Not long ago, perhaps 5,000 years, a tragic thing happened to the Elven race, resulting in the beginning of a new race and the extinction of another.

After the Undead War, during the Age of Chaos, the elves of House Faendryl were exiled to the wastelands of Rhoska-Tor, where the fortress known as Maelshyve once stood. The Faendryl Elves had used a new form of magic, a very dangerous one. They had opened The Veil and summoned hordes of lesser demons to assist them in battling Despana's undead armies. As the demons pushed Despana's forces back, the Faendryl Elves caused Maelshyve to suddenly implode on itself, destroying Despana and her undead armies forever. But the elves of the other houses claimed that such spells were works of evil and not needed within their societies, so the Faendryl were thus banished to the barren land of Rhoska-Tor.

The Faendryl found it very hard living in this wretched placed, for everything was dead. But discovered on accident by a young Faendryl boy playing with his friends in a cave, the Faendryl found that the tunnel the boy discovered led far underneath the surface of the land. Down there in that pitch-black insanity, they found extensive networks of caverns that were full of resources. They built communities down there and found that within these caverns, there were a large number of mana foci. The Faendryl became even more talented than before in their use and control of the magical arts, and that helped them to survive.

As the Faendryl lived in this place, they slowly began to change, adapting to their new environment. Their features became very sharp, their ears becoming longer and more pointed, their vision became excellent in the dark, and thus they grew to hate the light. Those that lived in the deepest of the caverns, the closest to the ruins of Maelshyve, found their skin becoming considerably darker. Many of the elves' skin was dark brown or smoke gray, some so dark that that their ebon skin made them nearly invisible even to the other Faendryl's enhanced vision in these dark caverns. However as their aptitude for the magical arts increased, they became physically weaker.

Over time, the Faendryl had built up a strong hatred toward the other elves, believing their exile had more to do with political opportunism than anything else did. Some Faendryl began planning a war to regain their ancestral home in the south. However not all of the elves within House Faendryl felt bitter towards the other houses. Some sought a peaceful reconciliation with the other houses. And this is where our story actually begins.

Rythwier Faendryl, the thirty-seventh Patriarch of the House Faendryl, quietly boarded his private ship, the "Jewel of the Sea," accompanied by two Dark Sorcerers. The Jewel of the Sea left the harbor very quietly that early morning, shrouded in thick, foggy mists. Rythwier entered his quarters and sat down. A small cave gnome followed him in and closed the door behind them.

"Aaah, Gillthonys'rintaa," Rythwier smiled. "Have ye news fer me?"

The small, leathery-skinned, white bearded miniature of a dwarf answered, "Yes. A messenger Gyrfalcon arrived no long ago with this message." He handed a small hollowed out stick containing a scroll to the House Faendryl Patriarch.

Rythwier's stone gray eyes passed over the message quickly, and a disappointed look crossed his face, followed by a sigh.

"Wuh't troubl's y'so, Sir?" Gillthonys'rintaa the cave gnome asked sympathetically.

Rythwier sighed once more at the message and pushed a strand of fine white hair behind a long, pointed ear. His chiseled features and skin tone that matched his eyes gave him a kind of strong, heroic look. "My eldest daughter, Chyselcha, claims that she has found love with a youth by the name of Kemryc. I do hope she will not be too heart-broken to find out that she is t'marry Prince Deiran Ashrim of the Sea Elves if all goes well tonight."

"D'nae w'rree Sir, w'en she seeze him an' knowz det you t'ink dis izz best, her mind will imm'dietlee change."

"I thank ye fer the comforting thought, Gill, but I am afraid tis all it will turn out to be. A thought. Chesylcha kin be very stubborn when it comes t'things like this."

"Well, I shall leeve y'to y'self now. Y'have a good rest till we reach Ta'Ashrim. We'll be der b'fore y'know it."

"Thank ye Gill," Rythwier smiled as he watched the small advisor march out through the cabin door, shutting it softly behind him.

Rythwier awoke some hours later to find that they were closing in on Ta'Ashrim's second port. Once they were docked, Rythwier went down his ramp, led by Gillthonys'rintaa the gnome, and accompanied on each side by the two Dark Sorcerers. Bhoreantis Ashrim, Patriarch of House Ashrim, was waiting on the pier for them. Beside Bhoreantis was a very handsome youth with fine blue-black hair and soul-piercing green eyes.

"This is my son, Prince Deiran Ashrim," Bhoreantis introduced the youth at his side to Rythwier.

"Tis a pleasure, Sir," Deiran smiled as he shook Rythwier's hand with a bone-crushing grip.

"I hope that this marriage shall bring peace to our elven houses, and perhaps we kin all join once again to rebuild our empire," Rythwier stated.

Bhoreantis nodded. "Your daughter certainly is beautiful, Rythwier of Faendryl. I am certain that Deiran will have no objections to this plan."

Deiran shook his head. "I would be honored to be wed to such a beautiful and noble woman," he agreed.

"There is one problem I fear," Rythwier said, a gloomy look taking form on his strong face.

"What is it?" Bhoreantis asked, his violet eyes full of curiosity.

"I was informed that Chesylcha has already fallen in love with a young man by the name of Kemryc," Rythwier explained.

Deiran spoke up. "Once she takes a look at me, that foolish boy will be forgotten," he boasted.

"Yes, I do s'ppose you're right," Rythwier lied.

"Of course I am," Deiran said, disgusted that Rythwier may have doubted his words, even for a second.

Rythwier smiled. "Well then. I shall return to Ta'Faendryl and give everyone the good news. When shall the wedding take place?"

"Soon. Give us two weeks to get prepared. We shall see you then," Bhoreantis said.

"Alright. Ye two take care," and with that, Rythwier boarded the Jewel of the Sea and vanished into the mist, on his way home to the underground caverns of Ta'Faendryl in Rhoska-Tor.

Upon his return, Rythwier called a Faendryl assembly, and gave everyone the news. The citizens of Ta'Faendryl were joyous, and believed that this could be the beginning to rebuilding the Elven Empire.

Chesylcha, however, was heart-broken. Rythwier felt bad for her, but tried very hard not to express it. Instead, he was harsh; telling her that she must obey and wed Prince Deiran or it would mean the end of her beloved Kemryc. She then agreed to wed Deiran by order of her father and not by love, so long as Kemryc was not hurt. She traveled to the Sea Elf capital Ta'Ashrim with a wedding party numbering in the thousands.

But Chesylcha never made it to the wedding. There are as many stories about her death as there are storytellers. However, the best guess is probably suicide. She did away with herself so that she wouldn't have to leave Kemryc, so that she wouldn't have to obey her father's strict orders, and most of all, so that she wouldn't have to marry Deiran Ashrim. Within House Faendryl, those who had been planning a war to regain their rightful place used the princess's death as an excuse to begin it.

Rythwier chose not to be directly involved in the war, and stayed in his sub-surface home. A wounded officer entered his study.

"Sir... casualties on our side are horrendous. Our naval forces are simply no match for the Sea-Elves'! The war is lost, it is simply a question of time before we are finished!"

"I had feared that this would happen. The water is their domain, we are nothing but enemy toy boats in a bath tub full of children playing war against them there... if only a few of our ships could make it to land..." the House Faendryl Patriarch became frustrated.

Just as those words left his mouth, a weakness in the Sea-Elves' defense had occurred. It was only a matter of minutes until they had everything right once more, but those few short minutes were enough.

A few Faendryl ships did reach the harbors of Ta'Ashrim, and those few sufficed. The Faendryl's greatest spellcasters were on one of these ships. They struck at the Ashrim capital with the same spells they had used to destroy Maelshyve, but their abilities and knowledge had increased considerably. The Sea-Elves were not merely defeated, they were obliterated. Their home islands were reduced to lifeless, smoking rocks jutting from the sea.

There were no known survivors among the Ashrim. Certainly, some must have escaped, simply by virtue of having been elsewhere. If so, they have remained hidden since that day. House Ashrim no longer exists.

Centuries ago the forefathers of what are now called reivers lived in a village a ways north of Luinne Bheinn. As you can well imagine, they did what villagers do; some were farmers, some were blacksmiths or woodsmen and so on. A simple lifestyle, but a happy one. Or at least the passage of time would have it so. When the black cloud of the krolvin invaders roiled over the lands, precautions were taken -- even in this small village. Soldiers were stationed there and the village folk prepared for fight.

And the time came when the invaders from across the sea stood at the village gate. A battle was fought, long and bloody, but the villagers fought in vain. One by one they were cut down. Age, gender, armed or not, it mattered little to the ape-folk. Buildings were put on fire and children were torn from their mothers' lifeless grasp and heaved on the flames, live or not.

Long after the druids had disappeared, a war-like clan lived here. Not much is known of them, and about all that remains is the skeletal remains of a peel tower, an obelisk and a few drops of blood coarsing through reiver veins. No doubt these people often fought the nearby mountain ogres and other creatures, and the peel tower was the only thing that staved off gruesome death. At least for a time. Remember, those times were much less civilized than the present. Especially so far away from other settlements or towns. By the by, the unusual names of these hills, vales and mountains are of unknown origin, but they certainly do seem related to the elven tongue. One can only speculate, one supposes.

When the band of bloodied survivors struggled up to Luinne Bheinn after the krolvin onslaught, more dead than alive, all they found was a few filthy hovels inhabited by a rather sorry-looking lot. With time, sweat and toil the reivers built the settlement that stands there today. As you can well imagine, life on a barren mountain plateau is anything but easy. Though the reivers do manage to grow a few grains and vegetables there, they rely on their hardy mountain rolton and their frequent raiding to provide real sustenance.

Though the reivers raid out of need, their true aim is to rid Elanith of the krolvin invaders and to win back their forefather's village. Their hate for the krolvin is absolute; their raids on the nearby krolvin areas are fierce and plentiful. And the krolvin retaliate with brutality when they can, though they have a hard time penetrating the natural barrier of Luinne Bheinn.

The reivers are a bit ambivalent regarding folks like those who live in Wehnimer's Landing. On the one hand, no reiver will ever sully the memory of Talbot Dabbings and his heroic act against the krolvin in Wehnimer's Landing; on the other hand, it does seem like many of the current people of the Landing are a shallow and selfish lot, with little care or thought for the danger of the krolvin menace. The current lull in the krolvin invasion can not last forever, and when it ends quite a few townfolk will, no doubt, find themselves in the servitude of krolvin masters. Perhaps deservedly so. Or so the reivers are apt to think.

As the reivers perceive themselves as the only ones who seriously face the krolvin threat, they have little sympathy for those who might not. And though the reivers have refrained from raiding the Landing so far, they now find that short-sighted people from the Landing are attacking their own settlement and killing family and friends; thus, understandably, the reivers are less hesitant to attack the Landing, or those who hail from there, than they may once have been.

Hardy adventurers with a noble spirit will, however, often find a warm welcome in the picturesque reiver settlement. Such people should not be surprised to find themselves invited to the warm ambiance of The Restless Reiver tavern for a dram of Jock's famous Reiver's
whisky. And perhaps they will get to listen as Jock relates tales of bygone deeds and days.

As a postscript of sorts, I must say that yours truly has known this proud people for a long time and is wholly sympathetic to their cause and plight. And a certain weakness for their excellent drink, if the truth must out. And sometimes, but not always, it must...

The Lore of Rivers Rest
By Topoc Crumblegroot

Rivers Rest was once a large ship port and home to many powerful mages. The mages separated themselves from the general population by constructing a massive tower in the hills east of the city and then the entrances to the tower were constructed to deter the curious or undetermined.

Currently there are two magical gateways in Rivers Rest, I assume they were constructed by the mages but I do not know for sure. The Wizards Citadel is many days travel by foot from Rivers Rest but one can travel in the blink of an eye through the magical gateway that is set up. Initially, when Rivers Rest was first discovered there was a shimmering blue barrier that barred people from traveling to Citadel. Soon it was discovered that by casting several different types of magicks at the barrier, it would briefly open to allow a few people to pass through. After a while, the blue barrier quit closing up behind folks and now lays open to all. The green barrier is still intact and leads to a shrine of the Huntress. No one knows for sure where the shrine is physically located as it is linked only via the green gateway.

I remember the day that Rivers Rest was initially discovered. I was playing darts in Hearthstone manor with Elysee and we had wandered out to the foyer for a moment. All of a sudden a small dark blur shot in from the doorway and ran through one of the archways. The doorman ran in to chase out this person who had ran by him and was frantically looking around when another small blur ran through the doorway and between his legs! When he reached down to grab it, it jumped upon his head and covered his eyes. It was a monkey! The monkey then looked around at everyone in the room, gave us all a raspberry, kissed the doorman and jumped down to hide in the shadows. The room was turned into a frantic whirlwind of people running around and monkeys leaping and jumping from furniture and all sorts of antics.

Well it wasn't long before word was passed through the town gates of these monkeys all

over the place and you could hear the crowds murmuring the word "invasion" beneath their breath as the red berserker gaze slipped over their eyes. Soon people were running all over the place lopping the limbs from the monkeys and holding their bloody paws in the air as trophies. It didn't take long for the monkeys to realize there was trouble and they started to run off into the woods. Some of them had actually managed a form of sign language with some of our residents. Some of the folks who bonded with the monkeys were lead to Rivers Rest and shown some of the wonders there.

For all the power that the mages had in the past, there was much tension in their circle. This is some of what I know. Under the eye of the citadel there was a garrison that held six companies of barbarians from eight different barbarian clans. It strikes me as very unusual that eight different clans of barbarians would agree, or be coerced into working for such mages. The Boar, the Hawk, the Ram, the Falcon, the Eagle and the Thrak represented the eight clans. Part of the reason the barbarians were kept in the garrison was the planned invasion the mages had for Wehnimer’s.

Before the invasion had a chance to launch there was a terrible war within the lands

that surround the citadel. From what we kin gather there was a large force of Krolvin and Trolls that took arms against the barbarians. No one knows for sure if it was an invasion of Rivers Rest by the Krolvin or if the mages council had split to the point where some of the mages formed their own war council and took the Krolvin and Trolls into their ranks to wage war against their brethren.

Another rumor that we do not yet know the answer to is why did they decide to block access to the shrine of the Huntress as well. Is there some evil that lurks there, waiting for the day that the green barrier should fail as well for it's moment to destroy Rivers Rest?