Dear Storm Knights,

As you know, the fantasy realm of Aysle stagnated for quite some time after its initial appearance on your world. But since a new High Lord has come to power in Aysle, things have changed, and not for the better. High Lord Perth is a military genius who has used his power base of Vikings and mages to great effect.

Last year, Perth was successful in recovering the body of the archmage Zarrakis. Eight centuries ago, Zarrakis was an extremely powerful and corrupt mage nicknamed the Siphoner of Souls. His reign of terror was finally brought to an end by a gathering of the most powerful mages of the time, the Council of Ten. But even they could not destroy Zarrakis. Rather, they imprisoned his soul in a magical staff and hid it. They also sealed Zarrakis’s corpse in a tomb with so many wards that no one less powerful than they could enter it.

Of course, nothing stays hidden forever. The staff was eventually found. Its true purpose was never recognized, but its power was—power that derived from its corrupt contents. It had the ability to draw off a small amount of the life force of everyone within a certain distance of the wielder. The wielder was unaffected by this process, the surrounding people were noticeably weakened, and—unknown to everyone—the life force of Zarrakis was fed and preserved. This staff earned a name: Kælethin Moræg, the Drainer Away. For more than 400 years, it was used by powerful nobles in Aysle to keep their subjects under control. Its last owner brought it to Earth, where it was lost when the boat carrying it sank in the Baltic Sea.

To make an interminable story only long, Perth found Kælethin Moræg in Povenets, a small town in Russia, and broke the staff. Zarrakis’s soul, freed of its prison, immediately flew to rejoin its body. The Archlich Zarrakis now serves Perth. The High Lord, smitten with Zarrakis’s magical prowess and absolute command of his ever-growing army of undead, has heaped great esteem and rewards upon the Archlich, to the neglect of his Viking allies. The Vikings, whose society is based on plunder and wealth being shared by those in power, took serious offense to this change in affairs and abandoned Perth’s army and lands for the Mediterranean, where they sustain themselves by preying on seafaring traffic. It’s no secret that the Vikings now hold their former master in contempt.

Unfortunately, the loss of this faction has not impeded Perth’s progress as much as one might hope. In fact, it’s had barely any effect at all.

Recently, Perth has begun expanding eastward into Russia. We suspect he intends to circle the Baltic Sea and advance into eastern Europe. From there, his armies will march westward to take the rest of Europe. Our intelligence tells us that the next milestone along the path that Zarrakis and his army is taking would be Povenets. How ironic—and so very tragic, of course—if Zarrakis were to destroy the town where his second life began.

I wish you the best of luck and skill as you put yourselves between High Lord Perth and his plans for conquest.

Ever yours,