Excerpt from the Annals of Arkovia

This is a note obtained during the Annals of Arkovia quest.

Annals of Arkovia 

It falls upon strange times that a king would abdicate the throne of his own volition. Stranger still is the reason he gave his court. There is no other way to put it. King Rhowan, the third of his line, had been struck by madness. Upon returning from a successful campaign against the barbarian tribes of Agarond's Peak, the King raved about a chance meeting with a weary traveler whom he called Mogdrogen. Rhowan, in his generosity, offered the old man the use of his horse. The man, and here is where the King's tale loses all sense, declined the proposal and, speaking in a low voice that only his Majesty could hear, instead offered Rhowan a warning.

The old man spurted prophetic lies about the impending collapse of our great nation and the fall of the beacon of the west, Arkovia herself. He implored the King to leave his title, his wealth, his very identity behind. There were some amongst the court who urged Rhowan to see his madness through, greedy heads of Arkovian Houses who saw this tragedy as an opportunity to seize power. The Queen, the Shining jewel of Arkovia, wept before her King and begged him to reconsider; but Rhowan was resolute. With a single decree, he shattered the royal line and abandoned his ordained post as King of Arkovia. Word of the King's madness spread quickly among the populace. To my great surprise, some of his subjects followed Rhowans lead, abandoning their livelihoods to follow their despondent ruler into a life of poverty and lost identity.

It has been three fortnights since that fateful day. The queen lies dead in her chambers. They say she had died of sorrow, from the loss of her King, but I suspect more clandestine causes. The court has fallen into chaos as the great Houses bicker amongst themselves for the empty throne. With no end in sight to the squabbles and no clear line to the throne, my patron, Laudos Vagra, has called for the formation of an Oligarchy, ruled by the heads of Arkovia's elite.

No good can come of this. Of that I  am certain. These days I cannot help but wonder if Rhowan's prophecy was a self-fulfilling one. Or perhaps this storm was a long time coming and we were merely too blind to see it. I fear for Arkovia. I fear for her soul.

Theodokus Vagra, Scribe of Arkovia