Elven Lords

~From the collections, journals and observations of Maleficius~

“You come asking after answers when you should be seeking truths. Even were I to tell you all I know, it would never mean as much to you as it does to me. That is the true gift of timeless generations: perspective.”

~Tahm Wyndfenner (Wind-runner), Paladin Prince, 429 Tz

The Knights Immortal. The Tempelar. Warrior caste of the High Elves, come down out of the Rivvenheim Mountains to aid or oppose the Land’s many races. So little is known about this ancient Elven race, and less may be explained in such time as we have available to us. More is known of their soldiery, of course, if only by way of shared fortune or contested battles. They are dedicated warriors, holding and defending many allegiances. Confident and bold. Highly skilled, with each warrior devoting many years to his or her specialty. And patient. Above all, patient. The Knights Immortal are rarely rash or hasty in action, and with good cause.

Time is certainly on their side.

The Rivvenheim Mountains—the Dagger Backs—are both beautiful and dangerous. Much the same is often said about its natives, the immortal Elves. Their confident bearing and gracefulness lend them a regal carriage which often bleeds over into conceit. However, any enemy expecting to smash through a hollow core will be dangerously surprised. There is a fine, tempered steel at the core of every high elf, and in no caste is this as evident as in their soldiery, the Tempelar—referred to so commonly as the Knights Immortal.

Specialists of a high degree, these focused warriors might take years to perfect the single cut of a sword or release of an arrow. The benefit of an elongated life, allowing them the necessary time in which to become so proficient.

Which only begs the question of when the Rivvenheim Elves began to first study war.

~Maleficius

Leader: The High Elven Council

When you think of the Elven Lords, imagine a self-appointed peacekeeping force armed with enchanted weapons, the strongest magical capabilities and centuries of martial practice. Now, with the destruction of their armies at Khamsin and the hideous betrayal by the Atlanteans fueling their rage, the Elven Lords are holding nothing back in their attempt to reduce the chaotic races of the Land to ruin.

The mysterious Elven Lords are the most powerful Elves in the Land, whose purpose stands at nothing less than crushing out any race that grows strong enough to challenge them. Believing themselves capable of doing nothing less than “the right thing”, the Elven Lords methods for battling the forces of chaos are sometimes powerfully destructive. As many of the Elven Lords view the members of the lowlander races as little better than animals, they tend to treat enemy warriors as dangerous beasts not deserving of compassion or pity.

Unparalleled warriors and mighty wizards, the priests, generals and paladins of the Rivvenheim mountains use their faith, centuries of training and powerful innate magical abilities to channel great power directly from their Heiramman gods. This ability sets them apart from their lowland Elven brethren who long ago cast aside their immortality for such novelties as ‘freedom’ and ‘free will’.

The foremost task of the armies of the Elven Lords is to protect the mountain passes and the Hundred Cities from invasion. High Elves have defended the North and South passes for thousands of years, using magical swords, lightning-spears and enchanted longbows blessed by the Heiramman gods to strike down their enemies. The High Elves do not conduct trade with outsiders, and no one taken into their guarded mountain stronghold ever returns. But a riddle plagues the peoples of the Land—are the High Elves protecting something east of their homeland, or are they protecting the Land from some unrevealed danger?

The soldiers that serve in the Elven Lords armies have spent the better part of their long lives in Warrior Temples, honing their martial, magical and mental capabilities to a fine edge. Now, faced with a land thrown into desperate war, they are putting their skills to the test by finding a way to reinstate balance in the Land by any means necessary. 

Subfaction: Temple Masters

Leader: Master Cyrus

The Temple Masters continue a tradition of military excellence that has been a part of High Elven life for millennia. The defeats at the Battle of Khamsin cost the Elven Lords dearly, but the Temple Masters are still ready to take up the fight against the lowlanders that took the lives of so many of their fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers. Armed with age-old magical weapons, giant griffons for mounts, and books of spells never before seen in the Land, the Temple Masters now are ready to confront the lowland races and destroy them wherever they stand. For now the main bastions of the Temple Master armies guard the slopes of the Rivvenheim Mountains against invaders, while bands of griffon-riding strike groups lash out at more remote enemy targets with a lethal precision. 

Subfaction: Free Armies

Leader: General Vale

Much to the irritation of the Elven Council that rules Rivvenheim, a sizable number of High Elven warriors have chosen to leave their Temples before completing their training. For many of these young Elves, all they know about the “mortal lands” is from stories told by returning warriors and pages from outdated history books. By leaving the Temple Masters and joining the Free Armies, these High Elves can play virtuous and chivalric roles within the Land – protecting the weak, destroying tyrants, and ensuring that people of all races can depend upon them in times of need. However, while joining the bands of High Elves fighting in the “Free Armies” is the adventure of a lifetime, every Free Army Elf knows that it is a choice not made lightly—as those that join the Free Armies are forbidden forever to return to the Rivvenheims, and are considered to be disowned by the entirely of the High Elven people. By becoming respected knights within the lowlands, they cast aside all credential with their own people, and may even face the wrath of the warriors of Rivvenheim if they end up choosing the wrong lowlander to back in battle.

Subfaction: Order of Sorcery
Leader: Tythania Stormbringer

The elven sorcerers of the Order of Sorcery take advantage of their extended lifespans to engage in long meditations on the nature of magic, sometimes spending years studying a single spell. The Order gathers in occasional conclaves to share their discoveries, after which the sorcerers retreat to the libraries and workshops of the isolated towers they have constructed throughout the Rivvenheims. Often, however, many members of the Order will emerge from their self-imposed seclusion to follow ley lines across the countryside as part of their eternal search for the source of magic and their study of how it flows through the Land. 

Background

Racial Composition	High Elves
Origin of Faction	Culture dates back to before Age of Mists
Age of Faction	2000 years or more
Geographic Control	Rivvenheim Mountains
Religion	The Seven Heiramman gods
Magical Affinity	Powerful magics, top-rank wizards
Political Loyalty	To the High Elven Council, their culture, and honor

Official Position

Atlantean Empire	Unholy betrayers void of any trace of reason or honor. Destroy them without mercy
Black Powder Revolutionaries	While admirable warriors, they are divided and easily dealt with
Draconum	For supposedly superior warriors, they die quickly enough when they're alone
Elemental Freeholds	Wayward cousins who have lost their way and their magic; we have no pity for them
Heroes	The best and brightest champions the lower races have to offer
Mage Spawn	The true way of the warrior lies in one's own skill, not in the monsters you have fighting for you
Necropolis Sect	While these children have lost their way, at least they have purpose, however repugnant
Orc Khans	The seeds of chaos lie in these brutal peoples. Extinguish them, and peace will come
Shyft	A curious race that has lived out of sight for a long time; they require more study
Solonavi	Shrouded in mystery and myth, the deals these powerful beings offer should be refused