Before the craven Lithuanians stole our rich lands, before the barbarous Tatars swept in from the East like a howling pestilence of savagery, before the conniving Rus established dominion, and even before the Church brought Christ to the banks of the Desna, the Kassovich family ruled the valley people. For more than a century our ancestors protected their subjects from danger and bestowed upon them prosperity and peace rare in those dark times. The bravery of the Kassovich kings was renowned and even in Rome tales of their courage and ingenuity were known, delivered by merchants who braved the treacherous conditions to trade in the fine furs and metals produced by the craftsman of the Kassovich kingdom.

Our long reign had much to do with the legendary stature attributed to our family. The founder of the dynasty was Kassov Fedorovich, a capable warrior who felled a great beast that had terrorized the village of Kozelsk the same year that the Frankish King Dagobert met his end. For nearly 350 years a Kassovich sat upon the throne in the great hall erected on the very spot that the first king slew the rampaging monster. History books, if they record anything at all about our achievements, enumerate 28 rulers beginning with Kassov I and ending with Timofey IV, whose death took place in AD 986, the result of illness. Such histories are in error, however. Only thirteen Kassoviches ever wore the crown of the kings of Kozelsk. More importantly, it was not illness, but the Betrayal that brought an end to our legacy, a legacy we shall forever work to restore to its rightful place.

— The Betrayed