Sallon's Run

The Story
The year is 486 E.G. and the city of Nordem is under siege by the joint forces of Osrark and Eiriksfell led by the warmonger Ottar. Message of this siege reaches Carthand, where member of the Second Swords Sallon Enlai was staying on his way back to Highwyrm, having just arrived by ship.

Sallon was originally born in Nordem and had family there. When he heard of the news, he immediatly took of on his horse in a desperate attempt to reach Nordem in time and save his family. Halfway between Carthand and Mothblade, on the crossing of the river Aram, Sallon was ambushed by outlaws and his horse was killed. Being a trained Enhancer, Sallon managed to survive the attack, but had to continue on foot.

As he started running and started focusing his power in his legs and organs to be able to run faster and longer, he started to notice he was running faster than a horse ever could. He decided to avoid Mothblade and run straight to Vorna. By the time he reached the city of Vorna, he hadn't tired a single bit and, still running faster than a horse, he decided to continue on foot without a pause. From their on he ran in a straight line to Folgann where he once again ignored the city and just kept on running.

Eventually, Sallon even overtook the reinforcements that had been send to Nordem from Folgann and left them in the dust. When he arrived at Nordem, he saw the city surrounded by Ottar's forces. Not breaking stride and counting on the element of surprise, he ran towards the warmonger's tent and sliced Ottar's and two other commander's throat while sprinting through. Before anyone had realized what had happened, Sallon had already escaped the tent and was on his way towards the city gate. In mere seconds, he had scaled the walls of Nordem and had joined the soldiers of Nordem.

Having been born in Nordem and being a rather well-known Enhancer, some of the soldiers on the walls recognized him and called for the captain. Sallon explained the situation and told them of the death of the warmonger and his commanders. Taking advantage of the confusion in the invader's camp and the coming of Folgann's forces, they decided to ride out and fight the Issfjord army face to face.

Timing the attack with the arrival of Folgann's forces, the unorganized invaders were quickly crushed. As the final Issfjordian soldiers were driven away, Sallon collapsed from exhaustion. He was brought to the Healer Hall of Nordem where he, if the stories are to be believed, slept for an entire week.

In slightly less then 13 hours, Sallon crossed the distance between Carthand and Nordem in one go and without stopping, running faster than a horse and saving Nordem from pillaging by killing Ottar and his commanders. The grasslands between the Ail-Herta and the Northam Heights was named Sallon's Gap in his honour.

Sallon's Run today
To this day, the feats of Sallon are celebrated every two years with a race. Contestants must run from Carthand to Nordem on foot in as less time as possible. The winner is awarded with gold and fame. There are two categories, one for non-talented and one for Enhancers.