'So the tale of man continues, as ever it has. In the swaying and swinging of its pendulous pendulum, from struggle to decadence, Pain to pleasure. But, how much lies in the realm of the physical and how much is merely perception? Am I a bad man for doing the things I have, or am I just the one who has? If not me some other man would grasp for the exact things now within my reach. So hate not me, hate not the life you have had. But, go with peace in your hearts and calm in your heads.'
-Archlord Azizi Nkota
Azizi Nkota was the Archmage of Nzima. Till, that is he murdered the entire ruling class and named himself Archlord. He said these words to a captured city, Tàiyáng, the capital of Shén. Then as he raised his hands all sixty members of their royal family were executed. The emperor, his fifteen consorts and his many children. Proceeded by the killing of every member of each noble house and all the nation archivists, by days end a number totaling in the thousands. This after a highly successful campaign responsible for leaving the entire Shén army crippled or dead. The citizens had no fight left in them, they had no choice but to watch their way of life ripped from them. At sundown the Archlord's army left Shén to return home, the vacuum left in their wake created a civil war that still rages. A story harrowing indeed. However, although extreme it is not at all uncommon. Alas, you will have to suffice with a mere anecdote of that chronicle for now. The tale about to unfold is set more than two hundred years after the burning of Shén. On the very day our dear protagonists life would change forever.
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