***
It started as a rumor, a whisper in the wind that no one could quite believe. The shadow came from the west, and soon it spread over the entire land like a terrible blanket of chaos and treachery.
At first it was nothing more than a whisper. A few people claimed they heard the shouts coming from the castle, and keen eyes would soon notice that of the four wardens and made their way into castle Donovan, not a single one of them came out. The shouts could only mean one thing, and even a blind man could see it. All was not well up in castle Donovan.
Then the Royal army was called back, and they abandoned their posts atop the walls and in the streets, such that Hyland became almost like the days of old, when there was hardly any order in the city.
When the men came out again, they w
