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''To Be Continued'Chapter 5: Inheritance of the Meek''' From time to time artisans and priests would get the opportunity to secretly study the Shadow Wraith set and would come close to making similar strength swords and shields, but the armor set itself was still beyond their knowledge. Most who did study the armor came to the conclusion that it truly had to be made from the hide of a creature that did not exist in these lands, and without that hide replication would be impossible. The Shadow Wraith set would exchange hands on quite a few occasions over time as its only real value to most leaders was for barter with other kingdoms. Many wanted to display the armor in their castles as a testament of their wealth, but more often than not, it would be kept in some vault or guarded keep at the insistence of the churches. During one contentious period, the Queen of Saena learned that her neighboring ally Boraweth had possession of the Shadow Wraith set and after a failed negotiation to obtain the armor civilly, she set her troops to burn their crops, kill their forest animals, dam up their only fishing river, and rob any food caravans that might bring imports to them. It took only a matter of months to begin starving Boraweth kingdom as their food access was practically cut off. Having tried to keep the Shadow Wraith set off of the bargaining table, King Dikai acquiesced to the Saenan Queen’s demands when he saw the children too weak to even play. The Queen of Saena patted herself on the back for obtaining the legendary Shadow Wraith set without paying a single coin and obtaining for her own kingdom a large bountiful harvest of food and gold taken from the trade caravans trying to get through to her neighbor. She would soon pay dearly for her acts as the over abundance of grain and food being kept in makeshift storehouses attracted plague rats and locusts. Within a year the Kingdom of Saena was falling due to pestilence and disease. The Saenan Queen and her family would be killed by her own subjects when they learned why this misfortune had befallen them and soon Saena was merged with the lesser Boraweth of whom their Queen had starved to obtain the Shadow Wraith set. This brought the set right back into the hands of King Dikai who had it to begin with. The King of the merged kingdom Bora-Sae immediately sent word through church proxies that the Shadow Wraith set was up for trade in exchange for medicines, foods, and the services of healers. He came to see the Shadow Wraith set as a bane on any kingdom and wanted nothing more to do with it. He even wrote on the sales ledger ‘It destroys from within!’ '''Chapter 6: The Hope of King Holmeir''' As kingdoms would rise and fall, or merge into new kingdoms, the Shadow Wraith set would become lost in the shuffle as intentionally seen to by an order of priests and prelates who tirelessly worked to keep track of items like it. For the most part their loyalty was to all of mankind instead of individual leaders and kingdoms as they wanted to ensure that items like the Shadow Wraith armor would not be used against humans. This period of history saw a number of ideologies take hold in the lands and groups ordained to carry out those ideologies formed. The Knights of Seris was one of these groups. With all of the upheavals and misery that had plagued mankind, even the dead had a hard time finding peace as people both good and adventurous and those not so innocently inclined would take to disturbing the ancient resting places of the long dead. The Knights of Seris were ordained to protect the dead and the secrets of the dead both human and non-human alike. In 958 NT, the Shadow Wraith armor and its companion pieces came into the possession of King Holmeir of Grenwiel during a time when [[Jenn-Kellon]] was rapidly and forcibly taking over other kingdoms. King Holmeir was in the middle of negotiations with [[Mol-Rehan]] to help protect his kingdom from the steady advance of [[Jenn-Kellon]], but he did not trust [[Mol-Rehan]] motives either. As a dutiful follower of Magranon, King Holmeir gained possession of the Shadow Wraith armor as part of his loyalty to the church instead of any declaration of power or wealth. It was his only intention to keep the Shadow Wraith set secured on behalf of the elders of the church as he was told the known history of the Shadow Wraith pieces and came to understand the risks of allowing anyone to attempt to wield it, especially a potential enemy. As many principalities and kingdoms such as his started to fall under the influence of [[Jenn-Kellon]], King Holmeir entrusted the treasures of his kingdom, including the Shadow Wraith set, to his royal Arch-Prelate, Wynn Nivani, to secret them out of his kingdom and away from their adversaries as he himself focused on the diplomatic battles to come in an attempt to save his people. Using her underground contacts outside the church to obtain safe passage of the treasure and the Shadow Wraith set, Arch-Prelate Nivani sent a coded message to the rather secretive order of the Knights of Seris. The kingdom of Grenwiel would soon be absorbed by history as the massive forces of [[Jenn-Kellon]] swept through the regions before [[Mol-Rehan]] help could arrive, though not before the Knights of Seris could make contact with Arch-Prelate Nivani to help in her plans on the orders of her king. Nivani, spared the coming uncertainties of the survival of her king and people by her journey with the Knights of Seris, would travel with the treasure to ensure that the chests containing each piece of the Shadow Wraith set would remain locked and safe. With enough gold to pay the Knights of Seris to use their underground network to get them out of the contested regions, they began a journey that would take years and eventually consume their lives. '''Chapter 7: A New Mission''' The Knights of Seris were devoted to their mantra of protecting the secrets of the dead from any forces that would seek to exploit them, and occasionally making sure that some of the dead remained dead. As such they did not simply wield weapons of battle, and more often wielded the skills of craftsmen and artisans to fulfill their ordained tasks. It was not uncommon for a detachment of the Knights of Seris to set up camp around or near a particular location of interest to their mission and end up causing a village or entire kingdom to sprout up around them over time with the inhabitants totally unaware of why they were there or what might slumber beneath. Most people never became aware that these settlers or travelers were in fact members of the Knights of Seris as they dressed and interacted normally with everyone in their everyday lives. A disproportionate number of detachments however, would often be lost to time and history. Rarely ever would their fates be discovered. This fact of the order was often attributed to the dangers they faced from the very secrets of the dead that they were often tasked with protecting. Most members of the Knights of Seris were often people who have left village life looking for adventure. This often meant that they were in need of money to get by and the order furnished them with training and funds to purchase their own customized equipment, and funding for any ordained tasks. It is not known where the source of the Knights of Seris’ funding originates. The company of Knights escorting Wynn Nivani out of Grenwiel were only told that they would be escorting artifacts from a previous age along with an accompanying religious cleric that had direct information and rituals to keep the artifacts safe. They faithfully protected the treasure even without knowing what they were protecting. The Knights were well compensated, and knew that their task was of some importance since a King used his wealth to protect the treasure instead of himself knowing that it would never benefit him personally, and even as his kingdom fell to other pressures, his people would be protected from whatever it was they were now tasked with keeping safe. When the Knights first met with Nivani, she led them through an abandoned church with a still working hidden entrance to an underground passage that led under King Holmeir’s castle and to a large underground cave system. They loaded up rafts with the chests they were to escort and enough provisions to get started on their way. Barely wide enough for the rafts, the caves would be a claustrophobic nightmare for some people. Each raft had a single lit torch affixed so they could see to avoid the damp walls of the caves. It would take most of the night for them to carefully paddle their way through the watery caves following a cave map in Nivani’s possession. At the far end a waterfall hid the cave’s exit and passing through the fairly gentle fall of the cold water into the dimly lit dawning of the new day felt like a rebirth after being inside that small, dark, and narrow cave system all night. The captain of the knights immediately set his company to work constructing a wagon with the tools they had with them, and within a day's labor they had built a sturdy transport with storage compartments hidden by a carefully designed interior to fool the eyes of all but the most astute that something was amiss with the dimensions. Rounding up horses ended up being the real challenge, but with good fortune on their side, a farmstead within a half day walk was willing to sell them the horses they required, thus began their travels. Twenty-two years would pass as Nivani and the Knights of Seris faithfully carried out their service to a long since fallen King and lost kingdom as they moved discreetly among villages and cities to prevent the treasure from falling into the hands of [[Jenn-Kellon]] or [[Mol-Rehan]]. Nivani would contract her eventual death from an illness that would drive her insane in a short time, and as she came to trust the order of the Knights of Seris implicitly, she turned to one of the newer members that had joined up with them named Wheatley who had often regaled her with tales of adventures that put her troubled mind at peace with her mortal affliction. Sir Wheatley was a true, faithful member of the Knights of Seris and when Nivani confided in him the identity of the treasure that they protected, he understood why their mission was so important to her, and knew what must be done. '''Chapter 8: Into the Valley''' After the passing of Arch-Prelate Nivani, Wheatley explained to Sir Nimoy and the others that they were entrusted with protecting the legacy of Prince Lehimn. He told them everything he had learned directly from Nivani as he trusted each of the group implicitly. After letting the information soak in, they all agreed that their mission was not finished with the passing of Wynn Nivani and they dispatched a coded missive to their order to appraise them of their active situation. The group spent days reviewing scrolls held by the late Wynn Nivani regarding the legends and stories associated with the Shadow Wraith set. Having the advantage of better knowledge and sciences than those who wrote most of the early information pertaining to the Shadow Wraith set, Lady Bell weeded out what she believed to be foolish assumptions or fear based theories, and plans were made from her findings to discover what the helmet was actually pointing towards and move the set away from the expanding conflict between [[Jenn-Kellon]] and [[Mol-Rehan]]. Their first task was to resupply and prepare for a journey filled with uncertainty. This task fell to both Sir Burton and Sir Witwicky, and having plenty of gold to work with they had little trouble at obtaining the best gear that could be purchased or built. Once they had their supplies, they purchased a set of fresh horses as their final task before picking up and continuing their journey. Using the helmet as a compass of sorts, the Knights gradually made their way toward the direction its face continually pointed. While moving specific distances perpendicular to the way the Shadow Wraith helm faced, they plotted the general area that it was pointing towards and then used that information to decide on what routes to take to avoid patrols by either [[Jenn-Kellon]] or [[Mol-Rehan]]. By boat, by wagon, and by horse, the Knights of Seris traveled steadily, making camp only when needed and keeping their tracks covered to keep their camps secure while Sir Harold and Sir Landon scouted the upcoming terrain based on the facing of the helmet. Much of their journey across the land went by without any intrusion or interaction with the local residents thanks in part to their cartography skills. The knights routinely needed fresh supplies and had little choice but to risk contact with villages and cities. For the most part they would go unnoticed as common travelers in the marketplaces where they would shop, but not always. The supplies they often needed denoted some form of wealth which would draw the attention of highwaymen intent on robbing them, which was the main reason they tended to keep their contact with villages to a minimum as it was common for mercenaries and thieves to keep their eyes open for easy or wealthy marks. The entire group were capable fighters trained in various fighting methods, and any would be robbers stood little chance of besting them individually especially against Sir Harold’s enchanted axes or Sir Baggin’s mastery of various bow types. The few individual attempts they encountered were thwarted without much of a fight of any kind, but a comment made by one highwayman that was being treated for injuries from a fight with them suggests that even the large raiding party he was a part of was outmatched by the skill and tactics of their small group. Some of the only clues we have about the later part of the journey of the troupe of knights came from would be thieves that attempted to steal from them only to be left with a distinct shortage of blood or not quite as many limbs as they once had. The last known mention of their party is a rumor that claims they were seen making a few purchases in a village not far from the gateways in the Golden Valley during the summer of 981 NT. Once in awhile, someone will claim to have found what they believe is a piece of the Shadow Wraith set, but all such claims so far have been proven wrong. Though there are a few people who have mentioned discovering strange markers that might somehow be related to the knights. Even if the rumors are true, no one knows where they finally hid the Shadow Wraith armor and the companion pieces that go with it. Perhaps one day we will learn of what finally happened to them, and perhaps someone may eventually discover the Shadow Wraith set. The real question is, will they be willing to risk the fabled curse of the armor, or attempt to wield the sword and shield that was once wielded by Prince Lehimn during the [[backstory | Great Uprising]] against the [[Ageless]] all those ages ago?
