HERALD

HERALD
 
Millenia ago, during the first War of the Legions, there existed a formal
guild of explorers with a thirst of knowledge so intense, that they would
venture into unknown and hostile territory to sate that thirst for but a
single moment.  But as war often does, this guild, known as Herald, was put
to use in combat.  Acting upon orders of the High King of Aabahran, the guild
of Herald were commissioned as Military Advisors, using their knowledge of
the lands to aid in the war.
 
For the duration of the War, Herald stood beside the King and his court
of advisors, dispensing information that had taken ages to acquire.  Local
myths, legends, rumors...  The King wanted to know everything that would
be of use.  Libraries were emptied, their tomes and scriptures brought
before the King to be perused at his leisure, and in the fray, much was
lost.  They had become little more than a tool.  And as history has shown,
tools that have lost their usefulness, are often thrown away.
 
When the War of the Legions finally subsided, the Heralds were of no more
practical use, and were decommissioned; sent back to the dusty libraries
from whence they came.  But the guild remained.  They sat in the background
and watched idly as the Kingdom collapsed.  They watched as the King was
slain, and all that he surveyed plunged into Chaos.  With the King's death,
their tie to the Kingdom was severed, and they became autonomous, answering
to no one but themselves.  And thus began a period of renewal.
 
Since the dark days of the first War of the Legions, the Heralds have
spared no expense at the acquisition of knowledge.  They are in possession
of the single most expansive library in Aabahran, overshadowing even that of
the Tower of Savant's.  Little passes by the scrutinous eye of a Herald, and
the eyes of Herald are many.