The Vallers

The valley fell. That, we know. How, we do not. The final fate is lost to us, and we hope to find out what happened in the end, so we can prepare against it.   We do know some of what came before. Of a drought, of a fire. Of mines that became hard to use, and an army that had to draw back its troops and protect less and less. Of threats that were unknown but feared, rituals performed to keep the dark at bay, people that kept to themselves but knew their leaders worried. And how step by step, more chose to leave the valley. Until one day, the passage closed and until on another day, people said they could no longer sense signs of life.   The valley fell. But some of its people lived on. Because they left the valley before it closed, there is still knowledge to be found with their descendants. Not as much as we would like, as it seems that both time and mystery have caused much information to be lost. Still, we try. While a thousand try to settle the valley, build farms, explore its secrets, so too do scholars in the old country try to figure out what secrets lie between those mountains.   We travel to the descendants, find any oral or written story we can find, try to unify them. We see if there are any heirlooms that can shed a light on the secrets of the valley. They help us eagerly when they can, even many noble families who normally are secretive. And some of them have said they wish to return, to help, to explore their familial past. Their efforts are most welcome. We cannot thank them enough for all that they do, the way they take their time in these stressful days, where the risk of starvation is rising with every day.   We can only hope that we manage to repay the trust that everyone puts in us.