[Lore] XIV: The Aelfwar

 

     The High Elves were ruled by Prince Hylas for thousands of years. He and his beloved, Shyla Starhearth, looked after the wilds of Telara, forever in love. Protectors of life, balance, and nature, the High Elves revered their leaders. Those of the noble families and protectors of the Prince became known collectively as House Aelfwar, and answered solely to Prince Hylas. They were his devoted entourage, following him loyally and without question. House Aelfwar was legendary, above reproach. These elves were respectful and reverent of nature and worshiped Tavril gladly. They followed the Covenant and upheld their oaths, even when Tavril joined with the other gods to become the Vigil.

     For many, many years, House Aelfwar led the High Elves in prosperity and happiness. And than civil war broke out in the Mathosian Empire. King Aedraxis, the mad tyrant, threatened all that the Elves stood for. He brutally murdered and pillaged his way through his own kingdom, power hungry and eager for destruction. In order to fight him and bring an end to his tyranny, Prince Zareph, Aedraxis's own brother, formed an army of his own. He came to Silverwood and presented an impassioned plea before the High Elf ruling council, begging for aid from his High Elven allies. Hylas refused. He stated that he would not endanger any of the High Elves for a cause that did not concern them. Prince Hylas firmly believed that it was not the Elves' way to interfere in the doings of the other mortal races. But Shyla, his lover, argued against it. She knew that they needed to help Prince Zareph fight off Aedraxis, or a worse evil would befall the land. She believed that when one land suffered, all of Telara suffered. She led the High Elves in a vote. To go and fight alongside the Mathosians against Aedraxis, or to refuse aid and stay in Silverwood until the war was over. Most of the Elves, moved by Shyla's pleas, agreed to go with her to aid Prince Zareph, but those belonging to Prince Hylas, namely the nobles of House Aelfwar, refused. Instead, they chose to stay behind in Silverwood with their liege and watch over the forests of Telara as they'd always done. Shyla pleaded with Hylas to come with her, but he would have none of it. He said he would await their return.

     All of the Elves who went with Shyla to fight Aedraxis were slain, but were resurrected as Ascended beings, beyond mortal. They were god-touched, holding power beyond comprehension. When the survivors, after rebirth, came back to Silverwood to greet their loved ones, they found that those who had stayed behind had changed. The atmosphere of the wood itself had changed. Prince Hylas was distant, wary, and suspicious. He wanted nothing to do with Shyla, saying she was an abomination. Shyla was devastated. And then rumors started. About strange music in the wood. About the scent of Fae magic, of strange beings. Hylas and his Aelfwar grew more distant and distrustful, eventually retreating to their fortress of Overwatch Keep. Their devotion to the wilds of Telara had grown out of control. House Aelfwar were now fanatically driven to uphold the laws of nature. They no longer saw reason, believing in survival of the fittest and in the savagery of nature. Shyla tried explaining to Prince Hylas that she was Ascended, blessed by the gods. Blessed by Tavril herself, but this meant nothing to him and to the rest of the House Aelfwar. They had found a new god to worship. One who embodied everything that Hylas imagined the Elves stood for. Nature, at it's most fierce and competitive. The violent, wild heart of the world called to him.

     House Aelfwar rejected the gentle and guiding light of Tavril and the Vigil. Instead they found a new god, the bloodthirsty and terrifying Greenscale, of the Blood Storm. Falling into the allure and promise that Greenscale offered, House Aelfwar was forever tarnished, descending into madness. They now seek to tear down civilization and return the world to the wild savage nature, where only those who are strongest survive.

     With a new goal in mind, House Aelfwar seek to spread their influence over all of Telara, bringing life rifts into play and destroying any touch of rationalization and order that nature has.

     This degeneration into madness started with but a whisper. The Fae Lord Twyl planted the suggestion of a savage world in Prince Hylas's mind. Over time, Hylas's will weakened, and he was overcome by the promise of power. Twyl taught him the mastery of life magic and the commandments of Greenscale. Twyl saw the prince as a simple pawn to be used in his ambitious goal to serve Greenscale, but Prince Hylas saw Twyl only as a useless fool. So over time, Hylas became more powerful and savage, seeking to prove himself the better to Greenscale, and his loyal House Aelfwar followed in his steps, growing more powerful and influential. Soon, they eclipsed the power and hold that the Fae had, and Greenscale watched with approval as House Aelfwar became the prominent order following Greenscale, destroying what remained of the old order, who none even remember the name of any more.

     Prince Hylas is indeed a very capable and intelligent leader. With Greenscale's guidance, he has branched out from Silverwood like a ravenous tide, seeking to turn Telara into a savage fight for survival, setting monstrous creatures loose in villages and tearing down outposts where he can. He seeks to bring Telara back to the time of it's wild youth, and to ride at the head of his own savage and wild army like the horned kings of old. The ferocity and speed at which Hylas and his Aelfwar move is horrifying, as is their lack of feeling and compassion.

     Where once House Aelfwar was a noble order, the epitome of hope, balance, natural order and tranquility, now they are nothing but savage thugs, mindless in their hunger for the wild, untamed chaos of Greenscale. Their minds have been corrupted, tainted by the savagery of the dragon of the Plane of Life.



References: Most of the information I gathered for this came from http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/08/10/lifes-betrayal-the-lore-of-rifts-house-aelfwar/, which was quite an interesting read! I also remembered quite a few things from doing quests around Telara and what other people have said on the subject. And yes, my character Raeslyn is an Aelfwar. Former Aelfwar, actually. Obviously I bent the lore a little bit for this to happen, but I wanted her to have a bit of a different story then your average Ascended.

[Lore] XII: The High Elves

 

   The Elves walked beside the gods in the youth of the world. Favored by Tavril, they were given long life, wisdom, and a special affinity for the land. In return for these gifts, the gods appointed them stewards of Telara, to watch over the wild places and defend all the beings that called Telara home. The Elves took to this task with natural elegance and focus and guarded Telara with faith, magic and skill for thousands of years. This was called the Covenant, and it became such a potent and pivotal feature in the lives of the High Elves, who lived and died by their sworn word to their goddess. They named the great forest that covered the majority of the world Tavra, in honor of their patron. Through the years, the world changed, becoming more civilized as mortal men were introduced into Telara, tribal creatures with short life spans who's barbaric nature and ignorant ways caused the Elves to feel sorry for them and teach them how to survive in the vast forests of Telara, raising the human tribes to look after nature, to worship the gods, and to follow the edicts that they, the Elves, set down. Of course, the humans, being short lived ambitious creatures, ventured out into the far reaches of the world, some scorning the teachings of the Elves and going their own way. They began to build towns and cities, to create tradeskills and militia. To experiment with the powerful material called Sourcestone.

     When the Blood Storm invaded Telara, Crucia, the dragon of the Plane of Air, took particular interest in the High Elves. As the most beautiful and oldest and wisest of the creatures of Telara, she took personal offense to them. She summoned her armies and bade them destroy all the High Elves and their sacred groves. The savage and bloodthirsty Orcri went to war against the High Elves. Their Heart Grove, the seat of the High Elves' power and their council's meeting place, was systematically destroyed by the monstrous orcri. After the creatures were pushed back and defeated by the Elves, they moved their seat of power to Cliffside Vale. After the Blood Storm Wars, the Elves' numbers were vastly smaller.

     Wardens of all life, the Elves were unprepared to pay the toll of duty. It wasn't the Blood Storm or any war with other sentient races that whittled their numbers down so much, but the many temptations of the world. First, the rebellious Kelari broke the Covenant, following their passions and ambitions to distant islands. Then, as the other mortal races advanced and built great cities, more and more Elves forsook their ancient duty and settled down in the various cities to lead easy, peaceful lives, teaching the men and women of the villages the ways of nature and magic.

     Those Elves who remained true to their calling and their duty called themselves High Elves. They kept the Covenant and formed their home in Silverwood, sacred forest of Tavril herself. They wandered the forests and wild spaces of Telara, enforcing Telara's will with arrows and arcane spells, their deadly accuracy and cold commands granting them a reputation among the peoples of Telara. Secretive, keeping their agendas even from those they protected, the High Elves were often treated with suspicion and fear. They always took the long view of a situation and did not always work in the favor of the local citizens. Was the Elf there to save the farmers from the wolves or the wolves from the farmers? One could never tell when dealing with the High Elves.

    When the Mathosian tyrant Aedraxis pledged himself to Regulos, the High Elves debated throwing in their limited numbers against the grotesque legions of the Endless Court that Aedraxis had summoned from the dead. The prince of the Elves, Hylas Aelfwar, argued against committing themselves to what was clearly a Mathosian problem. Shyla Starhearth, priestess of Tavril and Hylas's lover, disagreed, and made an impassioned plea to her people, imploring the Elves to take up arms against the mad king Aedraxis and the dire threat to Telara. She said that if he was not stopped, Aedraxis would bring ruin to Telara and all those that dwelled within it, even the High Elves in their sacred forest would not be safe. Most of the High Elves were moved by Shyla's words and agreed to join her in the fight against Aedraxis, but Hylas's royal house Aelfwar decided to stay out of the fight and safeguard Silverwood, citing that the Covenant was more important and needed to be followed to honor Tavril.
     None of the elves who went into battle and fought beside Shyla and the Mathosians against Aedraxis survived when he performed the most unspeakable of acts, unleashing the rifts upon his homeland and his own people. The Ward was cracked and Regulos and the Blood Storm were again allowed to interact with Telara. After the battle had been ended, the messengers of the Vigil, winged heavenly beings, swooped down over the battlefield and resurrected Shyla and her people in reward for their sacrifices that day, giving them the gift of immortality and Ascendency. Shyla and the Ascended High Elves returned to Silverwood victorious after having stopped Aedraxis and the avatar of Regulos, reborn into the powerful warriors of the Vigil. They found that many of their kinsmen who had remained behind were different, changed. Loyal only to Prince Hylas. They acted wary, suspicious, even hostile to the returning elves, saying that they didn't believe they were actually Ascended and it could be a trick of the Blood Storm instead. Hylas was withdrawn, angry, volatile. He shut himself and his Aelfwar away in Overwatch Keep and would not allow anyone to sway him to the side of the newly created Guardians. And so another schism rent the Elves as the Aelfwar broke from the Covenant of the Vigil, wanting nothing to do with the Ascended and the Guardians.

     When the rifts came again to Telara, Tavril joined with the other gods to create the collective known as the Vigil, ceasing to be a single god with a favored race. As a greater entity, the Vigil requires a stronger bond  with its followers and so forged a new Covenant with the Ascended High Elves. They pledged to rid the land of Regulos and the Blood Storm and deliver Telara from the darkness that was descending upon it and its innocent citizens. Now the High Elves are all but gone. The only remaining true High Elves are mostly Ascended, still following the ways of their beloved goddess but also now following the guidance of the Vigil. They venture all over Telara ensuring that the citizens of the world are safe as well as removing the taint of the cultists and the planar threats that seek to usurp nature's will upon the land.

Stats:

• Average Lifespan: 300 years
• Culture: Irish peoples, Mayan
• Faction: Guardian
• Favored Mount: Valmera
• Homeland: Silverwood
• Leader: Shyla Starhearth, Pentarch of the Vigil
• Spirituality: Worshippers of the Vigil, Tavril in particular
• Society: Nomads and wanderers, the High Elves are aloof and solitary. They take their vows of stewardship of Telara seriously. The High Elves are the most spiritual of the Guardian races and the closest to the Vigil. They are also the oldest and wisest of Telara's sentient races.

References: So, the information I got for this post is no longer available on the interwebs, or least, not that I can find, and trust me, I looked! It's kind of disappointing that it isn't available anymore for other players to look at. Because of this, I had to guess at the culture part of the stats. I'm pretty sure, they are based on ancient Irish and Mayan people, but I'm not 100% sure, so if anyone has any more solid info or a link to a page that shows it, please I'd appreciate it! All the information contained here belongs to Trion Worlds and Rift and isn't mine, I'm just posting it here for informational purposes only! So don't shoot me k?

[Books and Artifacts] III: History of the High Elves

     ".. .. For all their talk of peace and harmony with the land, the High Elves have a surprisingly violent history. They are much like a gardener who speaks of the serenity of her garden, but will not hesitate to prune plants, poison vermin, and uproot those plantings that did not bear fruit. We brief visitors will marvel at their creation, how serene and beautiful it is, how peaceful. What we don't see is the bloody and often brutal effort necessary to achieve this effect.

      Brakor Melthorpe argued in his tome on Mathosian pre-history that this was precisely how that culture came about. The elves enacted a long standing prophesy over centuries to change the nature of man. The mercurial character of the Eth was not to their liking, so they evolved human culture into the honor bound, spiritual Mathosian. If this is true then it certainly explains the many conflicts between the High Elves and dwarves in our history. It was their attempt to shape us. I credit the dwarven innate stubbornness and contrary streak for forestalling the Elven designs; unless those are precisely the characteristics they wished out of us.
      Individually, however, High Elves come across as a cultured, refined, and achingly beautiful people. Their society is egalitarian by nature, and largely invisible. Only in the forest of Silverwood have they constructed much in the way of permanent structures. The majority of the High Elves walk the land, looking for signs from their goddess, enacting her will upon those who would bring harm to the land. These groups are either a blessing or a scourge to the local populace, depending on where their arrows are pointed.

      Occasionally, one of these knight errants will grow tired or curious of this life and settle in a foreign town and live like the rest of of us mortals, learning a trade, raising a family, and enjoying the serenity that comes from not shouldering the burden of the world's problems."

              ~~The history of the High Elves as told by Historian Gulgot Rampnor, a dwarven historian

Reference: The words of this lore excerpt are taken directly from the book "The history of the High Elves", which can be found in game by completing the artifact set that awards it! It's funny to think that the Mathosian people today were molded by the High Elves into the kind of civilization they wanted. I guess they took their covenant to their goddess pretty seriously, eh?