The Academy's history wing had a wall.
Not a decorative wall — a record wall. Floor to ceiling, three meters wide, carved into the stone in letters so small you had to lean close to read them. The names of every believer who had been part of the original twenty-four — the group that the curriculum called "The Remnant" and that everyone in the kingdom simply called "The First."
Twenty-four names. Most of them Lizardmen. A few Kobolds. One Gnoll. Each name carved in stone with their title beside it — the title they'd earned, the title the kingdom remembered.
Krug — The First Forge. High Priest. Founder of The Crucible. First Hero of the Eternal Anvil.
Silsk — The Steady Hand. Administrator. First to organize a supply chain. First resident of The Eternal Forge (Paradise).
Nix — The Cartographer. Architect of the Iron Road. Creator of the first territorial survey.
Gorthan — The First Warden. Bond-Keeper of the Hydra. Father of the Gorvaxis Line.
