Good evening all. My name is Xan’Dyr Darkclaw, of House Bloodraven, Master Librarian of Lorr. I do not think think I am the last of the Shadowravens, but I have not traveled into the Pit to find out for myself. Thank you for coming for tonight’s seminar. Running the great library’s day to day can get tedious, and I’ve taken to discussing various subjects of interests. My favorite topics of course pertain to those that shape the very world around us. I talk about all the players in this great game of life, the haughty elves, the stubborn dwarves, the pestilence that is humankind and all the rest. If they have a culture, I am completely fascinated by them.
Oh and please do raise your hand if you have questions, or if we need to take a break. No longer being among the living has its advantages, but I forget at times that my audience might need to stretch, or use the restroom, or just breathe in silence for a moment.
Tonight’s topic will be the elves of Duir’Aion.
I’m sure you’re aware that there is no one true race of elves. There are the arrogant spire elves, and the adventurous valley elves. Deep in the great woods are the forest elves, and many have nightmares about the cannibalistic deep elves. The winged elves, once were so great in number that each type of winged elf, from the eaglets to the hummers were categorized. Alas the dragons took umbrage at the supposed usurper of the skies and all but destroyed them. They all, in their hubris claim to be the original, with all others being offshoots on the elven line.
What many do not know, is that the precursor to the elves, the Ma’Dara, were a creation of the celestial dragons. At the time, dragons were the undisputed masters of the world. Their kingdoms stretch to every part of Duir’Aion, including high in the clouds and deep underground. When the dragon emperor Kraasynx, a Titan, reached his 10th millenia, the other celestial dragons came together, and created the Ma’Dara. The collected the chaotic energies of the fey realm, bound them with elemental energies, and breathed into them a spark of mana, pure untapped magic. The result was the Ma’Dara.
The Ma’Dara looked similar to the elves of today. They boasted the trademark long ears that elves are famous for. They were tall and lean, but they had long limbs. Their faces too were elongated, not quite draconic, but definitely closer tot the dragons, than their elven descendants. Their hands and toes were spindly but very manipulative. It is believed that over a hundred were created, but the exact number is not known.
The Ma’Dara were given to the dragon emperor as a gift, who kept them in a magical…preserve is the best word I can use. There they were allowed to mate and procreate. It was their they created their first civilization, modeled after their draconic master. Over time, the most powerful Ma’Dara became the leader, and he had vassals among them. At first, Krasynthx was quite fascinated with them and spent many years just watching his pets and their society flourish. On occassion he’d release some to show off to guests. Kraasynthnx woke from one of his decades long naps to find the population of his pets had exploded. There was no longer one clan, but now there were dozens. They lived in relative harmony, but had learned to create tools and weapons out of earth and wood. The Ma’Dara were natural archers. The dragon emperor decided to gift clans to his favorite subjects. It was in this way they Ma’Dara were spread about the world.
Kraasynthx was one of the last Titans to exist in the world, and the only benevolent one. As such the other dragons who were gifted Ma’Dara clans were powerful, but not to the extent as Krasynthx. Thus the Ma’Dara clans were not kept in a magical preserve. Instead they were loosed upon the world, typically close to the lair of their dragon master.
Marrsaathanx, a moon dragon king, noticed that the Ma’Dara were quite clever. He also noticed they were sensitive to magical influences. That those influences could change the Ma’Dara fundamentally. While experimenting with phoenix blood, he created the Rovalis, the original race of winged elves. On a whim, he began to teach them magic. Now understand, at the time magic was raw and unfettered, and as a result, only the dragons, and their ancestors the titans could wield it with any skill. Kor’Tunni the goddess of magic, was less strict in the control of magic than she is now. Still, doing anything new and different with magic, still required her blessing. The only reason she didn’t destroy Marrsanthanx outright, was the Ma’Dara proved to be very inventive when it came to magic. Dragon magic was too strong for the fledgling elves to use safely, so they adapted it, shaping into something they could use. They created the originals schools of magic: Chaos, Life, & Death, as well as creating the first true divide between arcane and divine magic. Which brought Kor’Tunni something she never had before. New devotees to magic. And inventive ones at that. As an aside, the moon dragon king did wake up one morning to discover he’d been transformed into an ice dragon, and spent the rest of his days being hunted by former allies. Never disrespect the goddess of magic.
The Rovalis blossomed, and though they did not even try to claim mastery of the skies, many dragons took umbrage with them. Many Ma’dara blossomed on their own without draconic interference. For example, there once existed a race of fire elves. Servants of the fire dragons, they were spies, servants, and on occassion assassins.. Still none of the elves would have gotten anywhere had not the Rovalis, now without a master, sent emissaries to every clan of elves they could find. These emissaries were all magic users and set about teaching their kin about magic as they understood it. Doing so not only spread the knowledge of arcane and divine magic, but magic itself evolved. For example, the forest elves were very much in tune with nature, and soon began to shape nature magic. The first druids appeared among those reclusive elves.
Eventually the clans got too large, and perhaps too troublesome for the dragon masters to keep under claw. The dragons say they released the elves with their blessing, the elves say they escaped, and act which would eventually spark a war. At any rate, the clans soon started large settlements, eventually becoming the beginnings of the elven empire. They united under the banner of the Rovalis. The emperor was known as the Vassal of the Stars, and was advised by the Council of the Moon, where chosen representatives of each of the clans spoke for their own.
Eventually eight large kingdoms formed, with the empire stretching from one end of Duir’Aion to the other. Tanar’Atalai, the seat of elven power was hidden by powerful magic in the folds of reality between Duir’Aion and the Fey realms. For centuries the elves knew nothing but prosperity and growth. Even when the dwarven empire began stretching across Tanaraq, the peace held. For the dwarves claimed mastery of the Deep Below, while the elves claimed the surface world. Occassional skirmishes happened but nothing major. Both stayed well away from any realm of dragons.
Then came the Triuvirate War. No one knows who started it. Both elves and dwarves blame the dragons. The dragons claim both lesser races encroached on their kingdoms. An offense was made. Again the exact truth is unknown to this day, but scholars point that the dragons grew agitated at their perceived loss of status as masters of the world. The upstart civilizations had proven to be both resourceful and powerful. Some of them wielded magic to rival the great wyrm kings of the day.
The first victims were the Rovalis.
A Darkness Rising 