The Thunder Fort guards seldom left the frontiers of the mountains that hung in the air at the border of Basileya, kingdom of the Eferya people. The observation towers of the fortress overlooked the southern forest and overgrown fragments of the bridges that once connected the two Ena lands when they were a single whole. The Basileya border, guarded by Eferya from the Thunder Fort, ran along the mountains and ended in an abyss which, after the bridges were destroyed, could only be crossed by using wings. The abyss that hung over the cloudy barrier bed was not the only thing dividing the two territories and the Ena people who lived in them – centuries of internal war had also separated them from each other. In the southern forest on the other side of the abyss began the land of the Arya people, with whom the Eferya had only their fears and superstitions in common.
Almost equally they all revered the barrier, over which all the kingdoms and empires of the Ena spanned. The floating layers of earth hung above the grey barrier surface without touching it. The Ena were also afraid to touch the barrier because, despite their differences in language, the dangerous world of the Shadows on the other side had been described in the legends of all their people. For the Ena, the fate of being in the world of shadows and passing their so-called Trial was considered a terrible punishment, practically equal to death, because no one who crossed the barrier could ever come back. Leaving for the Light seemed preferable, despite the fact that since ancient times many of the Ena doubted whether the deceased really joined the single Source of Light as opposed to just disappearing from the living world once and forever. The cause of these painful doubts remained unchanged for centuries for all of the Ena people, it was the Mist.
No matter where the Ena lived or what Rulers they served, they were all afraid of the Mist. The Light of life perturbed the Mist in all its forms. Only when battling the black beasts, the Mist’s creatures, did the Ena forget they were separate Eferya and Arya peoples, and could, therefore, join forces to battle these monsters. The monsters attacked their villages and cities with increasing frequency, destroying crops and farmlands. Unwilling to act like the monsters, the soldiers of the two armies tried to adhere to the rules of combat and the treatment of prisoners. In the event of an accidental conflict with the Mist’s threats, they had to stand shoulder to shoulder against the black beasts and only then turn their weapons or magic against each other. Of course, there was always great risk of death from a stab in the back, because neither the Eferya nor the Arya considered each other the noble Enas. Therefore, none of the soldiers flew alone beyond the frontiers of the fortress without permission from the Thunder Fort commander, and any absence without notice was punished severely by labor in a mine located north of the mountain.
Commander Raniero did not go easy on his subordinates, following his own rules which were often stricter than those the statutes prescribed for Eferya soldiers. Alistar, his deputy, vigilantly ensured the commander himself observed the statutes, but often without any success. Alistar considered Raniero to be overly self-confident and questioned his commanding abilities, and, therefore, tried to assert his own opinions based on the rules. Despite his self-confident nature, Raniero always listened to Alistar’s opinion, although he still got his own way in most situations, trusting his instincts and feelings. The friendship that had developed over the years of joint service helped them to find compromises for the sake of the Thunder Fort. But Alistar would continue to resent some of Raniero’s decisions, even after it was too late to change something…
