The Betrayal

The Betrayal is a key event in the history of Nor'Edalor and subsequently, Khrasys.

It happened around -7 BPW (Before Plague Wars) and was one of the antechambers to the Plague Wars itself. The betrayal marked the Kingdom of the Five Cities in an incredible way, and created unforeseen consequences to those that participated and their descendants.

### Previous Inklings

Vincent Godfrey's keymaiden, Leah, has been having prophetic dreams about a daemonic invasion of the land. Driven by her daemonic patron Evangel, she seeks to save the kingdom from such a catastrophe. However, a misinterpretation of the actual event will lead to the hellish catastrophe at Calth.

Conversely, noblemen Athaniar Gelion and Valanar Vilehand have been studying the overarching nobility and concluded that there is indeed corruption within the Kingdom.

Due to the nature of Leah's job, she has more than once stumbled upon the noble High Elves and seen the potential in them to assist her in her real duty and save the Kingdom from the ensuing inferno.

After some time, the noblemen would travel to Konor for their own motives and eventually meet Alawen. The desire to champion humanity and purge the world from evil makes Alawen a natural target for the elves, who need the strength and law to complement their own sets of skills.

It will not be much longer that Leah herself will go to Konor and talk the other three into joining her to cast a spell that would protect the kingdom from corruption.

### Some days before the Betrayal

The team of nobles gathers at Konor, unknowing of the human's prophetic visions or powers as she has been posing as a wizard. There, they threaten, intimidate and question a minor noble that works for the Council of the Five Cities. After the interrogation, the Betrayers learn much of the information they need to enact the ritual on the very day of the annual celebration of Godfrey's Ascension four days later.

During the days before the Betrayal, the four travel back to Calth to earn the final pieces of information required to ensure their success.

### The Betrayal

With Alawen being in the middle of the ritualistic defenses the Order of the Holy Circle wanted to establish near Ascension's Entrance, the rest of the Betrayers would be safe to investigate the subterranean tunnels under Ascension Plaza, as the Ritual involves placing a Shard of Nether underneath the ground and another one atop in perfect alignment.

Finding the correct spot, the Betrayers place a Shard of Nether at a derelict sewer maintenance area and Alawen places the other at a column near the fountain of Ascension Plaza.

Circa 8 in the morning, Leah undergoes the ritual of the Lower Shard, which takes up almost an hour. Once the ritual is completed, the Upper Shard starts allotting energy and faintly glowing. With the assistance of dancing lights, Alawen hides the crystal and distracts the crowd while patrolling nearby, as the Upper Shard can't be disturbed during its charging period.

The Upper Shard takes 1 hour to charge, while growing ever brighter and catching increasing attention. The Betrayers stay around until the Shard finishes charging and some hours thereafter.

At around 11, Captain Damian Kraus patrols the Crown Guard and enters the Plaza to be received by cheering populace and four purple dancing lights. Not much after, they take positions and await for King Godfrey's arrival so that he can give his speech. Meanwhile, the Betrayers stand guard, with Leah shaking in anticipation of her next move.

At 11:45 (15 minutes before the king arrives) Leah casts the activation sorcery upon the Upper Shard and it detaches from the column as it spins and channels an increasing amount of energy. People start running and the guard ready as the Shards of Nether gifted by Evangel become tethered by arcane energies and tear a rift into reality.

Demons spew forth, Alawen charges into them while Gelion tries to get Leah arrested and she spills the truth.

At the sight of the hellish invasion, Kraus runs to where the king should be to protect him while the Crown Guard, City Guard (with the exception of Captain Rumford) and Holy Circle clerics, stay in position to fend off the demons.

Demons are killed right and left, but more spew forth unendingly. This drives Athaniar to run to the sewer area and try to somehow disrupt the portal. After running as fast as he could, he channels Abjuration energy into the Lower Shard, then white energy starts climbing into the arcane tether upwards and Gelion rushes to action yet again.

On the surface, the fight seems lost. Demons kill citizen and warrior alike in an endless tide as the Betrayers fight them with the help of the warriors and clerics. Many gave their lives at Calth on that morning.

Eventually, the white energy takes possession of the rift, however, demons filter through it still in never-ending hordes. But not all is lost, for as with one the many waves of hellish invaders came The Mysterious Stranger. Wrapped in white robes and shining armour and holding a blueflaring sword on one hand and magic on the other, The Visitor jumps from the portal and into the demons.

The Betrayers stayed along with The Stranger, the guards and clerics until the portal finally closes and the last fiend is slain.

### The Aftermath

Motivated by Alawen's actions, King Vincent Godfrey declared that in order to prevent any catastrophe of such magnitude from happening ever again, a new ruling organism would be created: The Calthian High Lords. These four paladins of the Holy Circle would ensure the safety of the kingdom from higher threats and turn the Order into a force of the realm. With this decision, the Crown Guard and City Guard became just one body coordinated by the many captains within.

Leah would go to prison, but then escape through hellish intervention and move on to live in solitude in a tower in the forests outside the cities. There, she would give birth to a daughter from Evangel.

As a means of vengeance, Evangel would later on curse Gelion's bloodline, ensuing in the maddening of Edmund Vanshdat Gelion and subsequent massacre of his family.

Alawen would return to her Paladin duties and one day give birth to Argent Solarian, which did not stop her from enacting her Paladin duties until she drew her last breath.

Gelion's curiosity and interest in knowledge would pass on to the elven branch of his family and eventually fall into Alyssa Gelion in Shroudfall.

Valanar Vilehand would grow to amass great market deals, deals that his son Tharassian and later grandson Ismail would use to grow greater in power in Travincal rather than Nor'Edalor.

Captain Rumford was stripped of his position and powers due to being charged guilty of the war crime of cowardice in a moment of great distress.

The Visitor would reveal his name to be Inarian, and stay in Khrasys to wander and defend it until the very Plague Wars ensued and his intervention became crucial in humanity's victory.