[Lore] XIX: Silverwood

   When the world of Telara had been created, Tavril the nature goddess, desired to have protectors and guardians of the sacred places, and to uphold her beliefs. She called the Elves of the world together in the forest of Tavra, in Silverwood. At the holy place now called the Mirror of Ages, she made with the Elves of the land a covenant. They would forever defend the untamed places of Telara in return for many gifts. Though the Elves kept to their cause through the age of prosperity, the Age of Dragons, and the chaos that came after, wandering to the far reaches of the world, they always kept Silverwood in their hearts as their home.
     Silverwood remains mostly untouched by the defilement of the cultists and dragons through the years, mostly through the dedication of the High Elves who have watched over it, retreating back to their beloved wood when the world became a dangerous and unstable place. Their numbers dwindled but they held fast in Silverwood, keeping the promise they had made to the goddess. Silverwood is a beautiful and rich forest backed on one side by high mountains and the other side by the deep waters of the sea. It is strategically sound for the Guardians, which is one of the reasons it was chosen for their base of operations. It is home to all manner of wild creatures, including wolves, vespids, squirrels, rabbits, fish, shamblers and boglings. Many different races can be seen here, but the most predominant are the High Elves and their brethren who have made Silverwood their home. The trees are towering giants, hundreds of years old, and the forest is thick with powerful magic and wisdom.

     Silverwood is home to the capital of the Guardians, Sanctum. It's the first "zone" that the Guardians are introduced to after their battle at Thedeor Field and fighting off Aedraxis and Regulos. Quicksilver College, the most prominent location for training and learning, is also located in Silverwood, and subjects such as history and culture are taught by prominent High Elves to many races. Many different types of magic are studied and taught at Quicksilver, as well as studies on nature and the Planes. Cyril Kalmar, the main leader of the Guardians, can usually be found in Sanctum. Silverwood is one of the most heavily defended of the zones on Telara for many reasons. It is the most frequented zone by players, it is always populated by those who are creating new characters, are starting over, or are new to the game, so there is always plenty of characters running around the wood. It also has a heavy Guardian presence, which means many more guards and soldiers than other zones, which are more loosely controlled and are constantly under attack from both the Planes and the Defiant. Silverwood is located directly opposite of Freemarch, the starting zone for the Defiant. It's easy to get from one zone to the other by swimming across the bay.
     Another important location of note in Silverwood is the Mirror of Ages. This is found to the northwest of Quicksilver, closer to Gloamwood. The Mirror of Ages is a sacred place for all High Elves, and probably quite a few of the other Guardian races as well. In the center of the grove is a beautiful pool of water in its purest form. Out of the water rises an ancient petrified statue of the first prophet of Tavril. The Mirror of Ages and the statue have long been a place of peace and sanctuary for pilgrims and initiates of Tavril's ways. If one is worthy, one can even hear Tavril's response as whispers among the green canopies overhead. Unfortunately, because the Mirror of Ages is such a sacred place, it has recently become a target of House Aelfwar in their bid to take over Silverwood and topple the civilizations of man.

     The main threat to Silverwood that you have to neutralize is House Aelfwar, led by the traitorous Prince Hylas Aelfwar, a High Elf who turned his back on Tavril and the Vigil and formed a pact with the dragon Greenscale. As you play through the story, you are given more information on both Hylas and his tragic love story with the High Priestess Shyla, who is one of the current leaders of the Guardians. You also gain a bit of information on why Hylas turned from the gods and how he was corrupted. Hylas would do anything to protect what he considers the last sacred bastion of nature on Telara, even going so far as to ally with the Fae and welcome them into the wood, outlawing the use of cold iron because Faeries hate it. Silverwood is also the home of a dungeon called "Realm of the Fae". This is the first dungeon that Guardian players come across in the game and is located physically in Silverwood in the North by the hedgerow mazes, inside an old well.

     Silverwood is also on the border of the notorious and doomed city of Port Scion, which was one of the main points of contention between the Guardians and the Defiants and a place of extreme loss and tragedy. Port Scion is sealed and inaccessible to an adventurer, but you can stop at the edge of Silverwood to the West and see its high walls.

     Even without the Aelfwar, Silverwood faces other threats. The goblins are pouring in by the dozens from the northern haunted forest of Gloamwood, being driven out of their native home by an unknown menace and attacking and destroying anything they can in Silverwood. Their leaders are bloodthirsty, violent and determined agents of the dragon of fire, Maelforge.

A note to Hylas from Twyl:

My dear Prince Hylas,

“Though you have called me enemy, the birds and beasts tell me of your woes. As a fellow guardian of the wild, my heart goes out to you. I too know the sting of a loved one’s betrayal. Your Priestess Shyla has always been too eager to spend her time with the Mathosians. Now she has returned from the dead and claimed this was the work of your gods, and yet… there is but one force I know that can animate the dead, and his name is Regulos.

We need not be enemies, O Prince. We share a common love of nature and the pristine wild, and a common loathing of the Guardians, who manage to blend the stink of death with the pomposity of religion. You remind me very much of the magnificent Fae— such as myself— who hail from the deepest parts of the Plane of Life. Even now, I have access to power that would save your beautiful Silverwood with ease. You need only ask.”

~~A kindred spirit, Twyl, Lord of the Fae

 

   And here is a list of artifact sets that I found that relate to Silverwood or those that live here. I love finding little snippets of lore just by doing things like collecting artifacts or listening to the NPC's chat with each other!

• Overwatch- The ancient keep was the ancestral power of the High Elves
• Ancient Granite Rock
• Satyre Beard Shavings
• Discarded Tavril Psalms
• Faerie Dust
• Faer Seed Shell Fragment
• Corrupted Fae Keystone Fragment
• Hylas and Shyla- These tear-stained sonnets and personal correspondences have been scattered by the wind.
• Shyla's letter to her father
• An account of Hylas's coming of age
• Shyla and Hylas's errant journey
• Love in Overwatch Keep
• The Shade War
• Green eyed monster
• The Arboreal War- Artifacts of a centuries-old war between goblins and elves
• Rusted elven steel
• Ancient arrowhead
• Fossilized goblin tar
• Ash-covered bones
• Defiled elf-skull
• Goblin slave harness
• Prince Hylas Aelfwar- Once the prince of the elves, now turned traitor and heretic, he leads the House Aelfwar as the depraved cult of Greenscale.
• Insignia of the First Order
• Vial of Greenscale's blood
• Wax seal of the prince
• Shyla's locket
• Concealable elven pugio
• Silverwood- The forest of Silverwood is the ancient home of the High Elves and the location of the return of the Ascended Guardians.
• Shyla's locket
• The Dragons-the Adversary
• Goblin slave harness
• Blueprints for the Vault of Heresy
• Corrupted Fae keystone fragment
• Aelfwar treaty scrolls
• Goblin heart jerky
• Cyril's holy symbol of the Vigil
• Journal of completed prophecy
• Conclusion: Gross and Evil
• Rothmann's Principia Conflagera

 

References: Just my own thoughts on Silverwood. Most of this is my own words of the description given about Silverwood in the old lore pages they used to have on the Rift site before they took them down. I'm not sure where the information went, but I recorded it in my notebook a while ago. The last bit, the letter to Hylas, is not my work, but belongs to Trion. The information on the Mirror of Ages and the first prophet can be found by talking to Cerys Amare standing in front of the Inn in outside Quicksilver. The artifact sets are easy enough to find, by simply looking for the shiny little lights all over Silverwood. Of course, the artifacts are all random but I had collected a whole bagful and was able to sift through them to find those relevant to Silverwood!

 

[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?

[Lore] IX: Tavril

     Tavril is the goddess of the land, one of the five gods who united to form what is known as the Vigil to protect Telara from the evil of the Blood Storm. By uniting their strengths and powers, they were able to erect and maintain the Ward, which kept the Planes from touching Telara's shores.

 

     Tavril is the goddess of the land and of life. She protects Telara and tasks her children, the Elves, with safeguarding the wild and sacred spaces of the world. She embodies the power, the beauty, and the majesty of nature, of the natural world. Those who hold life sacred and follow the ways of nature find she can be bountiful, loving, and nurturing. For those who wish to destroy, spoil, or desecrate the land, she can become wrathful, vengeful, and destructive. Her presence can be found in most any natural place, particularly a forest. Silverwood, which was known as Elfhome and the Forest of Tavra at one point in history, is her most sacred forest and here her presence is most powerfully felt.

     Being so connected to the land, Tavril is also the most vulnerable of the Vigil gods to the elemental destruction wrought by the Planes and the legions of creatures that pour through the Rifts. The elemental forces that are embodied in the planar Rifts tear apart her land, forging into something new that the Planar forces can survive in and mutating the natural order of the land to fit their own needs, but Tavril is a resilient goddess, like the land she represents, and with the help of the Ascended, the land will survive and prosper once again. The other gods protect her from the forces of the Planes and the Ascended heal her beautiful land each time they close a Rift. When a Rift is closed, it becomes immediately obvious that Tavril is there to eagerly claim back the blighted location for her own, healing Telara as soon as the elemental presence is lifted. Tavril is the manifestation of the land. She is the Land.

 

     Before the Age of Dragons, Tavril  was the patron goddess of the Elves and walked the earth beside them, taking on physical form and living on Telara with the mortal races. Her beloved and favored children, the Elves, revered and loved her, doing all they could to please her. Thus, they swore the Covenant with her, vowing to uphold her laws and virtues and help to protect Telara from evil and chaos. This Covenant was agreed upon in an ancient holy spot in Silverwood known as the Mirror of Ages, where Tavril's physical manifestation swore the Elves to be Telara's protectors.

  It is this close, two way relationship with the goddess that allows all Guardians a close connection to what is now the Vigil. The other gods of the Vigil work to protect Tavril, who is the most vulnerable of the five to elemental threat. But they also draw strength from her connection to the land. Tavril is the patron god of the High Elves who have walked with her in harmony since time began. The breaking of this covenant will herald the waking of the dragons, the coming of the Blood Storm and the prophecy of the end of times.

 

     After the Ward was erected, Tavril's voice went silent, like the rest of the Vigil gods. Now the Messengers of the Vigil relay information from the Vigil to the Guardian Ascended. Perhaps the gods are trapped behind their own barrier, unable to enter Telara like they once did because the Ward keeps their powers out? Or maybe something happened to them and all that is left is a remnant, a faint taste of what the Vigil once was, and the Messengers, who have their orders to guide the Guardians no matter what. But you can still see her power at work. With every Rift that is sealed and every Planar stronghold that is destroyed, we witness the power of Tavril reasserting her will and healing the land.

    

     When the first dwarf Ascended, Borrin Gammult, saw a majestic island rise out of the sea, after the disaster with the Shade of Regulos, he vowed to build a great basilica atop it in honor of Tavril and all the gods, taking it as a sign that his pilgrimage was over. In honor of the land, he named the central courtyard and the only viable entrance to the newly erected basilica Tavril Plaza.

 

 

 

References: It's so hard to find concrete information on the Vigil gods. Especially on specific gods as separate entities. Most of this information was from artifacts in the game, quest and talk bits, as well as several sites on the internet, all put together in my own words to form this article. Hopefully once I gain more information on Tavril, and the Vigil in general, I can come back and fill in. One thing I'd really like to get ahold of is a symbol or icon for Tavril. Surely the gods have their own symbol or figure they have to represent them to the mortal races?

Update: I finally found personal icons for the Vigil!! They are dimension objects, but work all the same and I'm very happy to finally get to see what their symbols are. Also, I was able to flesh out a bit more info on Tavril herself.