Prologue
Once upon a time long, long ago lived the legendary King Arthur of Camelot. His reign heralded many prosperous and peaceful years for the people of his realm. Crops flourished, livestock multiplied, the people wanted for very little, and few if any bandits and brigands roamed the lands in search of easy plunder. Camelot's neighbors were also a peace and disinclined to war with one another for any reason.
When Arthur passed on, whether to the realm of death as some suppose, or to some other mysterious realm to await the time of his appointed return, a shadow gradually came to settle over all the land. No clear successor existed, leading the powerful lords and kings to quarrel over land and subjects, ever-seeking to carve a larger niche for themselves.
Amidst all this chaos, one small valley managed to remain overlooked by the petty lordlings and would-be-kings. This was due to the efforts of its chief, who also happened to be a wizard. Raised and educated in a monastery during the height of Arthur's reign, the chief knew no offensive or combat magics. He did, however, know defensive magics which could effectively hide the valley and its inhabitants from the knowledge of outsiders. The wizard-chief therefore cast spells and wards upon the borders of his valley that caused anyone who stumbled upon the tiny valley to suddenly remember a chore in the other direction or to forget what he was about in the first place. By this means was the village protected from most threats.
Others in the village were also wizards, mostly those who were related to the wizard-chief. Occasionally a girl would be born with the ability to work magic as well, though these witches were rare, and even more rarely taught even the defensive magics, much less the offensive ones. It was not thought proper for a woman to know how to fight, whether magically or not. A few people believed that in these violent times all people should be able to defend themselves, but the idea never progressed beyond such thoughts.
Nevertheless, the tiny wizard population was significant enough to protect the valley. Although the magic always bred true, fewer witches and wizards tended to survive to adulthood, keeping the magical population significantly lower that the non-magical. Those that did survive the magical ailments and accidents of childhood, however, had much longer lives than non-magical peoples, often living twice and sometimes three times as long as the average person. And so many years passed with the valley and its occupants safely separated from the chaos ensuing in the rest of the land.
There was just one thing the wizard-chief's spells could not protect the valley from: another wizard. Magic called to magic, and another wizard would be able to detect the boundary spells and even break through them if he were strong enough. It was rare, however, for a wizard to come across the valley, as typically it was their Muggle – or non-magical – underlings who encountered the valley during their scouting forays, and these were repelled by the spells.
The few wizards who did reach the valley over the years tended to be solitary travelers or refugees seeking someplace from the chaos and uncertainty surrounding them. Although the valley and its village were protected for the most part, the wizard-chief would not allow these travelers to stay, for he knew the valley could safely house and feed only so many people effectively. Most were content to dine with the chief, stay the night, and then continue on their way the next morning, never giving the small valley a second thought.
Still, the chief worried that the day would come when someone would take notice of the valley and not forget…
AN: I'm going to warn everyone right now not to expect frequent or regular updates to this story. I have a newborn and a not-quite-2-year-old that I care for all day while my husband works, then I go to work in the evenings. I'd rather surprise you with a quick update than disappoint you with a delayed one. Also, I may at some point decide to convert this to an original fiction, as I've been told it has merit, but rest assured I will let you know before this story just disappears from the site. In the meantime, enjoy it!