-Author's Preface-
This short historical narrative is written for the purpose of our character known in Loka today, his name being Nephist. However, the facts and events in this book still remain to be true, and are taken from several sources and accounts. Ere I begin, I remind readers that is this a backstory. Its intent is lore, no other. Do not wish to persuade me or anyone else otherwise. Thank you!
-Origins-
Before the Great Asmund Offensive in Kalros, a particular pesky village stood firm in the way of the Covenant advance.. It is.. never mind. It WAS, known as Yalen: a small community that will prove itself to be very tough, when all it ever did was farm and deliver grain to sell at various other settlements. Now, many suns later, their hamlet was in the direct path of the Covenant horde, and they had but two choices: Fight, or Flight. Many ordinary men and women would have chosen the latter, but their village simply held so many memories, and the honor of their generations of generations of families were buried here. So thus each person.. every man, woman and child decided they would put their foot down, about 250 of them, and take a stand in the name of their tiny homes and lives.This short historical narrative is written for the purpose of our character known in Loka today, his name being Nephist. However, the facts and events in this book still remain to be true, and are taken from several sources and accounts. Ere I begin, I remind readers that is this a backstory. Its intent is lore, no other. Do not wish to persuade me or anyone else otherwise. Thank you!
-Origins-
Yes, Yalen was a small village in a region that was in the path of the Covenant destruction, and our character Nephist was born right in the middle of it. The populate was tense, scared, and angry all at once. News reached to them about what had happened in a neighboring village, the slaughtering of it took up a brutal name: Butcher at Temes. Ravingwabbit actually made a book about this particular event, a specific witness account, and published an unedited journal of a Temes survivor that provides perspective and insight to what the Covenant exactly did in that village. Any survivors refuse to talk about what exactly happened, and it still remains a mystery to all but the few remnants of people who survived, and the barbarous soldiers who committed the acts of terror. Of course, this saddening piece of news only motivated Yalen to exercise caution, and really committed them to the safety and protection of their grain-selling village.
They managed to build a fair wood wall in less than 12 days. Nobody really knows how they managed to cut so many trees and haul so many logs, but hell, they did it. Their only blacksmith created short swords, flails, and maces for only the most skilled of swordsmen in the city. Bucklers were made, as were wooden shields covered with various types of animal hide. Anyone who has ever had military training (very few) were to train all of the men, women, and children on how to defend themselves. Frankly, these were big feats that this village was performing, but it was not surprising.. Fear is known to be a big factor in motivation. They had but maybe less than a week to prepare now, and everything that they had ever worked for was at stake.
The city certainly did not want to share the same fate as Temes. They knew the Covenant horde would be here in a few days, and so all of the crop was harvested, all of the cattle was brought into the fortified town, and any buildings outside the wall were to be abandoned. Local farmers around the land came into the city to defend it. It is noted that this city was not affiliated with either alliance, and that, they too would soon be the unfortunate victims of war. This city, however, served a purpose: Many people saw these killings as crude, savage, and unnecessary. Neutral and undecided towns would join Asmund after that, and only then, would they gain the offensive and momentum to take almost all of Kalros.
But it was only after, and this is now.
In the middle of the night, the entire town was woken up by the shouts of their scouts. The massive army of destruction was in their sights, and many villagers took up arms. Nephist’s parents fed him, blessed him, wrapped him in cloth, and placed him in a small stone container under their bed. It was a short but incredibly bloody battle. The Covenant used their expected tactics: The usage of uncontrollable fire, and catapulting their dead into the village, creating a huge, gory, smelly mess. The wall was set aflame and was breached almost instantly. The fire created a ring of hell around the town, and in just a few minutes, the fire spread and engulfed absolutely everything. Fatigued villagers fought the invading soldiers in the wrecked streets, some stepping on the lifeless bodies of their friends and family who were just alive a minute ago. The village population was dropping fast, and the horde, at least a small portion of it, amounted to about 3,500 trained, well-armed men. It would be a lie to say if anyone actually survived this battle, except for Nephist. The entire village was destroyed and reduced to rubble..
It was nothing short of an act of God, or perhaps some large, mystical miracle that the child was in fact alive. He was buried in the rubble of his own home, still in the container wrapped with cloth, with large burns covering his face. He was malnourished and deadly afraid, but still alive. The village that one surrounded him was now silent, and never again would this land be inhabited, considering the massive devastation that took place here. It was a plundered settlement, and so the wicked army left to cause more havoc on the once peaceful lands of Kalros.
Not but a day later, the king of Arvik himself with some of his lords came into these lands accompanied by a platoon of troops, surveyed the city and the lands around it, and looked for any survivors. Of course he found that the only survivor was a small survivor indeed, and he was discovered and brought to Nokiaman, the King of Arvik, and was taken into the grand Asmundian City with friendly arms and named Nephist..
Now, he was taught to read and to write, and proved himself to be quite the ambitious character.. After years of training, he only set off his journey around Loka some months ago. Only in private does he ever take off his full knightly helm because of the large scars that cover his entire face since he was burned in the city as a baby. Only a select few have actually seen the large, ugly scars, and whenever he is asked to recall events that he remembers about the city, he either forgets he has a tongue, changes the subject, or simply walks away.
Motivated by the death of his parents, he has worked constantly to improve his swordsmanship, being taught by Nokiaman, Xovious, and Quazister themselves, and is still training to this day. To continue, he has proven himself time and time again to be promoted to a high administrative position in Arvik, and is a well-known, respected diplomat in the Alliance of Asmund. Moreover, he is otherwise known as a prominent explorer, author, collector, and negotiator in the world of Loka. Because of his village’s decimation, he has pledged to lay down his life to fight in the name of Asmund and her great cities that war against the same alliance that slaughtered his parents and destroyed his home: The Covenant..
-Author's Afterword-
The towns that that were decimated by the Covenant armies had been in an unfortunate zone in Kalros, a group of destroyed regions nicknamed Abyssus. Like Yalen, Temes was one of those towns located in the regions. For further information, I recommend taking a look at Ravingwabbit's witness account. It is a recollection of a journal called Butcher at Temes. Abyssus was individual acts of terror committed some time ago, and is not widely spoken of by Asmund at all, due to the incredible sadness it birngs many peoples all over Loka. Such atrocities have not been forgiven, and the Butcher at Temes and Siege of Yalen are huge motivations for the Alliance to keep fighting the good fight..
The towns that that were decimated by the Covenant armies had been in an unfortunate zone in Kalros, a group of destroyed regions nicknamed Abyssus. Like Yalen, Temes was one of those towns located in the regions. For further information, I recommend taking a look at Ravingwabbit's witness account. It is a recollection of a journal called Butcher at Temes. Abyssus was individual acts of terror committed some time ago, and is not widely spoken of by Asmund at all, due to the incredible sadness it birngs many peoples all over Loka. Such atrocities have not been forgiven, and the Butcher at Temes and Siege of Yalen are huge motivations for the Alliance to keep fighting the good fight..
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