by Hile of Cendomvita
The Enemy is the Hammer, and The Kingdoms, The Anvil
Determine for yourself: when the maps are gone and the kingdoms become the anvil, what parts of your humanity are you prepared to leave behind to survive the strike?
Witness the Strike. Monitor the recovery of the first record.
Warning: This record contains scenes of intense violence against men, women, and children. Its contents and themes are intended for mature audiences (18+). Reader discretion is advised.
Archival Summary
Eslading has fallen. In the first installment of Eslading’s Exiles, Hile and his household have fled westward, seeking sanctuary with a paramilitary band and a remnant of the city’s elite guard. As refugees arrive at the camp, the exiles must establish and execute a singular directive: survive the Raven assaults, secure allies, and warn the six kingdoms of the eastern threat.
The records indicate a secondary, clandestine objective: the recovery of lost artifacts. On this broken path, the exiles face trials that test their moral alignment and force the acknowledgment of unacceptable realities.
The Architects and The Adversaries
These are the primary actors recovered from the Eslading diaspora. Their choices during the initial westward retreat dictated the survival of the resistance and the eventual warning of the kingdoms.
Status: Matriarch / The Silent Architect (Displaced)
Ashira is the wife of Hile and the hidden center of the household’s gravity. Even at the height of Eslading’s social life, she never exercised influence in the public eye. She preferred the discretion of the shadow to the vanity of command. A master of subtle strategy, she balanced warmth with a shrewd intellect. She steered conversations and shaped outcomes without ever invoking position or title. To the casual observer, she was a skilled parent and compassionate community figure. To those within her circle, she was the strategist who ensured their priorities aligned with her own.
With the collapse of Eslading under the Raven assault, the public power structures she once maneuvered around have evaporated. Yet, Ashira’s purpose remains unchanged. In a world of unacceptable realities, she leads with the same grace and calculation she used in the drawing rooms of the city. She now applies those skills to ensure her family and the survivors do not break under the weight of the exodus.
Status: Eldest Son | The Fractured Pragmatist
Aylman is the eldest son of Hile. He is a driven and resourceful man whose ambition has learned to justify itself faster than his conscience can object. At twenty-four years old, he has earned a reputation for skill and a work ethic forged through decisions that leave him with few clean alternatives. He remains deeply pragmatic. He is comfortable bending rules and forging discreet alliances with local bandits and the Thieves Guild. These dealings no longer feel opportunistic. They reflect a mindset shaped by momentum and the fear of losing ground.
For all his moral flexibility, Aylman is not without conscience. What has changed is how little comfort it offers. He no longer mistakes profit for justification or success for control. The harm he once explained away has become personal and impossible to measure. The lines he has crossed have narrowed his future. He remains alert and capable. He is increasingly alone with the knowledge that the path forward is one he helped break. He now moves westward as a husband to the enemy, carrying the weight of a marriage that is both a tactical burden and a constant threat.
