Yalain
As any accomplished mage knows well, mana pervades the planet of Auberean in ways completely different from our home world of Ispar. On Ispar mana is much more diffuse. One mage likened it to clouds of pollen, and only the strongest of wills could gather it into higher levels of power. However on Auberean mana runs in currents and torrents deep within the planet. These torrents are powerful enough to destroy any mage who attempts to touch them. One needs to look no farther than the blasted crater known as the Obsidian Plain to see how powerful these currents can be. These currents however “leak” and provide readily accessible mana to all, even to the most dimwitted of warrior. The Yalain took advantage of this and appear to have incorporated mana in nearly every facet of their lives.
The simplest of their creations were the Golems and flying Skytowers and Skyships. Their Golem servants were rough amalgamations of rock or other inanimate materials bound together by mana and given intelligence thorough a pyreal mote. Most Golems were given extremely limited intelligence and needed to regularly return to a specially enchanted monolith for additional instructions. Occasionally, though, the mental pathways of a living being were encoded into the mote, creating intelligent servants that even had traces of the original personality, as seen in Eaushi the Trainer found at the Ishilai Lyceum. With regard to the Skytowers, all are familiar with the grounded towers found throughout Isparian towns and the occasional operative one found in the Direlands or other remote location. These were literally flying buildings that were used to patrol areas in times of peace and as floating assault towers in times of war. Traces of Skyships have not been found, probably due to the fact they were constructed with materials that degraded over time. Apparently these ships looked like ocean going vessels and could sail on the water as such if their flying magics and the mages who maintained them were lost or destroyed. Evidently these ships were used to transport goods for the Yalain Empire, even after permanent fixed portals were set up throughout the Empire by Asheron’s adepts. These creations were some of their simplest constructions, but do give us a glimpse of what the Empire must have been like at its height.
Another important area where the Yalain distinguished themselves was in the area of portal magics, largely thanks to Asheron’s studies. While it appears the Dericost had knowledge of these magics, they didn’t use them on the scale the Yalain did. The original work on portals appears to have come from the ancient mage Nilrhem Facill, and these formed the basis for the portal magics Asheron employed. Using these magics, the Yalain established an extensive network of portals between important sites in their Empire and even began to use them to explore other worlds. These portals were a boon to the Yalain, allowing travel and the transport of some goods on a scale never seen before. Unfortunately it also appears they eventually lead to the downfall of their Empire and the deaths of millions. One of the worlds the Yalain explored was the Olthoi home world, and once they arrived on Auberean, they may have used the extensive network of portals to spread to every corner of the world.
A Spiritual Need: The Yalain appear to have been a deeply spiritual people, but their zeal for their faith lead to prejudice and unspeakable crimes on more than one occasion. If their faith were to be summed up into one word, it would be the Yalain word “Au”. This word has many meanings and has been translated into Roulean as “light”, “star”, “thought” or “self”. This concept of light and stars is pervasive throughout their entire religious belief, the stars and the light they give are somehow believed to be holy and perfect. In addition, the gromnatross, extremely large reptile creatures of great beauty and intelligence, are also given a special place in Yalain spiritual beliefs since it was said they would go to the stars in times of change. Finally, a phrase from Lady Maila seems to indicate they believed in a form of reincarnation. It is possible they believed the soul, or what they may have called the “Au”, ascended to the stars on death and it was possible for it to return to live another life. Other than these glimpses, very little of their religious thought has been passed on to us in surviving texts, but we do know they could be very strict in their application of the principles of their faith. While they could be permissive in allowing others to act upon their spiritual need in their own way, they did try to do all they could to convince others of their faith and frowned upon more “pagan” beliefs. They did this by sending missionaries to their subject peoples, to instruct them about the Light. Where exactly their faith came from or their fervor for it is unknown. It may even relate the ancient origins of the Empyreans themselves.
However they came by it, their faith was instrumental in three specific events in their history, events that have affected us in recent years. The first was their war with the Dericost Empire. While the Dericost were the aggressors, it was likely more than the defense of their homeland that motivated the Yalain in battle. To the Yalain, the undead were abhorrent monstrosities. In addition to the horrible cost in human life becoming undead entailed, the source of their long life, worship of the Old Ones and the earth below, disgusted the Yalain. All the undead they found were put to the torch and sent into true death. It is to their credit though that the Yalain, specifically the Order of the Hieromancers, tried to protect the living refugees of the Dericost nobility from reprisals as they were taken away from Gelid.
A second event that brought horrible consequences upon the Yalain was their treatment of their Dericost subjects during the Black Rains. The Black Rains blocked all light from the sun and stars, leading the Yalain to believe the Light had forsaken them. As food would not grow during this time and existing crops withered in the fields, the Empire was swept by fears of eventual starvation, even though the Imperial storehouses were full of food. As the Yalain began to look for a cause, they could find no flaw in themselves, so they turned their eye to their Dericost subjects. Perhaps, they thought, the Black Rains were a form of punishment for the practices of the Dericost’s ancestors. The Yalain decided to step up their attempts to reeducate the Dericost in the ways of the Light and took away what little food they had. It was this event that drove Ilservian Palacost of the town of Daralet to the Darkness, eventually transforming him into Bael’Zharon, the Hopeslayer.
A final event that was brought about by their faith was the exodus of the Gelidites. It appears a new religious fervor was sweeping the Empire in the days before the Olthoi came, largely thanks to the reformation of the Northern Church. When a Lich was discovered hiding in the mountains of Haebrous, the Gelidites, descendants of the original ruling families of Dericost, were accused of resuming the forbidden practices of their ancestors and were harshly persecuted. The Gelidites put a swift end to this persecution by leaving the shattered, frozen remains of the Imperial Inquisitor in the streets, but it was the final straw for them. This event convinced the Gelidites to proceed with their plans to found the city of Frore, leading to the discovery of the missing Soul Shard of Bael’Zharon’s prison, and his eventual release.
A Glorious Seaborne Empire: With the toppling of the Ice Throne at the Plateau of Gelid, the Yalain founded an Empire that rivaled and, in some areas, surpassed the Dericost. It appears that before their war against the Dericost, the Yalain and the Haebrous formed an alliance, perhaps sealed by the marriage of King Jailne of the Haebrous and Empress Alaidain of the Yalain. If the couple were childless before Jailne’s death at the Battle of Gelid, this could have been the end of Jailne’s ruling bloodline. This in turn could have lead to successive generations of Yalain Emperors to be called “Regents of the Shattered Throne of Haebrous.” However, the exact nature of their relationship is not known, and the author only offers this as a possible reason. Nevertheless, the Yalain and Haebrous formed a close bond during this war and eventually were joined together in one Empire.
With the Dericost gone, it appears the Yalain began to move in and take their place, slowly moving in and governing lands formerly governed by the Dericost. How their new subjects viewed them is not know, but texts seem to indicate the Yalain were largely benevolent to their subjects, with exception being their actions regarding some matters of faith. During this time it is likely the Yalain began sending out their missionaries to educate their subjects about the Light.
The next 6,000 years of the Empire appear to have been without any major incident; the only noteworthy thing being the occasional raid from Peligian sea-nomads on their borders. However at some point approximately 4,000 years ago the Black Rains descended upon the planet. The exact cause, or even the exact nature, of these Black Rains is not known. Accounts of a fiery visitor streaking across the skies have been found in surviving texts. It is possible that a celestial object of some sort slammed into the planet, throwing dust and ash into the air, blocking sun and stars for several years. It is even possible some particles in the object or from the planet itself were thrown into the air, causing the destruction of crops and trees record during that time. It was against this backdrop that the Empire committed an atrocity against the Dericost people.
Old prejudices were not forgotten, even in 6,000 years of relative peace, and some suspicion of the Dericost remained in many of the Yalain, especially those of the ruling class. With the Yalain fearing for their very lives, and not understanding the source of their situation, they struck out at the Dericost, hoping this would appease the Light. Eventually the sun and stars did return, but likely not due to their actions, and the stage was set for an even greater horror to be set upon the world.
Not knowing of the danger they would soon be facing, a general sense of joy and elation swept the Yalain people when the Black Rains ceased. It is even possible Emperor Kellin, who was then on the throne, declared a new Eipoth, or Era of Lore, when the rains ceased. It was within the Emperor’s power to do this to signify a momentous event had occurred. It was at the beginning of this Eipoth, the Rhethis Eipoth, that Lady Maila and Lord Atlan of Knorr were born and married, giving birth to their son Asheron. Later many Empyreans would look back on this time fondly. When Kellin passed away, his son Delophon took the throne, taking on the Imperial name of Caerlin, meaning “Lord of the Deep Waters”. As he began his rule, Emperor Caerlin could not have imagined the horrors his subjects would see and the personal cost he would pay.
The Black Madness: As strange reports began to trickle in from the far flung down of Daralet in the Dericost Marches, none could imagine that this would signal the beginning of events that would fundamentally change the world. One of the first reports that came to the Emperor’s attention was from the Viceroy of Daralet. He reported that nearly all of the children of Daralet were missing, presumably abducted, and scattered reports of a strange presence in the area and missing soldiers. When the reports suddenly ceased, Emperor Caerlin decided to send a large force of men and women lead by his cousin Lord Atlan of Knorr and Lord Loritane of Elancia. Of the thousands sent forth, only one returned to tell of their fate, Lord Atlan’s squire Kelderam.
Before his reports were cut short, Lord Atlan reported back regularly to the Emperor and even sent regular missives to his wife. His last missive, and one of the last messages he sent, has been preserved until our time. In this missive, Lord Atlan reported that the very land he crossed seemed blighted and oppressive. When Atlan’s army entered the town of Daralet, where the first reports had come from, they found it completely devoid of life. Homes were found boarded from the inside, yet no trace of their occupants could be found. Among the few corpses found were those of the village Elders, and these were found impaled upon the city walls with the words, “The proud shall know damnation,” written below them in their own blood. It is unknown if Atlan recognized these words or the irony of them, for one source tells these were the words used by the Yalain and Haebrous troops when they destroyed the few remaining undead nobles of Dericost. Whatever the case, this convinced Atlan that a large force had entered their lands, and he was greatly disturbed that an enemy would treat their opponents in such a fashion. As he closed his missive, he told his wife that even though they faced a large, brutal enemy force, he was confident they could prevail for they represented the best of the Empire, the best in arms and the best in soldiers. These were the last words Lady Maila received from her husband.
Although driven half mad by the experience, the Squire Kelderam was able to report to the Emperor the fate of Atlan’s army. As they approached the valley of Tresimaen the saw that the entire valley seemed to be covered in a vast dome of darkness that sunlight could not penetrate. No trace of the towns and fields could be seen through it and only a few blighted trees could be seen poking up through the blackness. Kelderam even reported that angry whispers appeared to be carried by the winds up to the army above. Disturbed by this sight, Atlan ordered his forces back to a clearing before the Valley and had them set up camp, expecting to meet up with the enemy’s forces from this point. After setting a strong watch and lighting many bond fires, the army tried to settle for the night, knowing that they would soon face the enemy.
Unfortunately, they would face the enemy sooner than they expected. As the night progressed, the stars and moons seemed to fade until the entire sky was black. Then a black mist began to enter the camp from the north, the bond fires on the northern perimeter were seen to flicker and finally fade as the mist progressed through the camp. Bleak laughter and whispers surrounded the camp, yet no enemy had yet been seen.. As Atlan was rousing his forces to action, part of the black mist coalesced in front of him into the torso of a man, but appeared to dissipate into nothing below the waist. Stepping out of the blackness and surrounding this form, appeared the forms of giggling children, but made completely of blackness. Other accounts seem to indicate this was the Shadow General Ler Rhan, as before his transformation he was known for spinning tales for children, some sources even say he might have spent a bit too much time in this pursuit. After Ler Rhan muttered something to the children and pointed at Atlan, they rushed forward to attack him. As Atlan bravely defended himself with his sword Rez’arel, the sword he and his wife had crafted, his army was cut down around him. Men and women simply vanished, absorbed by the blackness, until only Atlan himself was left, holding off all attackers, with only his squire Kelderam at his side. Finally a roar was heard and a winged form appeared in front of Atlan, Bael’Zharon himself. The sight of him nearly unhinged Kelderam’s mind, and she fled in terror. It is probable she was allowed to escape, to let the Yalain know that their most capable leaders, weapons, and soldiers were nothing compared to the Blackness. Kelderam didn’t know of Atlan’s fate, but Bael’Zharon himself recounted it to Asheron when he confronted the Hopeslayer thousands of years later. Bael’Zharon relished in telling Asheron that he simply knocked Rez’arel away from Atlan’s hands, plunged his hand into his chest and pulled out Atlan’s still beating heart, tasting his blood as Atlan’s dying eyes watched.
Kelderam’s account greatly disturbed the Emperor, and rightly so. Never had such a force been seen in recorded history. Horrors such as this had only been known in stories and fables. Even more troubling, the Blackness seemed to be spreading across the Dericost and Haebrean lands, lead by this enraged winged creature. Other armies were put before the Blackness, but they too were simply swept away. Seeing that the enemy dreadfully outclassed their current forces, Caerlin convened a council of the most learned mages in the Empire. These mages were to study the enemy, his tactics, and his magics and look for weaknesses. From the Dericost provinces came Viceroy Uweden Kormar, which he had governed for the Empire. From the ranks of the Hieromancers, the Emperor’s personal battle mages and guards, Lord Kerenth Portenaer was called. From the island of Ithaenc, Lady Adja was called, known for her prophetic abilities and rumored to be of Falatacot decent. A mysterious Lady Rajael Fellarien was called as well, after having been released from a prison tower in the far reaches of the Empire. Finally, Lord Atlan’s widow, Lady Maila, Mistresses of the Knorr Lyceum, was called. These five, along with Maila’s gifted son Asheron, were to become the last hope for the Empire.
An Unsettling Peace: As more and more of the Dericost continent fell under shadow, many of the nobility fled to the Imperial archipelago and the capital of Tentael. Finally, after nearly 30 years of fighting a losing war, the entire continent was conquered. Strangely, the records seem to indicate that then an uneasy peace settled over the world. In all the surviving texts we have there is no indication of a major battle for the next 500 years. Why the enemy stopped is a mystery. It could have been that Bael’Zharon was pleased with conquering the former lands of the Dericost and wanted to savor this victory. Perhaps he enjoyed the constant fear the remaining Yalain lived with. It is possible that he wanted to bolster his forces and made the first of the Shadow Spires, or Thorns as the Yalain called them. It is even possible Bael’Zharon began focusing his efforts on completely releasing the Great Master from its prison. In reality it could be any combination of these reasons or something completely unknown to us. The force behind Bael’Zharon, the Great Master, is not known for its rationality.
Whatever the case, the entire world lived in dread of what was to come next. When would the enemy attack? Why had he stopped? Who was this Slayer of Hope? These questions must have plagued everyone, from the Emperor down to the local fisherman. The only gleam of hope during this time was the marriage of the Emperor’s son, Prince Durglen, to Clari Loritane, the Mistress of Aerlinthe. While Lady Raina, widow of Lord Loritane and mother of Clari, maintained that Clari was the daughter of Loritane, in truth her father was Hare Aralea, the Master Smith of Aerlinthe. Many years before, through her agents, the Dark Lady Aerfalle had given Hare a potion to make Lady Raina fall madly in love with him. Throughout the years they had arranged secret trysts, and Clari was the result of one of these trysts. During their marriage ceremony, Prince Durglen promised to walk by Clari’s side through darkness or dawn, giving the people a much-needed glimmer of hope.
Confronting the Darkness: Suddenly after 500 years of relative inactivity, the Darkness rushed across the world again. A great black mist was seen heading across the waters to all corners of the world. The twisted forms of the Shadow Spires began to be seen hovering menacingly over the lands, unleashing titanic destructive forces upon the land and even pulling and twisting the mana currents deep with in the planet. Nothing stood in the way of the Hopeslayer’s forces, and the Yalain began to pull their forces back to the Imperial archipelago. It was during the retreat from the Haebrous lands that Emperor Caerlin personally faced the darkness and paid a terrible price.
With their forces in retreat, the Council of Five was asked to help defend the town of Dernehale not far from the port of Aribel. It was from Aribel that the soldiers would board boats to take them to Imperial capital. As the enemy approached, the Council focused their attention on the shadow general that was at the lead of the columns of living darkness. Their senses told them that this shadow woman was a source of great power to the forces surrounding her. The Council began directing all their powers toward this creature. It was a climatic struggle, with the shadow woman drawing more and more power from the darkness. At some point in the battle she revealed that previous to her transformation she had been Elithra of Daralet, an important fact, as the Council would find out later. Eventually the Council overcame her, somehow broke her bond to the darkness, and destroyed her. Her death appears to have thrown enough confusion into the ranks of the Shadows that the majority of the Yalaini and Haebrous forces were able to escape. All the members of the Council were exhausted from the battle, but knew they had gained vital information for their cause as they proceeded by fast skysloop to Tentael. When they arrived, they had the Imperial archives scoured for any reference to this Elithra of Daralet. Only a brief mention was found in a document detailing those who had accompanied Ilservian into exile. Finally they knew who their enemy was: it was Ilservian Palacost and his companions. This must have been a sickening revelation to the Yalain. Ilservian, who had vowed to find Light when he had been driven out, had instead found Darkness. Now they were paying the price for their intolerance.
Finally the main body of the retreating army arrived in the port of Aribel. Here they hoped to board the boats waiting to take them to Tentael. Unfortunately as they made there way to the boats, their rear guard came under a heavy assault from enemy forces lead by the shadow general Omadin. The rear guard was scattered, leaving the main body undefended and Omadin’s forces began sweeping through their ranks. Knowing what had to be done, Emperor Caerlin led his personal guard of Hieromancers into the body of the shadow forces, driving toward Omadin himself. As he closed, the Emperor engaged Omadin in personal combat, attacking with a ferocity Omadin could not have imagined. Before his exile and transformation, Omadin had been but a simple farm hand and was not known for his intellect. As Caerlin pressed his attack, Omadin could see he was about to be defeated and began to draw what one source calls the Black Madness about him. This Black Madness was the primary force responsible for absorbing life into the darkness. Even as he was drawing it, Caerlin’s blade clove Omadin’s head from his body, killing him instantly. How Caerlin was able to kill the general is a mystery, since all the energies of the Council of Five had been required to kill Elithra. It is possible that Omadin was attempting to return to some sort of incorporeal state, but was interrupted by Caerlin. Unfortunately, at the same instant his blade struck Omadin, a filament of the Madness touched Caerlin’s arm. Caerlin then became infected with what the Yalain called the Ayai Heauviri, or roughly translated, the Soulburn Plague. In incredible agony, Caerlin was carried from the field and on to a waiting boat. Great care had to be taken not to touch the infected area, for whoever did so would also become infected. For the next 3 years he was to suffer from the plague, as it slowly progressed up his arm, boiling it away one source says. Finally, 6 months before the end of his life, he was driven insane from the pain. It is not hard to imagine the relief when Caerlin was finally released from life to sleep with the Stars, as the Yalain might say.
A Glimmer of Hope: Fortunately, the encounter with Elithra provided just the insight the Council needed into the enemy. When Asheron heard of the power Elithra called upon, how it seemed to come from deep within the earth but also outside of their known realm, he found it oddly paralleling his own research. Asheron had always been known as a somewhat precocious boy as he was growing up, perhaps spoiled by his mother after Atlan’s death. He was also known for his great intellect and ability to see underlying similarities between apparently unrelated elements. That being the case, Asheron brought to the Council’s attention the theorems of the ancient portal mage Nilrhem Facill. Since Bael’Zharon’s power flowed from somewhere outside their known realm, Asheron became convinced that if they were to construct a large enough device, a Crystal Array, that could warp portal space, they could trap Bael’Zharon and stop the flow of this energy. From this pocket of portal space, Bael’Zharon could no longer serve as the Great Master’s conduit of power to his servants, thereby weakening them and giving the Yalain more of a chance to defeat them. Unfortunately the only source of mana large enough to power this device was the mana currents of the planet. Using this power though would serve another purpose. Asheron knew that Bael’Zharon would sense the power contained with the Array and that he would be drawn to it like a moth to the flame. While Asheron’s idea seemed sound, all the Council knew that the power contained with in the device would be unstable and would most likely lead to their deaths. Seeing the desperate situation they faced and having no other alternatives, the Council set to work constructing this Array immediately.
As the Council worked feverishly on the Array, enchanting the elements of it, Bael’Zharon pressed his attack on the Yalain. Finally, nearly two years after the renewed assault had begun, the Imperial capital of Tentael was besieged and the Council and all the remaining royal families escaped to their final redoubt: the island of Ireth Lassel, or as we call it, Dereth. Initially Emperor Caerlin refused to leave his home, but was evidently forced to by his royal guard, the Hieromancers. The Hieromancers had still not forgiven themselves for failing to protect the Emperor during the retreat from Haebrous, and for hundreds of years afterwards commemorated that day with a period of fasting and contemplation. Now however, those who had been with Caerlin that day found a way to partially redeem themselves for their failure, they volunteered to remain behind and provide the fleeing ships enough time to reach Ireth Lassel. Two notable figures that stayed were Patriarch Taancraiti Omair and his wife Aleth. The Yalain didn’t know of their eventual fate, but it was rumored that during their campaign on Ireth Lassel, the shadow general Ferah gloated over grisly murder of those who had remained, especially Omair.
Having moved the unfinished Array to the Jailne Lyceum, the Council and Asheron continued their work upon it. As the days stretched on the Council became more and more exhausted by their efforts, but knew that the fate of the world rested upon them finishing. All of the forces of the enemy were brought to bear up on Ireth Lassel, vast stretches of darkness and fifteen Thorns. In addition, an army of undead accompanied them and was at the forefront of their forces. These were undead Dericost who had been convinced that Bael’Zharon’s cause, revenge upon the Yalain, was just. They were lead by Leikotha, who had been persuaded by whispers of Ferah to lead them. Most likely the forces landed on the eastern shore of Dereth, perhaps near modern day Tou-Tou. They pushed past the scant defenses the Yalain had placed on the shores and started to make their way to the southern land bridge between what we call Osteth and the Direlands. The Yalain had arrayed their remaining forces around the Lyceum, knowing their last, best hope was contained within. Other members of the noble families probably hid in fortifications in other parts of the northern Direlands, such as the Lighthouse found near Fort Tethana or the Hieromancers’ Halls. Unfortunately, the Array was not yet complete; the final wards and spells had not yet been applied. At the rate the Shadows were progressing, they would arrive at the Lyceum before the Council was finished. While the Council did not know it, it seemed their plan was doomed to failure, there simply wasn’t enough time. If only they could be given a few more days, they could finish the task. Here is where the old lords of Dericost stepped in.
Unlikely Aid: The Winds and Lords of the Dericost had combined their powers and set the remnants of their forces in the path of Bael’Zharon. They knew they could not defeat the Hopeslayer’s forces, but the Wind’s agents had informed them of the progress of the Yalain. They would attempt to provide the Council the time they needed to finish the Array. This was not some sort of noble self-sacrifice on their part, it was enlightened self-interest. They knew that once the living were absorbed the Shadows would turn their attention to the undead. Here was some of the fiercest fighting in the war with the Undead holding back the Shadows for nearly three days. Finally the battle climaxed with the destruction of one of the Shadow Spires by the Sand King Anadil. The Undead knew this was the best they could do for the Yalain and retreated off the field, taking advantage of the confusion created by this destruction. Fortunately it was enough, the Council applied the final spells to the Array and it was complete, crackling with enormous power.
The sheer power of the completed Array drew Bael’Zharon toward it. When he had set out on this final campaign he had been only interested in wiping the last vestige of the Yalain off the surface of the planet. Now, however, he could sense a source of power that could perhaps release the Great Master from its prison. While he always maintained he had his free will, the Great Master had always manipulated Bael’Zharon for its own benefit. Bael’Zharon became consumed with the desire to possess this artifact and pressed his forces forward to the Lyceum. Vast reaches of Black Madness surrounded the Lyceum, and nearly all of the forces of the Hopeslayer, rank after rank of black figures along with the remaining Spires. Bael’Zharon felt pride in this army of his and amusement when he contemplated the fate of those in the Lyceum.
Final Acts: The signal was given, and the Shadows attacked. Bael’Zharon was at the forefront of the attack and flew through the doors and corridors of the Lyceum toward the Array. Finally he crashed through a door, knocking a young man out of the way, who scrambled over to two women, and here was the Array. Surrounding it stood the Council. Perhaps for a moment Bael’Zharon contemplated the scene. Here was aged Viceroy Uweden, who had put himself between Bael’Zharon and the Array, Hieromancer Kerenth, Lady Rajael, Lady Adja and Lady Maila. Perhaps he noticed in amusement the young man standing between Lady Adja and Lady Maila. Perhaps he was perplexed by the patchwork of scars on Lady Maila’s arms and the scent of blood in the air. Perhaps he contemplated the power contained in the Array and the crackling energies of portal space that surrounded it. If he did pause, it was not for long as soon he was striding forward to grab the Array. He reached out and crushed the skull of Uweden, flinging him out of the way and then reached forward to touch the Array. At that moment, a final incantation was said and the Array activated.
Once activated, the Array hurled Bael’Zharon into a pocket of portal space, trapped and cut off from the world. The Array, though, could no longer contain the power and exploded, unleashing a devastating shockwave of mana across the landscape and sending six large fragments of itself to the corners of the world. The Lyceum was vaporized instantly in this shockwave. Likewise, the Shadow forces surrounding it were destroyed. The corporeal forms of the remaining shadow generals were destroyed, and they fled back into some sort of incorporeal state. The Spires surrounding it were likely damaged and blown away from the Lyceum, and so began to dig into the earth to heal and wait for their master’s return. Only one young man walked out of the destruction created by the Array. He was badly burned and wandered the ash-covered landscape looking for some trace of other survivors, especially his own mother. This young man was Asheron.
Previous to leaving the capital of Tentael, Lady Maila had written a note to Lady Adja asking for her help. She knew she would not survive the activation of the Array, but was willing to pay that price. She wasn’t however willing to have her son Asheron pay that same price. He was the last thing she had from Atlan and would not sacrifice him to the Shadows as well. She knew Adja had knowledge of ancient Falatacot magics, magics the Dericost had perverted into rituals for becoming undead. She pleaded with her to perform these rituals, not to make him undead, but to safeguard and lengthen Asheron’s life at the sacrifice of her own. Adja acquiesced and began performing the rituals when the Council met again at the Jailne Lyceum. It is not known if Asheron knew what they were doing; it’s possible he didn’t even know the catastrophic consequences of activating the Array. During this time, as they completed the incantations on the Array and Adja worked on the blood rituals, Maila began setting her affairs in order. She declared that Asheron would succeed her as Master of the Knorr Lyceum, to the surprise of some. Finally it was done, the Array was completed, the Hopeslayer tried to possess it and the Council activated it. In the moment before the Array was activated, Adja and Maila completed the blood rituals, Maila’s life was given in exchange for Asheron’s, and Asheron survived its destruction.
The Aftermath: The Empire tried to quickly establish order as the remaining Shadows fled into the dark places of the world. Asheron declared the enemy defeated and urged the people to look to the task of rebuilding. Caerlin, still clinging to his sanity in spite of the pain, moved back to the Imperial capital. Likely informed by Asheron of the necessity of keeping the fragments of the Array safe, Emperor Caerlin had his remaining forces scour Dereth looking for fragments. Unfortunately, and rather unsettlingly, the fragments of the Array seemed to be partially controlled by Bael’Zharon, so took to burrowing themselves in the earth. Evidently they were not sure of exactly how many pieces there were of the Array, so after an exhaustive search gave up after finding five pieces. Caerlin had three of the fragments placed in great underground vaults and hidden as best they could. One piece was placed in the Nexus Facility and another was given to the Sisters of Ithaenc, the order that Lady Adja had served. In addition, Caerlin declared a new era of lore had begun, the Torethis Eipoth. These were the last acts of Emperor Caerlin, the pain became too much for him and he slipped into madness and mercifully into death six months later.
With the death of Caerlin, his son, Prince Durglen took the throne, taking the Imperial name of Caerlin II. The next few years were relatively peaceful, filled with rebuilding and restoring life to the world. Emperor Caerlin II and Empress Clari had a daughter named Alhallie, while Asheron, still grief stricken, began to take on his duties as Master of the Knorr Lyceum and Lord of Knorr. Seventeen years after the darkness was defeated, the gromnatross returned to the world. They had fled the world in the final days of the Great War, but now were returning and this was seen as a sign that the Light looked kindly upon the Yalain. Kelderam, Lord Atlan’s squire who had been driven mad by her experience with the enemy and was a ward of the Sisters of Ithaenc, was brought before one such gromnatross, Aurlanaa on the island of Aerlinthe. After the gromnatross looked into her eyes, Kelderam fell unconscious and after regaining consciousness was restored in mind and spirit. In later years Kelderam would form the Adjanite Order, in honor of Lady Adja, and followed the principles she had laid out.
Quiet Years: The years continued to pass uneventfully as the people got back to the business of living, and the population of the Empire soared. Nearly five hundred years after the defeat of the darkness, Princess Alhallie married Lord Cashtal Ronain, an event that would significantly affect the Empire in years to come. Approximately 30 years after her marriage, Caerlin II died and Alhallie ascended the throne, taking the Imperial name of Cellaurai. Then over 750 years after the victory, Asheron and his students in Knorr perfected a practical means of portal travel. Now the far-flung corners of the Empire could be linked and traveled to instantaneously through fixed, permanent portals. Cellaurai declared that yet another age had ended and a new era of lore had begun, the Hyrethis Eipoth. Soon after Asheron’s adepts began traveling through out the Empire to setup these portals.
Then nearly 150 years into this new Eipoth something happened that started a chain of events that could have possibly lead to the Olthoi overrunning the Empyrean. In HE 142, Nali Athanas reformed the Northern Haebrous Church. What caused the reformation or what the change was in their ideological thinking is unknown. What is known is that this newly reformed church was much more zealous in it’s beliefs, spreading to all corners of the Empire, with new Temples popping up soon after. Perhaps becoming concerned with some of the Church’s actions, in HE 232 Empress Cellaurai arranged a trip to hold council with the Nali and other dignitaries of the Church. She was never seen again.
The Conspiracy Unfolds: It is now apparent some arrangement had been worked out between Cellaurai’s husband, Lord Cashtal and the Nali of the time, Nali Valind. The story given for Cellaurai’s disappearance was that she had attempted to ascend a mountain where a gromnatross was known to reside. More likely it was the Nali’s men who jumped the Empress, killing her and her guard and hiding the bodies, perhaps even destroying their remains through magic. For the next eighteen months Casthal played the grieved husband, having search parties scour the mountains for any sign of her. Finally, and perhaps at the urging of the people, the searches were called off and Cashtal was declared Emperor, taking on the Imperial name of Kellin II. While it isn’t known with any certainty, it is possible that by taking the name Kellin, Casthal was hoping to reflect the reign of Kellin I. The reign of Kellin I after the Black Rains was a time many Yalain still looked back to fondly.
In the next six years, Kellin II converted to the Northern Church and invited Nali Valind to move the Church to the Imperial capital of Tentael. During the next hundred years the Church began to influence the affairs of the Empire more and more. All existing institutions and Orders were affected, most required to include the vows of Nali Athanas Rule of Life. This in effect required them to not only swear fealty to the Emperor and the Empire, but to the Nali and the Church. Those who would not were refused entrance into these Orders. While this created a force loyal to the ideals of the Church, it likely led to a much weaker Empire. Many who would have served the Empire with distinction were no longer allowed to serve.
Finally, over 120 years after being invited to the capital and securing his position there, Nali Valind declared the Adjanite Order and the Sisters of Ithaenc heretics and started a holy crusade to remove their influence. Many of the devout answered the call and participated in unspeakable crimes against the faithful there. They were only following what the Light directed, he said, the Adjanite’s had committed the unspeakable crime of saying the earth below and the stars above were of equal importance in the hearts of men. In reality Valind only wanted to silence a voice that would claim the faith of the people and would take away from the power he had established for himself. The crusaders went forth and destroyed the Sisterhood, desecrating their sanctuary, putting many of the Sisters to the sword and Lady Kathendi to the stake. Fortunately the crusaders were unable to find the Shard the Sisters protected and so it remained hidden until our time. While the hearts of men could be fooled, not all were. The gromnatross knew the crusade was a crime and knew of the horrors committed there. When a group of crusaders returned to their home of Aerlinthe after participating in the crusade, they sought a blessing from Aurlanaa. The gromnatross destroyed them on sight and left Aerlinthe, never to be seen again. Whether this threw doubt into the hearts of the surviving faithful is unknown.
The End: Why Asheron did nothing during the Nali’s rise to power and the crusades that followed is unknown. It is possible that his long life began to look suspicious and the devout became suspicious of possible influence from pagan sources. Perhaps Asheron had no interest in affairs of state. Whatever the case, while the Nali was ascending to power, Asheron and his adepts began exploring other worlds through portal magics. Many worlds were explored, and some sources seem to indicate that Ispar was one such world explored. How long they did this or when they started is unknown, but over 110 years after the destruction of the Ithaenc Cathedral, Asheron opened a portal to the Olthoi homeworld. With this act, the fate of his people was sealed.
What happened next is sketchy, the exact events were not recorded for us and Asheron has not been forthcoming with details. It appears the Olthoi poured through the portal faster than Asheron could close it. It is likely the Knorr Lyceum, and the entire island of Knorr, was quickly overrun. A note found on Smith Ejan indicates the Asheron at some point collapsed all the fixed permanent portals his adapts had setup, but perhaps by this point it was too late. If enough Olthoi had come through with enough Queens- even one would have been enough- they could have quickly set up hives and begun to breed hordes to attack the Yalain. The Olthoi homeworld appears to be a particularly brutal planet and the Olthoi were for the most part successful in surviving there. One source has even said that the Olthoi could be equivalent to ants on Ispar, small, weak creatures that are easy prey for those that feed on them. On a planet without natural enemies, the Olthoi could have exploded across the world with no force powerful enough to keep them in check. In addition, through the actions of Emperor Kellin II and the manipulations of the Nali, the Empire could have been at its weakest point in all of its history.
How long the Yalain fought the Olthoi cannot be said with any accuracy. Surviving texts seem to conflict, but the history of the eruptions on Aerlinthe, which happened shortly before the Olthoi came, do provide some indication of when they arrived. The latest eruptions there happened some 1,700 years ago and other records seem to indicate the Empire was still functioning for at least another 300 years after that. It is possible this was a war of attrition, with the Olthoi simply growing more and more numerous while the Yalain grew more and more weak as they lost soldiers and lands. Eventually, they pushed the Yalain, and all surviving Empyreans, back once again to their final redoubt, Dereth. It is curious how the Olthoi spread after Asheron collapsed the portal network. Olthoi are known to hate water so how they crossed the ocean to Dereth is a mystery. While the Olthoi we fought did show some elements of intelligence when the Queen was alive, such as keeping us as slaves and forcing us to care for their grubs, it is doubtful they could build boats or other constructions. A more paranoid mind might consider a hidden conspiracy spreading the Olthoi, but this author doesn’t believe that even the undead would help the Olthoi overrun the planet. In the end, somehow, a Queen came to Dereth and set up a hive for her broods in what we now call the Black Death Catacombs.
The Sundering: Eventually the Yalain pushed back to a final fortress, perhaps the ruins found in the southwestern reaches of the Direlands, and Asheron could see no hope for his people other than evacuating the few remaining survivors. Using the portal magics he and his adapts had used to explore other worlds, they opened portals to another realm for them to evacuate to. Asheron likely volunteered to stay behind and to open portals for them to return when it was safe. In the final moments before the fortress was overrun, Asheron opened one final portal and sent his students away. However with the casting of that last portal, something strange happened. Whether the Olthoi overrunning the fortress interrupted the spell or all the magic cast weakened the fabric of portal space is not known, but the paths of portal space were forever skewed by it. Later Asheron would refer to this event as “The Sundering.” After this the only living Empyrean left on the planet was Asheron. Upon escaping the ruins of the fortress where he had sent his adapts away, Asheron took up residence in a keep on a small island off the coast of Dereth, to the east the modern-day town of Eastham.
There is further confusion on exactly how much time passed between when the Empyreans were sent away and other races, such as us, appeared in Dereth. “The Sundering” has been blamed for not only skewing the ways of portal space, but also opening the portals to other worlds, the portals that drew us here. The time period between these two events though could have been anywhere from 1,400 to 600 years. Why it took so long for the portals to appear is unknown, although it appears they materialized on some worlds sooner than others. In addition, in recent years it appears the portals have been far less random, so some force might behind controlling them now. There have been many theories put forth as to why this happened, from Asheron attempting to open a portal to the realm where he sent the Empyreans to Virindi manipulation. One can only hope that this mystery will be cleared up in the future.
With the remaining Empyrean people apparently lost and unable to return, it appears that not only has the Yalain Empire come to an end, but also the entire history of the Empyreans on Dereth. The Yalain typified the best and worst of the Empyrean in one culture. They were capable of extreme self-sacrifice and nobility and the lowest and cruelest of acts. They contemplated the nature of the world and their place in it and reached heights we can only hope to attain in some far-flung future. Hopefully we as a people can learn from the mistakes they made, take the best of their cultures and incorporate it into our own, and in the end represent the best of the Empyrean.