This is the way the legend begins...

      In the year 168, as time is measured there, which was the twenty-first year of the reign of Guogias Ilbain, fourth king of Clova, a stranger appeared.  He wore simple clothing, bore no shield, and had but a single weapon, a sword of fine steel and unfamiliar make.  No one remembered seeing him before, and since his speech and manner seemed foreign to the men-at-arms of the king, he was taken and brought before His Majesty.

      Before Guogias, he identified himself as Benedict, a man of high birth in a faraway land and a soldier by profession.  The land of his birth, he claimed, was called Amber, a place that he claimed lay far from the continent of Carnaig, which at that time was the whole of the known world.  He had quarelled with his sovereign lord, who was his father, and he chose to journey away from his homeland and seek adventure.  In return for the hospitality of the king, he said, he would offer his sword in the service of Clova.

       Now in those times, the kingdom was in great danger.  The king of Falloch, which lay to the west of Clova, and the king of Finglas, which lay to the east, had sworn an alliance, and since neither bore any love for Guogias, war seemed imminent.  The two enemy kings had pledged to fight until the land of Clova could be divided between them, and the allies of Clova, all of whom were small and weak kingdoms, could pledge no support for Guogias in the coming war.  Guogias had conscripted all able-bodied persons to take up arms in Clova's defense, but the numbers would still be too small to hope to forestall dual invasions from east and west.

      Benedict seemed aware of all this, and he promised Guogias that while he lived, Clova should not fall.  Guogias was dubious that the stranger could offer much help in this, the kingdom's darkest hour, but Benedict was confident that they could prevail.  Guogias tested Benedict, pitting him in mock combat against six of his best warriors.  Armed with but his sword, Benedict bested them all, putting on a display of swordsmanship not seen before in the land.

      Three weeks later the first strike came against Clova, coordinated attacks by Falloch's archers along the coastline and by Finglas's lancers in the eastern hills.  Benedict was made a captain of spearmen, under the command of Prince Marchern, younger brother of the King, in the battle against the Finglas lancers.  Marchem fell in the battle, but Benedict took command, rallied the disorganized forces of Clova, and routed the lancers, inflicting heavy losses on their number. 

      From that point on Benedict was Guogias's chief military adviser, and under the outlander's leadership, the armies of Clova began a masterly defense of the capital city from the forces of Falloch and Finglas.  In the pivotal battle of Sannox, the army of Clova clashed with the main force from Falloch, superior in number and armament.  Benedict forced battle upon the Falloch men on ground of his own choosing, using the sloping ground and marshy terrain to his own advantage.  In the climax of the battle, Benedict himself fought in single combat Kian, King of Falloch, besting him but sparing his life.  Expecting to die, Kian was so moved by Benedict's gesture that he surrendered his army and sued for peace.

      Within days, Falloch had reentered the war, but now as an ally of Clova.  The two united armies easily swept the forces of Fingus from the borders of Clova, and Clova and Falloch remain allies to this day.

      In the years of peace that followed, Guogias rewarded Benedict richly, giving him land and a seat on the ruling council of Clova.  Benedict married Tashil, the younger sister of Guogias's wife Marte, and she bore him three daughters:  Ileni, Lydia, and Cymnea.  The land of Clova grew and prospered, and while the wars with its neighbors continued from time to time, Clova's borders remained secure, due to the skill and leadership of Benedict in command of Guogias's armies.

      Guogias's eldest son, Kinnán, fell in battle in the year 205, but his younger brother, Bartach, married Benedict's daughter Ileni.  They had two sons, Vaidhan and Coplain, and a daughter, Shailie.  As the years passed and the people of Clova grew older, it was noted that Benedict, his children, and his grandchildren did not seem to age as others did.  Benedict explained that long life was a common trait in his family, and as Benedict was revered as a hero to the peple of Clova, this was accepted as a blessing rather than a sign of something unnatural about him and his line.

      King Guogias passed away in the year 230, at the respectable age of 83.  His son Bartach had died four years earlier, in ill health for some time before his death at age 57.  Upon the  king's death, Vaidhan was crowned the fifth king of Clova, a reign that continues to this day, more than eight centuries later.

      It is said that Benedict continued to serve as military advisor to the crown of Clova, now worn by his grandson Vaidhan, for many years afterward.  The land prospered, and  many descendants were born to Benedict and Tashil, and to their children and children's children.  As time progressed, nearly all of the noble families of Clova had intermarried with Benedict's line, and life-spans of several centuries became quite common among their offspring.  As the land grew strong and danger of invasion became a forgotten memory, Benedict began to travel, often disappearing for years or decades before returning.

      Finally, in the year 401, Benedict said his farewells to his daughters and King Vaidhan.  Tashil, his wife of many years. was now long dead, and the kingdom was safe from any threat from without or within.  He had been gone from Amber for more than three centuries, he said, and while he loved this land, Amber was his home, and he must return to see what had become of the family he had left behind.  He told them he did not expect to return, and he has not been seen since...