The thirteen had toiled together side by side across a harsh, warped landscape. They had spilled sweat, blood, and tears together. They had grown strong and smart together. They were closer to each other than they were to the families that they had left behind. Closer than parents. Closer than sibling. Closer than lovers. They were of one mind, and of one soul, and there was no hesitation among them. They all knew what had to be done to stop the elder evil.
We say that we call them the thirteen because their names are lost to time. Because they gave up their lives as individuals to join something greater. They gave up their names to be one with the land. But that’s not true, because we know one name, a name that still carries weight to the people of Amra.
That name is Bardin.
Alone amongst the thirteen, Bardin faced the elder evil. He approached the thing as the last of the Old Master broke and fled. Bardin called upon his brothers and the spirits of the land to connect themselves to him, and through them he felt the land itself lending him aid. And on the other side of the land he felt the elder evil, nothing more than an endless hunger.
The elder evil turned on Bardin and reached for him as it had the Old Masters, seeking to consume him. And as it touched Bardin he used the power that he had stolen from the Old Masters, tying himself to the elder evil and it to him, binding them together through their shared link to the land. And as he did so, sacrificing himself to chain the elder evil he spoke these words…
William spoke the words in rhythm with Gerard, his eyes alight. “I bind you to myself. I bind you to the land. I bind you to my brethren. Nhullus, I name you, and Hunger. And I bind you until the end of days.”
