the eye could see.
"Nearly five years ago, a certain captain from Brand passed through here with his men. He mentioned to me that they met Valen at the Bridge Fortress on the White River, and that Valen was to set out in the morning alone, to seek out the ruins in the Wide Plain once more. From the beginning, Valen had neglected to tell me about the location of the city, or that he'd been there before. My knowledge of his doings seemed always to follow, seemingly by chance. Again, why had he said nothing to me, and why was he so drawn to that place?
"The answer, though elusive, suddenly became clear to me. The prophesy was not Valen's; rather, it was of Bellandor himself. He must have prophesied upon his death that one who knew not to look upon or touch the Vhurd-aq would one day find it, and pass it on to one who could rightfully claim it. He must have taken such a precaution because he feared reaching directly out to a wizard, and Morlock would have sensed this.
"Ever since the loss of the Vhurd-aq, we wizards have become far less than we were, and have dwindled both in numbers and in power. There remain only eight of us, and only two of those live within the Four Kingdoms: Darrow who dwells in Lund, and myself.