It was the 28th of Aighear, 2587 years after Imithia's Rite of Passing in the unbroken calendar of the Church, when it happened.

For long years the ducal throne of Aster Malik had been filled by stalwart, true defenders of keep, town, and duchy. Supported by the inimitable arm of authority that was the Knightly Order of Aster Malik, peace had reigned within the Aster walls for near nine centuries since the fall of Seleucar; longer, truly, than the age of that venerable empire itself. But no more. The ducal throne of Aster Malik was empty.

The regal Duke Pontelius Aurachias Mauvellio Aster, Eighth of his name, was dead.

Worse, there was no heir. The line of Aster Malik, extending back through almost two thousand years from Duke Pontelius Aurachias Mauvellio Aster, Eighth of his name to its origin in the Chosen One and his wife Pannelia Malik, was ended.

In the wake of this most noble death, matters once a mere formality descended to barbed rancour between the guardians of Aster Malik: Ranic, Chadys, and Sir Jineid. One sought a sign from the Divine, for the Skylord Vastar had been patron to the Aster line and so did the priest wish to beseech the Pantheon for Their aid. Another cared less than might be believed for matters of the devout, wishing merely for continuation of his task no matter how it might come about. For the third it was a matter of honour, and from honour would come a solution to the problem that confronted the stalwart guardians of Seleucar's legacy.

Letters were dispatched. Knights were contacted.

What words passed between the inheritors of Seleucar and Sapience's representatives may yet remain unknown to those not present on that fateful day. But at its end, the demands of honour were met. The Knights of Aster Malik swore their oaths anew in service to an Aster Regent, while the adventuring knights would take up their duties in service to and protection of Aster Malik.

And when, in the days and months later, the order was given, the long-lowered portcullis of Aster Town was raised at last. Achaeans would for the first time in almost a millennium walk the cobblestones of Aster Malik in truth, the revealed society unchanged since the Treaty of Meropis while from the keep above flew both banner and pennon of the Guild: a beacon of knighthood, honour, and chivalry across the lands of Achaea.

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Summary: The death of Duke Pontelius Aurachias Mauvellio Aster, Eighth of his name led to a crisis of inheritance among the inhabitants of Aster Malik on Meropis. With the aid of a small group of knights from Sapience, a solution was found within the chivalric code. Thus was the Guild of Knights refounded as Aster Town once more opened its gates to the world without.