Tharivol Eldan, Son of Athalon & Hadriel, Twin Brother of Rinn, Hails from the forest village of i-Wenyn Falls of the Elf Realm Iyathlia

 
 

Preface

 

House Eldan

 
As a boy, he and his brother were told stories of their people’s coming to Freiya, the struggles against Marauding Orks and the War of the Portal. Unlike most Iyathlian warrior families though, his kin didn’t fight for their own land but dedicated themselves to a higher cause; the protection of the Portal of Aberath.
 
This selfless dedication to a cause, in direct conflict with the King’s foreign policy, was initially accepted by the court due to his family always being there when called on to fight but as tensions with the Kyrilians increased and the King’s advisers pushed for control of the Portal, Oaths and Iyathlian ambitions came into conflict.
 
Being forced to choose between their oaths and their country was a tough decision and not one they took lightly. The protection of the portal and its continued independence was paramount and beyond all loyalty to King or state and so many took up arms with the free companies of Captain Belmoor and Captain Asawara, who had vowed to protect the portal at all costs and sought to bring peace across the lands of Freiya.
 
After the war and when the peace treaty was signed between Kyrila and Iyathlia, many returned to their forest homes on the southeastern coast of Iyathlia to live in peace, far from the front lines where tensions could still run high.
 
For a time, and despite tension in court, his people were happy and striven to live with their surroundings rather than atop of them. They took pride in whatever discipline they decided upon and did so with an unmatched standard and mastery.
 
Like their ancestors, they were great warriors and trained from a very young age to master skills such as marksmanship, mortal combat, tracking, stealth and the magic of the forest.
 
Growing up with his brother, who he loved dearly, they pushed each other to always better themselves, striving for excellence in all they did and relishing the competitive spirit held between them.
 

i·Wenyn Falls

The Town they lived in ( The Ruins i·Wenyn Falls ) was a wondrous spectacle of horticultural, engineering and artistic beauty. With his people having carved homes from the giant trees surrounding the twin waterfalls that ran down the centre of the town. atop of which, on a rocky peninsula in the middle of the water that split the upper river in two, stood a huge cherry willow that’s plumage would drape down on three sides.
 
This was the main council building for the town and was a view to behold. Connected with expertly crafted rope bridges and spiral staircases, the town was awash with the colours of the forest by day and a warm hue of fireflies and starlight by night.
 
On a summers day, the sun would penetrate the canopy to give a warm glow of orange, red and green from the surrounding trees, while the water mist from the falls would spray up from the base of the town with all the colours of a rainbow and an additional soft warmth of pink and white from the council tree.
 
By night, it became more tranquil, lit by a plethora of yellow and orange fireflies in the upper and middle canopies, while the lower level of the town and river would shine an ice blue from the glowworms living in the moist strata .
 
As time went on and the great wars were forgotten about, the town slowly started to turn to darkness. The sunlight cut through the canopy less and less each day, and the colours of the forest slowly turned greyer and ashen.
 
Reports of locals going missing, whispers of foul creatures in the glades and a once peaceful town was now under constant threat of evil and darkness.
 
Raell and his brother Rinn Eldan, only children at the time, aged sixteen , were still in training, but as numbers in the town dwindled the elders had no option but to call upon them to help the tracking parties locate and root out the source of the evil that was taking their home.
 

The Vanished

 
On deadwinters eve, a mixed party of 3 rangers, 2 warriors, a cleric, 2 mages and an auxiliary scout called Giullis Lorafir set out into the depths of the darkness, to find the source of the blight on their land. A mission few had returned from before but something that needed to be done for the survival of the area.
 
After a few days of tracking, with no obvious leads, the party led by Raell’s father, Athalon Eldan , decided to make the return Journey home but rested for the night close to one of the old watch trees. As the night progressed the sound of the surrounding trees gradually became silent. For a group of elves with exceptional hearing and sight, to hear and see nothing, was extremely unsettling.
 
Their surroundings despite being under a thick canopy of foliage felt like it was covered in snow and any sounds they did hear were their own; but yet muffled. The air and everything around it was still. The party sensing something was wrong took to their surroundings to camouflage themselves for what they felt was coming.
 
Raell and Rinn Eldan swiftly moved to some bushes as the rest of the party spread out. Concealed amongst the foliage all was still... silence but suddenly as if a valve had been release the air picked up and a wind howled through the area and a demonic screech echoed through their ears... one of the party vanished.
 
They could just about hear his wailing cries for help over the constant screaming as it disappeared into the distance. Then it returned again and another party member vanished. Time after time the noise would return and each time a party member would be dragged away. Their hearts are filled with fear and panic, bodies tensed with impending doom.
 
They could see their father at a nearby tree as the mage next to him vanished and was gone. He slowly turned to his sons with a tear running down his cheek, and with a look of despair, he drew his sword and began to yell “RUUUUUUUUUUUU…..” and before he finished the noise had gone and so was their father.
 
Raell and Rinn broke from cover and sprinted away as fast as they could. The screech returned time after time in search of them. Passing on the left, then the right. But they could see nothing. The leaves did not even move as the noise passed. The two sprinted side by side, further and further into the forest until eventually, the screech died down.
 
After a moment to catch his breath, Raell turned to his brother Rinn only to realise, he was no longer beside him. His skin began to tingle in fear for as beloved brother as he turned slowly in a circle, scanning the area for him. But he could see nothing but darkened trees and their shadows in the moonlight. Raell's eyes began to well but before long the screech began to return. He slowly motioned backward, facing the direction of the horrific sound; waiting for the inevitable end to come.
 
Raell thought to himself, that if this was to be his end then he would at least face it head-on. And so as he backed up against a large pine tree he drew his sword and too a long deep breath as he awaited the same fate. He briefly closed his eyes and thought of his mother, his father and his brother. The noise advanced and just as he felt it was upon him, he was grabbed from behind and pulled backward.
 

A Saviour in the Dark

 
Raell thought that was it, his end, and opened his mouth to scream but his mouth had been muffled. The screech darted around his periphery as he was held in the shadow of the large pine tree. He didn't know whether to struggle or remain still. The nose came so close he could feel the wind of it pass his face. He calmed himself to fight his urge to struggle and be found. After a while, the noise moved on and the grip that held him in place loosened allowing him to fall forward to the ground.
 
Turning and looking at the tree he saw nothing so slowly crawled backwards wherein the silhouette of a figure appeared from the shadow. He could only think it was his brother as there had been no one else near that he was aware of. But to his surprise, a female stood before him.......It was his mother Hadriel . She didn't speak and moved with the silent grace that she always had and calmly motioned her finger to her lips for him to stay quiet.
 
Taking his hand she hurried Raell deeper into the darkness. The trees became denser and the shadows crossed. As they went further, his mothers figure again began to vanish but he could still feel her soft grip on his hand. His dark vision was no longer clouded but still unable to see her in the shadows, he stood in front a tall tree covered ledge sweeping round in a semi-circular shape.
 
He felt the grip on his hand stop and shortly after, a gentle purple and green glow appeared on a symbol he didn’t recognise on the rock in front of him. The symbol changed to what seemed to be like a liquid, dripping down and burning through the rock like lava, to reveal a hidden cave. After walking through the entrance, it sealed behind him.
 
Once in the cave, everything felt a lot more calm. After walking down a winding set of stairs worn into the rock, the cave opened out into a vast cavern, dimly lit by millions of pale blue glow worms hanging from the cave ceiling. It reminded him of the glowing blue river of his home town and for an instant, his fear had gone. There were towering carved pillars of stone extending off into the distant darkness.
 
On reaching the bottom step of the stairs, Raell collapsed to his knees and as the potential fate of his father and brother set in. He fought to hold back his emotion, but still, as a youngling, he could not control it. He raised his hands to his face and began to quietly sob. He then felt a gentle caress on his hands that he was familiar of. He took his hands away from his face and looked up to see his mother again. She had a delicate demeanor that was always soothing. She lowered her hood revealing her beautiful white eyes. She knelt before him and gently pressed her head to his and hushed him.
 
"There there my young son, you are safe now"
 
Despite the fear of loss of his loved ones, his mother's actions and words were instantly calming and Raell gathered himself to his feet.
 
Raell knew little of his mother's history or her life before his family. She never talked about it and he never felt the need to ask. He had always known her as a warm caring mother who asked little for herself but cared greatly for others.
 
After his nerves had settled on the events that have just occurred, Raell began to question his mother on the noise that took her father and brother.
 
"What was that? I've never heard anything like it. What happened to Father and Riin?" Raell asked
 
His mother looked upon him with glazed eyes and said



"I don't know what it was......and I know not of what happened to your Father and Brother...but you are safe. We must rest now"
 
His mother turned away and slowly walked deeper in the cavern.
 
Raell could feel the anger build up in his blood for his mother's lack of urgency and he cried out to her "REST?!..... They are out there....they are all out there and we need to help them!!!.... How can you be so subdued?!"
 
She paused on the spot she was in and slowly turned to Raell. He could see a tear sparkle on her cheek and the water in her eyes glistened with colour. Trying to hold back her upset she spoke.
 
"I fear for your father and brother. I love them with all my heart as I do you. I want nothing more than to find them and save them from whatever evil it is that has grasped them from us. But in all my years I have never come across darkness like this....and I grew up in in the dark. This is an enemy we are not prepared for and running out after them in a blind rage will only get us killed. I feel the pain and anguish you do my son, but we must wait our opportunity. And that opportunity will come I promise you. But for now....we must rest"
 
She gestured her hand toward him to follow her. Raell sank his head with difficult admission of his mothers words and followed her.
 
"Where are we?" he asked "and what do you mean you grew up in the dark?"
 
They came to a glowing blue stream and began to follow it. His mother looked around the vast cavern and gestured with her hands...



"This.....this is home. This is where I grew up. This is the Underdark. We are heading to my hometown of Doblunde of the Upperdark level. We will find food, shelter and help there"
 
"People live here?!" Raell said in disbelief.
 
His mother gently chuckled...."Yes many people and creatures of all walks of life live in the Underdark. You have much to learn of the worlds my son, but darkness isn't always evil. When we stood in the shadows of that pine tree, did it not protect us?"
 
"I suppose..." Raell said puzzled
 
"People fear what they can't see. People down here learn to live in the shadows. The darkness can protect us and over time we start to see what is dark as light."
 
Raell went silent in thought on his mother's words and this person that was slowly being revealed to him that he was unaware of.
 
After a while of following the glowing stream, his mother spoke up.



"We're here."
 

Doblunde

The stream gently flowed over a cliff edge into a large chasm. They stood on the edge overlooking a small town lit up in a hue of green, purple and blue light. The buildings were Gothic with sharp edges and there were grand stone walkways spanning out across the chasm in front of them. The water-filled up the chasm lighting the town from below in a magnificent glow. There were huge caverns branching off in all directions and waterfalls pouring from above and below.
 
Some of the caverns were busy with people and creatures walking into what looked like supply lines in and out of the town. The sound of the water gently echoed around the cavern as the water fell from a thick density into a haze of spray toward the bottom.
 
There were silhouettes of boats on the glowing water, and the vast empty air above the town had a scattering of various flying creatures, some with mounts some without. Raell's mother led the way down some stone stairs at the side of the waterfall they were at to a small path traversing round the cliff edge, under the waterfall and out the other side to the main stone bridge that entered the town.
 
The bridge was busy with people moving across it so Raell's mother took his hand and told him to stay close as they worked their way through the crowd. Once across the bridge, she led him through some side streets and up some staircases, until they reached a large council building dug out of one of the tall cavern walls. They walked across a large open reception to the only door in the room other than the entrance. Either side of the door stood two cloaked guards dressed all in black.
 
As Raell and his mother moved closer the guards' eyes locked onto them with a gaze of familiarity. Raell's mother stopped between two tall guards and returned their gaze. They turned to the large grey stone door behind them and simultaneously knocked three times on it. The sound of the knocks echoed through the entire building as the door began to glow with the words of "In the Light of Darkness" carved into them in Elvish. The sound of huge bolts and cogs unlocking echoed behind the door and it slowly started to edge open.
 
On the other side was a long multi-tiered council chamber with hundreds of council members sitting on two levels either side of the room and at the far end was a sole councilor sitting behind a large stone desk. The room had gone quiet upon the doors being opened and all members eyes were now focused on Raell and his mother. Raell's mother marched down the center of the room toward the sole council member at the far end; with Raell following close behind her.
 
As they moved closer, the sound of the room began to raise as talk and whispers among the other members picked up. Upon reaching the large stone desk, the man behind it slowly rose to his feet; the chamber hushed. The man slowly made his way around the desk, never taking his eyes from Hadriel until he stood in front of the pair. There was a long extended pause of silence before Hadriel cleared her throat and quietly said...



"Hello Father"

Valas Zauviir

 
The man was tall and broad for an elf, standing at about 6ft5. His skin was a dark shade of teal and he shared Raell's mother's eyes. His face was serious and stern, with chiseled cheeks and a strong chin. He wore long dark black and grey robes that covered the full length of his tall and wide stature except for his muscular forearms that he had folded across his chest.
 
After hearing the words of Raell's mother standing in front of him, there was a commotion around the grand room. He stood patiently never taking his eyes off Hadriel until the crowd settled. Slowly he raised his right arm to the crowd and with an austere tone he exclaimed to the room "This council is over." And Immediately the council members on all floors began to disperse. Again the entire time his gaze not leaving Hadriel.
 
When the room had cleared, it was silent bar the echo of the last door to close. He slowly stepped toward Hadriel and extended out his arms to embrace her. His stony demeanor broke and he wrapped them around her and hugged her tightly as his eyes closed as if to hold back tears.
 
Hadriel rested her head on her father's chest and returned the gesture with a long sigh. It was as if they had not seen each other for many years and their warm embrace stayed locked for many minutes before the man pulled back to look her in the eyes again.
 
"It's so good to see you my daughter, truly so good to see you."
 
Then remembering she had company, he turned to Raell with a smile. "And this......this must be Raell"
 
He understood that this boy had no idea who he was and did not want to risk scaring him or assuming any sort of connection with him. So he respectfully folded his arms and bowed.



"I have heard great things about you young ranger. Your father seems to have raised you well."
 
At the mention of his father and the events still being raw in his mind, he emotionally returned the bow. Tears began to well in his eyes as he raised his head.



"Who.....who are you sir?"
 
The man lifted his hand to his heart and again nodded as he introduced himself



"I young sir, I am Valas Zauviir . I am the high councilor of Doblunde. I.........I am your grandfather"
 
Raell looked to his mother for confirmation as she closed her eyes and nodded.
 
"I sense you have had a long journey and you have much to tell me. Please let us retire to my chambers so you can rest yourselves. I'm sure you're hungry."
 
He lead them through a door at the back of the grand hall, down a long corridor to a room on the right. As he entered, there was a young girl standing waiting.



"Calen" he requested



"Could you gather some food and drink for us please?"
 
"Right away my lord" she promptly replied.
 
He seated them on some loungers and sat down facing them. "Tell me of what has passed, for I see great sadness in your eyes."
 
He spoke as though he already knew what they were going to tell him. Hadriel began to inform her father of the darkness that had been slowly moving north through the land and turning everything to ash. She described the events that led them to seek safety in the Underdark and the vanishing of the search party along with Athalon and Rinn . She explained it all assuming that he had no knowledge of the events and the evil that caused them.
He let her finish before raising to his feet.
 
"I'm deeply sorry to hear of Athalon and Rinn but you aren't the first to speak of this darkness. Over the past while we have had an influx of Underdark elves returning from above the ground because of incidents like this. We have sent out multiple agents to investigate but have returned with little information as to its cause. They have witnessed vanishings of sole beings to full armies without any possible retaliation. Due to its uncertainty, the Underdark High council have ordered that all southern entrances be sealed to ensure our safety until we know how to counter this enemy. You will be safe here for now"
 
"How is it your agents have been able to witness these vanishings without being taken themselves?" Raell asked.
 
"An astute question Youngling. As citizens of the Underdark, many learn to use the shadows to their advantage. Our agents in question of masters of these abilities and spent years honing their abilities to become what we call Gloomstalkers.....This elite training is how your mother was able to save you"
 
"So what do we do now?" Raell asked.
 
"Now you must rest. But tomorrow we must start our preparations into combating this... "corruption". Our scholars and arcane masters have concentrated their efforts into it's history and cause. Our warriors and agents will increase their training and defenses on the southern border entrances will be reinforced. We must prepare for the worst and so must you."
 

The Under and the Over

Over the next number of years, Raell joined the ranks of the of the Underdark gloom stalker agents to learn their ways under the watchful eyes of his mother and grandfather. Before long he was venturing out into the corruption on scouting missions to collect information and hone his abilities. Despite the efforts of himself and the other agents, they were unable to find anything of use as to its origin. But they had observed that it was moving north further into Freiya with some parties that were sent to Cradorath never returning. After many years of investigation, Raell suggested it was time to seek help from above ground of those who may have encountered it. Others may have had more luck. His mother and grandfather agreed and it was settled before the council that he make contact with the overground again.
 
Leaving the safety of the Underdark, he traveled north to see how far the corruption had reached, staying out of plain sight of anyone or anything that crossed his path. On returning to his home town, it was now dark, rundown and overgrown with no one left. The once colorful place of his upbringing had now become dull, grey, and without light. Dead.
 
As he traveled further he would come across mutilated bodies of expedition parties he would later find out were sent out to investigate the corruption. Collecting trinkets and some personal effects of the bodies in the hope that he could provide families with the closure that he didn’t have as to the whereabouts of his father and brother.
 
After discovering some of the larger nearby states, Cradorath, Uspeza and Ithrasta had fallen, Raell starting to lose hope that there was any life left in Freiya at all and began to fear that if these great states of Iyathlia could fall, then main land Freiya would be next.
 
Eventually he approached the edge of a forest and the dark and grey began to dissipate. With each step further he took, the soil slowly began to show hints of color and before long he was standing on the forest edge over looking beautiful green fields with rolling hills off in the distance. To many this view may not have meant much, but to Raell it filled him with great hope and warmth.
 
Still wary of the minds of others he moved mainly at night and in the shadows collecting information as he went. Moving from town to town as to divine the source of the corruption and the state of Freiya.
 
In this time Raell put his skills to use as a mercenary and an extremely effective bounty hunter, Working for local towns, and even the Orders of Freiya but still kept his presence to people hidden as much as possible. More so for the fact that Raell had changed physically. Be it his mother's side or the extended time in the Underdarks or the corruption, his skin was dark and his eyes had changed from the once silver-white, like his mothers, to what now looked like a star filled night sky.
 
The lack of contact with others made Raell leery of many races and so spent much of his time alone, only allowing a select few to get close to him, and even they don’t know him that well.
 
Now in the 101st year of his life, he, as an elf has become an adult. A moment in his life where a warrior would take a new name... Tharivol.

Age

101

Gender

Male

Eyes

Blue

Hair

White

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

pale grey

Height

6ft 2