WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:17.520 Music. 00:00:17.368 --> 00:00:17.908 And more. 00:00:23.388 --> 00:00:29.148 The path through the mountain was not a simple tunnel, but a small city unto itself. 00:00:29.628 --> 00:00:34.668 Dwarves in leather and mail nodded curtly as Token led Rafe through halls, 00:00:34.928 --> 00:00:36.848 humming with the sound of life. 00:00:37.468 --> 00:00:42.688 Rafe heard animals grunting and wondered what kind of animals could be used, 00:00:42.888 --> 00:00:46.128 or even living inside the mountain. 00:00:46.548 --> 00:00:50.828 There were grim faces, all of which seemed intrigued with him, 00:00:50.988 --> 00:00:56.648 but there were also rooms off the corridor he walked echoing with gruff, booming laughter. 00:00:56.928 --> 00:01:03.848 The air was warm and smelled of sweat and close living, but also of vibrant life and roasted meats. 00:01:04.328 --> 00:01:09.808 They climbed a final winding staircase carved from the living rock and arrived 00:01:09.808 --> 00:01:12.108 at a heavy iron-banded door. 00:01:12.608 --> 00:01:16.328 Token knocked once, a sharp, resonant rap. 00:01:17.288 --> 00:01:22.488 Enter! A voice like grinding stone called from within. 00:01:22.928 --> 00:01:29.248 The room was nothing like Rafe expected. He had imagined a barracks or a throne room. 00:01:29.788 --> 00:01:35.988 Instead, he stood in a circular library. Books, scrolls, and tablets lined every 00:01:35.988 --> 00:01:41.168 inch of the curved stone walls, climbing so high into the shadow-draped ceiling 00:01:41.168 --> 00:01:43.248 that he couldn't see where they ended. 00:01:44.048 --> 00:01:48.188 In the center of the room, a massive table was covered in maps, 00:01:48.568 --> 00:01:50.928 each held down with a polished stone. 00:01:51.508 --> 00:01:57.188 Sitting behind one of those maps was a dwarf, so old his braided beard was the 00:01:57.188 --> 00:02:00.908 color of snow, and so long it was tucked into his belt. 00:02:01.108 --> 00:02:07.488 He was staring into a book spread atop the map, and didn't look up as Token bowed his head. 00:02:08.228 --> 00:02:11.448 Loramaster, I have brought the human, as requested. 00:02:12.696 --> 00:02:19.076 The old dwarf finally lifted his gaze. His eyes were not the dark brown of the other dwarves. 00:02:19.296 --> 00:02:22.936 They were a piercing pale blue, like ancient ice. 00:02:23.596 --> 00:02:29.196 Token nodded and retreated, the heavy door closing with a definitive thud behind him. 00:02:29.436 --> 00:02:33.316 The old dwarf gestured to a stone chair by the map table. 00:02:33.576 --> 00:02:40.216 I am Cray, and you are Rafe, the one who knows of a treaty but not the man who forged it. 00:02:40.936 --> 00:02:48.496 Sit, tell me what a boy from a cursed city knows of Barros. His directness was disarming. 00:02:49.356 --> 00:02:54.956 Rafe took the seat, his mind racing. I know he created the Barros Treaty. 00:02:55.236 --> 00:02:58.536 It established Dragon Road and free trade between the cities of the continent. 00:02:58.956 --> 00:03:00.256 I know it promised peace. 00:03:01.096 --> 00:03:06.236 Cray grunted, a sound of affirmation. It did more than that. 00:03:06.736 --> 00:03:13.116 It promised balance. But you've found this in a book, a single piece of paper. 00:03:13.656 --> 00:03:15.596 You do not know the man. 00:03:16.836 --> 00:03:20.316 He leaned forward, his ancient eyes locking onto Rafe. 00:03:20.696 --> 00:03:24.896 One more question and then you may ask questions of me. 00:03:26.116 --> 00:03:31.896 The thought of asking questions of this lawmaster filled Rafe with an indescribable joy. 00:03:32.396 --> 00:03:37.376 You are of a city of guilds, Barrows the man. 00:03:38.216 --> 00:03:41.096 To which guild did he belong? 00:03:42.236 --> 00:03:46.836 Rafe racked his brain. He didn't know, but he wanted to know. 00:03:47.056 --> 00:03:52.776 He had a reasonable guess based on his research, however. Was he with the State Guild? 00:03:53.827 --> 00:03:58.827 The dwarf's face brightened. A fantastic guess, but wrong. 00:03:59.267 --> 00:04:03.767 The State Guild was established after the Barros Treaty came into effect. 00:04:04.427 --> 00:04:10.447 Kray leaned back, looking satisfied. Still, you are an ardent researcher. 00:04:11.327 --> 00:04:16.747 What questions do you have for me? The invitation was all Rafe needed. 00:04:17.107 --> 00:04:21.307 The questions he had held back spilled out. Who was Barros? 00:04:21.867 --> 00:04:25.347 And this place? Gallic called it Dragon's Watch. What does it mean? 00:04:25.707 --> 00:04:27.127 What are you guarding against? 00:04:27.527 --> 00:04:31.407 A slow smile crept across Kray's weathered face. 00:04:31.827 --> 00:04:34.227 One question at a time, boy. 00:04:34.967 --> 00:04:39.847 One question at a time. He tapped the map in front of him. 00:04:40.327 --> 00:04:43.027 Barros was a magician of immense power. 00:04:43.527 --> 00:04:47.367 The most powerful of his age. He didn't just write the treaty. 00:04:47.367 --> 00:04:53.867 He wove its protections into the very fabric of the land, ensuring that no single 00:04:53.867 --> 00:04:57.207 city could dominate the others through greed or four. 00:04:58.447 --> 00:05:01.527 A magician, the word hung in the air. 00:05:02.187 --> 00:05:06.787 Rafe had seen the books and the name of the old guild, but to hear it spoken 00:05:06.787 --> 00:05:09.127 as a simple fact was staggering. 00:05:09.647 --> 00:05:13.967 He was of the Magic Guild then? He was the Magic Guild. 00:05:14.687 --> 00:05:16.827 Now for your second question. 00:05:17.847 --> 00:05:22.587 Kray's smile widened, revealing teeth worn flat with age. 00:05:23.087 --> 00:05:26.167 What does the Order of the Dragon guard against? 00:05:26.667 --> 00:05:30.327 Why, we guard against dragons, of course. 00:05:30.707 --> 00:05:36.607 The statement was so casual, so utterly matter-of-fact, that Rafe let out a 00:05:36.607 --> 00:05:38.507 nervous, disbelieving laugh. 00:05:39.087 --> 00:05:43.547 Kray did not join him. His pale blue eyes were deadly serious. 00:05:43.947 --> 00:05:46.247 Rafe's laughter died in his throat. 00:05:47.067 --> 00:05:50.087 A dragon? But they don't exist, they are myths. 00:05:51.109 --> 00:05:56.669 Of course there are dragons. Have you not seen the remnants of your fields that 00:05:56.669 --> 00:05:58.409 its breath laid waste to? 00:05:59.209 --> 00:06:06.849 The ash fields. The stories of a fire. The blighted land that nothing could reclaim. 00:06:07.369 --> 00:06:11.329 The realization hit Rafe with the force of a physical blow. 00:06:11.909 --> 00:06:17.009 The history of his home, the very ground it was built on, was a lie. 00:06:18.089 --> 00:06:20.489 Then, then what is the great forgetting? 00:06:21.829 --> 00:06:26.269 Rafe almost feared to hear the answer. Kray's face grew grim, 00:06:26.649 --> 00:06:28.549 the smile vanishing completely. 00:06:29.649 --> 00:06:34.609 He stood and walked around the table and stood before Rafe, looking serious 00:06:34.609 --> 00:06:36.649 and powerful despite his stature. 00:06:36.949 --> 00:06:39.329 The great forgetting was a punishment. 00:06:39.729 --> 00:06:42.509 The lords of Ness grew greedy. 00:06:43.589 --> 00:06:48.609 They broke the Barros Treaty by summoning a dragon, the only thing that could 00:06:48.609 --> 00:06:51.289 surpass Barros' magical restraints. 00:06:51.789 --> 00:06:56.749 They had hoped to use its power to rule the continent. They failed. 00:06:57.189 --> 00:07:01.109 The beast could not be controlled, and it turned on your city, 00:07:01.389 --> 00:07:03.649 laying waste to your golden fields. 00:07:03.769 --> 00:07:09.869 It was only stopped when your city's greatest magician cast a spell of his own. 00:07:11.049 --> 00:07:15.949 A spell so powerful it not only defeated the dragon, but it ripped the memory 00:07:15.949 --> 00:07:21.929 of it and the entire history of the lands from the minds of everyone within your walls. 00:07:23.571 --> 00:07:29.491 Kray scratched his beard. No one knows if the forgetting was part of the spell 00:07:29.491 --> 00:07:35.291 or an additional goal added by the caster as punishment lest they be foolish 00:07:35.291 --> 00:07:38.051 enough to ever try such a thing again. 00:07:38.791 --> 00:07:41.871 Regardless, the result was the same. 00:07:42.271 --> 00:07:48.151 A city that had already made enemies forgot who it was. 00:07:49.231 --> 00:07:53.351 Rafe's mind was reeling, trying to piece it all together. 00:07:53.571 --> 00:08:00.811 A dragon, a magical war, a spell that erased memory, and a single great magician 00:08:00.811 --> 00:08:03.591 who had cast it. Who was this magician? 00:08:04.311 --> 00:08:10.231 Rafe had an idea, but he doubted his own mind. It was impossible. 00:08:11.291 --> 00:08:16.691 Cray looked down at him, his ancient icy eyes filled with a sorrow so profound 00:08:16.691 --> 00:08:20.531 it seemed to contain the weight of all the forgotten centuries. 00:08:20.991 --> 00:08:27.171 The same man who had two great spells remaining in him, one of which was to 00:08:27.171 --> 00:08:32.911 extend his own life to watch over your city and hide its secrets and guide its future. 00:08:33.791 --> 00:08:37.351 Do you know the great tragedy in that young Rafe? 00:08:37.971 --> 00:08:41.511 He paused, peering deep into Rafe's eyes. 00:08:42.071 --> 00:08:48.371 In Cast in the Spell, he lost his own memory completely, and he wandered the 00:08:48.371 --> 00:08:51.331 centuries not even knowing why he was doing so. 00:08:52.251 --> 00:08:58.211 With a suddenness that startled Rafe, Cray turned and made his way back to his chair. 00:08:58.511 --> 00:09:01.231 But you asked a simple question. 00:09:01.751 --> 00:09:06.011 This man was the greatest magician history has known. 00:09:07.091 --> 00:09:09.011 Pietro was his name. 00:09:13.200 --> 00:09:32.080 Music. 00:09:31.191 --> 00:09:33.471 A podcast alchemy production.