Old Book 3: Fall of a Noble House

**The following is the most accurate account of the events that led to the fall of the Salva Clan's greatest noble family the House of Burova as told by the eyewitnesses who were there and the official report based off of the investigation that King Jalat had ordered after the whole horrible affair.**

Much of the Burova family was nearly killed through random tragedies and war in the 430s, but when the youngest son and soul-surviving heir, Allister Burova, returned from service in the Knights of Greywar and married a woman named Hanna things started to calm down. This calm was further helped along when they had 3 children over the next few years. The future leadership of the Salva Clan seemed secure once again for a moment.

However, in 441, while leaving a council meeting in the nation’s capital city of Balustrade, Allister accidentally overheard a secret meeting between Queen Tula and a powerful local nobleman named Bruce Ayer. They were talking about carrying out a coup d’état and the assassination of King Jalat in two weeks time.

Burova didn’t know what to do or who to trust. Despite being on good terms with Jalat, he wasn’t sure if the king would believe him over his own wife if she denied it. He figured the one person he could trust was Solomon Ishvaak, who was at the time the High Commander of the Royal Guard and King Jalat's uncle.

Sending the old general a message warning him about the plot, Solomon was skeptical at first, but he knew Burova was an honorable member of the Grand Council and never knew the man to lie, especially about something as important as this. He couldn’t openly make claims against the Queen without proof so he privately told his best warriors to be ready for an attack on the palace just in case.

Meanwhile, Allister took matters in to his own hands. He went back home and gathered most of the soldiers and warriors under his command to go and defend the king. He left only a few warriors behind to protect the manor and his family.

By the time they arrived, the fighting had already begun between the Royal Guard and Ayer’s forces. The old knight had exposed the plot, and the royal forces were prepared for an attack, but they were not ready for so large an assault by Ayer’s mercenaries and the many soldiers belonging to some other nobles that Ayer had convinced to follow him. So, when the Salva Clan warriors appeared and started fighting the rebels, the Royal Guard troops were relieved for the reinforcements.

Burova and Ayer killed each other after having engaged in one-on-one combat. With their leader dead, Ayer’s men scattered. The old knight died a heroically having saved the Kingdom and the king's own life. However, Ayer's most radical men that managed to flee wanted revenge against the dead hero.

So, they went and attack Burova's Manor, while most of Burova's soldiers were still in Balustrade. The next part of the story is not very well detailed, but it is clear that Allister's wife was killed in the assault defending her family. It is presumed the their three children, also, were killed either by fire or those heartless monsters, who called themselves men.

This reporter has personally been to what remains of the Burova Manor. While the locals have repaired what was damaged by the fire over the years (with moslty royal funding) as a way to honor the heroic memory of the late Lord Burova and his family the mansion is nothing, but a shell of it's former glory these days. While some are now even making the claim that the place is haunted and that the ghosts of the noble family have been seen wandering around the cold empty halls of the manor. Such nonsense is an embarrassment to their legacy and the locals should quell such silly wives tales.

This terrible end to so great a family in New Armes shall be a scar on the hearts of our dear Kingdom for generations to come, but we shall never forget as the Burova family's heroic sacrifice serves as an inspiration to all his Majesty's subjects.