Lore/Prologue Five: New Bradford
Part of the lore of New Bradford.
The land stretched out in front of them, as far as the eye could see, open and inviting. The ships sailed around trying to find the best place to reach land. The vessels had to steer around numerous islands, both large and small. They found a large cove leading to a beautiful beach, which allowed them to get close enough to the shore.
Frederick, his sons, and a few of the other men went to scout the area to make sure it was safe. The land did not appear to be inhabited by any human beings, at least not near the beach. However, there was plenty of life on the land. Different species of birds, sea creatures, and some small, furry critters were spotted. The animals had never seen humans before, as they all skittered off and hid when the adventurers came nearby.
Once it was decided that it was safe for everyone to get off the ships, the main goal was to find shelter. Since the beach was uninhabited, no houses or huts were waiting for the people to live in them. The group decided to keep the majority of the supplies onboard the two ships, only taking out what they needed at the time. That way the other supplies would stay safe from any foul weather, or even from nosy or hungry animals.
Small trees were cut down and shelters were built. The expectation was that the necessity for these dwellings would only be temporary. The problem with Quentin's map was that there was no exact location as to where the necromancers were. The map in the book simply showed the land and surrounding area where they had just arrived. The map was probably put there for other necromancers or potential necromancers to find so they could come to join the secret sect as well. But it was also vague enough for citizens who don't practice necromancy to have a hard time figuring it out. If the wizards still existed, they were in hiding from persecution. For all anyone knew, they used their magic to hide from the entire world and it would be virtually impossible to find them.
The land that lay before Frederick and the others was huge. It could take months to find these people. Perhaps even longer, presuming they didn't want to be found at all. Frederick didn't care, his life's work was now tracking down the necromancers to save Melina. He wanted to be there as soon as the occultists were found, but the land was so large that he knew it would be impossible to be everywhere at once. Groups of people, led by his children, went in all different directions to explore and see if they could find any signs of the necromancers. They were to explore for three days and then return with any news, good or bad. If the necromancers were not found, they would try again a few days later. Frederick went with a different group each time to help with the search.
The land was so vast that each direction had different geographical features and Frederick wanted every inch of it explored, even the islands they passed when they first arrived. There was plenty of grasslands, which had the potential to become great farmland. There was a large desert area to the south, hot and arid. There was a dense forest with different kinds of trees they could use to cut down and start to build new homes. The cove where they landed was a perfect spot for fishing or even maybe trading sometime in the future. Ships could safely come into the cove without problems.
Far in the distance, there was a wall of cliff-like mountains which seemed to expand from one end of the land to the other. The mountains were so steep they seemed impassible, but there might be caves carved into the cliffside which people could use to hide. Frederick would leave no stone left unturned.
No one knew how long it would take to find the necromancers, so the people started living simply. They built little huts near the water. They fished and hunted and treated everything as temporary. They built tiny pens for the animals and kept their plots small. But time started to go by, and there were no signs of the hidden necromancers.
As the weeks and months went by, people started settling more into the new area they were inhabiting. Huts became homes, grasslands became planted fields with crops, or grazing lands for the animals they had brought with. The animals started to breed and multiply. It appeared that even if Frederick found the necromancers, this was the place they were going to now call home. The land was ideal. It had all of the amenities they could ask for. Plus, it was still close enough that if they wanted or needed to go back to Bradford, the ship could take them there in a few short weeks. One night they held a small celebration with everyone included and they dubbed the land New Bradford.
Season after season passed and it seemed as if the people started to lose the focus of their trip. Frederick was the only one who still spent his every waking moment trying to figure out where the necromancers were. Quentin was the next most invested, but probably more so because of his love of magic and his desire to see if the necromancers did exist.
Each area Frederick explored led to one dead end after another. The desert was so flat there were no places for people to hide. The forests appeared to be uninhabited by humans and the trees were not tall enough for hidden tree houses. Frederick was correct about his theory of caves in the mountain cliffs, but when they explored them, all they found were monsters so frightening that the people ran in terror and refused to go back.
On each excursion, fewer and fewer people offered to go with. Eventually, it was just Frederick and Quentin. Sometimes Quentin even chose to stay home with his own family instead of helping his father. Faith in finding the necromancers was waning. There were even rumors that the necromancers never existed or if they did it was simply a coincidence that there was a map in the book. Either the people knew better than to voice their doubts in front of Frederick or he simply chose to ignore them. Frederick spent every moment he had searching for the cure for his wife. He spent so much time searching that he lost precious time with his loved ones who were still alive.
As the months turned into years Frederick started to grow weaker with old age. His mind even started to fail him. Maybe it was the exertion on his body from the lack of rest or simply just the time apart from Melina. Some days he wasn't sure who the people were around him or where he even was. Frederick was nearing the end of his days. Every night he still slept in his bed with Melina in her bed right next to him. Before he fell asleep every night he would promise her that he would never leave her.
Finally, the time came where Frederick could search no more. His family took turns taking care of him until the very end. As Frederick lay there dying, his final thoughts were of his beloved Melina. He went back to that day when he was five years old and he saw her there for the first time. Frederick could see the breeze ruffling Melina's hair and smell the scents of the apple soap she always used. Frederick faded back and forth between reality and that moment from the past. His youngest granddaughter, Hannah, went to kiss him on the cheek. Her dark hair and eyes looked exactly like Melina's at the moment he first met her, so much that he mistook Hannah for the young Melina. He accepted the kiss on the cheek, smiled softly, and let out one final sigh. As the eldest, Frederickson made the decision not to preserve his father's body and to stop Quentin from using the potions on Melina. If there were any necromancers, they should have been discovered by now. Plus, Frederick's body was so old and frail that bringing him back would be more of a disservice than a benefit. All of the other siblings sadly agreed. The two lovers deserved to finally be able to have their eternal rest together. Frederick and Melina were buried in the same grave, side by side, with the snow globe nestled between them.