The Final Storm

Prologue

Baron Valdemar was a noble of the great Eastern Empire, who became disillusioned with the nation. Together with anyone on his lands who wanted to join him, he fled west to a largely unpopulated area, and founded a city called Haven. It grew and grew, until the people of this city began calling Valdemar the king, and so he was crowned and began expanding his country, but never taking any land that belonged to another country or people. So in time it expanded its borders to the edges of Iftel, Hardorn, Karse and Rethwellan, and he grew old. Now, he knew his eldest son, the Heir, was a good man who would rule the country wisely, but he couldn't know if his son's son would be a good king and so he feared for his kingdom. One night, he went to the palace gardens, and went to the Grove that held the temples for all the gods that the people of Valdemar worshipped. He then prayed to every deity he knew, and combined it with a little magic, for a full night and day. As the sun was setting, a blinding light came from in front of him, and there stood a Companion. Not quite a horse, the Companion was snowy white, had sapphire blue eyes and was infinitely more beautiful than any horse. The Companions Chose King Valdemar, and his son, the Heir, and his most trusted advisor came up behind him and another two Companions stepped into the Grove. They Chose the son and the advisor as worthy of ruling the kingdom, and from that day forward, the law in Valdemar has been that the monarch and the heir must have been Chosen by a Companion.

King Valdemar realised that while only one person could be the monarch, one person could be the Monarch's Own, and one person could be the heir, anyone could aspire to be a Herald, who are also Chosen by Companions. Heralds began to dispense the King's justice, ensuring peace all over the country and upholding the law. Every Companion was white with blue eyes, and all had the ability to talk into their Chosen's mind. However, some Heralds could talk back, some couldn't. Some could talk to other Heralds in their minds, and some could Fetch objects from a distance. Some could detect other's feelings, some could see into the future, and some could see anywhere in the kingdom. But all of them were trustworthy beyond measure, and had the closest bond with their Companions as could possibly be.

When Queen Selenay was on the throne, around 1300 years after King Valdemar had founded the kingdom, the Eastern Empire plotted to take Valdemar and Hardorn, due to events in Hardorn that tore the country apart, and the ongoing assumption that Valdemar would want revenge on the Empire. That attempt failed, at least in part due to the Mage Storms caused by a massive cataclysm some 2000 years beforehand, set off by the Mage Urtho to prevent Ma'ar from destroying everything good in the world. The enormous shocks were so large that they rippled through time and repeated themselves during Queen Selenay's reign. However, 200 years later, another Emperor is seated upon the Iron Throne and wants revenge for the lost land those wars cost the Empire. Queen Selenay's great grandson Elias has become the Heir-in-fact after he was Chosen by the Companion Eska, and has to prepare to defend the country and her allies with the help of the Heralds.