"Phillipe-Darthiir"
1326AE - 1327AE
The following paragraphs are taken from Elvaris: building an empire, written by elven historian, Alassiar Kethellis, written 1345AE. The work goes into detail about how the many elven nations now united under the Elven Empire were originally split and new little or none of one another, after the attempted genocide of elven people of the Zokaran Empire. It describes how the elves were, by the end of the Zokaran reign, divided and in many cases in hiding. It also describes how Queen Ara Haran, with her spell weaver council, searched the entire world of Terran for elven enclaves, which they brought into the protective family of Elvaris. The Phillipe-Darthiir group made a large contribution towards that effort, though they did so unknowingly.
Alystin Darthiir, Darthiir being a curse in the drow elven language meaning “faerie”, is a half drow (mother) half faerie (father) from the surface drow elven community of Hidden dale. Her mother is a high ranking member in the elven clergy, a high priestess of Eilestrae, goddess of good drow, and her father is a renowned bladesinger, now a general in the Elvaran army. Alystin followed both her parents, devoting her life to the church of Eilestrae, while also taking up the blade, and learning the bladesong fighting style. She is now one of the clan leaders of the Tiger Bladesinger Clan. Alystin Darthiir is well known for her efforts with the Heroes of Sundale, but little is ever spoken for what she did to bring her own people of Hiddendale, as well as the nation of Feldar into the Elven Empire.
Alystin started off as an adventuring acolyte, as adventure is seen as a learning and necessary experience in her chosen religion. She traveled to the human dale lands, not far from her home of Hidden Dale. It was here she met with Terence Phillipe, a flamboyant rogue whom Alystin grew to like immediately. They traveled the roads of the dale lands, dispersing bandits and enjoying taverns of the region when they met a lost man, a giant of a human, clothed in furs of exotic animals. His name was Ratharix, and called himself a barbarian of the Bear Clan, from the other side of the Wild Lands. He said he had been on a Rite of Passage journey, when he had become lost and ended up traveling to the other side of the Wild Lands where none of his people had been before. Alystin and Terence allowed him to join their group, letting the young and excitable Ratharix know that they were adventurers, and if he traveled with them, he may find great adventure before he chose to travel home. And so the three continued to travel the dale lands, making a name for themselves. And so a young ranger came to find them, named Garret, who said he needed help to hunt down a Wyvern who had been causing problems in the area. The adventurers then joined with Garret, and they hunted down and smote the evil beast. And Garret joined with the adventurers.
Now they were four in number and they were ready for larger things than just hunting brigands along the roads of the Dale Lands. So they pooled their coin and made some investments of Dalelands goods, this idea brought to them by the ever savvy Terrance Phillipe, and so they bought fine wines and tabac and good lumber and wool, which they brought with them as they traveled across the continent all the way to the rich sprawling city/nation of Cunaxa. Along the way they were set upon by brigands and orcs and giants, and all sorts of beasts who thought them an easily preyed upon group of merchants, but they quickly disabused such notions as they continued their journey. When reaching Cunaxa they traded their goods for a more than healthy profit, and then spent some time drinking their coin and keeping an ear open for an adventure.
They did not have long to wait, when they heard rumor of ancient ruins in the great forest to the south. Ancient ruins which had claimed the lives of many would be adventurers. But they knew they were no would be adventurers, they were the real thing, and so they gathered what information they could about these ruins, and they set forth upon their journey. When they reached the ruins buried deep in the ancient wood, they felt some trepidation, for the ruin was massive, and led to many deep caverns and ancient tunnels, but they persevered. They traveled the ancient tunnels, fighting many foul beasts and crossing many ancient magics. They traveled through peril and injury, until they reached an ancient tunnel still protected by ancient magics, magics which appeared to be well tended. But Alystin called upon the strength of her goddess, and she destroyed the magical wards which kept her and her companions out, and they entered even deeper into the ruins, and what they saw was a great surprise. In the midst of the ancient tunnels stood what appeared to be a massive outdoor glade, with many spiring oak trees, and buildings of elven design dispersed among them. It was here that Alystin and her companions found the ancient city of Feldar, home of elves who had hidden beneath the earth from the ever reaching arms of Zokara. At first these elves met the group, which consisted of three humans, with blades and bows, but some quick diplomatic speaking from Alystin calmed them enough to listen to their tale. It was found out that these elves had gone into hiding well before the fall of Zokara, and had not surfaced since. This complex was once the hiding ground of four races: gnomes, elves, dwarves, and halflings (now thought to be extinct). The protective magics had faded over time though, and slowly the other races had gone back to the surface, never to return, and their halls had become infested with monsters and beasts. So the elves had remained hidden. Now that they new of the fall of Zokara, the elves of Feldar chose to return to their long lost surface realm, but only to discover that Zokara had been successful in destroying the great kingdoms of the elves. Or so they thought.
Freya Tauron has always kept her information network prioritized for one piece of information in particular: elven activity. And Alystin’s actions had brought her to the attention of Freya and her spies. They began hunting for her shortly after she left Cunaxa, and found her and the elves of Feldar shortly after they ascended from their self imprisonment. The elves of Feldar were invited to join the empire, which they did, and Freya traveled with Alystin and her companions to Hidden Dale, where the same offer was extended to the good drow of that community. Obviously there were a few political problems with allowing drow into the faerie nation of Elvaris, but in the end it was worked out, and Hidden Dale joined the ranks of the untied elven people. Alystin continued to travel with her companions, though shortly after Garrett chose to build an inn and retire. Ratharix wanted to travel home to his own people, so Alystin and Terrance escorted him to Estar and the border of the Wild Lands, where they said their goodbyes. Terrance and Alystin then separated to go their own ways, Terrance to travel the world, and Alystin to travel to Elvaris and eventually make her way back to the Dale Lands, where she would meet Lawrence, Nadalis, Anteries and Kazeem, and start another grand adventure.