"Lady Durvain was slain by the Warlock".
To say that Sadron's words shocked The Storyteller would be an understatement. "Erudessa? Slain by the Warlock?" The Storyteller said in disbelief "Impossible...That's impossible! You jest, surely?". But from the looks on the faces of Sadron and Arandur, The Storyteller knew that Sadron's words were no jest.

"By the end of the last Council, we agreed that the Warlock had to be stopped" Sadron said "Allowing the orcs to proliferate was a mistake on our-".
Arandur's look gave Sadron momentary pause.
"-My part" Sadron corrected "A mistake I intend to correct. We miscalculated his strength and paid the price. By now, his abominable breeding initiatives have greatly bolstered his numbers, and worse, he has struck an alliance with the dwarves. He is crushing his way into human and elf territory to enslave them. Already thousands of innocent souls are bound under his iron grip. Only the humans and elves stand in his way now, and we need the heroes of the world to stand together and fight. You cannot do this alone, much as you may think otherwise. Rather, you must work together for the common good, working as a cohesive unit against superior numbers and against all the odds".
The Storyteller chuckled mentally, this was a story he knew all too well.

Sadron then rose from his seat to full height, towering over all the others before speaking again.
"Xen'Desh Idlindra, I want you to lead this party, to bring hope and light to a war-torn world.
Storyteller, I want you to record everything that transpires to the official history.
Dionaea Sycamore, you shall be the party's scout, to guide them safely through the perils before them.
Laina Silverstide, you shall be the party's healer, to bring them home when all is done.
Tiberius Longshadow, you shall be the party's paladin, to guard them against any that would do them harm.
Kaitra Elzbrn, you shall be the party's first brawler, a mighty fist to crush their foes.
Ivan Stormwall, you shall be the party's second brawler, a bolt from the gods to smite evildoers.
Zenovia Almire, you shall be the party's mage, the hand of the gods.
I bid you now...stand, as Champions of Hope".

The Storyteller and Arandur stared at Sadron in unison.

Sadron reddened. "Okay, that was a stupid line..." he muttered. "So sue me. It sounded nice on paper. You saw that, didn't you? Yet you didn't-"
"We've been over this" Arandur said.
"Yes, yes of course" Sadron replied.

The Storyteller chuckled at the little argument. He then waited for a few other to rise and say their peace before standing himself. "I too shall join this quest" The Storyteller said to the 2 remaining members of the High Council "It will make a most entertaining addition to my book. But as I was also invited here for my 'bold council' I will say this: I know this story all to well. It comes in forms that are as varying and diverse as the races of this world. Some I know are true. Others I know to be simply works of fiction. But in all its forms, this story has many different twists and turns. Some favourable, others not so much. So should an unfavourable turn come to pass. Should we fail in this quest. Should the darkness claim us and reach out to all corners of this land. Hide. Hide and keep yourselves alive for as long as you can. For when the true heroes arise to succeed wherever we may fail and bring an end to this story, they will benefit greatly from your guidance".