Year 4256
72nd day of the month Auddium
Early Mid-Summer
Nation of Sight
Shimmer Town - A northern lakeside town in the Nation of Sight


The Sun is beginning to set, casting the sky a beautiful assortment of reds, oranges, and yellows. Nearby the modestly sized lakeside town, known as Shimmer Town, sits quietly. A few painters and artists are scattered around the town’s outskirts, lost in the soothing and creative trance that is art. They work hard to capture the image of the setting sun off the glistening waters of the peaceful Shimmer Lake.

Inside the protective walls of Shimmer Town, residents are going about their daily lives. Fishermen are on their way home hauling the day’s catch. The local workers and merchants are closing up shop. Families are preparing and finishing their suppers. Able-bodied young adults, however, are noticeably missing from the streets. The majority of them have been sent off to assist in the war. One thought lingers in the back of everyone’s mind. Will their homes still be here by the week’s end?

The increased amount of soldiers occupying the town and its walls has begun to strain the town’s resources. Food prices have increased while the amount of visitors has decreased. Most of the soldiers are new recruits. Unruly and untrained. Some picking fights in the common rooms of the local inns. Others walking the streets drunkenly, desperately trying to escape the horrors they’ve seen while at war. Morale is obviously at a low.

Disturbingly, a rare sort of people have begun to occupy the city’s walls. The Cult of Insight. They began arriving during the course of the past week. In small numbers initially, in larger groups as time passed. With signed documents from the king, they’ve begun preaching in the streets, promising visions of the future and access to the world’s secrets. A few small nervous crowds gather around to watch the sermons, quickly becoming spooked when the occasional Sightless makes an appearance.  

An inn at the center of the town, the more wealthy area, has been procured by The Cult. A few people curious about the The Cult’s offerings have wandered in only to come out changed and claiming to know truth. Since The Cult’s arrival, there has been a slight increase in reports mentioning people attacking one another. The culprits are shown to have no past history of violence. This has only added an edge of unease to the already somber mood.

Whispers and rumors about the king have spread like a rampant fire. Some speculate the King has forgotten them. Others claim the king is a heretic. And then there are the few crazies stating they’ve seen with their own eyes that the king is one of The Sightless. Some have petitioned the Town Lord for an audience on the matter of The Cult, but they are turned away at the door. Lord O’Kal has been reclusive in recent days. Those who have been allowed into his estate never return. This has led the town’s citizens to speculate on what is going on there. None of that speculation is anything good.

Towards the north side of the village lies an Inn which has just begun to age. The Dockside View is it's name. Inside the common room a group of rowdy lowlifes are drinking ale and playing a game of The Senses. A musician plays a lute in the background. He isn't very good. He plays off key, is a terrible singer, and his songs are quite boring. Even the innkeeper is cringing as he stands behind the bar serving customers. He wonders in the back of his mind if the inn would be better off if he just kicked the man out.

It is not these things that are of interest in this little inn called The Dockside View. Within the confines of the inn a group of unrelated travelers begin to gather. They are unaware of the events about to transpire within Shimmer Town. Events that will forever change their lives as well as the world around them. 

At the far off corner of the world, The Being of Many Names turns his attention towards this aging inn and the people within. He chuckles to himself and mutters [color=8493ca]"Let the fun begin."[/color]