Inisfail the Cold Dragon
Dale slew the Black King Elwëdorf, and his allies slew the Black King's Trident. The Trident was three great warriors and magicians that advised the Black King and commanded his armies. They were all, as their master, powerful in the ways of the Action Existential.
Inisfail was by far the strongest of the three. Some loremasters say that he rivaled the Black King in strength, despite some claims that the Black King was Gendûet's herald.
Where Inisfail, a mortal man, got his strength from is unknown. He hailed from the Island of Tete. An island and people with a history of being conquered. Tete had produced many great scholars and wizards, but never a great warrior. And yet, here was one whose strength rivalled that of the most deadly of the ancient elves, and here was one whose magical prowess was so keen that even Yintha the Sorcerer was matched by him. Even the men of Nelqora, a strong and wise race, have birthed only two who could contest him. One of them was called Detheril the Mariner; the most famous of men, he who beseeched the gods for aid in his white ship; but those who knew the Mariner said that Inisfail would provide a fair match. The other was called Tipnir. He was the one who re-founded magic during the days of Nelqora.
Some have said that, like Éilean, Inisfail had the blood of the primordial drakes running through his veins. They point out that he called himself the Cold Dragon, and that his helm is formed like the head of Volveya, the greatest of the dragons. Perhaps a hint, they say, that Volveya sired a non-dragon child. But this is impossible: Volveya died many years before Inisfail was born.
The Search for a Past
While Inisfail was still alive and terrorizing the West with his master, any information on him was welcome. So, the elvish kingdom Meldriath sent a delegation to Tete to search for Inisfail's parents. They were successful, and through numerous tests discerned that Inisfail was indeed born a full Man. He was secondborn to this family.
The parents said that Inisfail was a terrifying child. Strange things would happen while he lived with them. Dark and horrible dreams plagued their nights. Their first born was found strangled, although they could never prove that it was Inisfail that did the deed. Finally, they sent him away to their relative in their clan's capital.
The last that they heard of their son was of a child gone missing and of a home set ablaze by lightning from the sky. They were glad to be rid of him. Throughout the interview, the parents looked frightened and worried, as if Inisfail could hear them from thousands of miles away.
Both parents died soon after, the records say, of fright.
As for what he did as a child on the run, it isn't known. By the time of the Black King, Inisfail had somehow gathered many artifacts of great power - leftovers of the The Wars of Hate - the greatest of which was said to be his helm, which allowed him to transform into a great drake -- although one that couldn't breathe fire. He had also created his own armor. The unique style, scaled like feathers, was mimicked by the rest of the Trident on command of the Black King. His spiked mace is made of black adamantine. It sizzles with electric power.
Inisfail himself would never take off his helm, but many have seen his face. It was severe and pale, with opaque, gray eyes. His hair was long and black. By some witchcraft, it fell behind him like a cloak of shadows.
Death
His only lost battle was the one in which he was slain.
The armies of the West had finally cornered an elite regiment of the Black King, which was battered and beaten after the battle of Weirlan. Inisfail had joined them recently to escort them to safety. Three thousand soldiers of the West came at one hundred broken soldiers of the Black King; eighteen soldiers of the West returned -- all of them died of their wounds soon thereafter. Presumably, all of the Black King's regiment were also slain.
The short-lived survivors only spoke of Inisfail. They said that, though he had been speared, bludgeoned, burnt, and broken, he fought on like a demon. Three dozen arrows through his front; two dozen through his back; a long, glowing spear - the Spear of Eichdall - pierced his heart. And yet he continued fighting. Every swing crippled or killed waves of soldiers. His shield spun its spiked circumference by mechanical machinations and destroyed any weapon he blocked. They told, eyes full of tears, of how he spewed blue fire from his lips, and how the earth shifted around his legs, preventing any from reaching him. They said that his grey eyes glowed. Men caught in his gaze were naked before him.
And suddenly, he died. His arms fell, his body slumped, and his head bowed. He was still standing, but he breathed no more. Imagine that: a man in grey scaled armor, shadowed by a dark cloak, arrows jutting out like bristles, and Eichdall, long and bright, thrust through his body; and still, he stood tall like a pillar.
None dared approach him, so they left his body there, among the thousands of corpses, alone. To this day he still stands. The dragon helm is inscrutable and black. His face is shadowed and bowed. But he is still there, mace and shield in hands, arrows long decayed, spear still lodged and glowing. The corpses and their armors have withered away long ago, but Inisfail the Cold Dragon is still there. A village has grown up near him, and they use him as a tourist attraction, but they warn, "Never approach. That's Inisfail, you know? They say being near him summons Morrôs himself." At first, the village boys would play games with his body, trying to push him down. They never succeeded, and after the first bout of yellow fever, the games stopped.
His body stands in the country of Oxfine. Ask the locals and they'll know where to point.
Some say he's still alive, biding his time for the new Black King. But it's been more than five thousand years, and all men must succumb to age. Besides, many of the Empire's wizards have studied his body from afar, and he was most certainly dead according to their analysis.
So ends the story of Inisfail the Cold Dragon. One of the greatest and most terrible of men.
This knowledge has been recorded in the epic Tar-Aïnua Dale, and we source our information from it.
Recently, Kane and his party have stolen his armor pieces, as well as taken the Spear of Eichdall.
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