The hills to the west of Giordika Stronghold weren’t always there. It all began with a very ambitious student of Nausyce Academy, who created a magic locket with the power to bring entire landmasses to life. His name was Stenton Noorne, the first of a line of druids that would later gain large levels of renown and infamy. Though, he never used the locket. He kept it a secret to all outside the family and hid it under the floorboards of his house. Some 5 generations later, in that same house lived a brother and sister, Grey and Rika Noorne. As druids, everyone in the family took on aspects of an animal of their choice as part of their magical study. Grey had the sight, hearing, and wisdom of an owl, as well as a pair of large yet silent wings on his back. Rika had the grace and weightlessness of a spider, as well as the ability to string webs from her hands. Times were hard and the two had fallen into poverty. In their desperation, they began to ponder selling the locket. But the guilt of betraying the family and the fear of it falling into the wrong hands was enough to hold them back from it, at least for a while. They grew hungrier and hungrier, until they had to resort to drastic measures. One day, while watching a merchant making his way to the capitol carrying baskets of bread, Rika attacked the man in a primal fit of desperation and Grey helped her get away with it. They had become fugitives and hid from the Giordikan knights that were sent to capture them, a feat that was easy because of Grey’s cleverness. When they realized what they had done, they were overcome with guilt that they didn’t just sell the locket. But in their time away from home, a troll had come and ransacked their village. They came home to find their house, among several others, destroyed. Theirs with the walls torn down and the floorboards smashed in. Their locket was gone, and the two immediately set themselves into action to get it back.