History of Man -- Book 1: Westrun Part 11

Two days after the Summer Solstice in 4301ey the cities of Bolden, Watersedge and Treft were brought low by the Scouring -- a massive wall of water which swept over mountain and valley alike. When the water finally receded, little remained of those cities or their inhabitants. Balduren, a coastal city, but one which was little altered from the time of the Vyrum, remained intact. Witnesses said that the water which swept over its walls was more than four times their height. And there are records showing the water reached inland as many as three days travel. 

In the wake of the disaster, the Elves of Mistwood came to the aid of man over the objection of those of Greywood. For it was believed by many of the Besnir that this was the judgment against mankind and the end of the 7th Age. Against this explanation stood the claim of Mithrid the Sorcerer, Archmage of the Dweomersecte, who said that a distant war caused a god to fall and smite the waters of the Inner Sea. In some agreement, the Great Hierophant of Westrun claimed that the Scouring had no origin which was natural to Erenth.

The disaster also had an unexpected beneficiary in the office of the High King. For it fell to Fergon to annoint the sovereigns of the three Kingdoms of Bolden, Talir and Treft -- who died along with all their heirs and Houses. The first four appendments to the Eight Kingdoms Pact were written giving the High King that authority, and all saw that it was wise and necessary. 

In the rebounding years after the Scouring, mankind proved to be as fecund as ever. While the Dwarves of Festog looked to their cousins at Dynkyr and became aware for the first time, that their Dun had been overrun by goblins.

In 4326 High King Fergon was succeeded by his nephew Fergus II of Bolden.

In 4338 Menea contributed Wallace (a cousin of Fergus) to the High Throne. This was a calculated decision by powerbrokers in the north of Westrun. Having another one of the Eight contribute a High King was a way of advancing the idea beyond the borders of Bolden. In 4348 Rig of Collonia (another cousin of Fergus) was sentenced to the High Throne and in much the same manner of Wallace.

In 4356 the previous investment in appearances paid off. The first king not directly related to the founder of the Eight Kingdoms Pact was elected to serve his sentence as High King. Sut of Saklan was followed by Etru Damaskos of Treft in 4368.

In 4371ey the expansion of the Grand Temple in Peakshadow was finally complete. For more than a century it had let in wind, rain and snow -- causing many to forgo even mandatory visits established by the High Priest. Work on it languished as the three cities of man were rebuilt. Etru proclaimed thirty days of feasting and merriment.

Etru was followed in 4378 by Gregor of Rath, in 4388 by Howerd of Talir and in 4396 by Wald of Menea.

Wald is sometimes called The Jurist by sages of history. His contribution to the Eight Kingdoms Pact and his work at codifying the laws common to all the men of Westrun cannot be overstated. If Fergus was the founder, Wald was the consolidator. By the end of his reign, the High King of the Eight Kingdoms was no longer seen as a mere contrivance, but as a force of power and an source of authority. Thanks to him and now having made its rounds through most of the Eight Kingdoms, the throne could no longer be assumed to be the unique vision of the men of Sudland.