The fall of Highwatch

PROLOGUE

NAR-SEK QU'ISTRADE.

A spur of the Giantspire Mountains thrust into the Nar grassland. At its tip a fissure splits the mountain, only wide enough for two riders to go abreast. The Shadowed Path locals named it, for so high is the rock that even in summer the sun only shines into the path for a short time.

At the end of the path the fissure opens into a valley-a great basin of grass, surrounded by high cliffs. For generations the Nar used the valley as a winter refuge, one of the few places where rival tribes maintained an oath of peace.

In the year 1371 DR, King Gareth Dragonsbane of Damara obtained permission from Thalaman Harthgroth-the closest thing the Nar had to a supreme ruler-to mine the eastern slopes of the Giantspire Mountains. What began as a trickle of hopeful Damaran miners soon grew into a flood.

Then a warrior named Ondrahar, recently granted titles for service to his king, came to Nar-sek Qu'istrade to found a permanent settlement and a new order of knights, sworn to the service of Torm. All peoples-Damarans, Nar, Vassans-were welcome, provided that they maintained the peace.

The Nar had long been content to fill the valley with their tents for a season and then move on, but the newcomers desired a more permanent home. The shallow caves that lined the walls of the valley were a start, but their first year the settlers began expansion. Skilled stonemasons from Damara carved the caves into halls and rooms. When rich deposits of bloodstone and iron were found in the surrounding hills, dwarves began to settle the area.

In the year 1375 DR, work on a mountain fortress began. Highwatch, the Damarans named it, for its towers perched on the peaks and looked out upon the steppe for miles. Here the Knights of Ondrahar made their home, and their lord took the title High Warden.

In the years since, the fortunes of Damara have waned, and Narfell has grown colder. But under the wisdom and fair hand of the High Warden, Highwatch has become a bastion of prosperity and safety in the Bloodstone Lands. Walled in by the mountains themselves and watched by the Knights, Highwatch has enjoyed generations of peace. -Uluin of Merkurn, Annals of Soravia, 1454 DR