Elyrivel, Elven Magus

You are come, it seems, none too soon. Aeran Belendor is sore beset! The woods were once the pride of the Deathless Empire, but now they run with blood, and our dazzling towers are all pulled down. We never anticipated that the Prisoner could be freed ... But now it may be too late. Now that the trap has failed, the Prisoner has called a host of demons here, and the foul minions of Chaos have followed them, the traitors of the Vorgrim Legion, mercenaries from Maelstrom, and the foul Saetorr. The Crimson Circle has emerged from the shadows to lend us aid, but I fear they may have come too late.

So dire is this crisis that the High Court of Eglan Nanvirond needs every sword, even those of the lesser races! Our kinsmen from across the fragments have rallied to our aid, but the legions of Chaos will not go quietly. Though I doubt you have the strength to match them, by all means proceed deeper into the woods. Any harm you can inflict upon the demon-spawn will greatly aid my kinsmen.

Tell me of Aeran Belendor.

Aeran Belendor is the name of this forest in the High Speech of the Elves. In the boughs of these ancient trees the shadows of Elder Twilight still linger, the timeless gloaming when the Firstborn were born beneath the stars, and learned the secrets of lore and craft from the Gods themselves. From long before the beginning of Time itself we have held these forests sacred, and the Wisest of our kindred have always journeyed here to study, learn, devise, and dream. In Aeran Bellendor we have seen some of the greatest triumphs of our race ... and here some of our darkest nightmares have come to life.

Once the wood covered hundred of miles, but the endless turn of years and the steady onslaught of war and calamity have withered and blasted the once-mighty forests, diminishing them to this last stronghold. As the fortunes of the Deathless Empire waxed and waned and its borders retreated, Aeran Belendor remained a bastion of the Firstborn. It remained unspoilt until the War of the Scourge, when Chaos loosed its fury upon it.

A demonic general of the Pit, one of the mightiest of the dark Banelords of Chaos led an entire legion to destroy this place nearly two thousand years ago. We Elves had seen so many of our dominions and strongholds swept away, but the loss of the sanctums and libraries of Aeran Belendor would be too dear for the Empire to bear: here the Elf-lords massed all their strength, and here we won our first victory.

The lords of Aeran Belendor were adamant that these woods never be endangered again. We wove enchantments of forgetfulness and misdirection were laid around the borders of the wood, and Aeran Belendor went unnoticed even through the Turning ... until the Rise of Chaos. Now the Prisoner is freed, and the forest trembles.

Who is Prisoner?

Vranaxxas is his foul name, also called the Pale Slayer, a Banelord of Chaos. He led the legions of demonspawn against Aeran Belendor thousands of years ago, during the War of the Scourge. The Lords of Eglan Nanvirond were hard pressed to halt their onslaught. While the warriors and Blade Dancers fought the hideous foe to a standstill, the greatest Archmagi the Deathless Empire has ever known gathered in Eglan Nanvirond and wove mighty spells, enchantments whispered to us by Saedron herself. In the greatest single magical working since the Doom of Ardan, we wrought the Banetrap, binding the Dark Lord in cords of magic, imprisoning him in a trap even his godlike strength could not break. The demonic legions, dismayed by the defeat of their general, withdrew. Aeran Belendor was saved, and indeed so fearful were the other Banelords of our power that never again did Chaos send a legion against this place.

Once the woods were hidden, we archmages wrought a mighty fortress around Vranaxxas' prison, raising great spires to channel magical energies into the Trap to keep it secure. The spires you see throughout the wood once drew eldritch power out of the core of Aerynth itself, and used that power to hold Vranaxxas in arcane stasis. So strong was our Trap, it endured even the Turning. And yet now it has failed ...

In the earthquakes that accompanied the rise of Maelstrom, one of the spires anchoring the magical web was broken, and the prison failed. Vranaxxas broke free and summoned allies to his side, who have since laid waste to the prison, the surrounding forests, and all nearby settlements. Since his release the woods have run with blood, and now the foul thing seeks to draw even more demons to his side. The Vorgrim Legion is on move, sent by the foul master whom I will not name. The Archmagi have already begun evacuating the great libraries in Eglan Nanvirond, for I fear soon that city shall fall. The will be a grievous loss ... But the Firstborn have endured losses many times before.

What is the Vorgrim Legion?

Foul traitors! Their name shall be cursed forever. They are blemish upon the histories of the highborn, and a lesson to all of what comes from trusting humans, or the Maimed God ...

In the days of the War of the Scourge all of the Children of Aerynth united stood against the hosts of Chaos. The mightiest warriors and cleverest generals of the armies of Elves and Humanity joined together to form the Vorgrim Legion, an elite army where the Firstborn and the Sons of Men would fight side by side, under joint command. The Legion won its greatest fame during the middle years of the conflict, when they managed to halt the advance of Chaos on many fronts. After the retrieval of Shadowbane and the turning of the tide, Malog the War God emerged from his long seclusion to answer the All-Father's call. Malog himself took command of the Vorgrim Legion and led it to a stunning series of victories. The Legion slowly renounced its ties with the lords of Elves and Men, following their divine general to death and glory. We should have foreseen what was to come, but fate, in the end, was cruel.

The Legion's fate was sealed when Malog tried to betray the All-Father to His doom in the pit of Chaos. The warriors of the Vorgrim were abandoned and trapped with their dark master. In the wake of the final battle, Malog's treachery poisoned the name of the Vorgrim Legion forever: the tales and songs of its exploits were deliberately forgotten, and the few surviving members of the Legion renounced it. But the recent incursions of Chaos have brought the memory of the Legion back. Warriors and devotees of Chaos have appeared wearing the distinctive, ancient, ancient suits of armor used by the Legion of old, wrought by the mightiest Elvish Enchanters. Rumor has it that Morloch himself is combing ruins and ancient places for enchanted relics of the Legion, and some fear that the Maimed God intends to reform the legion and use it to conquer all the fragments of Aerynth.

And now they are here, working alongside Vranaxxas' lackeys. So we have drawn the eyes of the Maimed God? We had troubles enough. I note that all of the Elves seem to have left the Legion's service, leaving only Humans to answer the call. How typical.

What is the Crimson Circle?

A good question. Here comes to light an ancient secret. The Circle are an ancient order of powerful Elvish wizards, who thousands of years ago fought against the great Council of the Wise that became the Conclave. The Crimson Wizards vehemently opposed the inclusion of "inferior” beings (that is to say, any not of Elvish blood) in the Conclave, and broke away from the great order shortly after that great body formed, back during the reign of Ardan. Devoted to the pursuits of sorcerous power, the Crimson Circle became infamous for its ruthlessness and its desire to exploit the powers of Chaos and Darkness to achieve its aims. Indeed, a hidden war raged for centuries between the Conclave and the Circle was wiped out early in the Age of Kings.

Or so we had thought. Shortly after the Prisoner was released, wizards wearing the vermillion and purple robes of the Circle came to Aeran Belendor offering aid. The Lords in Eglan Nanvirond were desperate for any aid, so they quickly accepted, but the Conclave is uneasy. Through the Circle has been cut off from the Conclave's steady stream of magical innovations for thousands of years, who can say what secrets they may have devised in isolation, or with the help of infernal powers? I am inclined to wonder how many of the events of the last thousand years, from the return of Morloch to the War of Tears, were subtly influenced or directly steered by the Circle working in secret. Why is the Crimson Circle emerging again? What are their goals?
One things seems certain: the Wizards of Crimson Circle are Powerful Enchanters, for their meekest vestments are filled with spells of power and might. And so we fight beside our former enemies, yet we remain watchful. Should they betray us, they will pay dearly for it ...

Done