Bøger udgivet af David Harrell

Alchemy, the Art of Change, was the premier power of the Silent Realm and the center of her ingenuity. It was the model by which society was structured and the standard by which everything was measured. It was the process through which everything was made and the fulcrum on which the nation and its people oscillated. It was the beginning and end of all things in the land, and like any discipline worth pursuing, alchemy required sacrifice.The Clockwork Cosmos, perpetual and unyielding, was established by the Eternal and maintained by His particles. It was a masterwork of construction, a triumph of intelligence and foresight wrought together by the Synthetic Alchemist Himself, and it was more than an abode for its inhabitants. It was an example to be studied, and it too echoed the immutable truth of alchemy. Progress required sacrifice.Taurus, the sovereign and supreme nation of the Silent Realm, indisputable in its brilliance and unrivaled in its advancements, it sat as the most advanced and technologically superior land in all the world. The people lived free protected by the automatons and the benefits of their enhanced and educated communities. As citizens and members of their respective castes, they too understood the nobility of knowing their place. Responsibility required sacrifice.But the Great Destroyer looked upon these notions with contempt. Taurus was a thinly veiled anathema, a corrupter of humanity, and an abomination of nature. The Silent Realm may have arrayed herself in the splendor and knowledge of the heavens, but she was still mortal and thus subject to the Reaper.

Nestled within the early pages of the Aural Realm's exalted history was a period of tribulation and heroes. These heroes fought authorities and powers to unite a region in disarray, and to save their people, they established orders and founded a hedge of guiding principles around the emerging kingdoms. This foundation took years to build and was made of the blood, sacrifice, and toil of noble souls. It was intended to grant security for centuries to come but was undone by one generation of fear. Aghast at the rapid growth and development of a new power in the Saline Realm, the royals and ideologues of the Eight Kingdoms condemned the budding nation's existence. They rallied allies, stoked the embers of resentment and conspiracy, and loudly proclaimed the practice of magic as nothing less than an affront to the very divinity of God. War broke out, and for two centuries, the Kingdoms fought to cleanse the world of an unholy taint, but for all of their dogmas and beliefs, the war ended in a resounding defeat. Though shaken in their conviction, the institutions of Crown and Church held fast to their respective faiths. Within the castles, kings and their courts were encouraged to exercise their sovereign rights, and on hallowed grounds, congregations were soothed by assurances of divine protection over their souls. The war was over, but unbeknownst to them, the silver tongue of a new devil infiltrated the land, and the Demon instrumental to the Salian's victory returned once more to settle an ancient wound.