As sung in the marble courts of Sarene, where memory is loyal and history is sharpened like a blade

“Raise the banners, light the flame,
For Yorg who bore the Sarene name.
A king of iron, a king of right,
Who rose when dawn fell into night.”

When King Myriad Alsup died, the world shuddered. The Dawnless Realm faltered. Lockhaven scrambled. Borders blurred. The great alliances forged in the Shadow Plague era cracked like old stone.

And in that moment of uncertainty, Sarene looked to its own king—Yorg, son of the high line, heir to the ancient forest crowns.

He did not seize opportunity.
He answered duty.

“When Myriad fell and realms grew weak,
Yorg stood tall while others shrieked.
The world cried chaos, fear, and dread—
But Sarene’s king marched on instead.”

He moved to reclaim the Hammerfist passes, long contested but once held by Sarene wardens. He pressed into the Blackheart Forest, arguing that the treaties forged under Myriad were outdated, forged in desperation, and never meant to bind Sarene forever.

But the other realms resisted.

Dominik Aurion and Randall Kaldrin—lords of proud houses—joined forces, not to preserve peace, but to prevent Sarene from rising to its rightful strength.

“Two lords of frost and fading might
Stood ’gainst our king to halt his right.
Their fear was deep, their courage thin—
They knew united, they’d never win.”

The wars dragged on.
The borders bled.
And though no side claimed victory, Sarene remembers the truth:

Yorg held the line.
Yorg kept the dream.
Yorg fought for a realm that others sought to carve apart.

“So drink to Yorg, our steadfast flame,
The king who bore the Sarene name.
Though lands were lost and clans undone,
His dream still burns—the rightful one.”

A Chozar Scholar’s Rebuttal

Footnote appended with visible exasperation by Scholar Talan of Chozar

“Let it be stated plainly,” writes Talan, “that Sarene bards are unmatched in their ability to turn political opportunism into poetry.”

He proceeds:

1. On Myriad’s Death

The scholar notes that Myriad’s passing created instability across the realm—but Yorg’s response was not noble stewardship. Chozar records show that Yorg mobilized troops before Myriad’s funeral rites concluded, suggesting premeditation rather than duty.

2. On ‘Reclaiming’ Territory

The Hammerfist passes were contested, yes—but the Blackheart Forest was not. It was neutral land by treaty, and that treaty was signed by Yorg’s own grandfather. Calling it “reclamation” is a Sarene invention.

3. On Aurion and Kaldrin’s Alliance

Talan argues that Dominik Aurion and Randall Kaldrin united because Yorg’s expansion threatened trade, stability, and the fragile peace Myriad had spent decades maintaining. Their alliance was defensive, not fearful.

4. On the Stalemate

Sarene tales claim Yorg “held the line.” Chozar archives tell a different story:

• His supply lines collapsed.
• His generals quarreled.
• His vassals refused to cross the Frostline after the disastrous Battle of Three Pines.

The stalemate was not a testament to Yorg’s strength, but to the other realms’ restraint.

5. On the Centuries of Infighting

Talan calls this “the most egregious distortion.”
The fractures that followed were not the world’s punishment of Yorg’s vision—they were the direct consequence of his aggression. His campaigns destabilized the region, shattered alliances, and ignited clan rivalries that outlived him by generations.

The rebuttal ends with a final, razor-edged line:

“If Yorg’s dream still burns, it is only because Sarene bards keep feeding it tinder.”