Listen, grandchild, and I will tell you of the betrayal of the Nameless King…
Men had a great city once, more powerful than that of any other on the face of Elrun, for it even rivaled the power of the angels and the great Dawn Spire! It was a city of light, power, and wonder, and it stood for countless generations. It was a standing bastion against the power of shadow. Nothing was able to tear it apart from without, yet heed my tale as it was torn from within!
It seemed to be that man would always be protected, led by our beloved King. Indeed, we felt indestructible against the power of the shadows, nay, we were indestructible against the shadows for no other city stood untarnished by its power as we did.
Each of our Kings filled the sacred calling of succession, great warriors and paladins followed their duty and oaths, and led by our righteous Leader – men continued in light and glory. That was until the last successor was born.
He studied, learned, grew, took upon the oaths and duties of his station, and fought with his people against the many threats outside or cities great walls. With great expectation, he was to rise to his Calling just as every previous King of generations past once had done. Yet, we were so wrong for we were betrayed.
We began being pushed back against the many vile threats of the Darkness outside the great shining walls of our city. Beasts of shadow, hulking dark monsters, and corrupted Terrors that we had only heard of as myth from the stories of bards and kythling travelers. These stories only thought of as myths were thrust upon us and became our reality and eventually our final destruction.
For it was in this moment of great peril, when we all looked to our great King and the great power he commanded, we found him dead. Our great King had been killed, slain upon the great throne which he sat! Other leaders of ours scrambled to fill the gap that our King left behind, many tried, they all failed. None could command the power of Light and Lightning that was the right of our Kings to hold and unleash in protection against the Shadow and all the Dark things it commanded.
Alas, the next supposed-to-be heir, who could command the power of Light and Lightning, the power to push back the Terrors, the Dark things, the whole might of shadow itself, simply did nothing. He stood idly by, nay he vanished from our great city that he was sworn to protect. He abandoned those he was sworn to serve, he broke his sacred oaths and committed the most grievous crime. For it was he who killed our beloved protector, his very father, our King! The only one left with the power, and a sworn duty to save us instead destroyed what we had and abandoned us all to sorrow and to death.
We never speak his name, for he is no longer worthy of his name, his station, his power – so he must bear the title of our Nameless King.
We carry the emblems of our city, to help us remember the greatness that men can become and our great folly. But grandchild, better that you never learn the name of our Nameless King, for he comes with the Moon and Lightning when it’s spoken in the world.
He destroys, he betrays. Any town, city, any safe place, vanishes with a Storm at his arrival just as quickly as our great city once did. Yes, he’s still out there, still destroying everything in his path. Some say he became part of the shadow – but grandchild, I think he’s much worse. For the shadow preys on anything as any predator would, but a Betrayer, a destroyer of his own people, is of the worst evil. Beware the coming Storm’s child for the Nameless King rides upon the light of the stars and the Moon and Lightning and sows nothing but destruction and Sorrow at his passing.