A tremendous flash lit up the night sky across the continent. People throughout the world turned and looked toward the city of Lotsorn. The sky seemed to tremble, cracks appearing in the sky, spider webbing across the skies of the planet. Then the 2nd moon in the sky seemed to dim and crumble. Breaking apart, and adding its rocks to the splay of light across the night sky, ringing the world. All people across the world were terrified at such a horrible display. Kings called their wizards, priests were sought for auguries. Prophets were called to explain what these signs meant.

As the Sun rose in the west the next morning, the people only grew more terrified as the sun now appeared to be a deep dark red, much like you might expect to see if you were cursed. The world was now in an uproar. The sun even appeared to be smaller than before. Those seeking council from sages, prophets and priests now demanded answers on their knees.

The answers were the same. The sun and moon gods had each gone blind in one eye. The fates of the gods had been tampered with. The Sun god and Moon goddess now suffered from the very curse that humanity lived under. The heavens trembled in a rage, and doom and war became the prophecies of the hour.

Kelog, a Fairy sent from the Kingdom of Ghanarai was the first investigator to arrive at the city of Lotsorn since that terrifying night one of the twin moons disintegrated in the sky. He had been sent after rumors from traders reached the king’s ears about a coup in Lotsorn the night the moon was destroyed. Figuring it was time to discover the cause he was sent. Before he left he was asked by Easolin, Easol’s father to look for her, as she had vanished into this sty around the time of the coup.

Kelog had conflicting feelings about this assignment. Especially when it came to Easol. Easol had been the bane of his childhood. She had been better at literally everything he tried. Nothing he did could beat her, and in a way part of him respected her.

When Easol emerged from her baptism a female he was stunned. He couldn’t imagine the strong swordsman who he could never defeat never holding another sword again. How was he supposed to be happy about this? To win their many competitions by default? It made no sense. So he asked to see Easol. His parents misunderstood what he was asking, and soon arranged for them to be married. He was actually appalled by the very idea. How could he want a wife who never lost to him? How could he be happy in such a marriage? To know he could never compete again, to win fair and square. To know he ALWAYS lost. It almost seemed like Easol did this just to piss him off.

So, when Easolin asked him to hunt down his wayward daughter, a part of him actually was hoping he couldn’t find her.

He arrived at the city about 3 weeks after the 2nd moon’s death. He approached on foot. As he was passing down the road near the fields he couldn’t quite put a finger on what was different until he realized he could see humans in the fields. He was stunned by the sight. Humans cultivating crops?

How was this possible?

He crossed a field, careless about the mud he was getting on his boots. He approached an older human man, the man looked surprisingly healthy. Most humans didn’t look healthy. This one did. The old man watched him approach. Then, without bowing his head spoke up. “Is there something I can help you with young man?”

“Yes, you’re touching the crops. How can you touch the crops?” He couldn’t help asking the question, not bothering to introduce himself.

“Mmmm. I wonder?” The old man looked pleased with himself at the vague answer, then he spoke again. “Seemed to have happened the night the moon shattered and that bastard Elis got blinded in an eye as the prophets clamed happened. As to why, perhaps you’ll find an answer in Lotsorn?”

Kelog kept his temper in check, reminding himself he was rude to the old man first. Then turned and left the field, deep in thought. He reached the gates of the city. The first thing he noticed was he couldn’t see a single slave anywhere. Even the city guards all looked like their freemen guards. The guards had an unusually happy look on their face. He had been to Lotsorn before, he never remembered the guards even smiling. Humans simply didn’t smile much.

Lots of people were smiling. The streets were clean. The smell of an open sewer this place often had was gone. He saw perhaps a hundred-people dangling from ropes from the walls of the city. He wasn’t sure who they were thought judging from their clothing they looked like they had been important. He suspected those corpses were the result of this coup. He hurried down the streets, nowhere was a human in chains. Everywhere there were humans in clothing working, cleaning or smiling and chatting with each other.

He noticed he saw no rapes either. He had seen human hovels before. Those were places unmarried women never walked around smiling in. No one rutting like an animal, no general fear on the face of the people. He noticed a number of the women seemed to shy away from the men, and some of the men seemed to be looking lasciviously at the women, but no forced anything.

He wasn’t sure what to make of it. He never knew humans to restrain their base urges before. How had this happened? Hurrying down the street to the main square, he halted his jaw dropping. In the main square the old statue of the Grey King was torn down. In its place was a hundred-foot-tall statue of a human male, with a broad chest, and strong arms, a short trimmed beard and wise look in his eyes gazing in the direction of the city gates, a large two handed swords planted in the ground before him; covered in Kindred style scale armor.

Carved into the base of the hundred-foot-tall white stone statue were the words “Sorcerer King Jace, The Breaker of Chains”