The Legacy of Mount Drood

Chapter 1

Balfour the Mighty ruled his tiny kingdom from a castle carved into the craggy cliffs of Mount Drood, backstopped by a dying forest and high above the Sea of Sounds. The sole industry in Balfour's kingdom was mining metal ore from inside the mountain, which was fashioned into weapons, trinkets, tools and jewellery later shopped in the Wye Valley marketplace below the mountain.

Life was hard for the mining families but under the rule of Balfour, they enjoyed an acceptable balance of justice, education and economic opportunity. Balfour had no children of his own, only godchildren, and they were both girls, a circumstance that tradition would not recognize. As he grew older, the question of his succession occupied more of his time.

Advisors debated the merits of a surrogate queen to provide the possibility of a male offspring but Balfour vetoed the idea on political grounds, fearful of claims made on the throne by any woman chosen for the task.

While the succession dilemma swirled about his court an incident in the mines placed it in abeyance until he dealt with what soon became a larger issue. A group of miners, digging into a side tunnel, broke down a section of rock wall revealing a small cave of dazzling blue light and immediately sent word to the king.

Balfour descended through the narrow tunnels of sweating stone and rubble covered floors to the site where several men stood to one side of the cave's opening. He stepped forward and peered into the cave, dumbstruck by the dazzling, blue white light. Moving closer he realized that the miner's candles had long been extinguished, their need superfluous in the glow of the strange material speckling the walls.

He touched the surface, jerking back as those behind him gasped and when nothing happened he reached out again. The wall felt warm and strangely comforting and each place Balfour's fingers touched, the light dimmed and then brightened again. He found a fragment on the floor of the cave and picked it up, watching the light disappear and feeling the warmth spread over his hand.

This, he knew, was no ordinary discovery. The miners were ordered to seal the cave with a door and he commanded that no person be allowed back inside. The peculiar cave bothered Balfour, it wasn't natural and the unnatural was not something to trifle with. Suddenly the concerns of an heir seemed inconsequential. He posted an edict throughout the kingdom banning anyone from discussing the discovery with outsiders.

After months of exhaustive theories and experiments Balfour's advisors were no closer to understanding the composition of the stones or their purpose. What was noticed however, was that the population of the kingdom had become happier and healthier and the economic benefits from their commerce in the Wye Valley grew well beyond their wildest dreams.

At the request of the advisors, based on what little they did know and had observed, Balfour reconsidered his edict and allowed the miners to own tiny quantities of the stone to take into their homes for heat and light, eliminating the need for candles and firewood. This resulted in the forests around Mount Drood returning to a lush, dense growth and the air becoming crisp and cleaner with each passing month. In his wisdom, and still wary of the power of the stones, he forbade anyone owning them in large quantities, fearing that their power in the hands of one person could be too dangerous.

It was decided that the stones would remain a secret from the outside until a sound and just policy was developed for their use. The kingdom's finest artisans were assembled to fashion a more permanent seal for the cave inside the mine with a key, designed with a special purpose, to be held by Balfour.

When the men finished their task, they presented him with a block of the magic stone in the shape of a small pyramid that gleamed like a crystal and he was taken into the tunnel to learn how the 'key' worked. Balfour was pleased with the instruction, and after being assured it would work as requested, he ordered the construction of a unique box to contain the Key and put it safely away in the palace.

As time passed, the people in the kingdom became distressed and uncomfortable. The promised policy had not materialized and they were eager to reap the benefits of the stones. The possible wealth from selling them in the valley would be unimaginable. Dissatisfaction with their lot in life grew and they began losing the happy demeanor that had blessed them for so long.

It began with small arguments over ownership of the magic stones, growing gradually into acts of physical violence and finally into a small civil war. Families fought other families, and as the hostilities increased, they turned on their own kin, leaving the kingdom in a shambled ruin. Work in the mine ceased and the structure abandoned, allowing it to collapse as the hill around eroded away. Inside the palace, Balfour and his few loyal advisors watched the situation grow worse each day.

At first, as a stopgap, Balfour issued the people additional rations of the magic stones in hope of appeasing their anger, but it soon became apparent that this was causing more and more violence.

Finally, with the kingdom in turmoil and the palace about to be overthrown, the king called one of his chief advisors, Aaron Pennistyle, charging him with the task of smuggling the Key from the kingdom and keeping it safely hidden away from the world until the riddle of its use for good could be solved.

What had seemed like a blessing and a source of true happiness, the discovery of the stones had become an evil and corrupting influence on all who used their mysterious powers. The forest around Mount Drood began dying as the earth grew dusty and lifeless. Even the birds and animals disappeared, leaving nothing as a reminder of what had been. Aaron fled the kingdom, leaving behind his friends and family, and set out in a small boat across the Sea of Sounds.

His last image of his homeland was that of Balfour the Mighty standing on the parapet of his burning castle as the mob of angry citizens swarmed through the gates, engulfing him.