Legends tell us of the Sun King, Uther Paendroeg, who ruled the Five Crowns' Alliance. Over one score centuries ago, the Sun King's Empire spanned across all of the lands south of the Vasmar, the great fresh-water sea.

The End of an Era is always noted as a time of great upheaval. The war against the Dark One that heralded the Fall of Camelough and the End of the Golden Age of the Sun King was one such ending. Although reliable accounts of the ends of earlier Eras are almost impossible to find, it is the consensus of sages that the End of an Era is always marked by trials and tribulations unrivaled in calmer times.

26th Huathe 2044

Bilbus the Great walked briskly along one of the smaller side-streets of Londoun, the sprawling metropolis at the mouth of the River Llwelyn in the Kingdom of the Five Crowns. The sky above was black, another cool mid-spring night for the coastal city. A slight breeze carried the faint but distinctive scents of the nearby Vasmar, a vast inland fresh-water sea.

27th Huathe 2044

The morning fog had already burned away from the endless sea of rooftops that was Londoun. The smoky haze of thousands of morning cookfires and forges and fireplaces added a bluish-gray pallor to parts of the city, but the region near Falagos Square was not tainted by such smokes. Many of the shingles in the Falagos District were brightly colored, creating a mosaic of abstract design for the pigeons flying overhead. Here and there men climbed on the steep slopes of the roofs, scrubbing away soot and the streaks left by the thousands of pigeons and other birds of the city.

29th Huathe 2044

The town of Armagh stretched before the travellers, its gently peaked roofs resembling a small mountain range along the river's side. The Llwelyn River coursed to the east of town, the water flowing north past the travellers towards Londoun and the Vasmar beyond. Even this far from the mouth of the river, the waterway was still wide enough and deep enough to accommodate smaller sea-going vessels. Even now a small ship sailed along the river, its single triangular sail billowed to one side as the ship traveled south towards Merthyr, or perhaps even Llwelyn itself (which was as far as most ships could sail on the river).

4th Duir 2044

The sun had just crested its midday climb into the sky when the party reached the top of a tall hill overlooking Saltcliffs. Ahead of them stretched a mile or more of gentle hills covered in lush green grass, leading off towards an abrupt end at the cliffs of the Vasmar.

4th Duir 2044

Bilbus and Adria rode towards Saltcliffs. Bilbus had promised Adria a new dress, and she intended for him to keep the promise forthwith. Two of the six bolts of silk that they had recovered from the smugglers in the haunted house were strapped to Bilbus's horse, making it look more like a merchant's steed than a thief's fast getaway horse.

10th Duir 2044

Armagh was still a distance away when the travelers reached the top of a long ridge that cut across the Via Avillonia from Saltcliffs. A shallow valley, mostly forested, was immediately ahead of them along the road. Beyond the valley was the prominent hill, still three miles away, upon which the Ithell Manor House was situated. The low wall surrounding the house and its grounds gave the impression of a modest castle at this distance.

18th Duir 2044

The town of Hillsdale covered a few acres on the west side of a modest river that cut through a corner of the dale. The town earned its name from the nearby foothills of a modest finger of a mountain range that marked the southeastern corner of the Great Forest. The only reason trade caravans even stopped in Hillsdale was the abundant supply of high-grade iron found in the nearby hills. Like most towns of the Dales, Hillsdale was largely agrarian. However, the rich supply of iron gave Hillsdale an unusually large population of smiths who created ironwares sought throughout the Dales. The road from Eastdale to Plainsdale passed through the northwestern corner of the Hillsdale dale, some fifteen miles from the town proper. A narrow road led from the trade route to Hillsdale. During the wet months, it was little more than a muddy river; during the dry months, it was a dusty stripe across the rich grasslands of the dale.

20th Duir 2044

The morning was cool, with a crisp bite in the air more common to an early spring month such as Nuin, not late spring. A damp air hung over the village of Hillsdale, and the thin fog hanging over the town thickened near the stream that passed by the town. A subtle acrid smell drifted through Hillsdale from the ruins of the houses that still smoldered on the north end of town.

20th Duir 2044

The forest was cool in the late morning sun. From their current vantage point, the party could see the mines, a mile away. Kasey was still in Farran's saddle, watching the buildings from his position in the shade of the forest. Near the Church Knight, Sturm, on foot, was using Bilbus's spyglass to spy upon the structures and the orcs walking between them.

20th Duir 2044

The calming babble of the stream soothed the tired riders as they followed it through the forest towards Hillsdale. The sun had disappeared behind clouds on the western horizon ahead of the riders, its rays giving the sullen cloud a shimmering lining. The distant, cheerful twitters of birds in the trees overhead contrasted with the heavy silence of the party. Even the hoof steps of the horses seemed subdued, as if there were a concerted effort not to disturb the riders.

22nd Duir 2044

The following morning, as the sun crept above the horizon, Kasey led Farran out of the stables. The warhorse followed Kasey out of the building, wearing no tack or saddle, nor even a halter.

28th Duir 2044

It was early evening four days later when the party crested the last hill before Armagh.

1st Tinne 2044

Kasey walked along the sandy beach of the Vasmar, with Farran walking alongside him. The two had left well before dawn -- the sky was just turning gray with the approaching sunrise -- for one of the King's Preserves in Londoun. The rulers of the Kingdom of the Five Crowns had set aside land for preservation near the larger cities, to give the people of those cities some natural grounds.