When the Dwenir had escaped the deluge of the cataclysm, they came to the Four Lands. Among those who came to Westrun was Duma. He was a great warrior, brave and accomplished, and greatly esteemed among our people. He made a refuge and named it Baldardin, and it withstood many attempts by the giants to unmake it.
Now the brother of Duma was Bathor. After many battles he desired not to remain behind the walls of Baldardin, for he said that it was a place of death, cursed ever to be. He named Baldardin Dun Ur and spoke a prophecy that was known in all generations thereafter. “This is the hearth of blackness,” said he, “and the dead alone shall own it.”
So Duma bid his brother to leave, but would not join him, for he ever believed that Baldardin was one battle from victory. Yet he prevailed upon Bathor to take the women and children with him. Then Bathor took such warriors as would come, and also the women and children, and together they left that place. They came upon a rich sea of green grass that had no end in sight.
Among those he took was Mya, the wife of his brother Clan, for she was comely, and it was believed that Clan had not survived the deluge. For her part, Mya also desired to depart Dun Ur, but she would not consent to become the wife of Bathor—not even after many days.
She said, “If my husband is dead, then I shall marry not again. For I have borne him seven sons and shall never bear another.”
But Bathor would not relent and said to her, “Look now, my scouts have found mountains to the North. Let us go and see if they possess the ore necessary to raise a Dun. Over such a Dun, I swear by my life, that I will make you a queen.”
But Mya replied, “This place we have found is safe and fertile for now. From here we can see enemies from afar off. We shall remain. If it seems right to you, you may go and make a place for us. Then, if it be sweeter than these fields of green, we shall accompany you there. As for becoming your wife, it shall not come to pass.”
So Bathor left able warriors to defend the women and children, and he went into the mountains that lay to the North. There he encountered giants and was engaged in many battles. In time he founded Dun Festog, for the winds of that place blew without ceasing. Against the giants he erected a wall, and behind it raised a great fortress that rivaled any that had been raised before.
When word came to the Dwenir who remained with Mya that Bathor had encountered giants, they grew fearful, for the plain was not as safe as it had first seemed. So the women and children, and the warriors who remained with them, continued into the East until they came to the Sahr Mountains. These overlook the great sea that had once been the Valley of Summer. In the midst of them was a cleft through which the waters could be seen, and the Sun danced upon the waves and made glad the hearts of all who beheld it.
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