The following text is a history of the demise of the Order of the Sun and its connection to the founding of the Greybeard line. To assist the reader, I offer these useful facts: the adventurers and perspective are dwarven. Reference to our friends and our lands refer to friends of the dwarves and dwarven lands. Eltarin Llewylen is an elven ranger who took up service in the lands of Hildigart Endrede, dwarven Envoy to the elves. Arbik Oakenhand his his dwarven assistant who posseses the guide class described in Sages and Specialists. Thaim Ironsmelt is a high level dwarven chanter (demi-bard) who was the overthane's tutor, and continues as his advisor. Fuden the Silent is a mid-level priest of one of the dark cults the dwarves keep suppresed. One of the perennial problems of the dwarven realm is the cult menace, insidious, many dwarves do not even realise they worship un-approved entities. The overthane faught a battle with (adventure type) with Fudin, in which Fudin escaped covered by his undead minions. The dwarven calendar coresponds to Masetian Arrival.

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The assistant to Eltarin Llewylen, the dwarf guide Arbik Oakenhand, was looking for evidence of crossings from the Chimearon into the Promontory. Arbik, a retainer of Hildegart, was doing this work in the lands of Wulfram because of the role his superior, Eltarin, played in the pursuit of Fudin the Silent. While crossing desolate peaks and valleys devoid of mineral wealth, Arbik found a construct which he first took to be a refuge of Fudin, indeed he supposed he might find the cultist and surprise him. Instead what he discovered was an old ruin, abandoned for centuries. Arbik's immediate investigations revealed that it was infested with foul vermin, such as giant rats, cave crickets, and giant ants. Knowing the danger such vermin pose, Arbik withdrew and made his way to Kurkburg, the seat of the Thane, Wulfram Ironvein. Wainier House was then in the midst of great preparations, and the Thane was too busy to receive Arbik. Rather, his son Raknarr received the dwarf guide and heard his story. Raknarr sent for the Thane's Miner, and ordered a team of Pest-masters conscripted. A platoon of twelve Pest- masters were assembled and issued kettles, tents, and axes. The noble, Morolk Stonefist, a knight in the service of the Thane, led the pest-masters in their mission. They were ordered to clear the ruin of its foulness and prepare it for proper investigation by learned men. As the Overthane was expected to arrive for the christening of the Ironvein children, Arbik was instructed to await his arrival to inform him personally.

[With this adventure hook the players visit the ruin...]

Thaim's Explanation: This tower bears the design and ornament of Avani! There is no doubt that is one of the towers built by the Order of the Sun, Avani's Order. In the days before the Anurians came to Khinasi, when the land beyond Baruk-Azhik was still ruled by Basarji traders, an order of knights defended the city-states. This was the Order of the Sun, also known as Avani's Order, or the Knights of the Eternal Sun, a brotherhood of Paladins, chosen from among the ranks of the soldiers of Avani, goddess of the sun. The knights stood for justice, stability, and reason. The order defended the Khinasi against the Anurians during the Anurian expansion, over 700 years ago. Founded initially after Deismaar to combat the awnsheghlien, the Order of the Sun achieved military, political, and spiritual might in the Western Khinasi lands of Binsada and Dhafrane, as the Chimaeron was known before the coming of the Chimera. The Khinasi pushed into Baruk-Azhik intent on subjugating us, and we turned to our long-time friends on the Anurian throne, the dynasty of Roele, for assistance in 1277. The new emperor, Alandalae, nobly took up our cause. The coming of the Anurians was the direct cause of the fall of the Order of the Sun. With our assistance, the armies of Anuire crossed the Iron Peaks and pushed into Dhafrane. A citadel known as the Spires of the Sun was the order's greatest stronghold. It was located in the city of Dhafrane, which was leveled by the Anurians and refounded as Barniere. They had outposts all throughout the Iron Peaks, along the Tarvan Hills, near the Rain Serpent Mountains, and along the Kratal river facing Coeranys. The adventurer-knights of the Order could not withstand the organized forces of the Anurians. Pressed by the Anurians in the west and the awnsheghlien in the east, the order collapsed. While this occurred, the renown Khinasi general, El-Arrasi organized the Basarji Federation to meet the Anurians. Most of Alandalae's army was heavy cavalry poorly suited to fighting in the southern Iron Peaks, so he tried to fight the Khinasi in the Khurinbyrn Valley and east into the Rohrmarch, then subject to the Khinasi. In the southern territories of the Rohrmarch, where Khinasi colonization took place, the Basarji Federation and the last companies of the Order of the Sun met Alandalae and his Anurians at the Battle of Asarwe in 1299. Many dwarves fought alongside the humans in special companies. One such warrior was your ancestor, Makkan Rockhammer. During the battle, the Knights of the Sun launched a suicidal charge to kill the Emperor. While they succeeded in killing Alandalae, they were themselves destroyed by Alandalae's honor guard and the dwarven company to his right, including your great, great grandfather Makkan. It was then that Makkan earned his birthright by killing one of the noble captains of the Order. Upon assuming his blood power, Makkan Rockhammer's beard turned stone gray, and he was forever known as "graybeard", as you are today. The Order of the Sun was destroyed and was never reestablished. Now all that remains of the Order are its ruins, such as this one.

1277 GR (Gideon Rinsparr) Emperor Alandalae takes Iron Throne opens a campaign against the Basarji
1279 GR El-Arrasi organizes Basarji Federation
1299 GR Alandalae killed in Basarji campaign at the battle of Asarwe, Caercuillen becomes emperor and ally of el-Arrasi
1311 GR Death of el-Arrasi
1327 GR Eldracht Hoffstugart of Mafden leads rebellion against Anuire
1328 GR Makkan "Greybeard" ambushed and killed on a diplomatic mission.

By the way, the story of your ancestor Makkan remains tied to the imperial house of Roele. After the Battle of Asarwe, Caercuillen became emperor and made peace and concluded an alliance with el-Arrasi. But this was the high watermark to the Empire. In 1327, Eldracht Hoffstugart of Mafden started the rebellion against Anuire. The Emperor, aware of the noble reputation of Makkan, who was as endowed with charm and grace as he was with strength and courage, asked Makkan to undertake a diplomatic mission to Brechtur. He was asked to call upon the Dwarves of Massenmarch to suppress the rebellion, to journey to Brechlen to ask the Herzog of Muden to arrest Hoffstugart and the ringleaders of the resistance. Such a mission, if successful, could have ended the rebellion and stemmed the decline of the Empire. The Brechts knew it and they laid an ambush for Makkan as he crossed the Thurin River between Kiergard and Massenmarch in the Thuringode Forest. We do not know exactly what transpired, but it is known Makkan and his diplomatic party was killed by the rebels. His birthright descended to his son, Golan, whose sterling character, heroic reputation, and marriage to Grabbo Rockhammer, his cousin, secured his acquisition of the Thaneship of Rivenrock, which has been in the hands of Rockhammer for centuries, and was thence passed to your collateral branch.