Elrendar (EL-REN-DAR)
An ancient, and long uninhabited city on the continent of Anor’Thalas. It is rarely visited by outsiders due to it being extremely hard to locate, some say it moves with the darkness. Not only this, but the tales told of its demise are enough to keep any adventurer from wanting to stumble upon these dark ruins.
At a time, Elrendar was home to one of the largest elven populations in all of Viridium. It was largely known for its impressive craftsmanship, stunning architecture and a deep love for the arcane arts.
In 11,049 a young student, Sidria Telrias, who studied the arcane arts with a great fondness, presented an amazing display of magic never seen before to the Elrendar Council. She was immediately regarded as a gift from the deities to the city. Within a year, she found herself in position as the Queen of Elrendar after the untimely passing of the previous royalty. Unaware of just which deity had gifted her powers, the city found itself deep in love with their new queen. Sidria's name became known far and wide, and her connections to The Primum Desh began to deepen. Even while she was away, the city prospered greatly.
Sidria Telrias eventually returned to her city, long after the fall of Omus and soon after her time with the other members of the The Primum Desh had abruptly halted. Each member had been consumed with their deities desires, and they saw it as a way to maximize their own personal power. This view ultimately led their split, and an era of bloodshed Viridium will never forget.
When Sidria returned home to Elrendar in 11,698, she saw a city that was growing at a rapid rate. Ultimately, she did not return home as the same person that left. The city's idolization of her quickly changed. But that changed none of her plans. She immediately banned all worship of any god besides Saqashi, as she saw him as the sole reason the city was so prosperous in the first place. Any one caught worshiping any other god or deity would be swiftly punished.
Elrendar was soon cut off from all outside contact, including places which they had a historically great relationship with such as Quelnaar. Over time, the city began to be enshrouded by darkness, the power of Saqashi slowly enveloping it. At this point, the Primum Wars had begun, and though Elrendar has no shortage of willing soldiers, Sidria sought to maximize her destructive powers. She enlisted her best architects and arcanists to build a large monolith at the center of the city. Taking almost 50 years to build and standing over 1,000 feet tall, this monolith towered over the surrounding forests. It was a conduit for the shadow energy enveloping the city. Sidria knew that if this power was harvested correctly, it would grant her the ability to destroy whole armies, or even cities.
In 11,751 the Elven & Medaverian armies moved in upon Elrendar, bloodshed was imminent. Sidria saw this as her chance to unleash the dark monolith upon the unsuspecting armies. Queen Sidria and her arcanists marched out to the monolith in robes of black. Taking some days, the magic was finally procured. The citizens of the city had surrounded it, and were awestruck at what they saw. The Dark Monolith was ready. Sidria approached the monolith and began to chant, darkness erupted from her mouth, blanketing the monolith. Almost instantly the monolith erupted into a large shadow rift, sending out a mass of pitch black darkness so large it blanketed over one hundred miles of Elrendar's perimeter. A shadowy mass that covers a large part of Anor'Thalas to this day.
Nearly all of the denizens and surrounding armies, including Sidria herself, were vacuumed into this rift instantly, never to be heard from again. The remaining survivors, those that resisted the rift through magical means were cursed forever. The city was now inhabitable, forever shrouded in darkness. These cursed elves, The Dusk Elves (the Shadar Kai) became nomads of not just Anor’Thalas, but all of Viridium, never to find a home again worth settling into.
The Reign of Queen Sidria Telrias
In 11,049 a young student, Sidria Telrias, who studied the arcane arts with a great fondness, presented an amazing display of magic never seen before to the Elrendar Council. She was immediately regarded as a gift from the deities to the city. Within a year, she found herself in position as the Queen of Elrendar after the untimely passing of the previous royalty. Unaware of just which deity had gifted her powers, the city found itself deep in love with their new queen. Sidria's name became known far and wide, and her connections to The Primum Desh began to deepen. Even while she was away, the city prospered greatly.
Sidria Telrias eventually returned to her city, long after the fall of Omus and soon after her time with the other members of the The Primum Desh had abruptly halted. Each member had been consumed with their deities desires, and they saw it as a way to maximize their own personal power. This view ultimately led their split, and an era of bloodshed Viridium will never forget.
When Sidria returned home to Elrendar in 11,698, she saw a city that was growing at a rapid rate. Ultimately, she did not return home as the same person that left. The city's idolization of her quickly changed. But that changed none of her plans. She immediately banned all worship of any god besides Saqashi, as she saw him as the sole reason the city was so prosperous in the first place. Any one caught worshiping any other god or deity would be swiftly punished.
Elrendar was soon cut off from all outside contact, including places which they had a historically great relationship with such as Quelnaar. Over time, the city began to be enshrouded by darkness, the power of Saqashi slowly enveloping it. At this point, the Primum Wars had begun, and though Elrendar has no shortage of willing soldiers, Sidria sought to maximize her destructive powers. She enlisted her best architects and arcanists to build a large monolith at the center of the city. Taking almost 50 years to build and standing over 1,000 feet tall, this monolith towered over the surrounding forests. It was a conduit for the shadow energy enveloping the city. Sidria knew that if this power was harvested correctly, it would grant her the ability to destroy whole armies, or even cities.
In 11,751 the Elven & Medaverian armies moved in upon Elrendar, bloodshed was imminent. Sidria saw this as her chance to unleash the dark monolith upon the unsuspecting armies. Queen Sidria and her arcanists marched out to the monolith in robes of black. Taking some days, the magic was finally procured. The citizens of the city had surrounded it, and were awestruck at what they saw. The Dark Monolith was ready. Sidria approached the monolith and began to chant, darkness erupted from her mouth, blanketing the monolith. Almost instantly the monolith erupted into a large shadow rift, sending out a mass of pitch black darkness so large it blanketed over one hundred miles of Elrendar's perimeter. A shadowy mass that covers a large part of Anor'Thalas to this day.
Nearly all of the denizens and surrounding armies, including Sidria herself, were vacuumed into this rift instantly, never to be heard from again. The remaining survivors, those that resisted the rift through magical means were cursed forever. The city was now inhabitable, forever shrouded in darkness. These cursed elves, The Dusk Elves (the Shadar Kai) became nomads of not just Anor’Thalas, but all of Viridium, never to find a home again worth settling into.
RUINED SETTLEMENT
11751
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