.. My name is Hiroyuki Morimoto. I was a master marksman at the age
of nine in my little village whose name has disappeared into the mists
of time. When orcs struck north of Ido, Kansaki, and Sakai, my family
was killed, and a squire bearing a wind-blown tree standard stopped an
orc from taking me as well. Sir Annecians of Galetree introduced me
to an unusual man that you may remember as... the Silver Mask.
.. But enough about me. I have come to impart the memories of my
mentor, Leo Maisak of Vorondil. This man, who served both Shamus and
Calum Morrison, saw the events that made Astaria what it is today, and
even made an effort to shape a part of its history himself.
By now, all of you should know that Vorondil's roots extend not
just to the beginning of this age, but a previous one as well. One
perfect flower and an ancient monolith are all that remains now of
Vorondil's predecessor, the Order of the Rose. Its followers made a
name for themselves by standing proudly in the service of Artrimas.
But when the Vendashi struck Astaria, Rose was in ruins when the
dust settled. Even the efforts of all of the servants of Artrimas
could not stand against a transcendant foe, and the lesson was not lost
on Vorondil's founders, Valkyrie, Calum, and Julian. Instead of unity
against the foes of Artrimas, this clan would be founded under values
even older than Astaria itself.
Valkyrie recalled ancient tomes she had unearthed just before the
fall of the Rose. Elvish literature spoke of a simple word that had
united even the diverse population of elves -- forest, desert, steppe,
tundra, and even drow. Vorondil. Friendship.
The ancient elves spoke of the possibility of uniting even the
most bitter of enemies towards a common good, by placing the values of
the earth above those of the gods that made them so different. This
was a lesson the founders believed could be applied to Astaria and its
deeply divided and zealous followers of Artrimas, Dragmar, and
Xeraphena. And so the lessons of the ancient elves were put to their
ultimate test in modern Astaria.....
Whether or not such a goal can be attained was not known, not by
the founders, not by any of its overlords, not even by my mentor.
But they DID believe that its pursuit was worth the risks involved.
What I learned from Leo was that Vorondil had an incredible amount of
potential to be a driving force in Astaria. That the ancient concept
of Vorondil was nearly forgotten twice -- once by the population at
large, and once by this clan's own members. His dying wish was that
we never again forget why a rose garden blooms outside of the arsenal
tower, or why an ancient monolith still stands in the entry hall..