The End of the Beginning of the Dawn of the Third Age
(An account described by one of the Imperial Mail Carriers and dictated by one of the Royal Historians)
The sands of time have shifted and the balance upon which this world exists has been drastically upset. The Union once ruled the land in peace but then a group of ruthless rebels attempted to usurp the Empire’s reign. The turning point of the war started with the creation of the Brood Nocturn—a special brute force squad composed of monster’s and daemon’s captured by the Union soldiers and controlled by powerful Witchers, mages, and Shades; as well as great Human and Nord warriors. In oder to communicate between the different divisions the Union established a long line of official couriers taken from the Swifoot Halfling Clan—close relatives to the Fleetfoot Clan who served as the royal harbingers for centuries. Often, however, war and rumors of war caused the Swifoots and Fleetfoots to bear messages that tended to decrease their good standings with the recipients. This many times resulted in one less messenger and one more message. One fateful day Matta Swifoot III was chosen to deliver the following message to the Emperor himself:
To the Mighty Emperor Camius Magnus, noble ruler of the Imperial Alliance and crusher of dissension, from Captain Bogaurd of the 16th marching regiment. The rebels have amassed an overwhelming force to resist the Brood forces that were sent to destroy them. This, Cursed Unspoken, I fear, will defeat us in this battle. I can only hope that this message reaches you before they capture the entire south-western shireland.
Matta Swifoot III was executed by the emperor personally. His son, Matta Swifoot IV, was a noble being bound to the will of the Empire. His sense of duty to his line of work and love for his country and its people caused him to loyally serve the Emperor despite his father’s demise. Years later he received an assignment to deliver an official mandate to one of the head generals in charge of the Brood forces, Nimrod. He succeeded in delivering the letter and waited for the man's reply. The reply came in a flash of steel as Nimrod reft Matta IV's head from off of his shoulders. No one but the, now deceased, emperor and Nimrod knew what the message delivered that day commanded. This story was only preserved through the messenger’s own son, Matta Swifoot V. The following is the response that Nimrod dictated:
Tell that pompous, idiotic, miscreant, whom you insist on calling “emperor”, that if he wants to continue to call us slaves and monsters, use us as simple tools or weapons, and treat us worse than the starving dog he kicks while walking down the street, then we will “Do unto others as they have done to us.” We will burn his villages, crush his cities, demolish his palaces and kill his people until he and his army begs at our feet like sniveling pups. Then we will kill them as well and bring a new era of peace in which those once shunned, will be revered and those once ridiculed will be followed devoutly. This is our dream. This is your future.
The moment that message reached the ears of Emperor Camius Magnus—that’s rumored to be the moment that set every event that would follow into motion. He set the letter down and looked at his Brood bodyguard out of the corner of his eye. Then he died as the traitorous monster sley him in cold blood. All around the Empire Brood warriors were rebelling against their masters. At long last the three factions were formed and as Camius passed from the world, so did the ages old Elder of the Unspoken, Thyleas Flintwood - an elderly elf who spoke but one last deception to those who held counsel around him. He incited their rage against the Union, ignited their hatred for order, and gave them an opportunity to fulfill their bloodlusts.
As all three factions spilled into streets and fields, murdered and slaughtered each other across plain and forest. Countless died and only when their forces had dwindled to breaking point did the conflict die down –the Brood fleeing, vanishing into the night like the monsters they are, the Unspoken returning to their hiding places in the wildernesses and forests and the Imperial Union hastily locking down the cities and repairing their rarely needed defenses. The Union survived as only a structure so organized as this could. Now the Union is once again in control, though they have lost some land to the traitors and the rebels. Long live the people, Long live the Emperor, LONG LIVE THE IMPERIAL UNION!
~ Exact author unknown, one of the Royal Historians