17th of Febraria in the year of our Lords, 1389

It has been about a week now since the Altru Accord has been struck, bringing an end to the War of the Bastards. When King Wensilas died, his son, Ethan, was set to ascend to the throne but thanks to the Red Plague, Ethan had fallen ill and died a week later. Three illegitimate children of his challenged one another for the vacant throne and ultimately started the War which ended up lasting for 8 years. Those were troubled times and one of the three died during the Battle of Pynes, thus leaving the two remaining contenders. When both were at an impasse, the deal was struck as to end the war in order to bring the kingdoms together.

And while the kingdom was at rest...something else bothered me. But I believe many throughout the land had or shared the same thoughts. It had been over two hundred years since the great dragon, Devios, had been seen or heard. Many in the clergy as well as the royal family had continued to assure the masses that Devios was gone but...I don't trust it. Dragons are fierce creatures with a lingering will that could surpass even death. So with the war over, one point of contention was exchanged for another as I have been seeing potential omens. What made this even worse was that the castle my regiment had stationed in had once belonged to the infamous dragon. I had heard whispers through the stone walls as though an unspoken spell was being cast. Ive even began to notice the fauna that inhabited these lands had seemed to disappear and birds even refused to roost or sing.

I've also taken notice that some slimes had begun to appear in the dungeons and even though some went down to dispatch them, there was always one that remained. They seemed to all be going to the same spot in the dungeon and while curiosity was stoked, we thought it best to leave things as they were. Part of me wishes that we did explore but my requests were always denied. But I've tried to put those thoughts to rest for now. For now, I must make my rounds. According to one of my men, there has been something spotted in the moat lately that has been making the men feel uneasy. From what I was told, one of the soldiers has recently "disappeared " from his post and no one knows where he has gone. I intend to find this out but I pray to the Gods that my worst premonitions do not come true.

Commander of the 5th Regiment,
Byron Dartmouth


-a letter found at the abandoned Black Castle-


Featuring  Garuganto's lovely bull