the shattering of Heth. The comet struck the Field of Iron in a matter of hours. So if we’re going to try and evade a falling star then we’d best be on the road today. Those goblins out there are a threat we can deal with, and I'm getting this advice from one of their own.”

Gund had acquiesced, but not without a great deal of grumbling. All but one of the telescopes had been angled to the eaves of the Starwood and Moonveil’s border, and goblins were seen moving and camping in droves. A great throng of them had even been spotted burrowing large tunnels into the ground near Obrus's eastern foothills. The mountain sprawled on for miles to the east, and the slope was far more gradual. For this reason no surface gate was built on the eastern face. Instead batteries of artillery guarded the mountain from invaders above, and the doors to the kingdom were deep beneath the ground, where the hundreds of thousands of goblins were making their way.

Gund took one final look at the Titan's Torch through the telescope before ordering it to be turned down and westward. One eye at least was to be cast on the western road. The star was alive with cosmic flame. Waves of crimson and scarlet light pulsed and beamed out into the black expanse beyond the sky, and the inner rings of red light glowed and swirled like a vortex of ruby flame. The sapphire glow in the center was bright and fierce, like the iris of a celestial eye. Gund couldn’t shake the feeling that he was not looking at one cosmic traveller, but two; a knight in glimmering blue armor pressed to restrain the fiery dragon behind it.

While the starmancers were retasking that last telescope, Gund had Orenti bring him an old book. Orenti had an apartment built into the Brow of Obrus, and Gund had commandeered his lodging for doing some research into this ancient text. Along with the old book were the many charts and drawings the starmancers had made of the Titan’s Torch. Its light and color composition, position to the other stars, and number of pulses per quarter turn were all written down.

Orenti cleared his desk of his usual clutter as Gund spread out the charts around the old book. At Gund’s bidding he took the crystals out the sconces lining the walls of the room and put his brightest ones in the chandelier above his desk. He then poured carmalled yak’s milk into a pair of chilled mugs and served one to the Army Chief.

Gund brushed a thick film of dust off the cover to the old book. It was bound with chains, and its covers were made of tarnished silver. On its front cover was the blazon of the black sun, and beneath it the triple crescent. The title Narvi's Song was scratched as with a knife above the Black Sun, beneath were the words Those Who Can May Read. Gund opened the cover and read aloud the first page.

“Into this tome I have poured the last drops of my life’s blood. The gathering of knowledge from the elder days, and the time after that we call the Age of Dreams, has consumed my twilight years almost entirely. I make this sacrifice gladly, for it is my belief that the Age of Dreams was the rebirth of our world, and that its hidden truths must be revealed if we are to pass through the fire unscathed. I urge you to drink from this well that I have emptied myself into, for it has been filled each time by the River, first to third and now.”

“This book has not been opened since King Thaddum was young,” said Orenti.

“Grar scarcely even reads through the Tides. I agreed with him until I first saw the Torch, that morning I came grumbling up the stairs after Ror.”

“Many of the mancers believe it to be a blessing. I tend to agree with them, Chieftain. Its unheralded arrival, its dualistic appearance, and many of its other elements seem nothing short of miraculous.” He hesitated. “Uhm, Chieftain, forgive me if I offend, I mean I don’t ever mean to question a Chief but…”

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“Spit it out, Orenti.”

“Well I, I just am surprised that His Highness didn’t accompany you. Is Prince Ror otherwise occupied? I know it’s no business of mine. We all enjoy his interest in Magni and our work. I’d hoped to see him today and, well, I’ve said too much.”

“He’s with my nephew. If you’re wondering why he suddenly wanted Magni turned away, then I’m only slightly less confused than you. He caught wind of these goblin invaders and seems to have become obsessed.”

“Ah. Well, the realm must be protected. Goblins are now and have always been a capricious breed. I can’t say I don’t see wisdom in the Prince’s dictate.”

“It was my dictate. Ror merely pressured me into making it. Have you read from this book?”

“No Chieftain. I’ve only guarded it. Orvar knows I've had my work cut out for me. That boy, oh what's his name? The queen's pet. Hur, yes, Audun Hur. He keeps begging me to loan it to him. I caught him in here once. I've no clue how he managed to pick my lock, but here he was. He must have heard me coming. He looked to be returning the book to its place, you see. But no Chieftain, you are the only authorized person to seek this tome in the course of my life.”

“Fascinating. Now tell me about the star. How is it miraculous?”

“Oh Chieftain, where do I begin?”

“I don’t know where, but I just told you when.”

“Of course, of course. The count of its pulses marks it as being very close, yet we cannot feel its heat. We suspect this to have something to do with its blue core, though blue flame is oft the hotter, and as above, so below, as the saying goes. We have thus speculated that the blue core is not a star, but some great icy body we as yet know nothing of. We had enough time to mask several of the lenses before His Highness's… your dictate, was enacted. Through the masks we’ve traced the distortion of its path, and we believe it has been over our sky for longer than we deemed. Our best guess is that it’s not at all a new star, not even to our world. We only began our observations, though, and we have much more work to do. Once these nettlesome goblins are sorted out, of course. Chieftain, not that I’m overly concerned, but have we heard from Cloud Hammer regarding their findings?””

“No. They turned our bears away and sent the thrush back with no message.” Gund set Orenti to work organizing the information on his charts while he read more of the page to himself.

Thrond has grown and thrived, far beyond the scope my purpose in populating it demanded. I’m glad, for a queen needs a throne, and there is no grander throne than Obrus. May her Majesty Ascendant rule eternal.

Gund scanned the rest of the page. There was talk of an archer with a star in his quiver, and a recanting of the Book of Tides. There was a lengthy section on the designing of his crest, which Gund found intriguing and decided he would read later, and exhaustive transcriptions of gnolls sputtering nonsense while held in Thrond's dungeons.

Narvi was reported to have lost his mind at the end of his long, violent life, and Gund was not disputing this belief as he read through his final words. He flipped through the pages until he found what he sought.

The Great Year, or, the Age of Storms. A cataclysm so terrible that even time seems to have been shaken by its wrath. It started with the red light behind the clouds, and ended with the six kins waking to a changed world. This is to be the scholar's look into the affair, though I am convinced this tale is told in prosaic metaphor in the Book of Tides by that master of confusion we know as Alon. If one wishes to start down that path, I recommend first examining the Empire of the Hidden Lord, and certain excerpts from Forever Man before daring Alon’s meanderings. But do so after having bathed in the Heart of the Garden, or you will see nought but what was written by ink and quill. Such a study will leave its mark upon your mind, a mark that will shine like a lamp within.

As to the cataclysm itself, it is cryptically recorded at best, but can be understood as a gradual warping of the world that lasted for generations. Either our sun turned against us, or was murdered by another who took its place; this one cruel and vengeful. All that we have now is built upon what our forebears lost. We talk of things that we have never seen; of dragons, harpies and gryphons, and we fear the fog that creeps across the sea from the outer isles. I am convinced that before the sky turned to rending fire and took vengeance on the land…

Gund paused. This was where Narvi's rumored madness showed itself, for the analytic prose of the text changed into a lilting song of the light that lives within the shadow. The fiery heart of the deepest mountain was mentioned over and over, along with bells and horns. Bells and horns, Gund thought. There must have been a war at the end of his life. There was a rapping on Orenti's apartment door, and a muffled voice called for Gund.

"Chieftain!" shouted the voice. "You must come see! It's the goblins!"