After his exploits, Hugh Kade became his father’s heir. All agreed, except perhaps his brothers, that it was fair that the youth who had saved the Duchy should one day rule it.

The youth himself only expressed hope that that day would be far off.

The elder brother, who had fled to the south and never returned, began to spread lies about his brother into the ear of Alarak the Cruel. He told the king that Hugh had made an evil bargain with the dragon, that he was poisoning his father, that he had designs on the Leyiran throne. At first, the king paid no mind to these slanders.

In good time, the old Duke was taken by Emesh and Hugh became the new duke of Otraxis. His rule was wise and fair, and under his guiding hand, the city flourished. The dwarves were thankful he had defeated Salizarr, and showered him with gifts and offers of trade. The moutain orcs were scattered, first by the dragon, then by the dragon’s disappearance, so an uncommon peace fell upon the duchy.

Alarak’s cold eyes saw the Jewel of the North begin to shine, and his cold heart became filled with desire for it. First, he raised the tithes the duchy paid him, then raised them again. He began to tax the merchants who traded with the city harshly. Finally, falling back on the old lies of Hugh’s brother, he declared that Hugh was guilty of treason and patricide, abhorred by the gods, and raised his banners against him.

Hugh himself was horrified at both the slanders and the foul acts of the king. At first, he intended to journey south to plead his case, but his advisors counselled against it: the king would simply seize him, and demand a ransom from the city for his return, if he let Hugh return at all. Alarak may have been king, but he had turned his back on Eurus’ justice. They pointed out the king’s many cruelties.

Finally, Hugh held vigil in the temple for a day and a night. When he emerged the next day, he said that Molkai had granted him a vision: Alarak no longer deserved to be king.

The people of Otraxis rallied to their young duke. The dwarves rallied with them to repay their debt. The army marched south, dwarfed by Alarak’s army, but carrying the will of the gods with them.

Hugh  led his small army in a long game of cat and mouse, striking Alarak here, ambushing him there, scoring victory after victory but forced to always retreat before the king’s superior forces without fully engaging in battle. People began to whisper that Hugh no longer beleived the gods were with him, that Enlil would win the day for them if only Hugh would turn and fight, but Hugh never did.

Finally, having retreated back to the very fields before Otraxis, having won every skirmish but now, finally, in danger of losing the war, Hugh turned and faced the king. Before his city, the armies clashed, Hugh’s tiny force swallowed almost completely by Alarak’s army. The brave soldiers faced wave after wave of attacks, but all knew that Hugh’s Rebellion, the War of Shrinking Swords (as Alarak’s men sneeringly called it), had finally come to an end.

At the very blackest hour of the battle, a great roar like rolling thunder was heard. Stormheads sprang from nowhere. Lightning pounded the ground. All men but Hugh cowered before what seemed the very wrath of Branchala.

Salizarr appeared from the heart of the storm. Every breath brought death to waves of Alarak’s men. Every blow unhorsed a knight or destroyed a war engine. Every roar struck terror into the hearts of the king’s men. Unable to face the dragon or its storm, the army broke, and fled.

Salizarr snatched Hugh up in one clawed hand, and Alarak in the other. Faster than the fastest birds, the old dragon flew south to the King’s palace. Alarak screamed and begged and pleaded. Hugh was silent, knowing his life was in the hands of the gods.

Salizarr crashed through the dome of the palace, into the throne room. With booming voice, the dragon said, “This man has waged war upon a man to whom I owe a debt of honour. This is his punishment!” Alarak screamed once, then Salizarr swallow him whole.

“This man shall now by king!” thundered Salizarr. “And as long and he rules, and his sons rule, and his sons’ sons rule, they shall have my protection!”

And that is how the Severan dynasty ended, and the Kadian dynasty, our own, began, with the wise rule of King Hugh the Pious, the first of his name. It is how the Kadian family came to take the blue dragon and gold chain for their arms. It is how the Salic Law–that a Kadian should rule–was spoken. It is why the Kadian Kings send a gift to the mountains on their coronations, and it is why that is a gift, not a tribute. And it is how Salizarr first revealed how seriously he took his oath to Hugh, six hundred years ago.