The Erlkönig (earl-ker-nig)
(a.k.a. The Traveller; The Elfking)
Heed the first movement, remember the destruction of the world. Now behold the destruction of life; dreams; hope; it is the fate of all things.
Heed the second movement, this is the power you oppose. Now, behold your savior and god; there is no salvation, prayers fall on deaf ears.
Heed the third movement, and stand in awe. Now, behold your vain attempts at stopping the inevitable.
Heed the fourth movement, the skies are tearing apart. Now, behold the wild dance of a charming star.
The Erlkönig was an Archfey-turned minor god who took advantage of the turmoil from the Second Great Calamity in the early days of Uthilith. Once he rose to prominence by deposing of the Pumpkin King, he became a puppetmaster behind many significant tragedies in Uthilithian history. In CY 1624, The Stonebounders (in collaboration with the god Lation) would successfully rend him from existence while he took on the form of a miniature sun.
Divine Domains
Trickery, War, Blood, Death, Tempest
Artifacts
Cloak of the Traveller
Divine Symbols & Sigils
An archway that leads to nowhere
Mental characteristics
Personal history
The Erlkönig was born in some nebulous period prior to the Second Great Calamity to a creature of pure chaotic evil (known only as the Chained Oblivion), at some point between the First Great Calamity and the establishment of the Divine Gate surrounding the world. Very few individuals were aware of his existence beyond the first conception of the Feywild; he took a total of three warlocks in the period between his birth and the Second Calamity. He primarily kept to himself within the original Autumn Court as a Those Who Reap pseudo-archfey.
He managed to cross over into Uthilith - the Secondary Material Plane - when he sequestered himself into a particular holy symbol carried by Astrid Ermendrud when she traversed Widogast's Divine Creation. This holy symbol was that of the archfey Artagan, a pseudo-god beloved by one of the Creator's closest allies. Upon entering the new Material Plane, the Erlkönig's sequester trigger occurred and he immediately fled to recuperate in the Coronet Highlands.
The Erlkönig remained in the Highlands for a little less than three decades, where he would convince many of the world's earliest mortals that he was in fact a god. This belief provided him with significant power - enough to Plane Shift into the free-floating Feywild, despite the destruction of its anchor to the Prime Material Plane.
It was in this period that he would become a creature of two Autumnal facets - one who Reaps and one who Stalks. In CY 30, the Erlkönig would hunt down the creature associated with his passage to Uthilith - Artagan. The two entered a legendary conflict - with the latter archfey emitting an emotive maelstrom and eventually dying. However, the pseudo-archfey-turned-hero Loki was born in result of their clash. The Erlkönig usurped the name of "The Traveller" following Artagan's defeat, cementing him as a mythical figure in Uthilithian history.
Soon after, the Erlkönig would forcibly bind the celestial beings Adonaios (the Sun) and Horaios (the Moon) to his soul. Once a year (Verdant Moon 11) the Erlkönig would exert much of his power to cause the Sun and Moon to align perfectly, inhibiting the magical energy provided by all of the world's Ley Lines. This Eclipse of the Marauders became the foundation for many coups, tragedies, and deaths in Uthilith.
Over the next 1500 years, the Erlkönig would continue a reign of terror and tragedy. He would become increasingly active at the end of the 1500s - in CY 1561, he caused a 'freak accident' in a class lab led by Arden Riverfall. The Erlkönig then manipulated Arden into entering a contract with him - no more freak accidents and increased magical knowledge in return for doing his bidding. (Refer to Arden's article for further information on the deeds that Arden performed.)
On Guardian Moon 14, CY 1580, he trapped The Lord of the Mountain into the Hebra Mountains near the town of Murkstone. This event became the final straw in "allowing the wealthy to overtake nature" - an event that destroyed much of the natural world surrounding major urban areas like Misty Run, Zonaius, and Fenrir.
At some point between sealing away Capricorn and the shellification of Arden Riverfall, the Erlkönig formed a significant contract with Arrah Beeching to 'protect' her from harm's way in case of revolution or war. Throughout their entanglement, the Erlkönig actively siphoned her emotional energy and joy; this would not be regained until she broke the contract and devoted herself to the goddess Avandra.
In the early 1600s, the Erlkönig continued to work with Arden Riverfall, who had since lost his soul in a trip beyond the Secondary Material. The Erlkönig was fully aware that he was working with Torog, the Crawling King - a god of torture and betrayal. With the presence of both himself and Torog influencing the actions of Arden, they collectively convinced King Mordecai Gorecrest to enact horrific laws unto the populace of Tempora.
The Erlkönig formed a contract between himself and Jar'guk Ermendrud in CY 1610, upon Jar'guk's burgeoning talents as a skillful militant leader. Jar'guk's bloodline powers then emerged, causing him to become one of the most powerful Innate casters in Uthilith. It was with these powers that the Erlkönig was able to convince Jar'guk that razing the entirety of Termina (and possibly later Nord'ial) made ethical sense.
Following the deaths of The Inner Six and Arden Riverfall, the Erlkönig remained quiet in his activity for a few years to let The Stonebounders stew. He would make hundreds - if not thousands - of contracts across Uthilith with mortals who sought power and were willing to cast their lives away for a greater cause. Morpheus Torrentum would discover a mysterious tuning fork to a plane that never existed (colloquially called The World That Never Was) in his research - that the Erlkönig made.
In CY 1624, Morpheus called upon the Stonebounders to investigate rumors of stirrings at the Isle of the Archfey. The Erlkönig was performing the first steps of his ascendant Grand Ritual there.
They were then taken to the aforementioned World That Never Was, where the second and third stages of his ascendance played out. Upon his "defeat", he exploded into a supernova and returned to Uthilith, threatening to destroy the Ziggurat of the Sun.
The Erlkönig ascended to minor godhood there, and was only defeated with the help of the god of fate Lation. Much of Ikana is still recovering now from this incident, over 70 years later.
Divine Classification
Archfey-turned-Deity
Alignment
Chaotic Evil
Species
Realm
Age
Pre-Genesis
Date of Death
Verdant Moon 29
Year of Death
1624 CY
Circumstances of Death
Obliterated by The Stonebounders, assisted by fate god Lation
Place of Death
The Spirit Temple
Children
Pronouns
he/him/his
Gender
Male
Eyes
Electric blue
Hair
A long flaming red mullet
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Very pale, slightly freckled
Height
7'0"
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
