Historically, the country of Amisos has not been a peaceful place. It was first created several hundred years ago by the union of multiple clans that coexisted on the same land. These clans could not be considered civilized by any modern historian. Hierarchy was decided by individual strength and charisma. Old traditions like single combat were the preferred method of determining who was most fit to rule. This resulted in physically strong leaders that were otherwise incapable of ruling their clans effectively, particularly during times of peace. Trade was a strange concept to them. Instead they relied on raiding and military conquest to expand their territory and acquire resources.

Befriending neighbors and trying to work together with them was viewed as a sign of weakness. People who tried these approaches did not live long. Why go through a tedious process like trade when you can just kill everyone and pillage what you need from them? This trend continued unimpeded since before the advent of history. It never really occurred to anyone to question it. It’s the law of nature after all, kill or be killed. Men and children were the primary targets for elimination, while women of reproductive age would be captured for slavery and other purposes better left unspoken. In essence, the clans that Amisos grew from were no different from the barbarians that Rigel fought against.

Magic and natural science were in their infancy at the time. Without the aid of this knowledge, people lived off of the land through hunting and primitive farming techniques. Competition was fierce. Entire clans were wiped out by their neighbors in order to obtain their lands. Healing magic and medicine were nearly nonexistent, which meant that disease and natural disasters could easily claim lives. Children were the most vulnerable, most dying before the age of 5. Living past the age of 40 was rare.

Over time, the various clans of Amisos came to realize that things did not have to remain this way. They discovered the advantages of diplomacy and trade, which resulted in many lives being spared and improvements in living conditions. Anarchy was replaced by a centralized government where leaders were decided based on their ability to govern rather than their ability to kill the previous leader in armed combat. This became known as meritocracy. The country was ruled by a king, but his power was limited. The real power was in the hands of the major clan factions.

At the same time, magic and natural science became more prominent. They became appreciated as useful tools, not only in warfare but also in daily life. The advantage of creating fire and molding the earth without the use of tools is obvious. Healing magic allowed people to recover from injuries that would be fatal without it. In warfare, magic outclassed bows and other ranged weapons of the time. It provided strategic support through long-range bombardment of enemy formations and altering the land to create defensible positions. The help of earth and fire mages greatly sped up the construction of walls and fortresses too.

The biggest downside is that mages take a lot of time and effort to train, so their numbers are few. Access to magic teachers is limited to wealthy people such as successful merchants and nobility. Peasants could never hope to become mages.

Despite this slow, gradual progress, the kingdom of Amisos continued to engage in frequent conflicts. Peace never lasted for more than a few years, occurring only when people were too exhausted to continue fighting. The first extended peace came with the rule of King Leo Artemia III. His strong charisma and generous heart allowed him to befriend enemies, forge alliances, establish cooperation through trade and end feuds that had lasted for decades. Through his efforts, Amisos avoided having to fight in any major conflicts for 27 years. Even as the Athenites to the north were becoming more brazen, the border disputes remained small and nearly insignificant compared to the past. 27 years of relative peace for a major power is unheard of in the history of human kingdoms thus far. This is the most notable achievement of King Leo III. Of course, this peace eventually collapsed. The ugly side of mankind is not so easy to tame. Moreover, there are forces at work that no human could predict…

To the south of Amisos, King Hamal of Zamora has maintained a positive relationship with Amisos for over 40 years, mainly thanks to the efforts of Leo himself. He ended any unresolved disputes and forged a strong alliance through an agreement known as the Treaty of Talab, which demanded mutual defense from both countries in the event of a conflict.

This treaty would turn out to have much more impact than King Leo expected. A vicious civil war broke out in Amisos after his death. Word of this eventually reached the ears of King Hamal, the current ruler of Zamora. News of his friend’s premature death saddened his old heart, which eventually gave way to determination. He decided to honor their friendship by sending an army to stamp out the rebellion. This decision was controversial as Zamora has little to gain from such an expedition. Mobilizing a large army puts a serious strain on the kingdom’s resources and makes it more vulnerable while the army is away. Hamal remained unrelenting in his decision however. His agreement with Leo was more important and it was also the righteous thing to do. His vassals could not object to that and reluctantly followed the order.

Hamal accompanied the main portion of the army all the way to the city of Talab, on the border between Amisos and Zamora where the treaty was signed. At the age of 82, he is too old to fight or even to directly command the army. This task was left in the hands of his generals who relayed the King’s orders.

It takes a lot of time to mobilize an army. Soldiers must be gathered from all over the kingdom. They must be armed, fed and organized into a coherent force. While all of this is taking place, King Hamal waits in Talab while sending messengers into the southern provinces of Amisos. Their task is to understand the situation there and inform the local lords of their intentions. Having been through numerous conflicts during his rule, King Hamal is a veteran of the battlefield and an experienced commander. His plan is to have the generals push into Amisos with the eventual destination being Delos, the capital city. With the ongoing civil war, the situation is very delicate. Any misstep could make things worse. Even with his wealth of experience, Hamal is unsure of what to expect.

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Captain Asher has been a member of Bloodmoon for over a decade and has seen a lot of troubling things in that time. He knows how brutal the barbarian raids can be. They kill indiscriminately, pillage everything they can carry and burn the rest. He has been to villages that were hit by a raid and seen the aftermath with his own eyes. However, on this particular day, he is perplexed. The extent of the damage is far less than expected. A bit of smoke is rising from some buildings, but all the fires have been put out and the village is mostly intact. All of the corpses have already been removed. The villagers are cleaning and repairing the damaged structures. Most of them seem to have been spared from serious harm. Looking at this scene, no one in their right mind would think that a raid just took place. Asher sets out to find what happened.

After questioning some villagers, he becomes even more perplexed. Most of them are unable to give a coherent account of the event. Some say the gods made a miracle happen, something that Asher doesn’t consider useful information. One claimed he saw a god in human form. The god was wielding a massive blade of fire and single-handedly slaughtering the attackers. Another villager said he saw a majestic Phoenix, a legendary creature whose body is made of fire. The only consistent detail in their stories is that one being repelled the attack.

Asher is not a particularly religious fellow and has never seen anything that he considers a miracle. He believes that gods rule over humanity, but does not think they would directly intervene like this. Gods are beyond the daily affairs of mortals. It’s said that they watch the world from above while sitting on clouds. They may occasionally intervene on some kind of whim that is beyond human understanding. For example, heroes of legends were blessed with great strength and wisdom. However, would a god personally come down and save a small village from raiders? Nay. To even believe that is blasphemous. Asher is certain that these villagers are simply bewildered and unable to think clearly due to shock. He has seen it happen before.

After some more investigation, Asher found a credible story.

“You say you spoke to this man after the attack?”

“Yes, sir. He had white skin, golden hair and green eyes. He said his name is Rigel Artemia” an anxious villager replied meekly.

Asher lifted an eyebrow upon hearing that name, but then relaxed and listened to the rest of the story.

“Are you certain you saw him fighting the barbarians?”

“I swear it on my life. My wife and several others saw it as well. After it was over, the man also healed injured people with magic.”

“So, he’s a mage then.”

“As you say, sir. A few of us spoke to him and offered him wine. He accepted and then asked some questions about Lord Arfan. He left the village shortly after, saying he would return in the morning.”

“He left? Where did he go exactly? Did he have a horse?”

“I did not see a horse. He simply went on foot into the forest. He was faster than any man I’ve ever seen. His footsteps were like thunder, just like the old heroes of legend.”

These people are too quick to associate everything with the old legends, Asher thought.

At least a mysterious mage is more believable than a god who came down from the heavens. It’s very unlikely that a single mage defended this village by himself though. Bloodmoon has some of the strongest mages in the kingdom and none of them would be able to fight off that many barbarians alone without receiving injury. The barbarians are just savage brutes, but they are not pushovers. A lone mage would be surrounded or run out of mana before the fight is over.

Nonetheless, the story is very intriguing to Asher. If this mage is coming back in the morning, he would like to meet him. He decides to send the rest of Bloodmoon back to the camps at Batna, leaving only Asher and a handful of members to wait until morning.