A History of the Kingdom of Kaurath (Eloheh-I-Dangal)

INTRODUCTION

The people of Kaurath are a strong and ancient culture, whose rich and detailed history extents through legends for nine centuries. A land of myth, both savage and noble, where the way of the sword is tempered through the power of the bard; a wild, dangerous land, where forgotten horrors and untold mysteries walk the decimated, savage waste of the Plains of Morathel. In the land of the warrior kings, on the border of the Barrowheart only the strong survive. For this is the land of the Forgotten, the home of the Kaurathel, the Kingdom of Kaurath.

Kaurath is a kingdom on the brink. A land ravaged by centuries of war, brought to the edge of decay by siege and strife. The kingdom of Kaurath is a wild, savage place with enemies on all fronts. To the south, lies the once beautiful land of the Plains of Morathel. It is now a land rent asunder by foul magics and flame; a place where many heroes have died and Icons fear to tread. To the northwest Kaurath is protected by the vigilant guard at the walled bridge of Siltamuuri. There they protect the kingdom from the Darkness of the Barrowheart, a land of unspeakable horrors where the creatures of darkness rule.

The winds of change are raging across Kaurath. High King Vichol, Ruler of the Nine Nations, has issued a call for help. For centuries the kingdom has endured by the duty and sacrifice of its people but now the end of the Kaurathel may be nigh. Worn weary by constant struggle and internal strife High King Vichol fears for the future of his kingdom.

Months after my arrival Sir Janus Ejfel, a Kaurath who is now a King’s Knight of Evendarr, came offering High King Vichol a chance to ensure the continued protection of his people. He offered the good king a chance to join the rich, powerful kingdom of Evendarr. Under Evendarr, High King Vichol would become a Duke and his queen, a Duchess. He would have access to forces both great and powerful and be given a chance to defeat, once and for all, the forces of Darkness threatening his people. He would be given a chance to guarantee the continued safety of the Kaurathel.

He presented the possible solution to his many children, most supported the idea, save his eldest, Prince Nicholi. A great argument ensued and Nicholi left the capitol vowing to stand against any treaty subjugating the Kaurathel to the rule of the Evandarrians. King Vichol now has a choice, betray his people for their own protection, or face the evils of his homeland alone.

As a storyteller I quickly fell into the many myths and legends of this ancient northern kingdom. It brings me, as an adventurer and bard, back to the wild, mysterious places of epics and legend. I have entered a world rich in culture and story, where I was quickly lost in the lands and her people. I have investigated the mysterious and secret Surullinen Forest, sang with the bards and feasted with the gypsies of Kasember. I have riddled with the Sidhe and survived (with full thanks to my beautiful traveling partner). Next I plan to try to decipher the ancient runes scrawled on ruins in the land of the Ograth on the western edge of the Plains of Morathel.

Through my many travels since my arrival, I have studied Kaurath’s history under the guidance of Sir Ichabod Leagallow, Peacemaker of the Crown and scribe of the Order of Korlin. With Sir Leagallow’s guidance it is my pleasure and honor to compose and compile this collection of history, stories, and songs documenting the History of the Kaurath.

And so, as all of the great legends begin: “Once, in the age of time before time…”

Eloheh-I-Dangal

April 22, 603 E.R.
Huhtikuu, 22, 1108 K.H.

CHAPTER ONE

The Ancient History of the Kaurathel

The High King Uthios the Kaurath and his wife, the High Queen Anya Valag, formed the kingdom of Kaurath in its modern incarnation, however the kingdom’s history lays much farther back than that. To fully understand this land and its people we must start at the beginning in the year 0, by the Kaurath Calendar, or 505 years prior to the established Evandarrian Reckoning.

The Founding of the Kingdom

The Founding of the Kingdom is clouded within the fog of time. Legends and Myth are all that remain and the songs and stories of the Founding differ based on the region of the Kingdom you are in. What we can glean from the common areas of the story are as follows. During the First Age the Kaurathel held the strong and powerful kingdom of Jokai. Because of a great cataclysm called the Sundering, Jokai crumbled and fell into a dark time now referred to, in the poetic style of the Kaurathel, as the Forgotten Age.

Little is known from the time of the Forgotten Age. There are a few remaining stories or legends, and the odd superstitions are no doubt based from that time period. One item of importance that did survive from this age are the Tenants of War which are listed in Chapter Nine of this book.

Over centuries the powerful families formed small clans, which in turn became small Kingdoms led by a Chieftain, King or Queen. These clans and small Kingdoms lacked the strength that was needed to protect the land and their peoples and soon began to succumb to raids from brigands and other clans. During this period of the Forgotten Age a new threat was made clear, that of the Eliahnen. The beastmen.

The Eliahnen slowly took over the northern kingdoms of the Kaurathel, holding the land for hundreds of years. These strange creatures settled in what is now Kasember. An interesting side note, the name Kasember comes from this occupation. Farkasember is the ancient Kaurath word for werewolf. This leads us to believe that the Eliahnen were either Scavengers or some form of Were-creature. We may never know.

The Eliahnen occupation was a time of change for the Kaurath. The Eliahnen brought with them the knowledge of castle building, the secret of the arch, the secrets of steel making, the art of brewing wines (prior to their occupation the Kaurath solely drank mead) as well as the language now prevalent throughout much of Avalon, the common tongue. This hints that the Eliahnen were from the area that is now near the Kingdom of Evandarr.

During the Eliahnen occupation, a young southern king named Verimedve, or the “Blood Bear”, vowed to unite the Kingdoms and rid the land of the Beastmen. Verimedve held land in the center of what is now the Plains of Morathel. In the year 9 EKH, or 515 years Before Evandarrian Reckoning, at the age of 16, Verimedve waged a campaign of unification for the people of Kaurath. Those who did not join were declared Eliahnvella, Beast Servitors, and were either exiled or destroyed. To this day, to call someone an “Elianvella” is usually an invitation for a brawl.

The War of Unification, as it has come to be called lasted for roughly 9 years. The kingdoms of the rival clans fell one by one until at last, the northern kingdom of Kotkafarcas was the only remaining Eliahnen stronghold. The battle of Kotkafarcas began December 1, 1 EKH. Verimedve and his wife, the Warrior Queen Laulukirja led their armies into Kotkafarcas and surrounded the capitol city of Lakata on 20 December 1EKH. Verimedve took positions in the east and Laulukirja in the west. Together the two armies laid siege to the walled city. The army within the city, led by the Eliahnvella Vandall Grein, held tight repelling the invaders superior strength.

King Grein’s army stood strong and the siege lasted for eleven days eventually falling the morning of the 31st. King Grein opened the gates to his city and surrendered claiming that a woman in white appeared to him and told him that Verimedve was the destined leader of the Kaurathel. On the morning of 1 January 0 K.H, or January 1 in the first year of the Kaurathel, Vandall Grein, the last of the rulers of the north, swore fealty to Verimedve and Laulukirja. The Eliahnen were expelled from Kaurath and Vandall Grein’s life was spared. He was declared a hero of the Kaurath for holding his city for so long and granted title over the north as Lord Grein.

King Verimedve declared that day the beginning of Kaurathel Hallita, or the time of Kaurathel rule. In modern times it not only signifies the Founding of the Kingdom of the Kaurathel, but also the beginning of the Kaurath Calendar. The New Year beginning January first hints at the ancient connection between Evendarr and the Kaurathel. It is perhaps greater than coincidence that the beginning of the New Year starts on the same day in both kingdoms. Most likely the date was altered after the fact to better represent the Evendarr Calendar.

Later that same year, Lord Grein ordered an autumn feast to be held in honor of the unification of the Kaurath, as a way to give thanks to Verimedve for “uniting that, which should never have been broken”. Lord Grein chose time after autumn harvest, the third week of November as the feast date. Today this feast is still celebrated during the third week of November by the Kaurath and is called the Kiittääjauhot, or Feast of Thanks in common.

After this time the history of the Kaurath is blurred and laced with legends. There are, literally thousands of stories about this time period and to try to document them would take a lifetime of work. Aside from the many legendary stories and ballads, little actual history is left save the Litany of the Kaurathel, the list of Kings and Queens from King Verimedve to High King Vichol. I have included the Litany in Chapter Eleven of this work.

The Great Betrayal of King Uljas the Brave

In the year 374 KH (131 BER), great tragedies hit the line of Verimedve with the assassination and overthrow of King Uljas the Brave by his brother Prince Pettää the Betrayer. Pettää the Betrayer, jealous of his widowed brother’s power, staged a coup during the Autumn Revel. He waited, hidden in his revel costume, and killed his brother by poisoning him. Shortly after, Prince Pettää hid his brother’s body. Later that night Pettää the Betrayer made an attempt on the life of Uljas’ only heir, Princess Deynia.

The evil Prince crept into the young Princess’ chamber and drew his blade, intending to run his niece through. The Betrayer drove his blade deep into the blankets. The room erupted in feathers as the mattress gave way. There was no resistance of body on blade. Deynia was gone, taken in the night by Suojella, her nanny.

While gathering food for the revel, Suojella had witnessed the familial regicide. She immediately swept up Princess Deynia and fled into the Surullinen Forest where the Sidhe quickly hid the nanny and the Princess.

Pettää the Betrayer quickly took control of the kingdom as the only living heir. The deaths of the King and his Princess were blamed on an attack from the Red Cap gang known as the Tuska Koira, the Dogs of Agony. Pettää the Betrayer secretly called upon his seers to find the lost princess. It was then that the Vision of the True Hart came to be.

Tuleva Etsia was Pettää the Betrayer’s strongest seer and the one that saw the true future. Tuleva Etsia foresaw a great betrayal of Pettää’s line followed by a great war. When the war was over Deynia’s heir would be crowned king.

Pettää the Betrayer, fearful for his legacy, launched hundreds of troops into the kingdom in an attempt to find and destroy Princess Deynia; the Princess was never found. Safely hidden with the Sidhe, she was educated in the ways of royalty, and the arts of the Faery. She was taught that one day her line would rule the Kaurathel once more.

The Princess Deynia grew and matured and, as legend has it, married Rehellinen, a Sidhe man, also known in legends as the Forest Prince. The songs say they had many children who lived in the heart of the dark woods of the Surullinen Forest. Their children grew and prospered with their fae hosts and remained safely hidden from the forces of Pettää the Betrayer.

Pettää the Betrayer lived for many years and died in his bed an old lonely man. He had two sons, Tosi and Hyvästi. Hyvästi the youngest the child, disappeared while on a mission to the western Eltor Mountains. Tosi the eldest inherited the stolen crown and ruled with a kind hand. Tosi never considered himself a true king. On his deathbed he requested he forever be referred to as Tosi the Regent-King and that his line be stricken from the Litany until the true king returned. Upon King Tosi’s request, the Regent Kings line is all but forgotten save for the last, Regent King Uthios the Just.

CHAPTER TWO

The Golden Age of the Kaurathel

The time around the death of Regent King Uthios the Just, marks the traditional beginning of the Golden Age of the Kaurath. It is during this age that most of the legends of the kingdom hail. The death of the last of the Regent Kings also brings about the fulfillment of the Vision of the True Hart. To fully understand the manifestation of the Vision we must look at the situation that surrounds the demise of the Just King.

Authors Note: Due to the large volume of legends surrounding the Golden Age of the Kaurath only a summary of events most relevant to the history of the Kaurath are present.

The Meeting of Prince Morathel and Faranan

Once, in the age of time before time there was an orphaned hunter of royal birth. He was a brave and gentle man who was noble in both blood and deeds. This is the story of the Heir of Uljas, great grandson of Queen Deynia and King Rehellinen and the story of how the White Hart brought him to his love, his eternity.

One Morning Morathel, the Lost Prince was tracking a large white hart through the forests below the Eltor Paksu mines of Eltor Szakall. While tracking the beast he came upon an open grove. Morathel entered the grove and was taken aback by the beauty of it. The grove was a small copse of Blood Birch, white and red in a sea of green. The ancient trees stood at a great height and as the sun shone down through the dark crimson leaves it cast a sanguine quality to the already breathtaking scene. The color had power to it. He felt as if he had passed out of his world and into a world of dreams.

It was then that he saw her. She was standing in the shadows on the edge of the grove and she was beautiful. The good Prince’s heart jumped, but not from fear, no, it was because of something different. Something that made his very spirit ache with both sadness and joy. She appeared human, like he, with golden hair and skin as pure as virgin snow. Her eyes were piercing and endless. When she looked at him it was as if she were looking into his very heart. All of his secret desires and fears were exposed for her scrutiny. He was laid bare under her gaze.

He apologized if he frightened her. She said that he did not and he believed her. Her voice had a deep musical quality that made him feel as if he was the only person in the world. He offered her his name and she smiled. He asked hers and she said that she would tell him her name if he could prove himself worthy of her attention. So intoxicated he was by her presence that he readily accepted her challenge. He would have accepted any challenge placed before him, for he new that for her, he would succeed.

She said that he was to bring her the giant white hart unharmed. He could use no magic or alchemy, nor could he use the assistance of man or beast. The act must be pure for the beast was not a normal hart. The beast was magical, like the unicorns, and to capture one, purely, was to prove nobility and strength. Qualities appropriate for one in love with a creature such as her. Kneeling, Morathel pledged his eternal love and promised her the capture of the beast.

He left the grove and started tracking the argent beast. The quest took a year and a day. Morathel never lost track of the stag. He tracked the creature to the edge of the forest on the border of a great swamp. There he herded the Hart onto the open moors where it quickly sunk into the foul mud. From that day forth the great swamp in which Morathel captured the White Hart has been come to be called Valkeadier, now Valkadier, simply meaning, the White Hart. Carefully he attached a harness to the beast’s head and led it out of the flth to claim his prize.

Morathel led the Stag easily. The journey took him seven days and every day it was easier to lead the great beast. Morathel entered the forest and found his way to the grove of his love. In the grove Morathel waited for her to arrive. How she would know the good Prince was there he did not understand, but he knew she would come. The hart stood tall and graceful under the crimson canopy. He ate the sparse grass and nibbled the blueberries that lined the grove. He let Morathel approach him. It was as if the beast knew he was not going to hurt him. Morathel left the lead on, yet allowed him to roam free in the grove. Morathel knew he wasn’t going to run. Standing in the grove, Morathel was captivated by his size and strength and appalled that he was once tracking him to kill him. He stood as high as a war-horse and just as impressive. From his gently sloping brow sprouted two great antlers tall and wide in their presentation. He was majestic.

The beast rose to his full height and lifted his head to reach the tender shoots on a nearby pine. It was then that Morathel saw her, leaning gently against the flaky bark of the massive white tree. She looked up at the great beast and told the Prince that its name was Korlin and that he was now his steed and guardian. She told him that she was a forest creature though Folk or Fairy he knew not which. Finally she lent close, and kissed him on the cheek and whispered.

“Now it is time for your prize. I am Faranan Tunderi, and this is my home.”

Morathel’s love now had a name and it was Faranan. He knew that she was the one that he wished to spend eternity with. She was his forever. He knew that she would be the one in which he would marry, but that is a story for another time.

The Usurper Lord

With Faranan’s love empowering him, Prince Morathel quickly grew in prominence. After many adventures in and around the ancient Province of Allakansiel, in what is now the Plains of Morathel, he quickly grew in rank moving from Ranger under High Lord Knight Assilo to Kings Knight in a matter of a few years. Even though Morathel was the true heir to the throne he did not wish to usurp the Regent King. Morathel, like most of Uthios’ subjects, loved their leader and considered the Regent King to be a kind and noble ruler. As is the way of the Kaurathel, Morathel believed that the good of the nation out weighs the good of one man. Unfortunately, not all in the court had the same moral fiber.

Grand Vizier, Rahaban Zoradieth came from a distant elven kingdom and joined the court of the Regent King as a seer. There he quickly grew in rank until, at last, he became the main counsel of the king. His powers of the Weird Sight were so accurate that the Regent King refused to make decisions without first consulting Zoradieth.

For decades, Zoradieth faithfully served the Regent King and Queen. In truth he was patiently setting a trap. Zoradieth was breeding contempt and raising an army throughout the supernatural Beyrzar lords of the north.

On a stormy summer evening Zoradieth led a group of conspirators through the Castle Zaraphal where they overran the kings guards and entered the Royal chambers. There they slaughtered and Obliterated the last of the Regent Kings. From high atop the towers of Zaraphal Zoradieth fired flaming arrows into the night sky signaling the thirteen armies of the north to begin their attack. Led by the powerful supernatural Beyrzar Lords the city soon fell. Early morning, during a sunrise ceremony, Zoradieth declared himself King of the Kaurathel. The war had begun.

The Response of the True King

Morathel and Faranan received word of the attack via courier two weeks after the initial assault. Zoradieth and the Beyrzars had laid siege to the surrounding forest and the Allakansiel militias. High Lord Knight Assilo and his son Lord Assilomar were mounting the offensive. The militias were out numbered twenty to one and with out reinforcements the kingdom would fall.

Morathel, and Faranan sent word to the northern Provinces of Grein’s Reward and Vieras and the kingdoms of his great grandfather ‘s people and pleaded for reinforcements. He knew that with out a King, and with the provinces divided by great distances that the Kingdom would fall. He set off riding Korlin and traveled to the surrounding farms and villages raising militias to fight against the armies of Zoradieth. One by one they came to the castle at Balta until they numbered in the thousands. Still, Morathel rode and gathered.

Morathel sought Cozobari, the leader of the Razioch, a mysterious race of fierce and proud warriors living deep within the southern Surullinen. He pleaded for assistance and asked them to join his armies and to lead as generals. Upon hearing that their forest home was endangered Cozobari agreed on one condition, that there be a code of honor above and beyond the ancient Tenants of War for the rebellion to follow. Morathel agreed and, upon returning to Balta castle with Cozobari and the Razioch set a council to create the code of honor for the Kaurathel revolt.

The Council of Balta Torni

A council comprised of Morathel, Faranan, Assilo, Assilomar, Cozobari, Malinaugh, and the tribal leaders of the Razioch and representatives from the free races of the Kaurath, convened in the tower of Balta castle. For three nights they met and discussed. At the end of the third night, the code was done.

The Code was called the Luvata Kansa, which roughly translated, means “Promise to my Nation”. The code was comprised of one declaration and nine tenants. To this day the Luvata Kansa is still followed by the Kingdom and is, in the author’s opinion very similar to Evendarr’s Code of Chivalry.

On the morning of the fourth day Morathel and his generals assembled their armies. The generals and rangers called the thousands to order. All present knelt under the morning sun and spoke their promise to their nation.

The War of the True King

Morathel and his generals marched on the armies of Zoradieth. The battles were great and losses were met on both sides. For two long years Morathel fought while Faranan pleaded for reinforcements from her father, Olut, a faery king.

Olut stubbornly refused to assist his daughter claiming he was not going to support any army led by Morathel. Olut despised the fact that Faranan was in love with a mortal, let alone a half-breed, as Morathel was half-blooded Sidhe. Faranan pleaded further until Olut said that he would assist Morathel with troops only if Faranan left the mortal.

Faranan lied to her father and agreed to leave Morathel. She then took charge of an army and, accompanied by her brothers Celtios and Hiiri, led a host of Sidhe archers to Morathel on the battlefield near the Etela Gap. In private, she told Morathel of her betrayal against her father. Morathel, fearing that he would lose Faranan for eternity, married her that night in secret. With Celtios and Hiiri’s blessing, High Lord Knight Assilo performed the ceremony on a rise over looking the quiet battlefield.

The following morning Faranan bid farewell to her husband. She was to lead her father’s forces to flank the evil forces of the Usurper Lord. Morathel and Faranan would not see each other for two years.

The Quest for Fendreil

Morathel suffered many restless nights after his true love marched her armies off to war. He had visions of great battles, of men and fae locked in a bitter battle for survival, and of a weapon of such power that armies fell under its blade and heroes rallied behind its might. He woke each morning tired and exhausted, yet ever sure that the visions he was receiving in the night were truth; that deep within the wilderness was a sword of great magic and power.

The visions lasted for a week and became more and more intense as they progressed. Soon Morathel had a name for the weapon, Fendreil, and a location, Roadail; the site of a legendary battle where the lands of men and Fae fought following the horrors of the Sundering. Roadail was legend long before the War of Unification. Morathel knew on the morning of the seventh day that he would quest for Fendreil.

The weak-minded who held resentment and jealousy toward Morathel called it a fools errand, a quest for one who did not possess a grasp on reality. Others claimed that Morathel would die on the quest. Celtios and Hiiri, who were born shortly after the conflict ended and remembered tales of such a blade, supported their brother-in-laws decision to quest for the long lost weapon. Morathel placed his legions in the command of Celtios and Hiiri and rode off to quest for the legendary blade of Fendreil.

Morathel rode hard for two months, following his dreams. His travels took him through the Surullinen to the eastern Kalivan Mountains. There he rode north along the Taghrid River to the Malvor River and into the forests of Keskaur.

The Keskaurani elves were not known for their kindness and understanding. They were a strong and mysterious people who shunned contact with outsiders. The Keskaurani were dangerous, few who trespassed in their lands ever returned.

The Keskaurani were renowned hunters and trackers and soon Morathel found himself face to face with a party of guards. The elves stepped from their places of hiding. They were dressed in the deep forest colors of the Keskaur and appeared that they could disappear by standing still. Morathel slowly dismounted Korlin who, he could see, was preparing for a fight. A tall elf dressed in reds and greens introduced himself as the Keskaurani Fuadaun, Eldrickian. The Fuadain asked Morathel of his business in the forests. Morathel replied, telling the party of his quest. Fuadain Eldrickian thought for a moment and said that Morathel was to drop his weapons and he would be taken to see the Righ. Morathel agreed and soon found himself bound and being led by the neck to see the Righ of the Keskaur.

Righ Divyan ruled from the great elven palace of Aruinn Brugh. The palace stood on a rise overlooking a deep forest. Aruinn Brugh was made from living trees and stone and rose like a spire high into the sky. The sun filtering through the colored glass and green leaves of the palace cast a warm glow over the surrounding woods. Guards stood watch on the exposed rock surrounding the castle as birds of prey hunted overhead.

With the impenetrable forest of Keskaur behind him, Morathel was led to a gate imbedded in the rock below the palace. Korlin was placed in a stable made from stone in a natural occurring cave and Morathel was unchained yet remained bound. There he was blindfolded and led inside, up stairs, and what seemed like miles of twisting turning corridors. Eventually he was led through a door and stopped. His footsteps echoed as if he was in a deep chamber. He was forced to his knees and soon his blindfold was removed. He was momentarily blinded by the change in light. As his eyes adjusted he found himself standing below an enormous throne made from the living twisted branches of an enormous tree. There, sitting on his throne high above his court was Righ Divyan, ancient leader of the elves of Keskaur.

The Righ called upon Morathel to rise and explain his tresspass. Morathel did as he was asked and told of his quest to find the ancient battleground of Roadail. The Righ chuckled and shook his head. He told Morathel that Roadail was not a battlefield; it was an ancient artifact, a portal to the realm of the Sidhe. He told Morathel that Roadail was within Keskaur and he would be delivered to it. He also warned that the Roadail would ask Morathel a riddle. Should he fail the test his life force would be consumed by the gate and he would be lost forever. Morathel stood tall and told the Righ that he was ready for the test. His people were in mortal danger and this was a change to save them. The Righ agreed and soon Morathel was blindfolded and led to the portal of Roadail.

The forest opened into fields marked with small cabins and elven tree homes. Morathel’s blindfold was removed as he was led through the elven hamlet. Turning, Morathel found that he was far from Aruinn Brugh and could not see the palace. He was at the mercy of the elves.

After an hour of riding Morathel could begin to see a fortress in the distance. Ancient and weathered, the fortress bowed from corner to corner of a deep valley. Walking through the gates they traveled within the small valley until they came across a clearing. Standing on the far side of the clearing was a stone arch surrounded by runic writing. On the keystone of the arch was a painting of an eye marked on the stone itself.

The Righ of the elves made Morathel an offer. If he succeeded in answering the riddle of Roadail he would be set free, however he would be beholden to the elves of Keskaur and would owe them one favor in return to their generosity. Morathel agreed and was unbound. Dismounting Korlin, he approached the gate.

As Morathel walked to the gate the pupil glowed a deep red, illuminating the dark clearing. The Keskaurani stood back, some retreating to a safer distance. A deep voice resonated from the stone of the arch. It asked Morathel if he was worthy of the test. Morathel said that he was and the arch spoke further:

“What rules the children of night and rules the children of day but when twilight comes rules nay?

Morathel pondered for a moment and with confident said that he and his people did. He said that the answer was Sidhe. The portal said that Morathel was correct and soon opened. Morathel quickly stepped through.

The land on the other side of the portal was obviously in the Otherworld of the fae. The sky was a deep purple with no stars of clouds. Skeletal remains of elves, humans and fae were scattered through out the realm as far as the eyes could see. The bones of the dead were ancient and fragile, the slightest touch scattered the bones to dust.

In the distance, Morathel saw a pale white glow. Rallying his courage he started for the light on the horizon. Cresting a ridge he saw the glow came from a wizened old woman sitting among the pile of bones, her white glowing robes flowing over the frames of the dead.

Morathel carefully approached the woman. The old woman opened her eyes, looked upon Morathel and smiled. Morathel asked her if she was well and offered her a drink of wine from a flask he had strapped to his side. She gladly thanked him and took a drink. Smiling she asked how she could repay his generosity. Morathel told her that no payment was necessary and that he must be off, for he was questing for the lost blade. The old woman smiled revealing rotted yellowed teeth. She told him that she had been waiting an eternity for him to arrive. Standing, she shifted her robes. Lying at her feet was Fendreil, Sword of the Ancients. She picked up the blade and offered it to him. Morathel humbly accepted the weapon and thanked the old woman. She smiled and vanished.

Morathel emerged from the portal roughly one week after he had entered, though it was a matter of minutes to him. The elves had established a watch to alert them of Morathel’s return and soon the elves who led him to Roadail approached. Seeing that he had accomplished his goal they returned him to the Righ.

The Righ was amazed that he had survived at all but reminded him of his promise. In the future Morathel of Morathel’s line were to assist the Keskaurani once whenever they so required. Morathel gave his word and was soon escorted out fo the forests of Keskaur.

Morathel rode fast and hard back to his armies. Soon he regained control and used the vast powers of Fendreil to drive the forces of Zoradieth on to an even field. With renewed morale the Kaurath rallied the cause. Soon the forces of the Usurper Lord would fall.

The Riddle of the Stones and the Quest of Malinaugh

The war raged on and through the power of Fendiel, Zoradieth’s armies slowly fell. Morathel led the people of Kaurath closer to Jokainen. The last major obstacle between the armies of the revolution, and the capitol city of Jokainen were the powerful Beyrzars. Their might and abilities were awesome. Hundreds died by their hand and no weaknesses could be found.

Morathel, seeking answers, wrote to the Oracle deep in the northern Surullinen Forest and asked her to help him in his search for a weakness. Her response was in the form a riddle. The riddle, now known as the Riddle of the Stones is as follows:

Twins born of the same heart,
What was once alone is now apart.
Ripped in twain by the powers that be,
To create their own eternity.
From the Drakes Heart face the setting sun,
Place chisel to stone, Fourteen from one.
Green Lords hold the Prison

It took months for Morathel to try to decipher the riddle with no avail. The Drakes Heart referred to a place, most probably located in the Dragon Spine Mountains that separated the lands of Farkasember and Grein’s Reward, now Kasember, from the barbarian kingdoms of the northeast. It was the quick wit of the Razioch Second named Malinaugh that solved the riddle. He knew that there was a cave in the eastern face of the Dragon’s Spine called Dracosydan, Meaning “Heart of the Dragon”. There the river ran blood red due to the clay surrounding the cave. It was said that at nightfall the gate to the Shadowlands, the realm of the Sidhe opened. He also speculated that the Green Lords represented the knights of the Sidhe. They held the gift.

Morathel sent Malinaugh, and those of his choosing, to go and collect the gift from the Oracle. Malinaugh and his band moved quickly and silently through the lands held by the Barbarians and the Beyrzars. They reached the Dracosydan and waited for the sun to set and for the gate to open. It never did. Baffled, Malinaugh looked closer at the riddle. While researching the text, Corvauness, the mighty Razioch warrior found, imbedded in the stone, what looked like a sun setting over the peaks of some mountain range. Below, lying on the ground, was a round rock split in two; one half white, one black. Malinaugh pulled a chisel and a hammer and went to the white stone. He struck hard and it broke evenly into fourteen pieces. He struck the black half hard and it too broke into fourteen more. Collecting the pieces he was struck with a vision. He would imprison the Beyrzars in the white pieces. The Black counterpart acted as the key. Once all of the Beyzars were captured both the white and black pieces would be hidden. Gathering up the magical salvation, he returned to Morathel.

Malinaugh returned to the forces of Morathel roughly one month after his discovery. He found Morathel and told him of the stones. Morathel declared that victory would soon be theirs and granted Malinaugh a position as general. Morathel told him to gather forces of his own. He had his pick of soldiers, for he was going to lead the main assault against the Beyrzars. He was placed in charge of capturing the Beyzars one by one with the Stones of Malinaugh, as Morathel called them. After which he would hide the stones. Only he was to know of the locations of the stones after the Beyzars had been captured. The fourteenth stone would be placed in a secret hiding place known only to Malinaugh.

Malinaugh set out with his armies and through the use of superior tactics began to capture the supernatural generals of Zoradieth’s armies. Slowly and surely Morathel’s army to the west, Faranan’s to the east, and Cozobari’s armies to the north and south pushed hard against the forces of the Usurper Lord. Zoradieth was retreating.

As spring grew near Zoradieth’s army consisted of a few battered battalions until at last the final Beyrzar was captured. The three armies of the Rebellion closed in on the capitol city. By the end of May they were in sight of each other. The armies surrounded Jokainen and laid siege to their capitol city.

Malinaugh set off to hide the stones. His quest would be difficult, for if anyone would find the stones they Beyrzars could be released. He left to fulfill his quest and to personally guard the final stone. He would never return.

In early July the final siege began and the gates broke. The armies marched through Jokainen killing off the last of Zoradieth’s forces. Upon entering the castle Morathel and his forces met with stiff resistance. They fought bravely until at last Morathel entered the throne room and engaged Zoradieth. The battle was fierce and ended with the destruction of the Usurper Lord. Though Zoradieth’s spirit was strong and he resurrected, he had been routed and driven into exile.

The New King

The Kingdom of the Kaurathel belonged to the Kaurath once more. The people started to rebuild and in a show of kingdom wide unification declared Morathel, true heir to the throne, as the new King. He accepted and declared Faranan as his Queen. Their first order of royal business was to honor those who led the rebellion.

Cozobari and the Razioch were knighted. The entirety of their race was bound to the land and declared as the Silver Legion, Forest Lords of the Kaurathel. They were to forever protect the land and its peoples.

Assilomar was declared as High Lord Knight of Allakansiel. Celtios, Faranan’s Brother was granted title over Vieras. Corvauness was made High Dame Knight of Grein’s Reward and Farkasember, and Cozobari was declared the High Lord Knight of Jokainen.

The rebuilding was well underway and by mid winter, Faranan found herself with child. With the Kingdom recovering and a new heir to the thrown on its way, the people of Kaurath started to let down their guard for the first time in a long time. The Golden Age was now underway.

Jokainen

The city of Jokainen was a beautiful city. Marble lined thoroughfares ran in concentric circles around the blue gilded castle of Zaraphal. Made entirely of the blue granite that was famous in the ancient province of Allakansiel its gilded stags and gold accents gave the future kingdom it’s royal colors. Deep within Zaraphal the heart of the Kaurath beat strongly.

Faranan gave birth to a strong little boy. They named him Prince Harcos, arguably the most popular of Morathel and Faranan’s children. In time the little prince would grow and mature and eventually become a gifted warrior and poet. His poem to his future queen is listed in the Stories, Legends, and Songs of the Kaurath section of this book.

The kingdom grew and prospered. The people were happy, the armies were strong and trade was beginning with the outside kingdoms. The time of peace allowed the heroes of Jokainen to venture out and explore the frontiers of the north. Soon they discovered the Hobling Colony of Seannaught and the lands of the Gythainen deep within the swamp of The Valkeadier, now called Valkadier. Regular trading routes were established via barge up the Lansi River to the ancient dwarven home of Eltor Paksu, sheep and reindeer were traded with the barbarian lands to the north, and in a few short years the Kaurath were more prosperous than they have ever been before.

The Wisdom of Faranan

During this time of peace, Faranan established the Viisas Talo, a college of learned Kaurath who would travel to towns and villages through out the Kingdom and open Viisas. The Viisas were schools where citizens of the Kaurathel could go and learn.

To ensure parents would send their children, Faranan declared the decree of Suojata Innostas, which stated that any family who sent their children to Viisas and have it verified by the Isanta or teacher, would not be required to pay taxes to the Kingdom. It was said that in the Golden Age, all could read, all could write, and magic flowed freely from the hands of all its citizens.

The Return of the Dark Lord

Years past and the people of the Kingdom prospered. Faranan was again with child. Morathel had just returned from assisting the Barbarian King Vorlanok in the unification the tribes of barbarians in the north and spent many days at home with his wife and son. He was eagerly anticipating the birth of his new child. It was here, in his private chambers within Zaraphal that he received word of the pending invasion.

Cozobari came to Morathel and told him that his Silver Legion spotted a large host marching through the troll infested Tonttuel Peaks. He informed the King that the army appeared to be undead who could travel during the day and that they marched under the flag of the Dark Lord, Zoradieth.

Morathel bid his wife farewell. Faranan, though a fierce and brave warrior was close to giving birth and could not afford to enter combat. In her stead Hiiri, Faranan’s youngest brother attended the army. Hiiri was a powerful and gifted rogue, well known for his deft negotiating skills. Morathel intended to utilize this ability of his brother-in-law to try to end the battle before it began. Hiiri would act as the Peacemaker under the Tenants of War.

They gathered the army and marched northwest toward the Tonttuel Peaks. The two armies met on the Plains of Uljas. Hiiri raised the blue, and white flag of the Peacemaker and rode out into the center of the battlefield to wait for an emissary of Zoradieth. Soon a representative of the Dark Lord met with Hiiri and the negotiation began. He offered safe, protected passage through the Tonttuel Peaks if Zoradieth’s army quit the field. The Emissary refused. Reaching a stalemate both Peacemakers returned to their hosts. The Battle was about to begin.

The armies charged and many warriors died on both sides. After hours of bloodshed the battle was over. Zoradieth had been captured and his army had been destroyed but at a huge cost. Morathel’s army had been decimated. Of the fifteen thousand men roughly three thousand survived. Morathel sent a squad to gather the equipment and personal belongings of his fallen soldiers. They would camp for four days on the battlefield, allowing wounds to heal, equipment to be gathered, and men to rest.

Morathel and his generals questioned Zoradieth. The Dark Lord responded stating that he will resurrect and return with an unstoppable army from the north to destroy the last of Morathel and Faranan’s line. He had witnessed the act in a vision and his visions never lied. This would to come to be called the Vision of Zoradieth. The Dark Lord then went rigid and died, his body dissipating, the spirit leaving immediately.

Hiiri ensured Morathel that it could not happen. Morathel was not too sure. He had witnessed Zoradieth’s predictions come true first hand. Knowing that seers could not accurately predict visions about their own future was little comfort.

The following evening a great disturbance rocked the encampment. Roughly around the same time as the prior nights battle, part of the undead army they had vanquished the night before rose from the ground. Catching the Kaurathel off guard the undead made quick work of the patrolling units. With lightning wit, Morathel rallied his troops and destroyed the attacking threat. Morathel sent patrols of Silver Legion to search out and destroy whatever Necromancer raised the dead. The Legion found no signs of any sorcerer.

The following evening Morathel posted double the guards of the prior night and again the dead rose. The armies made quick work of their undead attackers, however rumors started to spread that the land they were in was haunted or cursed. Desperate to keep morale high, Morathel ordered the camp to break at first light.

Upon returning to Jokainen, Morathel found that Faranan had given birth to a beautiful little boy. He was named Medve after Morathel’s ancestor, Verimedve. Upon seeing his newborn son Morathel could not shake his feeling of dread that had bore a hole in his gut since Zoradieth made his accursed prediction.

The following morning Morathel consulted his sages and granted them the responsibility of finding a way to defeat Zoradieth once and for all. He would do what he could to protect his family and his people. Morathel swore that he would not rest until the Dark Lord was destroyed once and for all.

A Grandfather’s Displeasure

Years passed with little events. Eventually the immediate threat of Zoradieth’s return had passed. The Silver Legion patrolled the borders of the kingdom yet found no sign of Zoradieth or his armies.

In time Faranan was again pregnant and again she gave birth to little boy. The little prince was named Faracam. All of her children showed signs of their mixed lineage. Harcos the Warriorbard inherited a fierce fighting ability yet could write and sing, he was the greatest bard of the day, Medve the Wild had the gentle pointing ears and gold eyes of his grandfather and could speak to the creatures and trees of the forest, Faracam showed the greatest of traits. Faracam had long pointed ears, much longer than an elf’s, and could change his appearance at random. When he grew into a young boy he would pose as a rabbit in the gardens surrounding Zaraphal and spy on his two older brothers. For these abilities he had been given the name of Faracam the Changeling.

The boys grew and played in the castle, attending court whenever their studies would allow. They were strong little boys who enjoyed the pleasures of life yet still understood that a great responsibility would someday be theirs. They were allowed to be children while their family prepared them for the burden of leadership.

Though they had a happy home, all was not right within their family. King Olut, their grandfather, broke all contact when he discovered that Faranan had betrayed his trust. For nine long years he refused to meet with her or his grandchildren. He declined countless invitations to holidays or family events. For all intents and purposes, Olut had disowned his daughter. In one last effort Faranan invited her father to come and attend their tenth anniversary wedding celebration. Much to Faranan’s shock he accepted.

Zaraphal was prepared for a Kings welcome. Decorations lined the great hall and great feasts were prepared. King Olut and his court arrived and were escorted to their chambers. There they stayed until the start of the feast.

King Olut was given a seat of honor at the table. He graciously accepted. He was introduced to his grandsons, Harcos was eight, Medve, five, and two year old Faracam who had to be coaxed with sweets to change from the puppy he appeared as to a little boy so that he could properly meet his grandfather.

King Olut was kind to the children and granted each of them presents from his kingdom. Harcos was granted a magic quill, enchanted to turn into a sword when needed, Medve was given a wand, which could heal both plant and animal, little Faracam was given a pendant, which could open a portal to the Brightlands or the Darklands, the lands of the Sidhe. Throughout the presentation of gifts, Olut remained pleasant, almost forcedly so.

The children accepted their gifts and in turn presented their grandfather with displays of their powers. Harcos performed a composition he had written at the age of six entitled “Ode to my Grandfather” and concluded by defeating the Royal Quarter Master in a challenge of wooden swords and shields. Medve displayed his power of Wildspeak and had his animal companions perform complex movements and feats of dexterity. Faracam, with much coaxing from his mother, proceeded to change into a variety of forms and beasts, finishing to a crescendo of laughter when he appeared as a decidedly large-nosed, goblin-like version of his older brother Harcos.

A feast of reindeer, lamb, and salmon followed the recitation of the Luvata Kansa. After dinner came the mead and beer followed by the guest presentations and toasts. The toasts to the King and Queen were many and the following conversation and entertainment lasted for hours.

Olut and his court consumed large amounts of both mead and beer and, by the end of the evening were becoming quite loud. Through out the course of the evening scathing comments could be heard from Olut about Morathel and Faranan. Later at night the intoxicated Olut was unbearable.

At the end of the evening Morathel proposed a toast to Faranan and thanked her for their ten years together. He vowed his love and eternal devotion to her and their children. With tears in his eyes, he recounted the tale of their meeting.

At the end of the tale Olut was visibly angry. In a rage he slammed his fist drunkenly on the table and started shouting, attacking Morathel, calling him a half-breed who childishly fell for his daughter’s magical charms. Morathel responded by defending Faranan. Olut threatened to claim the children and take them to his kingdom, where their mortal lives could be salvaged.

Upon hearing the threat, High Lord Knight Assilomar grabbed his sword, the famed Moradan, and lunged across the table taking a guarded stance in front of the children. He declared that the children would not be taken. Olut’s court erupted into action, grabbing their weapons they prepared for the worst. Accusations flew like arrows. The argument was a court on court shouting match.

Olut looked at his sons Celtios and Hiiri and said that they had a choice to make, either come home to Olut’s kingdom of Vaalea in the Brightlands, or stay forever banished in the mortal realm. Celtios and Hiiri stood behind the children. Bending over they picked up Medve and Faracam and, leading Harcos by the hand took up a position behind Morathel. Their choice was made. They had chosen to stay in the Shadowlands.

Olut was outraged. Grabbing his sword he lunged onto the table and threatened to take the children by force if necessary. Morathel drew his sword and proclaimed that any action against his family would result in a war to end all wars. The respective courts drew their weapons and prepared for battle.

Faranan leapt with great agility on to a table in the center of the room. She called to her father and husband to stop the argument. The candles in the room dimmed and she glowed with an internal light that threatened to swallow up the very castle itself. All movement and noise ceased. Her very words stopped time. She told both sides that the argument would end now.

King Olut started to speak and was quickly silenced by Faranan. She told King Olut that she was a queen in the Shadowlands this was her home and that it was he who had deserted her. She went on to say that Morathel was a fine husband and father and even though apparently quick to anger, a jab that made Morathel flinch he had loved her and was devoted to her as she was to him. She told her father that he and his court was to leave her kingdom on the morrow. She then gathered up her sons and dismissed them from the feast.

King Olut and his court left the following morning never to return. Faranan and Morathel forever feared that the King would return and seize his grandchildren. As such, extra guards were placed by their bedchambers at night.

The Quest for the Lost Stone of Malinaugh

The next few years were ones of growth for Morathel and his family. Soon the three brothers welcomed a younger sister, Haltia the Pure, and the family was complete. The Children grew and matured. Harcos became a fine man and strong leader. Medve left to train with the Silver Legion, and Faracam started his training in the art of high magics. Little Haltia was gifted with the power of the Walk, the ability to move through the forest at an astronomically high speed. At the age of ten she started her training in the armies scouts and quickly became proficient.

On a trip to the northern elven kingdom of Innos Halal eighteen-year-old Harcos met the elven Princess Makea Alatan and fell deeply in love. Like his father before him his love was complete and total. Four for years they courted until, on bended knee in front of the Alatan Court Harcos proposed. Makea accepted and the wedding was planned. They would marry in the early spring in the great hall of Karsia Castle, on Lake Kostaa.

The day before the wedding, representatives from the surrounding lands came bearing gifts for the bride and bridegroom. Sitting on living thrones in the elven ballroom visitors by the hundreds filed through to see the future King and Queen of the Kaurathel and Haran and Harni of Innos Halal, and present them with treasure and riches. The representatives entered, bowed and placed their gifts at the feet of the soon-to-be-wed. The dwarves of Eltor Paksu brought chests of gold. Barbarians from Farkasember brought rich furs and weapons made of bone. The hoblings from Seannaught brought a stout called Kaurathi Gold, the hoblings from Briar Hollow brought their famed Kaurathi Red Tea, and the Sidhe of the northern Surullinen brought flasks of Faery Wine.

Midway through the day a cloaked figure bearing the Flag of the Messenger entered and knelt before Harcos and Haltia. Reaching into a satchel he brought forth a bound and bloodied cloth bundle. Unwrapping the cloth he laid out the black and white flag on the marble at the Prince’s feet. It was the flag of Zoradieth.

Harcos stood and praised the messenger asking him if the Dark Lord was dead? The Messenger rose and lowered its hood revealing a creature with crimson skin, pointed ears, and deep black hair. Locking eyes with the prince the creature said that Zoradieth was not dead, on the contrary he was alive and more powerful than ever, and he was raising an army the like of which had never been seen. He said that the Dark Lord had sent him under the Flag of the Messenger to present a gift, word that the Vision of Zoradieth was true, and a banner of Zoradieth the Eternal, soaked in the blood of a Stag, one of the magical beasts of Kaurath.

Harcos stood and drew his blade and started for the Messenger as Makea caught him. She reminded him that to slay a courier traveling under the Flag of the Messenger was against the Tenants of War. Harcos sheathed his blade and gave the creature a message to deliver to the Dark Lord. He told the Messenger that the line of Morathel was eternal and that his master would be hunted down and destroyed like the dog he was. Bowing, the creature bid Harcos’ leave, gathered up the Flag of the Messenger, and left.

The following day, after the ceremony Harcos told his father and mother of the visit from the messenger. That night, they met discussed the threat. By morning a plan had been devised. The heroes of Kaurath, would quest for the Lost Stone of Malinaugh. Malinaugh had brought fourteen pair of stones from Dracosydan, thirteen were used to capture and imprison the Beyrzars. One remained hidden, guarded for eternity by the Razioch, Malinaugh.

The following month Morathel bid farewell to his heroes as they set off in search of their goal. Crown Prince Harcos and Crown Princess Makea prepared for the worst. Harcos knew his father’s devotion to his subjects. He knew that soon the good King Morathel would follow in his heroes’ footsteps and search for the salvation of his kingdom.

A King’s Devotion

Years passed and no sign of Malinaugh or his stones were found. Morathel and Faranan order the training of more forces and prepare to leave to rally their heroes and lead in the quest. Harcos and Makea are declared King and Queen Regent of Kaurath. On a rainy morning Morathel and Faranan bid farewell to their family and to each other. The Quest of the King had begun. Morathel would be heading toward the Tontuuel peaks with a small guard, Faranan would be heading to the barbarian Kingdom of the north, and Faracam the Changeling would enter the Mountains of the south.

The Promise of Harcos

Harcos and Makea soon found themselves with child. Makea gave birth to a strong little girl whom they called Tiszta. Tiszta was a cunning child who was better with a blade than with diplomacy. Though she appeared elven she possessed the aging properties of her father and powers of her grandmother Faranan. The little girl grew at the same rate as a human until she grew into maturity at which time, like her father, the aging process would slow. Tiszta was Sidhe. She could summon the powers of the Brightlands and travel freely in the gloaming.

Decades passed and Little Tiszta was betrothed to a Forest Lord of the Valkea named Mabanikar. Faranan returned from the north for her granddaughter’s wedding. Upon arriving at Zaraphal, she told her son that the Barbarians were sending a host to establish a northern watch and the draconic race known as the Wyvernoth had build a great wall called Etelamuuri and sealed the Etela Pass from the Southern Wastes. She would have to leave again to travel to the Surullinen to rally her people, but would stay for the wedding and a few months after with her children and grandchildren.

The wedding was elegant. Tiszta, mischievous as a child, was more so as an adult. At the reception after the wedding she played practical jokes on her new husband and his family, who in turn, returned the gesture. Much drink and dancing ensued and the great hall was more reminiscent of a very elegant tavern and public house than a ballroom in the castle in the capitol of the kingdom. The party died down and guests started to become sleepy and quite drunk, until at last, Tiszta and Mabanikar bid farewell to their family and retired for the night.

Months passed quickly and Faranan savored every second of it. Harcos was a true king, kind and just. Medve had grown into a man obsessed with duty to his people. Faracam, back from the south, never lost his playful nature. Haltia grew into a beautiful woman who devoted her life to the study of healing. Faranan’s children had grown into fine leaders. She only wished that Morathel were there to see it.

Faranan had not seen Morathel in thirty-four years. He had taken up permanent residence at the front and had refused to see her. Though he wrote to her daily professing his love he bid her not to come to see him. He could not explain why, he could only state that it was for the good of the land.

A rider from the front lines entered Zaraphal and delivered Faranan an letter and a bundle. Faranan read the letter and called her family to court. Holding the letter and a parcel from her husband she told the court that the battle was imminent and the fronts were forming. She continued stating that King Morathel has decided to personally lead the main defense on the Plains of Uljas. He has a host of dwarven warriors from Eltor Paksu as well as militia of Gythainen, a race of Lizard creature from the swamp of Valkeadier. The war was about to begin and Harcos must lead his people to safety. Faracam was to attend his father on the front, Medve was to travel with a small band of Silver Legion and escort his mother to the Surullinen. Haltia was to organize and oversee the production of healing elixirs and alchemy. Finally, bowing her head, Faranan said that Morathel and she were abdicating the throne. The coronation of Harcos and Makea were to happen immediately and following the war, Morathel and Faranan would take up residence in the castle of Brianoch on the south western edge of the Dragonspine Mountains.

Taking a deep breath she placed the letter down and slowly unwrapped the reindeer fur wrapped parcel. Everyone in the room stood perfectly still. Lying in the center of the fur was the blade of Morathel, weapon of the ancients, the legendary sword Fendreil. Lying at the pummel of the blade was a note scrawled on a piece of sheepskin.

“My Son, My King,

This is the sword of the ancients. It has served me well, may it now serve you until the end has passed. What is found shall be lost and found again. This is the way my dreams have dictated our fate. So let it be done my son.

Morathel”

The court was in awe. The great Monarchs Morathel and Faranan had stepped aside so that their son could rule. The tone of the letter was one of finality. Morathel spoke as if, in his dreams he had known something of the coming days. As the new King of the Kaurathel raised the legendary Fendreil the court knew, Morathel would die defending his kingdom.

The Dark Horizon

The assault began in late summer. First smoke on the horizon and then the sight of open flame. The Dark Lord was burning the forests and fields as he and his dark host marched. Zoradieth had raised an army of creatures that numbered in the tens of thousands. The very ground shook with their footsteps. Morathel and his heroes put their courage to the sticking-place and prepared for the attack.

The Peacemakers failed and the war raged through the summer at a stand still. A western front was established and reinforcements came. The Barbarians from the north came and joined the western forces, the draconic Wyvernoth left Etelamuuri and joined the forces in the south, and Mabanikar gathered his armies of fae and dispersed along the front.

The fall passed into winter and the fighting continued at a standstill. The armies of Morathel were wearing thin. He knew that the resistance would fall. His heroes had not returned with word of the Lost Stone of Malinaugh and he and Korlin had failed in finding their location.

Zoradieth’s forces were replenished daily and less and less of Morathel’s armies were returning from Resurrection. Hordes Zoradieth’s creatures were arriving daily, each stronger than the one before it. The battle at the front had been decided.

On a cold evening in February the stalemate broke. Zoradieth’s new wave of creatures erupted from the frozen earth behind the lines of Morathel’s armies. Thousands died. The tides had turned.

The war raged on as the Dark Lord’s armies marched forward toward the capitol city of Jokainen and the castle of Zaraphal. The Vision of Zoradieth was coming to fruition. The Dark Lord’s armies slaughtered all who got in their way. They were burning and poisoning the lands they conquered. This was not a war of conquest. This was a war of extermination.

The Goodbye

King Harcos received word from his father that Zoradieth’s forces had broken through the line and were marching on Jokainen. Faracam had infiltrated the Dark Army when they had broken through and was currently moving with them. His father bid him farewell and had charged him with a task. He was to deliver his goodbyes to his wife and children. Morathel was going to destroy the Dark Lord Zoradieth. Harcos knew his father would never return.

King Harcos had not seen his brother Medve or his mother in months. The risks of going to the Brightlands to see King Olut were great. If they made it to see his Grandfather there was no guarantee that Olut would ever allow them to leave. Harcos feared that he would never see his mother and brother again. Faracam was somehow traveling with the Dark Army, most likely in the form of a dog or some other animal. Haltia was healing the wounded and resurrecting the dead. She would be the only one who would hear her father’s letter.

The Good News and the Preparations of War

Over half of the Surullinen forest south of what is now the Swamp of Valkadier had been burned to the ground, its scorched skeletal trees ground into ash by the footsteps of thousands of Zoradieth’s creatures. The smoke on the horizon was so thick at times that the sun never shown through. The kingdom was in total darkness for months and ashen rain often fell on the capitol city.

Prince Mabanikar had returned blackened by soot and bloodied. He had recuperated for a brief time and by March Princess Tizsta was expecting. This happy event did little to ease King Harcos fears. Zoradieth was on the move and his kingdom was quickly falling. The Dark Army would be at Jokainen by November. For months Harcos prepared for the long siege.

King Harcos prepared the city for an extended attack, he would not allow for his heir to be destroyed by the Dark Army. The Warriorbard rallied what troops he could and set them as an advanced guard. Fae archers, led by Prince Mabanikar took stances at the gates of Jokainen waiting for the Dark Armies to arrive. The child would be due by December.

The Year of the Purge

In early April, Morathel’s army, in a last desperate attempt to stop the forces of Darkness tried to reestablish a front at the walled village of Omena. Morathel ordered his forces to dig trenches and establish a wall of parapets. Sidhe trappers rigged the surrounding forests with explosive and gas traps and the elves of Innos Halal formed units of mounted archers to strafe the oncoming Darkness.

Soon both armies fell upon each other. Thousands of Dark Creatures died and the armies of Morathel lurched forward. The Darkness was stopped and the forces of Morathel held strong. The war had stalled and for two months the tides appeared to be turning.

Late June arrived and the Dark Army pushed through the line. Jumping on Korlin, Morathel rode hard, bounding over the heads of the Dark Army and heading straight for its leader. He rode for hours over the Darkness and flames until at last he saw Avorocain the walking castle of the Dark Lord.

The castle was make from solid granite and moved forward above the burning Surullinen on spider-like legs. The entrance to the castle was a platform forty feet above the scorched embers of the forest. Korlin, though a magical beast and possessed of supernatural strength could not leap as high as the platform. Morathel looked and saw the Dark creatures of Zoradieth stretched on for miles trampling all beneath their ironclad feet. Soon they would be on him and his life would be over.

High above Morathel a giant eagle circled and dove, grabbing him by his armor. Taking flight, the giant raptor lifted him off of the ground and deposited him on the platform high above. The bird then landed and changed into the form of his son, Prince Faracam. Together they entered the castle fighting.

Morathel and Prince Faracam fought their way into Avorocain. Deep in the center of the castle, they entered the throne room of Zoradieth. The Dark Lord had been waiting for them. Within the throne room was the pinnacle of his creations, the feared race called the Choromath.

The Choromath attacked Morathel and Prince Faracam. The struggle was massive and bloody; father and son fighting back to back in a battle for both their Kingdom and their lives. Prince Faracam fell. His body was dragged from the melee and devoured by the Choromath. He did not resurrect.

Morathel, seeing his son’s body ravaged by Zoradieth’s creatures, flew into a murderous rage. The Choromath attacked but were being cut down faster than they could be healed. Soon the room began to flood with the blood of the fallen.

Zoradieth fled the room and ran to his walking citadel’s tallest tower. Morathel quickly dispatched the last of the Choromath and gave chase. Covered in blood and nearing exhaustion the legendary Morathel fell further behind the Dark Lord.

At the top of the tower Morathel came across a large gilded door bearing the skeletal face of a stag. Pushing open the giant door he entered and was immediately taken aback. Lining the walls of the chamber were the shields and banners of his heroes, long since rusted and worn. Sorrow overcame him. Scanning the room he saw the Dark Lord standing in front of a large glass case. Zoradieth turned to face Morathel, smiled, and stepped sideways to reveal the contents. There in its glass lined coffin, was the dried, mummified body of Malinaugh.

Rage drove out the sorrow and Morathel lunged at the Dark Lord. Zoradieth dodged and reaching into his robes brought forth the Lost Stone of Malinaugh. He spoke the name of Morathel and a great light filled the room. The light diminished. Morathel was gone, trapped forever in the Lost Stone of Malinaugh. The Year of the Purge was nearing its end. The Kingdom belonged to the Darkness.

The Escape of the Little Prince

In Early November Quinos Arathi, leader of the armies of Innos Halal, approached Zaraphal hours ahead of the Dark Army. He was riding Korlin and bore word of the slaughter of the forward defense and of Morathel’s heroics and ultimate demise. King Harcos hid his devastation and asked that for the sake of morale his troops not be told until the battle was over.

The Dark Army attacked. The Castle of Avorocain could be seen in the distance raised on its spindly legs. Deep inside the castle, the Dark Lord Zoradieth turned the Stone of Malinaugh over in his hands and smiled. Jokainen would fall, Zaraphal would be destroyed and his former nemesis’ seed would be purged from Kaurath forever.

In the capitol city of Jokainen, in the castle Zaraphal, King Harcos was in a meeting with his advisors when he received the news that his daughter’s water broke. He rushed from the meeting chambers and summoned Princess Haltia, to attend her. Deep in the hidden dungeons of Zaraphal preparations had been made for this event. Princess Tiszta was taken to the safe room and Princess Haltia soon joined her when a loud crash echoed through Zaraphal. The eastern wall of Jokainen had collapsed. The Dark Army was now within the city.

The forces of Jokainen were quickly falling to the Dark Army. Avorocain could be seen in the distance start to lurch forward on its arachnid legs. Choromath flooded through the city killing all in their way and setting buildings alight. Soon they arrived at the walls of Zaraphal.

Hundreds died at the hands of Zoradieth’s menace while below Zaraphal’s towers Princess Tiszta was in labor, the Heir of Harcos on its way into a war-ravaged world. King Harcos and Prince Mabanikar left the birth and headed to assist in the reinforcement of the gates.

The Castle of Avorocain lumbered over the corpse of Jokainen and collided with the walls of Zaraphal tearing large cracks in its blue granite face. Huge rams mounted on the side of Avorocain slammed hard on the side of Zaraphal. The wall crumbled under the onslaught. Zoradieth and his Choromath were now within the heart of the castle.

King Harcos and Prince Mabanikar led a unit of Silver Legion to the breach. The battle was hard and fierce yet in the end the forces of Harcos were no match for the Darkness. The King and Prince were dead.

Deep in the dungeons of Zaraphal Princess Tiszta was deep into labor. Accompanied by Princess Haltia and Queen Makea the last of the monarchy waited desperately for the heir to be born. Princess Tiszta screamed as a spasm wracked her body. Soon after a head appeared and then a shoulders soon Princess Haltia was holding a strong baby boy who was named Veszithios. Princess Tiszta screamed again. Another child was coming. Tiszta was having twins.

From the upper chambers shouting could be heard and soon blood could be seen dripping from the ceiling. The battle was raging above and within moments they would find the entrance to the hidden chambers. In a moment of terror footsteps could be heard outside of the door to the room. Everyone froze save for the agonized mother. The lock on the door unlatched and it swung open. Standing in the doorway, above the threshold stood a tall powerful man dresses from head to toe in pure white robes and a white fur mantle. From his forehead two stag-like horns bordered a deep blue crystal.

The room filled with an air of quiet calm. The Man-beast stepped forward and reached for the newborn child, dressed it in swaddling clothes and held him close to his chest. Looking over the assembled monarchs the beast spoke. In a deep calming voice he said that he was the servant of Morathel and his people and that he was here to save the heir. A unit of Silver Legion remained in the forests to the east of the city and awaited him and the child. He could not save the family, but the line of Morathel would rule again.

A large crash shook the castle. Footsteps and light could be heard at the top of the stairs. The secret chambers had been found. With great emotion and a palpable sense of despair, the man-beast bid farewell. With tears in his eyes he held the child turned and fled from the castle and into the night.

Outside of the city the forces of the Silver Legion waited for Korlin. Soon the Stag burst through the smoke and the trees, flames licking its belly as it leapt. With the escort of the last noble Lords of the Kaurathel, Korlin and King Veszithios quietly slipped into hiding.

CHAPTER THREE

The Dark Age

After Zoradieth’s purge of the Kingdom and the destruction of Jokainen the Dark Lord and his creatures occupied the devastated wasteland for fifty-years. Korlin and the knights of the Silver Legion took King Veszithios to the legendary Kings Grove deep in the eastern ranges of the Kalivan Mountains. There they trained the young king in the arts of war and peace. Soon he would emerge from hiding and rebuild his kingdom.

As the last noble lords of the Kingdom, the Silver Legion continued to ride their giant warhorses across the ruined devastation of the vast plains of ash and bone. There they would raid and destroy the small Choromath encampments and try to instill hope in the refugees living in the outlying lands. They would not rest until Karauth was free again.

Decades passed and King Veszithios grew and matured. He was strong and just like his father and mother before him. He had been gifted with the blood of his father. He was Sidhe in nature and appearance and so would live for centuries. At the age of forty-five, King Veszithios bid farewell to his knights and rode Korlin to the lands of the north to look for a partner in which he could share his mantle of leader ship. He went in search of a Queen.

The Time of the Quest

While King Veszithios quested for a bride the peoples of the kingdom began their rebuilding. In the years of the King’s quest four major events occurred in what is now the borders of the modern kingdom. They are: the pact of Nu’ori Kansa, the War of the Dubhember, the Holocaust of Eltor Paksu, and the The War of the Vuoritontu. Though not involved in the quest for a queen, they are listed chronologically for the sake of ease in understanding.

Innos Halal and the Pact of Nu’ori Kansa

In the years since the destruction of the Kingdom of the Kaurathel, most refugees migrated north and east. One group who did not flee were the elves of Innos Halal. With their Haran and Harni dead the kingdom of the elves entered a state of emergency organization. A Haran and Harni, or king and queen, were chosen to protect and reestablish the Kingdom of the elves until the true king returned. The Haran and Harni were chosen from the heroes of the War of the Purge as it had come to be called by the elves.

Of the hundreds that fought, five elves of Innos Halal survived. The five heroes were equally suited for the task, however only two were knights of King Harcos. The declaration of Quinos Arathi and his lifemate, the beautiful and powerful Galanya occurred on a cold summer day in the year 228 ER.

Quinos and Galanya refused the titles of Haran and Harni choosing instead the titles of Taar and Taari or Regent King and Queen. Both were knights under King Harcos and Queen Makea and both felt that King Harcos and Queen Makea’s heir was the rightful Haran or Harni of Innos Halal. The Taar and Taari would lead their people until the Heir of the True Haran returned.

The Taar and Taari organized their people, knighted leaders, and established the heart of their kingdom at the castle of Innostas. The castle was abandoned at the start of the War of the Purge as the elves of Innos Halal moved south to establish camps on Lake Kostaa. After driving out the bogles and portunes which had taken up residence in the empty halls of the living castle the Taar and Taari of the elves held court and established the Pact of the Nu’ori Kansa.

The Pact of the Nu’ori Kansa stated that the elves of Innos Halal would first reestablish themselves in their homeland, after which point, as is the Innostian way, they would seek to help the Nu’ori Kansa. Literally translated, Nu’ori Kansa means “young people”. In the language of the elves, the ancient language of the Kaurathel, this term refers to the young races of Kaurath, such as the half-ogres, hoblings, and races of man.

The Pact of Nu’ori Kansa was ratified by the Lords of Innos Halal and was immediately implemented. The elven kingdom of Innos Halal was quickly reborn and soon they found themselves assisting the local peoples in the rebuilding of their farms and establishing settlements of Nu’ori Kansa on the banks of lake Kostaa. Though it is not widely talked about among the elves, the Pact of Nu’ori Kansa is widely thought of among the “young peoples” of Kaurath as the turning point in the survival of the region.

The War of the Dubhember

Little is known about the War of the Dubhember. The records of the conflict were destroyed during the Holocaust of Eltor Paksu. All that survived are tales and songs passed down from family to family.

Deep in the mines of Eltor Paksu the dwarves uncovered a deep cave. They searched the cave walls and found that it was littered with hidden doors that led to dark, well-crafted tunnels. The dwarves thought they knew all of the races of the earth, yet the craftsmanship of the tunnels did not match any style they previously knew. The cave was sealed off and guards were posted around the entrance until the creators of the tunnels could be discovered.

The dwarves feared that they had discovered the passages of the legendary Sihtehl, the dark dwarves. Eons before, the dwarves and dark dwarves were one people. The High Thanes wanted to establish trade with the outside races, the Sihtehl refused. Eventually the Sihtehl joined forces with the mining Sihteeri and a great war erupted. The war lasted for one hundred years until the heroic dwarf Oskar Danilheim led a charge to the Sihtehl caverns and drove them out of the Undermount. Since that time no Sihtehl has been seen, though cave-ins and kidnappings are often attributed to them.

If the dwarves had stumbled onto the hiding place of the Sihtehl the entire dwarven kingdom would be in danger. The High Thanes met and a plan of action was established. A dwarven host would be formed and sent to investigate each of the tunnels. Should anything be found or if the dwarves did not return, the Kingdom of Eltor Paksu would enter in a state of war.

The Host split into equal parts, and along with their trusted hounds, set off into the darkness. They never returned. The kingdom began their readying of their forces and for two weeks heavy guards were set at the mouth of the cavern.

After two weeks the hounds returned, covered in dried blood and gore. Tied to their collars with a piece of leather were bundles and notes, all bearing the same message: “The invasion forces have been destroyed. Prepare to die.” When the bundles were opened horrified gasps echoed through the chamber. Wrapped in the dirty cloths were the scalped beards of the missing dwarves.

The armies of Eltor Paksu raided the tunnels and marched for what seemed like ages. They traveled town a single tunnel until they became tired and had to stop. They made camp, established a watch, and settled in for their rest. Midway through the camp the fires died and went out. Screams erupted from the dwarf host and blood flowed freely. The dwarves fought blind for what seemed like hours.

Soon their eyes adjusted to the dim light emanating from the glowing moss on the walls. Their attackers had come from secret doors that opened from the sides of the wall. They were the size of the dwarves, about the size of a human. They had deep black skin, long pointed ears, and hair as black as soot. They did not have the gray skin and the long white hair and beards of the Sihtehl. These were not the tunnels of the dark dwarves as they had originally thought. This was an enemy none before had encountered. The dwarves had made a costly mistake. The war was on.

The dwarves that survived the first attack, and returned to Eltor Paksu told of the dark assailants. They were called the Dubhember, or dark humans. The dwarves retaliated and finally caught a small foothold in the following battle. The Dubhember were caught unawares and the dwarves broke through the secret doors and into the main complex of the dark ones.

Guerilla bands and strike forces from both sides conducted raids. Hundreds were killed or destroyed. Finally, after the daughter of the High Thane was kidnapped, tortured, and killed. A truce was called.

Through use of the mysterious race known only as the Messengers a treaty was established and signed. The High Thane of Eltor Paksu and the Davan of the Dubhember met in the original chamber and signed the treaty. Hostilities would end and the Dubhember would leave Eltor Paksu. They would go to the mountains of the south, in what is now called the Dubhember Peaks. The original chamber would be permanently sealed and the dwarves would never again enter tunnels of the dark ones. Eltor Paksu lived in relative peace for years, until a fateful visit from the fae during the Dark Age of the Kaurath set their doom upon them.

A Tale of Fire and Pride: The Holocaust of Eltor Paksu

The following tale of the fiery destruction of Eltor Paksu is a summary of the dwarf ballad entitled “A Tale of Fire and Pride”. The ballad is considered one of the few pieces of work still shared between the many dwarven descendants of the disaster and serves as a lesson to those who would be foolish enough to trust the Green Children. The song tells of a tale of dwarven conquest, of their insatiable search for gold and riches beneath the face of Tyrra and their betrayal by the Coblynau.

The race of mining fae known as the Coblynau had existed in competition with the dwarves of Eltor Paksu for centuries. The dwarves would leave offerings of beer and mushroom pie in shafts that they had claimed. The Coblynau would accept the offer and mine elsewhere. This unspoken pact had been commonplace.

One day, deep in the dwarven great hall, the Coblynau presented the dwarves with a right proper bargain. The Coblynau offered the dwarves two magical items, though they could only choose one. There choice was either a hearth that would forever produce bread, or magical picks that could mine stone as if it were made of cheese. For payment, the fae demanded all of the treasure produced by the Kingdom for one year.

The Lords of the Undermount held council and agreed that the offer was fair. In their infinite wisdom they chose the picks. More treasure would purchase more grain making the hearth but a novelty. The dwarves brought their decision to the Coblynau and the deal was made. The fae would return in one year and one day.

Eltor Paksu was well stocked and the underground farms produced more than enough grain to get the kingdom through the year. The picks made light work out of the mining and the miners finished a days labor in half the time. The miners would then return home early every night and soon many children were on the way.

For one year the dwarves mined and many riches were harvested for the fae. A chamber of untold size was created and the treasures of the Eltor Paksu were piled high. The picks worked the stone and soon the chamber quickly filled.

A year and a day later the mining stopped and the Coblynau returned. The Lords of the Undermount brought the fae to the chamber and showed them their riches. Great care was taken to ensure that not even the dust from finished gems was left out of the booty.

The fae looked pleased and then frowned. With a sly smile they said that not all of the treasure was present. The dwarves were outraged. They demanded to know why their word was challenged. The dwarves said that their picks made fine work of the mines and all of the treasure that was hewn from the stone was presented.

The Coblynau’s faces split in a wicked grin. They stated that the bargain was that all of the treasure produced by the kingdom would be presented, not just the treasure mined. Confused the dwarves asked what treasure was absent. The Coblynau replied by asking a simple question: “Do you not treasure your newborn children?” They told the dwarves that their children were produced because of the leisure time created by the picks.

The dwarves were outraged. When they reached for their picks and weapons to retaliate for the threat they found that they could not move. Faery magic held them strong. The Coblynau declared that the bargain was not met and punishment would be dealt. For the dwarves greed they would mine until they reached a stone that could not be mined. With a wave of their hand the gold and the newborn children vanished. The Coblynau then stated that their children would soon be changed into Henkies, protectors of the mining Sihteeri. They bid the dwarves farewell and with a nod vanished.

A fever overcame every dwarf. They grabbed their picks and shovels and mined for months with out rest. The miners dug deeper and deeper until the air was thick and boiling with heat. Soon the vein of fire had been opened and the stone that could not be mined came pouring in. The spell was broken and the dwarves fled their once glorious home. Cavern walls crumbled and the heart of Eltor Paksu was buried forever.

The dwarves fled, and the dwarven nations of Kaurath were formed. The dwarven gem and tin miner caste created the kingdom of Eltor Szakal, the dwarven gold and silver miner caste created the kingdom of Kulta Kerros, and the dwarven lords who agreed to the fae plot were driven from their mountain homes. They now are known as the Ahkera and are forever banished from their mountain homes.

The War of the Vuoritontu

The Ograth are a secretive people. Almost nothing is known about their culture or legends. The Ograth are self–proclaimed protectors of the forests. They are rumored to serve the fae, though that rumor is unsubstantiated. What is known is that they take trespassing in their lands very serious. After the destruction of Eltor Paksu the Ograth patrolled the foothills and borders of the mountains. Prior to the discovery of this tale no one in Kaurath knew how the Trolls became so powerful or why the Ograth all but disappeared during the Dark Age. Had it not been for the detailed investigations by Sir Ichabod Leagallow, this tale and section of history may never had been discovered.

The destruction of the mountain kingdom of Eltor Paksu created havoc in the Eltor Mountains. The collapse of the largest mountain on the range sent shockwaves through out the whole of the kingdom. The thick black smoke that belched out of the ruined dwarven halls sent Kaurath into a week of night.

During this upheaval a new and dangerous enemy emerged from the Eltor Mountains. The Troll Masters and their Vuoritontu. The trolls of Kaurath, called the Vuoritontu, or mountain goblin, were once much like the trolls of Evendarr. They were massive brutes of little intelligence that any well-seasoned adventurer could defeat. This changed with the coming of the Troll Masters.

The Ograth had long sought to contain the Trolls in the peaks and had developed powerful weapons of flame to counter their numbers. To retaliate, the Troll Masters began to breed their trolls to become more and more powerful. The Ograth would lead raids into the Eltor Mountains and conduct raids on the trolls and their masters during the day, when the trolls are at their weakest. They would wipe out whole camps of Troll Masters and their stock. At night the Vuoritontu would retaliate.

As the Ograth would develop newer, more powerful weapons the Troll Master would breed resistances for the trolls. The war raged and the forces of the Ograth were slowly diminishing. The troll masters bred more powerful beasts until eventually they became too dangerous to control and began turning on the Troll Masters.

The Ograth waged a final valiant push to destroy the Troll Masters and the Vuoritontu. The battle was great, but in the end the trolls had turned on the Troll Masters and eventually the Ograth succeeded. The remaining Troll Masters went into hiding. Trolls still stalked the mountains but rarely entered the forests. The war had ended.

The Vadoni Queen

King Veszithios searched for years for true love. His quest took him throughout the lands of the north into what is now northern Kasember and Harcos and deep in the Plains of Renszvarvas. At the age of sixty-five, though appearing only twenty he met his true love.

While traveling deep in the Plains of Renszvarvas, King Veszithios came upon a nomadic tribe of humans called the Vadoni. They were hunters and made their living by hunting the reindeer of the plains and occasionally hiring themselves out as guides to the hoblings of Seannaught.. When the reindeer would move on, so would the Vadoni.

King Veszithios rode Korlin to the outskirts of the camp when the guards of the Vadoni stopped him. He introduced himself simply as Veszithios the Kaurath and stated that he was a lone traveler in need of food and shelter and that he would pay well for hospitality. The guards agreed and escorted King Veszithios to an empty tent. The guards then collected a few sovereigns, escorted Korlin to a pasture a few yards a way from the tent, and returned to the tent to escort the traveling king to dinner.

The inside of the tent was cavernous and lined with delicate carpets of died wool. King Veszithios changed into a set of clean clothes. He then washed his hands in a basin of water that was supplied within, beat the dust out of his traveling clothes and packed them. Choosing a bedroll near the middle of the tent then laid down his pack and exited the tent.

Outside the night air was cool and crisp and King Veszithios was hungry from the long days ride. The smell of roasting reindeer and vegetables could be detected wafting on the cool night breeze. The Vadoni and a few extra travelers were assembled around a large cooking fire. Turning above the flames and embers was the carcass of a reindeer.

The meat was cut from the bone and the vegetables unburied from the coals, their clay wrappers shattered exposing the tender bulbs of roast turnips and carrots. The food was presented on the fennel trenchers made famous by the Vadoni. The King sat down and ate a rich and hearty meal, all the while exchanging stories with his fellow travelers and Vadoni hosts.

After the meal the Vadoni told stories of the great heroes, now lost on the southern Plains of Morathel as the scorched and dead lands of Allakansiel had come to be called. After the tales came dancing and eventually singing from the Vadoni Singer of the Hunt.

King Veszithios was lost in thought when she walked to the center of the assembled group. It wasn’t until she began to sing and her ethereal voice hit his ears did he notice her. King Veszithios looked at the beautiful Vadoni woman singing and fell deeply in love. Her name was Rakastaa and he had found his queen.

King Veszithios traveled with the Vadoni for two years and courted Rakastaa. They fell in love and were married in a ceremony in the northern Plains of Renszvarvas with all of the Vadoni and the Silver Legion in attendance. After the ceremony Veszithios revealed that he was King and heir of King Morathel and King Harcos and that Rakastaa was now his Queen. Together they would rebuild the kingdom that was stolen from them by the evil forces of Zoradieth.

The Vadoni became his court, the first knights of the new kingdom and the hunters of the king. They began the preparations for the rebuilding of the Kingdom of the Kaurath. The Vadoni and the Silver Legion escorted King Veszithios to the Castle of Brianoch in the southern tail of the Dragonspine Mountains. The trip took two years, and by the end of their journey, Rakastaa was with child.

The Heir of Kaurath was born in early December. The halls of Brianoch Castle had been cleaned and insulated with reindeer hides and the once bitter castle was now warm and safe. The King and Queen doted over their newborn Prince and named him Uthios after the great Regent King.

Prince Uthios grew. Like his father he was of the Otherworld. Like his mother he possessed the gift of the hunt. The little prince grew and matured into a fine and strong man and attended his father and ailing mother.

King Veszithios knew the curse of his Sidhe blood. He had barely aged a decade in the fifty years that he and Rakastaa reigned. His love for his queen was total, and he sat near her bed every day as she grew older and nearer to death.

On a cold October evening Queen Rakastaa died. She was seventy-one. King Veszithios, was devastated. He abdicated the thrown and bid farewell to his only heir. Entering the bedchamber King Veszithios walked to his Queen and lay beside her body. Though he appeared only thirty, he died a few hours later. It is said that the King of the Kaurathel had died of a broken heart.

CHAPTER FOUR

The Age of Kaurath

The coronation of the High King Uthios the Kaurath marks the beginning of the modern age of the Kaurathel. It is these few hundred years that brings us to the kingdom we know today. In this time period the Kingdom of Kaurath rises from the destroyed remnants of a once great empire, to a diverse Empire made up of many different Kingdoms all ruled by a High King. Though vast and dynamic, the new kingdom started with one man, a Stag, and a vision.

The Return of the Lost King

The coronation of King Uthios’ was held shortly after his father and mother’s death. He and his Vadoni cousins met in the great hall. He knelt before the Lords of the Silver Legion and recited the Luvata Kansa. They crowned him with the steel crown of his father and the coronation was complete.

The Silver Legion took him by the shoulder and let him into the wilderness. Unlike his father or mother, Uthios and the Silver Legion performed a ceremony binding his will to the land. King Uthios was chosen by the Stag to rebuild his kingdom. He had been chosen by the power of Korlin and the wisdom of the Razioch.

The following morning his father and mother’s bodies were burned in the way of the ancients. On a peak over looking the castle he saw Korlin. In his heart Great King Uthios knew it would be the last he ever would seeof the strong steed of his ancestors.

The fire raged into the night. Early the following morning Great King Uthios gathered the ashes of his father and mother and assembled the court. He said that he was leaving on the morrow to bring his father, the lost king, home. He declared that it was a new tradition of the Kaurath. Once the monarchs died their final death they would be burned on the pyre collected and escorted with King’s Guard to the home of the heroes and the dead. The following morning Great King Uthios bid his cousins farewell and set off with the Silver Legion for the ruined city of Jokainen and the Cemetery at Kiranoth.

Kaurath Reborn

Word soon spread through the lands that were once Grein’s Reward and Farkasember that the true king had returned and had established his reign at the ancient royal castle of Brianoch. Large migrations of Kaurathel traveled south and settled in the hills and valleys surrounding the ancient castle. The settlement came to be called New Jokainen, and was soon considered the new capitol of Kaurath.

The old provincial ties were lost and the former provinces of Grein’s Reward, Farkasember, and the eastern portion of Vieras had become the lands of Kasember. The provincial capitols of Lahja and Kahtos grew and soon became important trading centers for the kingdom, each city specializing in its own commodity. Lahja in the south traded in grains and vegetables from the areas farms and imported beer and tea from the hoblings of Briar Hollow, Kahtos in the north specialized in livestock, furs, and imports from the Vaeltaa, Vorlonal, and Ijjen of the Plains of Renszvarvas and the hoblings of Seannaught.

Through this new economy, the Kaurath started to grow and prosper and soon their power was felt through out the lands of Kasember. The people of Kaurath grew and spread north through the lands of Kesember. King Uthios was quickly rebuilding the kingdom of his people.

Praise for the Fallen

For a short time the Kaurath enjoyed their prosperity, however such success in the face of hardship caused dissent among the neighboring kingdoms. Soon bandit and brigand bands were robbing and pillaging the southern countryside. Hiding in the devastated former province of Allakansiel, now called the Plains of Morathel, the brigands would raid the farms and hamlets scattered throughout the south. In the north, rogue forces of Ijjen tribes raided the caravans and small farms scattered over the northern countryside.

The lands of the kingdom soon became a harsh and inhospitable place. Hundreds died and the Vadoni knights and Silver Legion were already spread thin. To remedy the situation King Uthios called a council of the bravest and noblest of commoners throughout the kingdom. There he presented his scheme of protection to them all; to follow the Luvata Kansa and the Tenants of War and to protect his people as knights and lords of Kaurath. Warriors and Rangers would become Knights and would use their bravery and steel to stand watch over their people. Wizards and Mages would become Lords and use their magics to protect, heal, and defend their charges. They all accepted and in the presence of King Uthios and his Silver Legion, recited the Luvata Kansa as the oath of their position.

King Uthios had a grand feast prepared honoring his new knights and lords of the Kaurath. The knights and lords assembled and King Uthios rose and prepared to speak. His new nobility sat in rapt attention. King Uthios quietly picked up his goblet and looked out over his new nobles. He then took a deep breath and addressed the room.

“We have traveled through devastation and hardship. We have died at the hands of the Darkness and have been reborn. We have lost our heroes and our path, but through it all we have found our way home. We have forged our legacy from the blood of those who died ensuring our survival as a people. And so let it be to those who have died that we sing our praise for the fallen.”

In a powerful response the knights and lords replied: “Praise to the fallen!” To this day this toast is still used. It is spoken at every feast and seasonal Meet and is considered the proper way to honor the dead.

Soon the Knights of Kaurath traveled forth and established their estates. Similar to Evendarrian Barons, these knights had the power over life and death. They had the power to write the laws and raise an army within their estate. Soon armies were raised and defenses mustered and life was returned to relative safety under their protection. For years the odd peace was held and the Kaurath grew further. A time of prosperity returned.

A Promise Fulfilled

As a relative peace settled over Kaurath, the Silver Legion prepared to move on. They addressed the king in a private meeting. Sir Esau, the leader of the Legion told King Uthios that the kingdom had been rebuilt and that their duty to their king lied elsewhere.

They said that they must return to the Plains of Morathel to begin the healing of the land after the devastation of the southern Surullinen. They said that their duty to their kingdom would not be fulfilled until the Plains were healed. King Uthios agreed and told them that they would forever possess the bond granted to their ancestors by the great King Morathel. They would be forever considered heroes of Kaurath, keepers of the Luvata Kansa, and possessors the bond of the Kings blood. Their nobility was a birthright and placed upon Esau the right to lead his people as a Prince. He could knight and lord as he saw fit and levy judgment over the skeleton of Allakansiel.

Prince Esau, told King Uthios that they were forever loyal to the Kings of Kaurath. They would not be gone forever, though. When needed they could be summoned by the true king of the Kaurathel. The Silver Legion left the following morning at daybreak and rode headlong into the Plains of Morathel.

King Uthios publicly addressed his court and told them that the Legion had returned home to heal the devastation of the War of the Purge. He then went on to say that he had never been graced with the large family of his Grandfather, King Harcos. He had never had a brother or a sister until now. He declared Esau Prince of the Kaurath, and an heir in line for the throne.

The Kingdom of Darkness

Years of a harsh peace followed and strange word came from the Ahkera workers who traveled seasonally with the reindeer herds. They spoke of settlements in their old destroyed homeland of Eltor Paksu. Which lies past the walled bridge called Siltamuuri, beyond the crumbled tower of Kulta Hazhoz, and through the Troll infested Dubhember Pass.

First they spoke of the odd campfire, then of stone buildings built from the rubble and of the barbarian hoards that had taken up residence since the destruction. The once great dwarven kingdom had become a place of ever-night. Thick black smoke rose from the lake of fire at the buried heart of Eltor Paksu. The smoke drifted skywards and was trapped by the tall surrounding peaks of the Eltor Mountains. There it hung like a blanket of night over part the buried heart.

The destruction of the Akhera settlements followed. Queen Adalisz, of the Valag, ruler of the Vaeltaa sent forces to assist the Akhera. They fought along side of the Akhera but if was of little help. Soon the former dwarven lords were driven out of their homeland.

As the displaced Ahkera left the Barrowheart, they started to tell tales of construction under the darkness of the ever night. They spoke of towers and ramparts and of groups of farmers beginning to till the small part of land still bathed in daylight. They spoke of a great tower, which they had claimed, appeared overnight.

Rumors reached King Uthios in Brianoch. Fearing that the tower signified the return of Avorocain and Zoradieth, he ordered a scouting party to travel through the Dubhember pass and investigate. They never returned.

Royal Meetings and Runaway Horses

Months past and with no word from the scouts King Uthios grew anxious. If Zoradieth was rebuilding an army he would soon march on the still vulnerable people of Kaurath. King Uthios ordered the knights and lords of his people to start raising an army. He then sent a Messenger north to the Vealtaa Valag to seek an audience with Queen Adalisz, ruler of the gypsies.

Soon the messenger returned and a meeting was established. King Uthios was to travel north to the small outpost of Kallio on the northern ridge of the Dragon Spine Mountains. There he would meet with the Queen of the Valag and negotiate.

King Uthios rode north with the Vadoni and soon arrived at Kallio a day early. They set camp on the outskirts of town and waited for the arrival of the Vaeltaa. Morning came and soon the caravan could be seen on the horizon. King Uthios and the Vadoni mounted their horses and rode out to meet the visiting Queen.

King Uthios and the Vadoni met with the Vaeltaa and rode with them to their campsite next to King Uthios’ own. King Uthios and the Vadoni helped the Vaeltaa set the tent and prepare dinner. They ate and drank together, and enjoyed the company of the Vaeltaa. After dinner they told stories and sang songs. Soon they grew weary and retired for the night.

Early the next morning, King Uthios was awoken by a crack of thunder in the valley above the camps. He stretched. As he was leaving his tent heard a distant screaming. It was early morning and both camps were quiet and still. Searching for the source of the noise King Uthios saw a horse riding out of control in the distance. Dangling from one foot, hanging from the saddle, was a little girl.

King Uthios jumped onto the nearest horse he could find and rode hard and fast toward the panicked horse. Riding alongside of it, he reached down and grabbed the child by the ankle. He lifted with her and drawing his short sword slashed at the piece of leather wrapped around her foot. He cut through the strap with ease and hefted the child into his lap. He slowed down his horse, reached into his pouch and produced a clean rag with which he offered her to clean the tears from her eyes. She took the rag. King Uthios asked her if she was hurt and in a deep Vaeltaa accent said that she was not.

King Uthios rode back sharing the saddle with the child. The camp was still quiet when he returned. He dismounted and reached for the child as he did so he saw that he was looking at little Princess Anya, heir to the Vaeltaa Valag, Crown Princess of the Gypsies.

King Uthios asked her what happened and she responded that she had wanted to go riding, but her mother’s guards would not allow it, so she poisoned them with a Sleep elixir and went for a ride. She said that the horse got spooked by the crash of thunder and took off leaving her in the state in which King Uthios found her. She pleaded with him not to tell her mother. King Uthios told her that he would not lie to the queen, however if she didn’t ask there was no reason why she would have to know. Princess thanked him, gave the good king a big hug, and ran off back to the tent of her sleeping guards.

The Treaty of Kallio

Later in the day the King of the Kaurath and the Queen of the Vaeltaa met. King Uthios gave his sympathies for her recent loss of her King who had died in a skirmish with rogue Ijjen. She responded in kind commenting him for his knighting of such just and honest nobles.

With pleasantries over they discussed the potential dangers of the new settlement in the Barrow Heart of Eltor Paksu. She agreed and soon a treaty was written and signed. The treaty, now called the Treaty of Kallio, said that groups made up of both Vaeltaa and Kaurath, would patrol the lands surrounding the Dubhember Pass. Such precautions had to be taken. There was a war brewing with the Trolls deep in the Eltor Mountains and the Sidhe of the Surullinen broke all contact with the mortals after the destruction of their southern home. Both the Trolls of the mountains and the Sidhe of the forest were powerful enemies, which threatened any party that ventured into their realm.

The Rise of the Barrowheart

The parties of Vaeltaa and Kaurath patrolled the northern Surullinen forest and the Dubhember pass. Soon they penetrated the mountains and carefully made their way unseen into the Barrowheart. They saw a vast and impressive castle, with tall stone towers rising into the eternal twilight. In the valley, on the center of the ruined valley there was a lake of fire glowing. The lake, called Lo’chellan, cast an eerie red glow over the lands beneath the blanket of smoke. Further on, they came upon the area at the edge of the blanket. Here were farms and settlements for as far as the eyes could see. They traveled further on, toward the entrance of the Dubhember pass. The pass was once the former tunnel that led to the opening at the tower of Kulta Hazhoz and Siltamuuri, long collapsed after the Holocaust of Eltor Paksu. At the entrance of the pass they saw a host of warriors standing in rapt attention. Some appeared human, others undead, and others still appeared foreign and alien to the scouts on patrol. They numbered in the hundreds and appeared as if they would be ready to battle at a moments notice.

The scouts silently left through the mountains in which they came. Only four made it to the other side. While traveling through the mountains they came across a solitary troll the likes of which they had never seen. The troll killed twenty-one of the scouts in a matter of seconds.

The four left the mountains and hunted and fished along the Lansi River. When they had enough for themselves, and enough to pay their toll through the Surullinen they headed home to presented their findings to King Uthios and Queen Adalisz. The group stopped for suppliues at Kahtos and split, two headed for Brianoch, and two headed for the plains of Rensvarvas to find the Vaeltaa Valag.

Both King Uthios and Queen Adalisz had the same response. They prepared their forces for war. King Uthios rallied his troops and established a border Guard along the banks of the Keskus River. Queen Adalisz sent her forces deep into the Surullinen, where they gathered on the eastern side of the crumbling walled bridge of Siltamuuri and waited. The kingdoms of both people grew tense waiting for the initial strike. The waiting lasted for a decade.

The Quest for Fendreil and the Long Awaited Goodbye

The waiting was intense and soon grew on the morale of the kingdom. Every month word of casualties at the hands of the Sidhe.came to the capitol city and recruitment into the armies dwindled as time went by. Those scouts that survived the wrath of the trolls reported that the build up of troops at the western side of the Dubhember pass had grown to a huge size. Legions upon legions of warriors stood at the ready in the Barrowheart.

King Uthios needed something to rally the morale of his people and lead his troops into the inevitable war. He knew what he must do. He must quest for Fendriel, the legendary sword of Morathel and Harcos.

He assembled the Vadoni and told them that they must rule in his stead as he quested for the blade of the ancients. He told them of his quest. The Vadoni feasted and drank in celebration of his bravery and foresight. He declared his cousin Kafsiya as Queen Regent and left the following morning to the Plains of Morathel and the ruined castle of Zaraphal.

The Plains of Morathel looked like a blasted, scorched wasteland. For miles in all directions lay the ancient husks of burned trees. Black ash and soot could be seen through the thin scrub and grasses. Areas of vast raw earth and charred sand spread out across the once great forest.

King Uthios would often find odd footprints and skeletons of unfamiliar beasts scattered across the landscape. At night would hear creatures lurking in the darkness and saw the dead walk as ghosts and specters across the lands. He traveled safe and slow and many times had to hide from the evils of the Plains. Goblins and packs of Kobolds prowled the nights and creatures of unspeakable evil lurked in the debris and caves during the day. He had traveled to the outskirts of Jokainen once before, when he buried his father and mother in the Cemetery at Kiranoth.

Hundreds of destroyed and ravaged villages and towns were scattered the devastated landscape. After a month of moving and hiding in the skeleton of the past kingdom, surviving on wits and luck alone, he traveled past the Cemetery at Kiranoth and came upon the burned out ruins of Jokainen.

The castle of his ancestors rose defiantly out of the ashes of the dead city. Zaraphal stood tall among the ruins of Jokainen. King Uthios knew that his grandfather, King Harcos had died wielding Fendreil in the halls of Zaraphal. Screwing his courage to the sticking place, he entered the dead city and made his way through the ruins to the castle of Zaraphal.

The city appeared deserted and showed no signs of the former occupation by Zoradieth all those years ago. It was then that he knew the Dark Lord came only to destroy the line of Morathel. Zoradieth went on a war of extermination, not conquest. When the city fell, he eliminated anyone living and left. He didn’t establish camp, or grow crops to support his army; he simply annihilated the Kaurathel, and left.

King Uthios made his was through the deserted city, over the crumbled marble thoroughfares, and into the courtyards of Zaraphal. The castles blue granite and gilded stags and gargoyles still shone with a defiant beauty. Even among the devastation and debris Zaraphal still stood as a noble reminder of King Uthios’ family legacy.

The good king carefully moved the fallen debris and entered the castle. The castle of his ancestors was in an advanced state of disrepair, moth eaten tapestries hung loosely from the faded, painted walls of the inner chambers. Few of the many stone staircases that ran an elegant spiral up the inside of the tall spire remained passable. Most crumbled under the weight of the upper walls as they were battered open three stories above them.

King Uthios drew his sword and started up the nearest passable stairs to the second floor. Skeletons of fallen heroes lined the staircase. Zoradieth’s forces left the dead where they lay their equipment still with the bodies. The blue tower was haunted with the dead of his people. Their spirits walked the halls and grounds in a tormented state. The castle Zaraphal was no longer a castle it was a tomb.

The second floor was worse than the first. The white marble floors had been stained a rusty brown by the constant flow of blood dripping from the dying soldiers during Zoradieth’s final massacre of the Kaurathel. The skeletal bodies of his ancestors were laid out on the floors. King Uthios searched for yet another staircase and again slowly crept his way further up the inside of the castle to the third floor.

The third floor was ripped apart by the forces of Avorocain’s rams. Pieces of marble and granite lined the outer walls of Zaraphal and a massive gaping wound lay in the side of the castle. Skeletal bodies were everywhere, some misshapen, others obviously those of human, elves, and half-orc.

In the center of the room lay the skeletal body of a man in rusted armor. His mummified flesh was still clinging to the body. A large gaping hole had been sliced through the man’s chest, and on its head was a thick, rust colored stain. It was the remnants of a crown.

King Uthios was staring at his great grandfather, King Harcos the Warriorbard. He knelt over his grandfather’s remains and mourned the hero he never knew. Gently, with dignity the King then delicately searched for the sword of his ancestors. He found naught but an empty scabbard. The sword of his ancestors had been stolen.

King Uthios threw caution to the wind, and gathered up the remains of the tapestries and old ancient furniture and piled it in the center of the floor. He wrapped the body of his grandfather in an old tapestry and placed him on the unlit pyre. He searched for the bodies of his other family lost in the onslaught.

King Uthios knew the location of his ancestors from the stories told to him by his father. Zoradieth had left the bodies where they lie and soon the macabre task was done. When the bodies of his ancestors were laid upon the pyre he stood back and threw the torch on the dried pile. As the sun set in the west the flames of the pyre grew stronger and higher. For one night the King of the Kaurathel had returned to Zaraphal and had reclaimed it as his own. With the first morning light King Harcos gathered up the ashes of his ancestors and buried them in the Cemetery at Kiranoth.

Like Grandfather Like Son

King Uthios left the Cemetery at Kiranoth and traveled through the Plains of Morathel, hiding by night and traveling by day. After four months of walking, with little provisions left, he came across a wide scar in the land. Sand stained black with ash and soot stretched far ahead of him. Covering his face against the blowing ash and sand he made his way into the desert.

King Uthios traveled for a day through the black desert when he came across an island of stone in the center. Burned trees stood in and among island plateau. King Uthios climbed the stones to look for water and to view the desert from a higher vantage point. At the top of the stones, in a surrounding bowl in the rock, covered in ash and soot there lay a body of a man wearing long white and red robes. He appeared recently dead.

King Uthios climbed down to the man and reached for him. When he turned him over he saw that he was just barely alive. King Uthios pulled the last of his wine from his pack and cradling the man, let him drink his fill. The man emptied the skins and soon color began to return to his cheeks. Though King Uthios knew that without the wine he would surely die in this forsaken place he knew that he would rather die so that the man could have a chance to live.

King Uthios stayed with the man that night and stood guard over his weak frame. By the early twilight of dawn the man was strong enough to stand. He thanked the good king and asked him if he would like payment for his generosity. King Uthios said that it was not necessary and that it was his privilege to help. Again, the man offered some trinket for the king’s generosity, and again King Uthios merely stated that the man’s company while traveling would be enough.

The man smiled at the king’s response and told him that his great great grandfather Morathel said the same. King Uthios was in shock and inquired how the man knew King Morathel. The man smiled with a large toothy grin and said that long ago when the King was but a young prince he had braved the unknown and entered his grove. He was a Changeling and the Guardian of the Sword of the Ancients and the Crown of Power; charged by the Green Lady herself to protect both from the corruption of the Shadowlands. They were to be granted only to those who can walk the worlds of twilight and the worlds of light. Morathel had proven worthy and claimed but one, but for King Uthios’ great sacrifice he would be granted both.

The Guardian then turned and stepped toward the stone which surrounded them, there he reached for the rock and in a language long since dead on Tyrra, spoke words of power. A door in the rock opened and light poured out into the early morn. There, resting on a golden table lay the legendary Fendreil and a simple steel circlet, the Crown of Myrdhan. The Guardian entered the stone, gathered the sword and crown, and returned as the first light of morning broke over the eastern horizon. As the light touched the stone, the door vanished.

The Guardian handed Fendreil to King Uthios, removed the King’s crown, and placed the Crown of Myrdhan on his head. Placing his father’s crown in a small sack, he handed it back to King Uthios saying that Myrdhan possessed great powers. With the crown he could walk through realms and travel safely in the Otherworld. It would allow safe travel through the Valkea and our groves. He went on to say that the Darkness it going to attack, and soon. The Guardian instructed King Uthios to place his hand upon the stone and walk through it to the Otherworld.

King Uthios could feel the magical warmth in the blade and the crown on his head grow within him. He thanked the Guardian and inquired for his name. Smiling, the Guardian replied that no one ever asked him such things before; they were too caught up in the greed that drove them to seek out the artifacts of the ancients. He smiled and said that his name was Viisachol the Keeper, Protector of the Artifacts of the Valkea.

King Uthios thanked Viisachol for his generosity and asked if he would like to accompany him home to Brianoch and join his court. Viisachol told the ageless king that he could not. His place was in the groves of power protecting that which the Fool had hunted. King Uthios told the old keeper that he would never be forgotten and would live forever in the Litany of the Kaurathel.

King Uthios turned, placed his hand upon the rock face, and stepped through. The stone washed past his face like warm water and he found himself in the Otherworld. There he traveled instinctively from glen to glen, grove to grove to Brianoch.

He walked from a wall in the great hall to the gasp and shock of all assembled. Calmly, he walked to the throne, turned and addressed the court. He said that Fendreil and Myrdhan were his, gifted to his family by Viisachol the Keeper, Protector of the Artifacts of the Valkea. He then said that the war would begin soon and we shall fight, and with the powers of the Artifacts of the Ancients, survive.

King Uthios declared that the new banners of the Kaurathel would forever fly over their people. He declared that the colors of the banner would be the Blue and Gold of Zaraphal, legendary castle of their people. Blue as the blue granite, meaning loyalty and truth, gold as the golden stags that p