Some say it began with the treachery of the former Archon, Daelar. A
series of unfortunate events had led to a standstill in the Ashtan
government. With no Overseer and not enough Archons to raise a new one,
the politics of Ashtan were bottlenecked. Using his privileges as an
Ministerial Aide, Daelar removed the commodities of Ashtan and marched
his city's army into the hands of the enemy.

Some say it was a plan by the Lord of Fire, Himself. As Patron of the
Bastion of the North, rumours swirled that He wished to form a new home
for His beloved and He chose Ashtan as the foundation of that new
paradise. The rumors say that He ordered His follower Daelar to oust
those from the city who would reject His view of the future, and Daelar
willingly obliged. Enorian, long allied with the teachings of Rahn, had
troops ready to capitalize on the misfortune of Ashtan.

And some say it was a masterful plot by the Lord of Artifice and the
Lady of the Seas, who both wished to end their rivalry by coming to an
agreement about what was to be done with the City on the Sapphire Sea.
At the last moment, Talia was named as Overlord; her first act was to
replace the Lord of Fire with His enemy, the Lord of Artifice who sought
to work with the citizens, rather than their estranged Archon. Though
the Lady of the Seas was not to be found in the dealings, future
information suggests that She supported Her Brother in this.

With Severn named as the Patron of Ashtan, the standstill of the city's
government ended. Daelar, still holding onto his position as Archon was
finally enemied to the city; the leaders thought it wise not to
participate in his 'selective democracy' by ousting him. Instead, he was
voted out by the democracy they sought to uphold.

Enorian kept marching on the borders of Ashtan, threatening to take over
the city and fulfill Rahn's desire of ridding it of corruption. And so
they did, masterfully and swiftly. As Ashtan flailed while attempting to
raise an army and militia, the Enorians kept moving ever closer to the
City's Center and control of the city. Though the Ashtan citizens fought
bravely, the previous series of events gave them no chance of success.

And so Enorian took control of the city. They placed it in the capable
hands of Morgan Cardinalis who acted as the Minister of Occupation until
the time when a new Council was picked for the City of Ashtan. Picked
first for her knowledge of the workings of the city ministries, Countess
Anashia Nachnezer stood alone as the sole Archon for a few months.
Picked for his knowledge of Ashtan and its citizens, Rlift Mirumoto was
chosen to appease many of the citizens who were worried about Ashtan
becoming a second Enorian. After him came Arslen Ohmsford, selected for
his influence and character and finally Ravek no Shinobi was chosen to
round out the Council. An agreement between the city and Enorian left
the fifth position open to be elected democratically.

One of the first obstacles of this council came when Enorian requested
that certain members of the city be ousted. Holding allegiance to the
citizens, Countess Anashia was in a bind until the Lord of Artifice
recommended that all citizens be ejected instead of specific ones. Then,
Ashtan could be rebuilt from the ground up. Countess Anashia had the
dubious honor of removing the citizenry in a move that brought her under
much questioning. In the end, however, citizens were not unphased by
this and they returned to the City Reborn and began to set up their
government once again. (Though unknown to mortals at the time, this
purge of Ashtan seems to have been one of the things agreed upon between
the Lord of Artifice and the Lady of the Seas in their pact.)

It cannot be said that everyone was excited about this plan. History
shows us that there were quite a few who were opposed to this form of
rebuilding, but their resistance proved futile in the end. Ashtan had
garnered enough momentum to bowl over those who tried to keep it mired
in the past. Though that faction still exists to this day, little has
been heard from them.

With the rise of Arslen to Overseer of Ashtan, the city completed its
rebuilding. Enorian, as promised, removed their troops so that it could
prosper once again. It remains to see if Ashtan is destined to descend
into the apathy and ineffectiveness that it once was or if it will rise
to become the most powerful city in all the lands. It seemed like their
city was headed for great things and the feeling of optimism was nearly
tangible.

However, what Ashtan didn't know was that sometimes little tiny leaks
can signify a very large problem.

Penned by my hand on the 20th of Lanosian, in the year 143 MA.