recognition of that was pleasing, and He savored it intimately for a moment.
“All of your lands must contribute towards the force that we will assemble, to send against the Midragardans,” He stated when He had resumed. “Ships, supplies, weapons, men, horses … all must be gathered in greater numbers at the Theonian port of Thessalas, on the edge of Garia.
“I have decided that many of My remaining Sorcerers within Avalos will be dispatched, to depart and go with you back to your own lands. You know of My blessed gifts. With My Sorcerers, to whom I have taught great and powerful arts to use in the service of mankind, you will find more help for your tasks. They will also serve as My personal representatives amongst you. As I have given you signs of My nature, so I will give you My Sorcerers.”
A wave of amazement, excitement, and not a little fear passed rapidly through the assembled representatives at the unexpected announcement. The Unifier’s perceptions, far transcending those of a mortal man, took in the eruption of reactions taking place within the minds of the emissaries.
Many thoughts had turned to the genesis of the Sorcerers, following the second of the Great Signs done by the Unifier during His ascension to power. Their minds were filled with remembrances of those incredible events, as well as the significance of the announcement that the Sorcerers of Avalos were to be dispersed among them.
There were countless accounts regarding manifestations of the Unifier’s power throughout the years, some almost too fantastical for some to believe. Yet there were only two that stood forth throughout the allied realms, undeniable realities that enjoyed multitudes of credible, and sober, witnesses.
One of the two Great Signs had occurred during a time that only a scant few of those gathered in the assemblage were even old enough to remember. It had happened not long after the rise of the Unifier to the rule of Avanor, during the nascent period of the alliance. Only seven kingdoms had come together by that time, providing the incipient foundation of support for the Unifier’s world-encompassing vision.
A great famine had spread its malignancy rampantly throughout Ehrengard, which had been one of the strongest of the initial seven kingdoms that had acquiesced to the Unifier’s will. The famine had set in motion a deadly plague, leading to other tribulations as upheaval and suffering struck out at both noble and peasant alike.
Making the situation even worse, it had happened after the death of the Sacred Emperor, Lothar V, who had died without leaving an accepted heir. A fierce period of warfare had broken out because of that, further exacerbating the misery among the people. The warring among the princes and bishops of those lands had threatened to tear the Kingdom of Ehrengard, and quite possibly the entire Sacred Empire, into useless fragments, even as the great plague ravaged the populace without mercy.
Many areas were utterly devastated, as the poor were assailed from all sides. Cattle, herds of swine, and other livestock were driven off in the maelstrom of fighting, only to be devoured by the teeming packs of slavering wolves inundating the shadowy forests. There was nowhere for the peasants to run, and they had cried out desperately to the All-Father for help. It was the most horrific time that Ehrengard had ever endured, and there were few that held out any hope for the rapidly fragmenting kingdom.
The Unifier had hastened swiftly to their lands in person, taking it upon Himself publicly to respond to Ehrengard’s cries. He had set about working His incredible, mysterious arts tirelessly.
Great numbers of individual examples testified to the Unifier’s unrivaled capability. He invoked unusual, mystical powers in the curing of great numbers of people, summoning livestock back out from the deep woods, and dampening bitter hatreds among noble rivals. Even the hordes of wolves had slunk back into the