Night's Voyage

The Night's Voyage was an expedition that launched from Riverhold in 2380 BU with the goal of exploring the territory north of the Rays, beyond the territory controlled by the Kingdom of the Sun.

Overview
The Night's Voyage began as an unnamed group of only 20 men and 8 women in Riverhold who were curious about the land beyond the kingdom's control. The leader of this group was Derric Clarenson, the son of the city's blacksmith. Derric and the rest of the group decided to go to Sunhold in 2381 BU to ask permission from the kings to go on this expedition to scout new territory for the kingdom. At this time the kings still held the belief that the land north of the Rays was not blessed by the sun and anyone who entered that territory would be forsaken, they told the group that if they went north of the Rays, they would not be allowed back into the Kingdom of the Sun. The group decided to risk it and in sunrise of 2380 BU they gave themselves the name "Night's Voyage" to spite the kings and crossed the eastern Ray River.

When the Night's Voyage left they had grown to be a group of almost 70 men and women.

Timeline
2381 BU - The original 28 members of the expedition group traveled to Sunhold to ask permission to go on their expedition north of the Rays. They are denied and threatened with banishment if they still chose to leave.

Sunrise 2380 BU - The group has grown to almost 120 members, they name themselves "Night's Voyage" and cross the eastern Ray River, ignoring the warnings of the kings in Sunhold.

Sunset 2380 BU - The Night's Voyage reaches the north of the Twin Rivers and decides to create a more permanent settlement at the estuary where the river met the Atimar Sea.

Preparations
The idea to cross the Ray Rivers was nothing new to the citizens of the Kingdom of the Sun, but the original members of the Night's Voyage were the first to make serious plans to do so. It was common belief at the time that the sun had created the rivers that extended from the Sun's Lake to keep the humans confined to the land south of them for their own protection, the land north of the Rays was believed to be forsaken by the sun and cut off from her light. The idea to cross the rivers came from a few men who were living in Riverhold. They wanted to know what the rest of the world was like so they gathered a group of 28 men and women to approach the kings in Sunhold with their idea to travel north.

Nobody had ever crossed the Ray Rivers, at least, as far as anyone knew. The original members of the group did not have high hopes for being given permission to cross the rivers by the lords in Sunhold but they planned on going either way. They were losing faith in the sun and they strongly believed that the land north of the rivers was just as safe as the land south of them, where the Kingdom of the Sun had existed for hundreds of years.