The Wind Riders

by Kris Kramer

On the White Horsemen…

  The wars started in the nation of Irsay, east of the Rhokan Mountains, an Outerland kingdom as the people of the Lore Valley would call it. Refugees from Irsay began arriving in Himmitte towns and cities by boat. A small trickle came at first, then boatload after boatload arrived, first from Irsay, then the neighboring kingdom of Neratos. They all came to the Valley seeking refuge from the mysterious arrival of people they called the White Horsemen.

  All the refugees spoke of tall men wearing black armor that covered every inch of their skin, and riding white horses and wearing white cloaks or capes. These White Horsemen had appeared suddenly in Irsay, in small numbers at first but they grew in size quickly. They captured village after village, forcing some people into slavery while others would disappear to never be seen again. Eventually their numbers grew large enough to capture the capital city of Irsay and then move south into Neratos and begin a new conquest there. The strength and skill with weapons of the White Horsemen was incredible. It was said it took three men to even come close to defeating one of the invaders. The strangest thing of all about the White Horsemen was that no one knew where they had come from, and no one had ever seen one of them without their armor on. The people of the Outerlands concocted a huge number of stories to explain it. Some said they were an invasion force from lands across the sea no one had even known about. Some speculated that they were dark and evil men, corrupted by the Magic of some terrible Magician, and that sunlight would kill them. Others wondered if they were even human at all.

  Slowly but surely the White Horsemen moved along the Outerlands of Leranon, conquering every nation they came to, and the people who managed to escape all fled to the Lore Valley, or the neighboring Senin Valley. The large cities of the Lore became flooded with people. Nations made new alliances with each other and armies became ready for war, should the White Horsemen ever make it into the Valley. People from all nations and all classes were on edge, wondering if the world was ending as these mysterious invaders defeated every army laid before them.