Please read In Recent Years: Introduction before reading this post.
Year 1478
On the eve of 1478, an ominous man steps off the riverboat and into Rema, the capital of Numa’nakres. Though Nerediil laments what has happened to him, he dismisses such thoughts as being akin to those of Virn. He eyes the Iron Palace in the heart of the city, he is instead drawn to the celebratory sounds of those celebrating the Raderan New Year. He tails a couple of girls from a drinking hall, but is stopped by the guards before he can act against them. The guards see his fangs and claws before he tears them limb from limb with unexpected strength. He resolves that, though his target is in the Iron Palace, he can have some fun in the streets first.
Year 1479
Droelin’s wagon rolls along the Barren Road and into the city of Sheld. He arrives at an inn, and his quiet, hooded thrall, assists him in unpacking. The concerned innkeeper gives him his distance—after Droelin pays for his room not to be disturbed. Once safely hidden away, Droelin makes plans to assess the state of things in Sheld and to determine if it will be a viable base for the group Droelin represents, now that Lerran’s Family is gone. He removes his thrall’s hood, revealing the sunken, undead features of a once mighty warrior woman.
Year 1480
Among the scattered islands of Korhos, the tribal shaman—or Elu’ar—Kotak’tak rows his dugout under a cloudless sky. He treats the sea with reverence and fears for the disrespect he may cause by lifting his eyes here, where the invaders of ancient days had been repelled. Nonetheless, he is compelled by the choruchor, the power within him, to see what lies on the horizon. There, he sees Tikiaki—or Caidolis—the small moon of omen. While the other Elu’ar only see the rare rise of Tikiaki as a sign of change, Kotak’tak knows that it is a darker portent. This will be an ill change. Returning to his village, Kotak’tak dares to speak meaning to the omen; he tells the tribe that many lives will be lost in the coming year—that only blood and disaster will follow the setting of Tikiaki.
Year 1481
As the bandit armies and pirate fleets descend on the city of Aloor, the third last city on the Great Isle to fall, a baker named Corbaan Ryo stands with fellow conscripts on one of the city’s defensive galleys. With explosive barrels defending their harbour, a number of the lawless vessels are destroyed, but Master Ryo soon finds himself fighting with pirates as they try to delay the inevitable invasion of their homes. After his rowboat is destroyed, Corbaan finds himself clinging to a debris plank—and, against all odds, he’s able to grab hold of the rigging of another vessel, a pirate one. When his pirate galley and another ram Aloor’s only good warship, he fears all is lost. Then, the magicians aboard the warship teleport all three vessels out of the harbour, vanishing them—corsairs, hopeless baker, and all.