Category Archives: EQRPG Lore

Clerics of Tunare, Elven, EQRPG Lore, Faydark, Faydwer, Fier’Dal, Hejira, Innoruuk, Koada'Dal, Kobold, Lake Elizerain, Minotaur, Queen Elizerain, Sea of Dawn, Steamfont Mountains, Tunaria

History of Lake Elizerain

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Lake Elizerain sat quietly upon Faydwer for ages. Until the elves’ departure from the distant eastern shores of Tunaria, few if any folk visited the Lake, and it has no recorded name before that time. Wild beasts and creatures from the mountains roamed the area until the Koada’Dal came and the wilderness retreated to some extent. The creatures of the area still maintained a presence, though, and even after the Fier’Dal and Koada’Dal sent rangers, paladins, warriors, and scouts to colonize and secure the area, most of it remained untamed. Because of the persistent wildness of the region (and since the elves soon settled in other, more hospitable parts of the Faydark), the small elven communities near the Lake soon shrank. However, the settlements by the lake were never entirely abandoned, simply because the pristine waters were one of the few delights held precious by Princess Elizerain, who became queen of the elves around this time.

Throughout the nearly three centuries after the Hejira, Elizerain proved a very potent and capable queen. She was much beloved by her people and oversaw great innovations and improvements among their culture. Much of her success was attributed in later years to her legendary divinatory
ability, which guided the elves on a course that kept them generally safe and content in their new home. Legend claims that when it came time for Queen Elizerain to pass onto the next life, she bade her people bury her in the favored place of her youth when her time for passing came.
Thus, the Koada’Dal put her to rest in the waters of the newly named Lake Elizerain.

In the many years after her death, while the lakeside settlements faded away almost entirely, pilgrims and mystics came to the lake in droves to try to tap into the divinatory ability that Queen Elizerain’s burial purportedly granted the waters. A few posts were maintained by the lake
to accommodate these wanderers. The years passed relatively peacefully by the lake, although the local minotaurs and kobolds continued to harass the elves, as they always had.

In recent years, however, events have taken a darker turn. For many centuries, the dutifully maintained elven watch towers on the eastern shores of Faydwer peered out over the Sea of Dawn. Only in the last two centuries have the elves abandoned the majority of these towers, as the
ancient fear of danger from the east has gradually given way to apathy in the face of other dangers all around the elves.

Only a decade or so ago, the southernmost of these towers, which rests against an eastern spur of the Steamfonts, opened its doors to a young adventurer. This gifted youth bore with him several artifacts he had won while delving deep into the mountains nearby. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to either the adventurer or the tower’s handful of warriors, these objects were dark artifacts of Innoruuk, and their corruption spread rapidly through the tower. Now, dark forces control of the former Koada’Dal holding.

The Koada’Dal have attempted reconnoiters against the tower, and the defenses of the darkened tower have proved strong. At present, there are simply too few of the Clerics of Tunare to undertake a dangerous quest to secure such a distant outlying enemy holding, as they are busy defending Felwithe from more immediate threats.

Aataltaal, Antonica, Black Tombs, Combine Empire, Crusade of Tears, Crushbone, EQRPG Lore, Faydwer, Freeport, Grave Mounds, Hills of Shade, Knights of Truth, Lady Delailith, Mayong Mistmoore, mobile, Orc

Grave Mounds of the Hills of Shade

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The region known as the Grave Mounds contains the densest collection of barrows within the Hills of Shade. Located in the northeastern corner of the hills, the grave mounds include tombs dating back to the Combine Empire and the mysterious civilization that built the Black Tombs, and also features crypts crafted by the ancient forebears of the Crushbone orcs, as well as the first elves who traveled to Faydwer from Antonica; finally, the most recent additions are those tombs placed here by the Knights of Truth from Freeport during the Crusade of Tears. In addition, there are numerous burial mounds that have been completed by one group or another but which for whatever reason were never used, which is likely why so many different groups have placed some of their dead here.

As a result, the barrows themselves are far from uniform.They vary in size from a single room to complexes that spread across (or rather underneath) nearly a full acre of surface area. Many of the barrows are linked by tunnels or cracks in the earth, creating subterranean labyrinths of great danger. Great numbers of barrow wolves make their dens within these mounds, and other creatures often inhabit them as well. Many have complex traps set to protect the treasures buried within, and some of these traps are tied into steam vents to allow them to reset after each use.

Unlike the Black Tombs, the burial mounds are easily spotted from the outside. Each is a large earthen mound with a huge stone slab placed over the top and shale built up around the sides. This area is somewhat more geologically stable than other parts of the Hills, so, although quakes do occasionally bury or reveal new mounds, many of the same mounds can be found on any visit to the region. As the mounds have no distinctive markings on the outside, however, it’s impossible to determine who (or what) is in each without either moving the enormous rock atop it (certainly a difficult task, as each weighs at least several tons) or digging into it from the side.

Because of these difficulties, scavengers and corpse miners tend to ignore the Grave Mounds in favor of easier pickings elsewhere. Only individuals seeking a specific barrow spend time hunting here. The sole exception to this rule is agents of Mayong Mistmoore. Dark offerers, deathly ushers, pledge familiars, recluses, webstranders, and even will sappers are fairly common sights around the Mounds, digging into old barrows and setting up ropes and pulleys to remove the huge capstones. It has been suggested that these creatures are seeking a particular tomb for their master, but, if so, no one knows which one, or why.

According to legend, the high elf Aataltaal, founder of Freeport, is buried within the largest of these mounds. This is not true (and many whisper that the elf is not dead at all), but the mistake is understandable: One of the few elves who aided Aataltaal in establishing the primarily human city of Freeport, Lady Delailith, did return to Felwithe upon his disappearance, and eventually her remains were buried here in the hills. Her burial mound, long hidden and lost to posterity, was only recently rediscovered.

Bertoxxulous’ Cauldron, Black Tombs, Butcherblock Mountains, Crawling Ruins, Durathin, Dwarven, Elven, EQRPG Lore, Faydwer, Felwithe, Grave Mounds, Hejira, Hills of Shade, Kelethin, Tunaria

The coming of the Elves

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Nothing else after the dwarf-sagas is known to have been written about the Hills of Shade until the time of the elven Hejira, the sea journey that brought them from Tunaria to Faydwer. As newcomers to a vast and unknown continent, the elves wanted to explore their new home and its resources. Most of their efforts focused on the areas around the vicinity of current-day Felwithe and Kelethin, but smaller groups of elves set up communities anywhere there wasn’t already a local population. The very fact that the Hills of Shade were abandoned made it perfect for individuals seeking a new home, and relations between the elven newcomers and the indigenous dwarves were strong.

Thus, the small community of Durathin arose in the hills; though small and never prosperous, the town was kept safe by combined forces of high elf and dwarven guards. This cooperation was purely pragmatic — neither Felwithe nor Kaladim had an outpost near the center of the continent, and Durathin provided a useful place for scouts from both kingdoms to resupply.

The inhabitants of Durathin learned much about the dangers of the Hills of Shade and recorded their findings thoroughly. The deceptive shadows and changing landscape made maps useless within weeks of being drawn, but it was possible for explorers with a strong sense of direction to find their way around cautiously. One could navigate by using the coastline as a guide, and notorious or unusual regions within the hills kept the same identifying properties even when their appearance changed: Durathin citizens identified Bertoxxulous’ Cauldron, the Black Tombs, the Crawling Ruins, and the Grave Mounds. They also erected dozens of trail-markers to establish (relatively) safe paths through the hills. Slowly, a trickle of trade began between Kaladim and Kelethin, using Durathin guides to find the shortest route from the Butcherblock Mountains to the Greater Faydark. Durathin was poised to blossom into a large and prosperous trade community.

Caerthielian Empire, Crushbone, Druid Circle, Dwarven, EQRPG Lore, Hills of Shade, Kaladim, Land of Hungry Mountains, Land of Steam and Shadow, Orc, Rallos Zek, Shissar, Teir'Dal, Teleportation Pyramid, The Dark Lords, The Temple of Rallos Zek

History of the Hills of Shade

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The earliest records regarding the Hills of Shade are the old dwarven sagas of Kaladim. In these it is called the Land of Steam and Shadow, and is even today often used as ametaphor for death. Interestingly, these sagas also make itclear that even in the dwarves’ ancient history, this landwas already full of ancient tombs and twisted wildlife. Mostof the tales make no effort to explain where the tombs camefrom, but a few references to the “dark lords” has lead Teir’Dal scholars to claim the hills were a common burial ground for their Caerthielian Empire. By contrast, the few dwarven lore-masters who have studied the question claim that the origin of the tombs is not mentioned simplybecause it was unimportant, and thus is the result of some minor kingdom long since forgotten.

Not nearly as old or reliable are the legends perpetuated by the Crushbone orcs. Ancient maps in the possession of the orcs of Crushbone — written in an ancient orc dialect known only to a handful of scholars today (none of whom are among the Crushbone orcs) — call this region the “Land of Hungry Mountains.” These orc maps also show a temple to Rallos Zek, a druid stone circle, and two teleport pyramids, as well as a pictogram of a shissar, although one needs to read Ancient Orc to know this. Crushbone prophets claim the area as forbidden to any but prophets of Rallos Zek and they sometimes journey to the hills to seek guidance and visions, yet they seem to have no real idea about the region’s history.

EQRPG Lore, Lady Delailith, Luclin, The Rending, The Shattering, Veeshan

Vision of Lady Delailith

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An age shall come unto the lands,
Of heartbreak, bloodshed, and quickening sands.
The earth loosed by divine embrace,
Crumbles and tumbles, while oceans give chase.

When magic seems lost, and distance grows great,
All the children of Norrath shall share the same fate.
An army of old shall rise up once more,
To blacken the land with the cold touch of war.

The Maiden of Shadows alone in the night,
Shunned by the gods of both darkness and light.
She trembles then bursts, at the touch of their hand,
Raining down fire and scorching the land

Let this vision of mine though shared by none,
Save the poisened fruit of Vesshan’s womb,
Be kept close at hand and near to heart,
So that all is not lost when the world falls apart.

Drinal, Ehayae, EQRPG Lore, Gihjna, Lujien, Sahteb Mahlni, The Silver Reaper, Vah Shir

The Spirit Deities

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Several  powerful divine spirits  are worshiped  similarly to deities by Norrath’s more primitive. They are different than  the deities of Power,  Influence, and Nature as  they  do  not exist  to  rule or be ruled by a plane of  existence nor are they tied to mortal beliefs. They are divine creatures imbued in the physical and spiritual world of Norrath  itself. Shamans and beast-lords, especially agnostic  ones,  draw their power from and  form bonds with the spirits  of animals and nature. These spirit deities  are the most powerful examples of such spirits.

Drinal, The  Silver  Reaper

Very  few beings know of The  Silver Reaper,  associated with  the gray moon seen from Norrath on  all nights – Drinal. This moon was named after the spirit  deity of night, destruction,  and death by a humanoid tribe of nomads before the era of great cities and civilizations. Drinal, although  representing  that which  is dark,  is a neutral deity who represents  the necessary end of  the cycle of life. He does not maintain his watch over death out of malevolence,  but out of the necessity for it to occur  in order to  fulfill  the cycle of  life. His Lujien followers personify Drinal as an upright white wolf whose paws,  tail,  and maw are midnight  black. It  is  said that Drinal wields a  silver sickle,  the  symbol  of the  crescent moon that is most sacred to Drinal and his bestial worshipers.

Ehayae,  Matron of The Baton

Very few beings know of Ehayae and even fewer pay homage to her in reverence and worship. To those that do know this name and follow her guidance, she is the deity that maintains the cycle of birth, rebirth, and creation and is strongly tied to Drinal, who completes this cycle. The dawn and twilight are symbols associated with this goddess and are hours that her worshippers revere as sacred. Ehayae, although representing that which is considered to be good by many of the races of Norrath, is indeed a neutral goddess. Her neutrality comes in that she does not maintain her half of the cycle of life out of benevolence, but out of necessity. Her Gihjna followers personify Ehayae as a golden-skinned humanoid female bearing the face and head of an ivory-beaked hawk and golden wings in place of arms. She is often depicted as holding a halfcircle at the tips of her wings in representation of the rising and setting sun.

Sahteb Mahlni, The Feral Spirit

Sahteb Mahlni is the most powerful of the known animal spirits and is believed to be the embodiment and source of animal instincts. Followers of Sahteb Mahlni are exclusively Vah Shir who believe true wisdom and power come from understanding and controlling the primal inner spirit within all living creatures. The opposites of life and death, predator and prey, and physical and spiritual are the primal balances of existence, and upon death all things return to a spiritual state until reborn into the new flesh. Only through praise, reverence, and devotion to Sahteb Mahlni – the greatest of the ancestor spirits and the balance of life and death – can enlightenment be achieved. Vah Shir of all dispositions, from the peaceful contemplative shaman to the fierce, bloodthirsty beastlord hear the calling of Sahteb Mahlni. As an embodiment of the primal balance, Sahteb Mahlni is neutral. When the Feral Spirit is described in the physical form, it is as an ever-changing composite creature made from all Norrath’s animals.

Source: EQRPG Game Masters Guide

Aataltaal, Academy of Arcane Science, Book, Dark Elven, Deathfist, EQRPG Lore, Felwithe, Freeport, Journal of Aataltaal, Lady Delailith, Landing, Luclin, mobile, Orc, Paladins of Marr, Rod of Command, Teir'Dal

Aataltaal III : Journal of Aataltaal

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Final Entry—

It is with heavy heart on this long night that I write what I know to be my last entry here. I have deliberated on this issue, and always I come to the same conclusion. These are a brave people in Landing — noble, able, determined. Yet as long as I stay, they shall defer to me out of respect for what I have done in these early years. I would simply pass on the rulership to another, but any whom I favor shall be treated with the same thoughtless deference, and these people must have a ruler they have chosen from among themselves. For this to happen, I must be gone entirely, beyond any hope of their finding me.

Of course, in a matter of hours the question may be moot. An army of the Deathfist unlike any I have seen marches toward our walls, and at this moment a band of accursed Teir’Dal assassins positions itself beneath our feet. I am confident, with the warning I have received from these strange scientists of the arcane, that I have plotted a course through these troubles. But my sense that the city and its people shall endure is no guarantee that I myself shall live through this night. The paladins of Marr have sworn to lay down their lives to protect mine, but a stray blade or spell of death may always find me. Still, I must be the bait, and only a complete victory over the Teir’Dal allows my remaining forces to reinforce the walls and defeat the Deathfist.

After that, the city is safe. Difficult years may lie ahead, but these people deserve a chance to plot their own destinies. I cannot in good conscience bring the entire city along on the dread road I must travel. Lady Delailith shall return to Landing should it require help, but my heart tells me that she will never need to do so. A finer people I have not known on Norrath, and I love them enough to set them free of my shadow.

Tonight, even if he sees the end of it, Aataltaal dies to the mortal world. At least until such a time as events may require me to reveal myself again.

By Mine Own Hand,

Aataltaal

———-

An addendum:

The deed is done, the Teir’Dal smashed, the Deathfist lay in ruins. I take this journal, along with all else that has been entrusted into my care, to depart from this free port back to my homeland a continent away. After living unfettered on this rough land, I can never again accept the policies and obligations of Felwithe. But for the same reasons Aataltaal must go, so too must I. Already they turn to me, asking his fate — and why not ask a sage to find such knowledge? Even if I can hold their questions off until they relent and remit, I foresee they will choose me to fill his place. I am too clearly associated with him, and his memory cannot fade until mine has.

Already I have removed my name from the battle-lists, burned all correspondence, and sworn my agents never to speak my name again. In one human generation, I will be a myth. In ten, I will be forgotten.

I mourn to never see the Academy built, to never again know the smell of the market and feel the warm, relentless sun on my face. But I shall find a new place in the unexplored wilds of Faydwer and there spend my last days. When my last breath gives forth, I shall be buried there, in whatever new home I have made. My agents can bring me word of Landing’s progress, and, as my master wishes, I shall return should it ever have need, Rod in hand, to aid it. Yet I have had a Moment of Truth, and have perceived that there shall be no such trouble until I am long gone, when Luclin shall be buried in Norrath.

But enough. This truly shall be the last entry into this journal, which I must take away as I remove myself.

By Mine Own Hand,

Delailith