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And as the two of them continued to dwell on it, they did eventually realize that there was one particularly turbulent time period which might fit the bill.

The Breaking of Korgum.

Or rather, the period leading up to it. The Breaking had been the culmination of several mad years all around the world, and while the Rainlords had not gotten directly caught up in it, the mayhem had still been encompassing enough that many of their kin had gone mysteriously “missing” during it.

That in itself wasn’t such a strange thing, historically speaking. Rainlords had always had a habit of sticking their noses in other people’s business, and one of the mechanisms they used to cope with that problem was to “disappear” for a time so as not to draw attention back to their families.

It hadn’t always worked. And blowback was still a fairly regular occurrence--as were the great campaigns that followed.

After all, when someone decided to strike them, the world needed to know that such actions would not go unanswered. That they would fall upon their enemies with all the fury of a storm. Or else even more enemies would come, after seeing weakness in them.

This had always been their way, ever since the Armans took up the fight against the Lyzakks.

Naturally, it was not perfect. No doubt, many mistakes had been made over the long years of fighting. But despite all the madness their people had endured, they had actually enjoyed more peace.

It certainly didn’t always feel like it, of course. Especially these days. But the homeland of the Armans, the People of the Rain, had far more often been peaceful than not. From a pure numbers perspective, their children had almost always been able to grow up in complete safety.

That was small comfort at the moment, however.

Regardless, the timeline for the Breaking seemed to fit, as far as Axiolis could tell. Bernardino would indeed have been extremely young but still a servant, and Agam would have been powerful but not yet in the prime of his fame. Graves, of course, remained a mystery on that front, but if his current age could be estimated at between two and four hundred years, then he would fit in just fine, as well.

And there were plenty of events leading up to the Breaking that could have involved the three of them in some way. Too many, in fact.