King Gauloth, apparently unaware of the danger to his kingdom, was at that moment at Treal, inspecting the warbird army of the Sandguards. Even before the Resistance war, Sandguards were the army of Mesar and warbirds were their steeds. Warbirds were scaly, green or grey, with saurian heads having crests. They looked like flying nests with poisonous tails and breath. They were long-lived, and if provoked, extremely vicious. Gauloth himself had an exceptionally powerful warbird, one with a glaring white patch on its forehead. It was called Acheron.

Warbirds were believed to be the descendants of the mythical dragons, which were believed to have existed in the old ages, since the old records spoke about them extensively. After the Resistance war, Sandguards were made the border patrol beyond the extent of the Gride mountain ranges.

King Gauloth was disturbed from his reverie by the appearance of a young man in the uniform of the captain of the Sandguards. Captain Skarr said, “My lord, I wish to speak with you. I knew I might find you here. My men have detected a huge surge in the number of Haders at Rodan. I would suggest that we be on our guard.” King Gauloth calmly replied, “I am sure it is nothing. Such surges occur occasionally. It’s probably one of their mystic rituals and nothing more. There is no need to pay heed to it, Captain Skarr.”

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

King Gauloth bitterly remembered his conversation and regretted it a lot more a day later, when he found himself fighting for his life. The Haders had attacked and Gauloth was still at Treal. Despite the brave fight given by Skarr and his men, the Haders were winning purely by brute force. Gauloth realized that he could expect no help from the other countries for they probably did not even know of the attack. He had to raise the alarm, alert them somehow. He deputed two of the Sandguards to carry the message, perhaps already too late. By now the war had reached Gauloth himself. He had been forced to take up the sword to protect himself. He prevailed for a long time, having been trained in the art of swordfighting by Calyx himself. Just not long enough. He soon found himself face to face with a Rehad. He charged into the last battle of his mortal life.