The Silver City
“Eternal Life is Eternal Suffering.” - Alathar BalefrostAfter the sealing of Nex into The Void and the loss of Torrin Firragon, Mythra Crescentia became more solemn and secluded, especially within the confines of her newfound Crescent Empire. While it is said she offered the members of the Order of the Eclipse a prominent place in her new empire after the Eclipse stone was split, most of them declined, wanting instead to make unique homes for their struggling peoples. Alathar Balefrost, now renowned as a Hero King among his people, took Mythra’s ascension to Empress as a betrayal, as he believed it was against what the Order fought for in the first place. Rather than relocate his people to a different continent, Alathar had always admired the beautiful subterranean cities of the dwarves, and so set about building what he would describe as “the most beautiful city Arkos would never see”. Deep in the Crescentian Underdark, a shimmering city of silver and crystal water was constructed, its beauty unmatched in all of Arkos. The architecture is said to be so carefully crafted, that the Silver of the buildings seemlessly flows into the crystalline streams of water below them. A large arcane crystal above the city provides warmth and light, and can be used to control the weather of the cavern itself. Often the city is shrouded in a small shimmer of water, glistening off of the pristine streets and archways. Alathar built this Silver City directly under the newly formed Crescent Empire, and Mythra, rather than risk more conflict breaking out, decided to support Alathar in this endeavour. Once the city was complete, she decided to leave Alathar and the Silver Elves to their isolation and pursuits. Contrary to what many believe, Alathar and the Silver Elves did not construct all of the Silver City. They happened upon what they came to call The Throne of Want, a black obelisk used by Prometh that had come to Arkos and attempted to regain their immortality. The throne worked as a siphon, feeding off the life essence of creatures to extend the life of the user. Alathar knew they shouldn’t tamper with such dangerous and vile magic, but his people soon urged him to. For the elves made the mistake many of their dwarven friends had in the past; they dug too greedily and too deep. In Alathar resided the trigger that would give birth to a warden of a terrible disease; a creature calling itself G'huun the Plaguebringer. Before long, most of the Silver City and areas beyond were infected with a vile plague; those that didn’t die succumbed to ghastly corruption and madness, having their bodies and minds warped with the purpose of spreading the plague. The Silver Elves soon realized that they were quickly approaching extinction. Alathar was approached by his Artificer and other prominent Silver Elf magisters, and they offered a solution; albeit a terrible one. Using the Throne of Want, as the magisters had constructed their own prototypes, the Elves could channel the collective life force of the Silver Elves into a powerful artifact; one which Alathar would wear until a more permanent solution for the disease was found. He would become the Undying King; a Pseudo Lich feeding off of the stolen life force of his people. Alathar at first refused. How could he do such a horrible thing to the people that trusted him; that regarded him as their hero? How many of his people would be expunged before he found a solution, if at all? His magisters argued, stating that his people were going to die either way, and that he was the best chance they had at preserving the Silver Elf legacy. Reluctantly, Alathar agreed, and the magisters pooled all of their arcane power into the ritual that would create the crown of the Undying King on the altar. The Silver City soon fell silent, and has remained that way for close to 1,000 years until it was delved into by The Companions.
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