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 Created by Greg Lambert and Franklin Mills

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This work is dedicated to the many artists, patrons, and supporters who helped bring the
Chronicles of Aeres to the page, and to anyone working to keep the spirit of fantasy alive.

Notice of Open Game Content: This work is provided under the Open Game License (Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, LLC.) and it contains content
authorized for use by said license, drawn from the System Reference Document for 5th Edition (System Reference Document 5.1
Copyright 2016, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.), including the allowed names and usages of gameplay and storytelling elements, rules, races, classes, skills,
monsters, spells, items, and abilities which can be found within that document.

The Chronicles of Aeres is © Greg Lambert and Franklin Mills, 2021. All Rights Reserved.

All characters and other entities appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, dead or alive, or other real-life entities, past or
present, is purely coincidental.
 Table of Contents
World Map:...........................................4 The Draemyr......................................125 The Northern Lands.......................296
The Drauglir.......................................131 Irilon...............................................296
Introduction to the Setting The Hinterfolk....................................134 Ketilseyr..........................................301
The Wanderlings................................139 Dryrest............................................302
Chapter 1:.............................................7
The Wilderkind.................................143 Grimgril..........................................303
The History of Aeres..............................7

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The Gladefolk....................................144 The Tombspire................................303
Contents Overview................................8
The Rattevir........................................149 Soruban..........................................304
The Present Day.....................................9
The Ravenvir.......................................153 The Shattered Fields......................306
Remnants of a Tyrant’s Grasp..............10
The Argent Draconvir.........................157 Stonestrand Bridge........................306
Knights of Justice & Honor..................10
The Tainted Draconvir........................164 Gruncrist Forest..............................309
Timeline Summary of Aeres..............12
Rokdraemyr....................................310

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The Ephemeral Eon.............................14 Class and Background Options
Tolgamyr’s Sanctum........................311
The Immortal Age...............................15 Chapter 4:.........................................169
Jarnvidyr.........................................313
The Age of Mysticism..........................16 Class Considerations .........................169
The Rainbow Bridge........................314
The Scouring of Essence.....................17 The Witch..........................................172
The Western Wilds.........................315
The Dragons of Strife..........................20 The Alchemist....................................189
Stormbarrens of Saradin.................315
The Heroic Age...................................24 The Dreamcaller.................................203
Shrine of the Black Serpent.............316
The Return of Darkness.......................26 Aeres Background Options...............215
Remnants of Saradin’s Pass.............317
An Age of Steel and Sorrow................32
Volgrist...........................................317
The Present Age of Dragonfire...........39
Themes and Adventures in Aeres.........41
Allies and Enemies Thuldruun.......................................319
Chapter 5:.........................................225 Shadowcrest...................................320
The Nature of Magic in Aeres Fragments of Light and Shadow........225

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Chapter 2:...........................................47 The Vulgraks ......................................226
Mystery of Aether.................................47 The Wilderguard................................229
Harnessing Aether...............................49 Cult of the Black Rose.......................234
The Aetheric Sphere............................49 Lancathir............................................237
Utilizing Aether....................................51 The Witchfinder Duty........................240
Bandelbron....................................322
Ruin of Five Skulls...........................323
Vindirtris.........................................324
Bleakrock Pass................................325
Runefrost........................................325
Astreas and Other Realms............326
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The Immordran...................................52 Elfs of Larendane...............................243 Fool’s Landing.................................326
Eros..................................................54 The Watchers of the Wild....................247 Naraczaman...................................326
Karadas...............................................56 Order of the Silver Flame...................253 Peak of Sorrow................................326
Lornifas.............................................58 Reverie of the World Tree..................257 Mostmora.......................................327
Ardrisyr..............................................60 Great Houses of Irilon........................260 Blysvar............................................328
Tolgamyr............................................63 Aeres Bestiary..................................267 Huldrafar.........................................330
Brena.................................................64 Cultists ..............................................268 Artifacts of Aeres..........................332
Gipta.................................................66 Draconvir Overlords..........................269 Potions...........................................332
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Aeolas...............................................68 Dragons.............................................270 Philter of Novo Rodentia................334

Orthrak..............................................70 Goblins..............................................272 Danturial.........................................335
Dragons of Strife..................................73 Goblin Kings......................................273 Witchfire Lantern............................336
Belief in Aeres......................................75 Imperators.........................................274 Book of the Black Rose ..................336
Divine Favor.........................................77 Ogre Taskmasters..............................275 Blackglass Mirror.............................337
Runes of Aeres.....................................78 Unicorns of Aeres..............................276 Armaments of the Silver Flame........337
Vulgraks.............................................279 Wanderer’s Tarot.............................338
The Races of Aeres Wights..............................................280
Chapter 3:...........................................81 Witchfinder........................................281 Aeres Adventures
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Kindred of a Mystical World.................81 Chapter 7:......................................341

Rarity and Demographics....................83 Aeres Gazetteer Fire From the Mountain...................341
The Aetherborn..................................85 Chapter 6:.........................................283 Misfortune at Ianur..........................352
Humans.............................................86 The Southern Provinces...................284 Index:.............................................363
The Erosir.............................................92 Taldorius.........................................284 About the Authors........................364
The Ormurians.....................................94 Hazelmoor.......................................289 Credits...........................................365
The Hesmoorians.................................97 Larendane.......................................290 Kickstarter Backers.......................366
The Gray Dwarfs.................................100 Esrendel..........................................290
The Frostvaegyr.................................105 Barrowfell........................................292 Click on the “Chronicles of
The Mystic Kobolds...........................108 Ormurin...........................................293 Aeres” title at the bottom of
The Stygian Kobolds..........................113 King’s Crossing...................................293
The Silverleaf Elfs...............................116 The Gate of Grenfir..............................293
any page where you see the
The Twilight Elfs.................................121 Tristanvar.........................................294 logo to go back to the Table
Half-Elfs and Half-Dwarfs...................124 Crossroads of Birril.............................295 of Contents.
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 Chapter 1
Everything old
Is New Again

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The History of Aeres

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Aeres is a new setting for your adventurous 5th
Edition campaign. The Chronicles of Aeres, the title
of this book, represent the histories, mythologies,
heroes, villains, and struggles of this mystical realm,
the details of which you’ll find within these pages.
Aeres is a land that hearkens back to a classical
age of fantasy—an age of larger-than-life heroes,

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true, but also a time when hapless farmhands and
folksy Hobbits were coaxed into adventure by wiz-
ards, prophecies, and promises of magical treasure.
For those who seek their fortune in this realm, the
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result is often peril and adventure—but just as often
beauty and charm. It’s a land awash with magic and
magical creatures great and small, folkloric figures
and icons from legend; all normal and common-
place to some folk, yet still distant and mysterious
to others. In Aeres, your next door neighbor could
be a talking fox, while a unicorn remains your closest
comrade. Dragons the size of mountains spawn eter-
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nal legends in their wake, cities skyrocket upward in

magnificent marble and silver spires, magical forests
shelter trees and animals who can talk, and enchant-
ed springs bubble forth with the very secrets of life.
Within this mist-laden, verdant continent, you
might traverse snow-capped mountains and shad-
owy forests, stumble upon ruins and rune-stones,
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uncover secret chambers and underground halls,
and encounter dragons, goblins, and all manner of
strange and terrifying creatures in the dark places
of the world. Aeres is also a setting beset by the
looming threat of monolithic evil. It’s a land that all
too recently found its way out of the wicked thrall of
a dark lord, only to fall into the clutches of a tyrant
king; it’s a continent seemingly constantly thrust into
epic dangers that require the aid of adventurers and
Game Masters like yourselves to resolve.
If all this is familiar to you, it should be. These
themes are endemic to modern fantasy games and
stories and have been for decades. But if the past
sometimes speaks to you more strongly than the
present, and if you refuse to set aside the nostal-
gia, excitement, and enchantment of all the classic
fantasy stories and films you grew up with, then
you’re definitely not alone. With Aeres, we wanted
to take old-school fantasy sensibilities and smash
them headlong into the framework of a modern 5th
Edition world. Regardless if you’re a jaded player
straight from the “Old School Renaissance” look-
ing for heroic adventure, or a brand new player
enthralled by the interactive experience of modern
tabletop RPGs, hopefully Aeres contains something
that can spark your imagination.

Aeres History 7
 The Contents of the Chronicles of Aeres
This book contains all of the options and guide-
lines necessary to create a character firmly rooted in
the storybook atmosphere of the realm. You’ll find
new twists on familiar races, new classes rooted in
May the shadows retreat from you, dear friend
and reader!
I take it that if you’re holding this tome in your

lore and legend, epic gods, dangerous beasts, and
enough lore to populate nearly any scale of adven-
ture—along with a few introductory quests to help
your mythical campaign flourish.
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hands that you know nothing or very little about
this land, which we call Aeres, a land of forests
and fables big and small. You wouldn’t know
that the word itself, “Aeres,” is the oldest word
for “aether” that we know; aether being the

Chapter 1 contains an overview of the setting, the
rough status of the world as it stands today, followed
by a more thorough history of the realm and the
major events that have shaped it. At the end of this
chapter, you’ll find information about the various
types of adventures and story themes one might be
able to expect within Aeres as a setting.
Chapter 2 describes the force of aether—the
essence of magic in Aeres—and the Immordran, the
eternal pantheon of Aeres gods, along with what
these things mean to the people of the realm.
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mysterious and barely fathomable miasma which
empowers magic. And there’s much magic within
Aeres indeed, I can tell you that! Nor would you
likely guess that most of these chronicles were
recorded by someone who’s not human, not like
yourself—but don’t be alarmed! There’s a great
deal of history surrounding the men and women
of humanity within these archives, so I’m sure
you’ll find yourself quite at home, and perhaps
these pages can open your eyes to the mystical

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Chapter 3 provides a complete guide to all eigh-
teen intelligent races and cultures on Aeres, replete
with gameplay options and roleplaying elements.
This chapter is the beginning of how to bring your
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own folkloric character to life within the realm.
Chapter 4 offers new Aeres-specific character
classes and backgrounds to help flesh out your hero-
ic adventurer even further.
Chapter 5 presents all of the notable organiza-
tions, characters, and monsters one might hear
about or even meet across Aeres. These are the
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world of folk like us, beyond the borders of the
mundane! Many of us rats were like you once,
after all; and the legacy of Aeres’ history is abun-
dant with curses and transformations, strange
magicians and heroes in shining armor, noble
kings and queens, and the small, humble folk
alike, of which there are many. So please: if your
intent is to delve into both the peril and enchant-
ment of this realm, then let me put an end to my
prattling, and allow you to read on. Adventure
awaits!
~Ferric Willow-Whisker

heroes and villains alike who not only help influence

the destiny of the realm, but who might act as bea-
cons to help guide both roleplaying and gameplay
content.
Chapter 6 contains a breakdown of the Aeres
world map, highlighting all of the destinations ad-
venturers should be able to explore within the world.
You’ll also find plot hooks for crafting game sessions
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around nearly every point of interest across Aeres

(while making sure not to unveil every single mystery
of the realm). This chapter also contains bits of lore
about Aeres culture, like superstitions and holidays.
Chapter 7 lastly provides two pre-written scenar-
ios which Game Masters can use as either stand-
alone content or as tools to help them springboard
into larger campaigns set within Aeres.

8 Aeres History
 Aeres is a relatively young realm. The gods them-
selves walked the mortal coil of the world less than
a few hundred years ago after all, and although
the colorful kingdoms of Aeres have all managed
to flourish over the centuries, the folk of the entire
realm have always been beset by hardship. It seems
that the old adage of never seeing light without
darkness often rings true, even in the current era.
This land has a heady history involving the birth
of titans, the creation of mortals, the rise and fall of
empires, and the coming and going of enormous
dragons and dark creatures. Many of the lurid details
of the characters and events of Aeres are contained
only within the past 100 years or so—during the He-
roic Age and beyond—where adventurers and cho-
sen ones clashed against dark lords and evil kings.
If you want a full grasp on the history of Aer-
es and all of the major events that have played
a role in shaping it, then you should probably
scour this entire chapter. If you only want to gain
a general understanding of the realm’s major
concepts and want to dive straight into charac-
ter creation and adventure-crafting, then we’d
recommend reading about the present realm in
the next section, and then consulting the Aeres
summary timeline directly afterward. The end of e
chapter 1 presents additional themes and ideas for
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creating adventures within the setting as well. Every-
thing in-between is steep lore that contains detail
which might be useful in understanding the world,
but memorizing it shouldn’t be a strict requirement
for questing in Aeres. Any emboldened names are
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important, and they’ll be further explored not only in
the realm’s history, but also referenced in the index
at the very end of the handbook.
The Present Day
It seems that just as soon as the good folk of Aeres
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are able to finally start enjoying their lives, some
new tragedy suddenly befalls this typically bright
and cheerful realm. The current age of Aeres, which
scholars would say is a return to the erstwhile “Age
of Mysticism” (but which most folk refer to as the
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Age of Dragonfire,) is an age of hope and peaceful
recovery, but also restlessness and foreboding, as
not all of the wickedness of the land has been strick-
en away completely (at least, not yet).
For an entire season, the kingdoms of Aeres have
been celebrating the defeat of the horrible Drag-
on of Darkness, a titanic beast which might have
spelled doom for the realms, were it not for the
actions of a few intrepid adventurers. A small group
of heroes recently found a way to awaken the Silver
Champion Saeyos, the oath-sworn protector dragon
of Aeres. Saeyos destroyed the Dragon of Darkness,
whose broken shell now lies festering beneath the
waves of the eastern Sea of Urabor. Now, the Silver
Champion lords over the divine forest of Jarnvidyr
to the north, at the site where the World Tree of
Aeres once stood in ancient times.
The band of unlikely heroes who ushered in these
events (to be expounded upon further in this chap-
Aeres History 9
 ter) have all gone their separate ways, and Aeres
finds herself at a crossroads of sorts, where the rem-
nants of power-hungry kingdoms and mystical races
have started to emerge from the shadows once
more to make their impact on the face of the world.
Across Aeres, green life and lush tranquility has
started to burgeon, as the creeping malfeasance and
corruption spread by the Dragon of Darkness and
play host to humans, elfs, dwarfs, and even forestfolk
and demihumans of all shapes and sizes. Its pure
marble spires tower to the sun in glory, and within
the magnificent be-columned palace of the city, the
Council of the Silver Flame maintains a watchful
presence with justice and temperance. Led by the
stalwart draconvir knight Theodric the Virtuous and
supported by the Watchers of the Wild (a once

his followers is at last beginning to wane and dissi-
pate. Aether, a magical miasma that permeates this
land, has also once again started to snake and crawl
through the lowlands and crevices of Aeres, sowing
enchantment and mystery in its wake (you’ll find out
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secretive group of rebels who sheltered magical folk
during Lancathir’s reign,) the council upholds the
Old Code, an ancient oath of chivalry, compassion,
and kingly stewardship; and they’ve kept a close
eye on the folk of Irilon indeed. Although there’s

much more about aether soon enough).
Remnants of a Tyrant's Grasp
Within the mist-laden countryside, we now see
several mortal powers emerging to lay claim in
sovereignty over various parts of the realm. The
first and most troubling kingdom to unfurl its wings
is the human country of Hesmoor, the heart of
which lies nearly squarely in the center of Aeres in
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no imminent threat of war (yet,) the good people of
Taldorius have vowed to never again tolerate the evil
of Lancathir’s decrees.
Beyond Taldorius and Irilon, the longer-lived races
continue to carve out their own legacies from the
wilderness of Aeres. South of the great city of men
lies the argent forest of Larendane, primordial home
to the Elfs of Silverleaf, who were once staunch
allies of Lancathir before he turned to wickedness
and forced their Queen, Arthana of Larendane, to

Soruban. Before the Dragon of Darkness appeared,

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the green northern fields east of the mountain of

the entire realm had been crushed under the jack-

boot of a tyrannical emperor, a nearly-immortal king
by the name of Lancathir, son of Haelmanir (who
serve him. Whereas far to the north, the Silverleafs’
elusive and mysterious cousins, the Twilight Elfs of
Thuldruun, stayed sequestered in their crystal forest
at Shadowcrest, virtually untouched by the trage-
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dies that befell the rest of Aeres (at least, so it would
was a king of a forgotten age himself). Before being seem). It’s rare indeed to meet one of the shadowy
dethroned and exiled, Lancathir sought to abolish all elfs of the north even in the open countryside, but
magic and magical people alike from every corner
of the realm, and he nearly succeeded, at least as
far as his sordid influence could spread. Sadly, that
influence was long-reaching indeed, as many of
the human folk of the greater countryside still owe
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Lancathir their allegiance, thanks to his extensive

campaign of lies and propaganda. The Hesmoori-
ans—once a proud, horse-taming people who lived
peacefully in the northern plains—are Lancathir’s
most ardent supporters. They’ve laid claim to Irilon,
the former ruined capital of human splendor, which
decades ago a ruthless villain called the Witch Lord
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sacked in his campaign of terror; and from the elder

Castle Windemyr, these sycophants snake their ten-
drils across the countryside at large, almost threaten-
ing to restore the terror of Lancathir’s despotic reign.

Knights of Justice and Honor

Luckily, a force exists to counter such injustice. Nes-
tled in the south at the former site of a shrine to the
Silver Dragon himself lies Taldorius, once Lancathir’s
shining monument to his empire, now a free and
glorious city. The hearths and streets of Taldorius

10 Aeres History
 their members have been spotted with increasing
frequency as of late, even walking openly in the city
of Taldorius. Strange portents and rumors follow the
Twilight Elfs wherever they go, and there’s been talk
of darkness gathering abroad.

Although it might be tempting to attribute sinister

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elements to the Twilight Elfs or any other seem-
ingly frightening race for that matter (like we rats,)
it’s important to note that most of the evil of Aer-
es has traditionally beset us from without, rather
than within. I’m not saying our kingdoms have no

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record of strife... far from it! Only that most Aeres
folk are good at heart. Except goblins. Never trust
a goblin!
~Ferric Willow-Whisker

Elfen forests and cities of men are far from the only
bastions of two-legged folk on Aeres. Far north of
Irilon, the indomitable mystical forest of Gruncrist

the elk god Tolgamyr, the Lord of Beasts. His e

lies unspoiled. Within its heart, the only remaining
living god of Aeres rests within his glowing glade:

wilderkind, or “beast folk,” dwell within the forest

to this day, woodsy animal people who occasional-
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ly find their way to the more civilized places of the
world. These folk were once friends of all races, wel-
comed in every corner of Aeres before the times of
Lancathir’s Empire of Steel. Forest gnomes also find
their homes there, reading runes and crafting clever
houses hidden among the trees. To the west of this
place, the sorrowful underground halls of Soruban
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whisper their dirge to would-be adventurers. These

were once the boisterous mead halls of the dwarfs,
long since driven out by a dark lord’s rampaging
goblins. Few folk know what magical treasures and
frightening creatures still dwell in those halls, for
there are nearly none brave enough to delve their
secrets. Even deeper beneath the old dwarfen halls,
crystalline caverns sparkle with mystery and mag-
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ic; some say the very roots of the World Tree lie
hidden under the earth protected by a mystical race
of kobolds. And all across the wilderness, one might
stumble across a procession of fair halfling folk, wan-
derlings who travel the land wherever their fortunes
might lead them.
So far you’ve read mention of gods, dragons, dark
lords, and more. Continue exploring this chapter to
learn about the entire history of Aeres and the part
all of these creatures play in shaping the present
course of the realm.
 Ancient Eras

The Ephemeral Eon: The Immortal Age:

Over 5000 years ago Nearly 5000 years ago until the year 0,
appearance of the first mortal race
Aeres began as a with the noble beasts of
blackened barren of the earth and waters. The remaining nebulae The Immordran, ob-

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rock. Swirling storms of of aether took shape sessed with the auspic-
cosmic aether—an un- A massive World Tree into the god-like titans es of creation, sum-
fathomable mystical mi- took root in the northern of Aeres, the Immor- moned forth the mortal
asma—coalesced across forests, spawned from dran, who walked the races of the world. Eros,
the world, forming the pure magic. The World world with physical chimeric titan of the

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skies, mountains, fields, Tree, called Laedrethor, forms. sun, created the first
and waters. empowered the very race on Aeres; these
essence of life on Aeres Nine Immordran were were heroic humans
Afterward, the aether for centuries. born in various domains called the Erosir. Many
winds took the shape across Aeres, one right other races would
of trees, flowers, and after another. follow.
everything green, along

The Age of Mysticism:

Year 0 - 1000
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and the Dragons of Strife:
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Humans, elfs, dwarfs, This would be known
Year 1000 to 1021
hinterfolk, and other as the Golden Age of A strange, nearly un- The Immordan, fore-
races of Aeres began to Aeres, where magic and stoppable race of evil seeing the destruction
grow their kingdoms, mystery prevailed, and creatures called the of all of Aeres, decided
living in relative peace dark and evil monsters Vulgraks, or Dark Em- to gather at the World
and unearthing the were few and far be- perors, invaded Aeres Tree to conduct a ritual
secrets of magic and tween. Few now live who from an unknown realm to defeat the Vulgraks.
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how to conjure it from can remember this age, of shadow, seeking to

aether. but there are many who siphon all aether from The titans sacrificed
would desire to return the realm. their mortal forms in an
to it. intensely magical song,
These Dark Emperors turning the World Tree
assaulted the empires itself into the enor-
of Aeres from afar in mous platinum dragon
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their black tower of Laedrethor, also called

Timeline
Blysvar using a gargan- Saeyos.
tuan apocalyptic drag-
on called Kalkuriath. Saeyos destroyed the

Summary of
Dragon of Darkness
They also command- after an epic battle. Af-
ed foul dragon-like terward, the paladins of
minions called dra- the Erosir used Saeyos’s

Aeres
convir who kidnapped power to transform
innocents from across themselves into Argent
Aeres to be drained of Draconvir; they used
their aetherian essenc- their draconic might
es. to defeat the Vulgraks
once and for all.

The Heroic Age:
Year 1021 to nearly 1103
After the defeat of the
Vulgraks, the entire
realm entered an age
of peace and prosperity
once again, and the se-
crets of the Immordran
were rediscovered.
Despite their loss, the
Dark Emperors had
attracted many acolytes
skilled in black magic.
One of these wizards
was named Olhogim,
The Age of Sorrow
and the Return of Dragonfire:
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Year 1103 to the current time
Lancathir, hero of the
war against Olhogim,
gathered many follow-
ers, and he traveled to
the south to build the
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great city of Taldorius.
He reigned with peace
for awhile, but after six
decades, he became
corrupt.
His empire enacted the
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Edict of Steel, banning
all use of magic in the
realm. Most magicians
and magical folk were
imprisoned or killed.
The old heroes of the
last age resisted Lan-
cathir by forming the
Watchers of the Wild, an
underground rebellion
operating from within
the confines of Tal-
dorius.
Modern Eras
a magician of terrible
might. Olhogim, called
the Witch Lord or the
Wicked One, summoned
a vast army of monsters
to waylay the good lands
of Aeres. Every kingdom
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fell under attack by gob-
lins, wights, ettins, ogres,
and more.
Guided by an archmage
named Balcanur, a group
of heroes were fated to
embark on a quest to
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Soon after thwarting
Lancathir’s edict from the
shadows, the Watchers
uncovered a conspiracy
to resurrect the Drag-
on of Darkness, being
fomented by the Witch
Lord from behind the
scenes.
The Witch Lord had been
using Lancathir to siphon
aether from magical
creatures in order to em-
power the artifact sword
Danturial, so that the
brainwashed Lancathir
could use it to conjure
the Dragon of Darkness.
In response to Kalkuri-
ath’s rise, the last living
Immordran, Tolgamyr,
sent the aging Accaris
of Undertree with the
flute of Estera to awaken
defeat the Witch Lord
by using the holy flute
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of Estera to play the
Immordran’s ancient
Dragon Song.
These heroes, most no-
tably a hinterfolk named
Accaris, gathered at the
Peak of Sorrow in the
west after much hard-
ship, and they destroyed
Olhogim with the flute’s
power.
Saeyos. Accaris sacri-
ficed his life to complete
this task.
Saeyos defeated Kalkuri-
ath once again, and the
realm was finally able to
rest at last.
The Watchers of the
Wild and the Council of
the Silver Flame, an an-
cient order of the Silver
Dragon, now command
Taldorius and the sur-
rounding provinces with
benevolent leadership.
The world of Aeres
has entered an age of
uneasy peace which
malevolent villains could
threaten at any moment.
Luckily, heroes like you
exist to protect the
realm.
 The Ephemeral Eon
The story of Aeres begins in a time shrouded by
ephemeral mist in an age of wonder and mystery.
Before any human or elf walked across the face of
Aeres, the world was a vast darkened landscape
engulfed by swirling, violent storms. But these
weren’t storms of water and wind: the entire surface
of the world itself was a whirlwind of Aether, the
very breath of life from which the power of cre-
ation flows forth. Under any normal circumstance,
aether is almost always completely invisible, but in
its strongest and most potent form, it appears as a
glowing, pulsating white mist, incandescent like a
nebula of stars streaking across the night sky, racing
against itself in layers upon layers of light. In such a
condition, the magic of this mist is so strong that it
begins to coalesce into cosmic forms, ushering forth
semblances of creation from its own will.
Not even the gods themselves would be able to
tell you the true origin or nature of this force, but the
oldest scholars of Aeres contend that in this Ephem-
e
eral Eon, aether began to cool and re-form, birthing
all of the elements that comprise the nature of the
land: the waters, the skies, lightning and the shad-
ows it casts; fire, smoke, magma, and all the funda-
pl
mental aspects of the world as we know it.
From the chaos of these swirling aether-storms,
the mortal face of Aeres took shape. The aether
wind blanketed the stones of the mountains and
the rocks of the fields, setting against the world
countless seeds of life which bloomed forth into
the vibrant colors of plants, flowers, grass, and
trees; Aeres herself grew verdant and lush in that
m
age, overflowing with growth until nearly her en-
tire surface teemed with cultivation. In the frosty
Sa
14 Aeres History
northern lands of what would much later be known
as Jarnvidyr, a tremendous gust of aether twisted
across the newly born woodlands and took root in
the bedrock of the world. From this leyline, a bastion
of life and mysticism sprouted, thrusting its splendor
high above the treetops. This monolithic guardian
snaked its ensorcelled roots into the deep earth,
bursting the land all around with enchantment; the
e
towering timber would be called Laedrethor, which
is another name in Old Erosiryn for the World Tree,
the pulsing heart of the wilderness itself. Its leaves,
silver and gold, shimmered brilliantly under the sun,
beacons of life for every creature on Aeres.
fil
Despite the appearance of the World Tree and the
beauty of the forests and wilds, the drama of this
age was far from over. As the tumultuous aether-
stream poured down into the valleys and forests
from the firmament, it began to coalesce into other-
worldly creatures, aether-born beings that appeared
briefly and then vanished as quickly as they came. It
was as if Aeres herself was testing the conviction of
order against chaos, shaping and reshaping creation
over and over again, perfecting its procession with
each cycle until at last, the aether began to solidify,
taking on the shape of pulsing hearts, rushing blood,
and sinewy flesh. At the end of the Ephemeral Eon,
the beasts of the earth and the waters rushed forth
into the world, magnificent and untamed.
And thus, the magnificent garden of Aeres, still
engulfed in a mysterious haze of aether and magic,
took its final form. The world itself had been born,
and the cycle of life and death had been decided
through the eternal will of aether and its power.
 The Immortal Age
For thousands of years, the lush landscape of Aeres
dwelled in tranquility, pristine and full of life and
magic. The land was a dominion of beasts—animals
of every shape and size, most of which still subsist
in some form or another even to this day; but there

e
were yet no creatures of wisdom to enact their own
wills upon the land. That is, until the Immortal Age,
the golden age of creation.
Although the violent aether storms had long
abated, clouds of that quintessence still meandered

fil
across the world, filling every empty space and
growing more concentrated by the century.
What remained of the swirling primordial aether
of Aeres slowly started to fuse and unify, as the one
verifiable rule of magical essence is that it always
attracts more of itself. Eventually the coalescing
miasma of aether on Aeres grew into bodies so
concentrated and potent that they began to actually
take on physical forms. Over hundreds of years, this
magical essence materialized into beings far greater
and more powerful than any of the mortal beasts
e
that already walked the face of Aeres. These were
the Immordran, creatures teaming with magical and
spiritual energy, fierce and uncontrollable, but also
pl
full of grace and eternal wisdom. Mortal races would
call these titans “gods:” an apt designation, for
these immortal entities were born with an indomita-
ble will to create life from the void, and their cre-
ation songs would echo outward through the eons
forever. You’ll learn much more about the Immordran
of Aeres in the following chapter, since their charac-
teristics and personalities are far too much for this
m

entry alone. The important thing to realize is that the

gods all birthed children of their own, forging races
from the void nearly one right after another until the
world swelled with all manner of strange two-legged
folk. These were people intelligent and kind; stupid
and wicked; graceful and gentle; clumsy and reck-
less. The god of the earth, Eros, brought forth his
Sa

children before all others, for no other element was

more abundant than earth upon the face of Aeres,
and human beings were his creation. Other races
were called forth in turn, and the forests and fields of
Aeres teemed with life immeasurable and magical.
The entire destiny of Aeres herself would follow the
saga of these mortal races, and the drama of hu-
mans, elfs, dwarfs, and other folk is undoubtedly the
very purpose for your reading this book.

Aeres History 15
 The Age of Mysticism
Erosiryn chronicles
Year 0 – circa 1000
Every Immordran only desires for their children to
prosper and grow stronger. This passion, inherent
to the titans of Aeres and inseparable from their
being, urged the Immordran to share with the mortal
folk of Aeres the riddles of the world: how to com-
mand aether, the secrets of the forge, the lessons of
cultivation, the nature of alchemy and the interaction
between living beings and inanimate objects, and
even the auspices of fate itself.
With this wisdom, the fair races of the world began
to wander from their homes in exploration, uncov-
ering rune-stones of Immordran power and delving
the secrets of ethereal magic in nearly every corner
of the realm. After the mortal kingdoms of Aeres
began to take hold, the entire realm blossomed with
spectacle, wonder, and imagination on the behalf
e
of these bright-eyed creatures. In much later chron-
icles, scholars would call this the Age of Mysticism;
every land hearkens back to its golden era of peace
and prosperity, and for Aeres, this millennium
marked that time.
pl
Being the first of the aetherborn populations to
emerge on the face of Aeres, molded directly from
the blood of the chimeric god Eros (the Bastion of
m
Sa
Light,) the earliest humans of the realm were by far
the most indomitable of Aeres’ races. They held
within their hearts an essence of incorruptible spirit
and a will to power that would quickly dominate
the sprawling fields of the northern lands. These
humans were long-lived and heroic, and taking the
namesake of their Immordran father, they called
themselves the Erosir. Under the command of just
e
and noble monarchs who rose to lead their people
with compassion, the oldest bloodline of Eros built
marble-spired castles, palaces, and solemn shrines
to their heroes all over those lands. Their most glori-
ous city was called Irilon, and it rests even to this day
fil
on a towering plateau overlooking the River Oryn,
touched by the sun. Other human folk took root in
the plains south of the northern forest of Gruncrist,
and they founded the kingdoms of Jaermoor and
Hesmoor, twin sisters under the bright and airy skies
of the north. Although the grandeur of the human
kingdoms ascended skyward during this age, and
the foundations of their dominion were sown across
an enormous portion of Aeres, they were still fast
friends with the other mystical folk who had made
themselves known: the elfs, dwarfs, gnomes, and
others. The human kings didn’t call themselves em-
perors in those days, and human lands shared their
wealth and plenty with all of their neighbors, great
and small. This helped the other races of the world
to unfold their own destinies, forging paths of fate
that would inform their folkways even to this day.
The elfs of the Silverleaf Forest—being children
of Ardrisyr—mostly kept to themselves in those
shadowy woods, the breadth of which stretched far
across the southern spear-tip of the continent (those
lands and the forests within them are called Laren-
dane). Forest-born elfs rarely sought to expand their
presence, since the woodlands answered their every
need. One fateful night, one of their most powerful
sorcerers awoke from a dream where he had been
troubled by visions of fate. Swiftly, this mysterious
elf awakened every follower he could. Approaching
fellow magicians and clerics whom he thought would
be most receptive to the idea, he brought together
a quiet multitude of dreamers who quickly spirited
themselves away to the north, leaving Silverleaf
behind. They left for the mysterious forest of Thul-
druun, a place enraptured forever in twilight, where
the leaves of the trees sparkle with violet crystal, and
a vast mirror lake spreads across the frost-covered
land almost like a sea in the foothills. After discov-
ering this desertion, the southern elfs remarkably
held no ill will against their former countrymen, as
it’s merely the natural will of dreamers to wander,
following the aether-twined threads of fate wherever
they might lead (even if those paths end in ruin).
 Some say these “Twilight Elfs” have even mastered
the enigma of dream itself, a secret known only to
the Chronicler Aeolas, an Immordran who records
the happenstance of all dreams in his eternal aethe-
rian hall.
of kings; but not good and righteous kings. Instead,
they would be emperors filled with wrathful and
wasteful cruelty whose dominion would corrupt the
destiny of Aeres for ages to come.

The Scouring of
Just as the Twilight Elfs left the domain of Laren-
dane fractured, so did the dwarfs of Soruban see a
schism within their kingdom. The Old White-beard-

Essence

e
ed King of the Vaults, mighty Droklir, also a rune-
master among the dwarfs, had grown weary of
their hedonistic mead-drinking and ring-forging,
and along with his brothers in arms, he set out one
Erosiryn chronicles
night to champion the cause of wisdom-seeking. Year 1000 – 1010

Over the same expanse of time as the Twilight Elfs
lorded over Thuldruun, the Frost Dwarfs drifted west
and northward, settling in the snowy highlands of
Bandelbron. There they began to hone their mas-
tery of war-waging and weapon-crafting, but also
the mysteries of aether and how to wield it, becom-
ing skilled in the ways of elemental evocation. Seen
as half-crazed by their mountain-dwelling cousins,
those ice-bearded dwarfs grew isolated and wilder
over time, to the point where they became intoler-
fil
It began as a vision of doom which appeared in the
fevered dreams of folk on the outskirts of the land,
far away from the cities of men and elfs. In gloomy
villages and hamlets, places easily exploitable and
mostly unknown to the rest of the world, hapless
masses awoke from nightmares of monstrous,
cackling fiends, black-beaked creatures towering
over them with outstretched claws. The small folk—

e
ant of not just interlopers, but any outsiders at all
(except on occasion their former hall-fellows).

Magic and Mist

pl
Meanwhile, all across Aeres, the misty presence
of drifting aether, being no longer sapped by the
cosmic creation of gods and mortals, was beginning
to bloom and intensity. Vastly strengthened by the
roots of the towering World Tree which stood in the
north in Jarnvidyr—an ancient and nearly limitless
m

source of aether—this strange miasma started

seeping up from the dew of the morning, creep-
ing between the roots of the trees or even drafting
downward on star-fueled winds. In every kingdom,
acolytes guided by the teachings of the Immordran
began to study and record the knowledge of this
mystical phenomenon. They wrote lengthy tomes of
Sa

now-ancient parchment, storing them away in librar-

ies and shrine-halls, places where wizards, witches,
and sorcerers practiced their crafts. Temples dedicat-
ed to harnessing aether sprouted wherever rune-
stone cairns could be found, often surrounding and
harnessing the mystical essences of those stones.
Magical arts began to flourish nearly everywhere,
even in the realms of the steelbound human folk.
Across the continent, a lull of serenity hung over
the land, and most good folk thrived and prospered
during this time. As the centuries passed and mortal
obsession with magic grew ever stronger, the next
chronicle of Aeres would belong to a new council

Aeres History 17
 gnomes and kobolds—were more sensitive to such Doom on Black Wings
visions than other Aeres races, and so they would
suffer the most in the coming age. Many of these
innocents fell into what the old chronicles describe
as a deep, unbreakable trance. Like sleepwalkers,
they left their homes wide-eyed and silent, wander-
ing into the shadowy night where they were spirited
away, never to be seen again. Men, women, and

e
even children fell victim to this dark mesmerism. At
first, lords and governors blamed the disappearanc-
es on wolves, rabid forest creatures, or worse. After
all, basilisks and ettins weren’t unknown in those
days, wandering the wilderness in search of fresh

fil
meat to drag back to their lairs; although their num-
bers were much too infrequent to account for the
sheer breadth of this phenomenon. The nightmares
proceeded for months, and nearly every distant
village came under the wicked spell, until local wise-
folk and wizards grew keen enough to watch in wait
for these sleepwalkers and ambush what horror had
been coming for them in the night.
Reports began to pour into the cities of vicious,
bat-winged behemoths swooping down in the night

e
to flit away with entranced prey. Often, witnesses
were too frightened to speak of it, but the men of
Irilon heard tale that these creatures took the shape
of twisted, black-scaled wraiths, almost with the
pl
forms of dragons, gleaming with grisly fangs and
claws and always filled with glee at the satisfaction
of their cruelty. Every kingdom dispatched warriors
to the countryside to dispel this evil, but no mat-
ter how many men-at-arms they sent, their efforts
were to no avail. It was said that blades and arrows
deflected from the creatures’ hides like chaff against
a stone wall, and mighty magic spells vanished into
m

thin air before the monsters could suffer harm from
them.
After a short time, the entire realm became par-
alyzed with fear at these happenings, to the point
where most strong-headed villagers fled their homes
for the fortresses of their kings and queens. The
entire realm seemed under siege, and thousands
Sa
The Dragon of Darkness appeared belching blood-red
fire as he trundled through the sky towards the west,
filling the sky with acrid smoke that blotted out the
moon and stars. The citizens of Irilon awoke in the night
to find their fields awash with flame, their villages and
towns blasted to shreds; and above the destruction, the
shadow of tremendous wings stretching across the land

of inhabitants disappeared from the wider country-
side, leaving farmlands and watermills to fall into
ruin. After only a few short seasons, the threat of
famine crept into civilized realms, and heavy sorrow
weighed down upon the people. Even worse, the
Immordran were seemingly unwary of the disaster
and didn’t bother to intervene, as they were still only
watching the mortal lands in dream, away in their
distant dominions; that is, until the Dragon of Dark-
ness came. By then, it was nearly too late.
from east to west, filling nearly the entire horizon.
He was a beast that seemingly dwelled in a whirlwind
of shadow, an incredibly monstrous serpent who made
the seldom-seen mountain drakes of Aeres seem like liz-
ards by comparison. The Dragon of Darkness (whom the
half-dragon creatures would cackle the name of Kalkuri-
ath in their alien tongue, presumably meaning “One
Born From Ash,”) possessed pitch black scales the size
of boat frames and onyx claws as long as pine trees. Not
even ten thousand archers could have pierced his hide.
As far as the Erosir could ascertain, the indestructible
beast spelled doom not just for their kingdom, but for
all of Aeres. Old rumors say even the king himself wept

18 Aeres History
 at the sight of the monster on the horizon.
And yet, after a dreadful night of catastrophe in
the north, the dragon seemed content to circle the
sky above Irilon, only feigning to attack; after all, his
masters were well on their way, and they were anx-
ious to survey their new dominion in all of its aether-
rich splendor.
No record exists to describe the path from whence
acquired from their countless victims).
They were both sorcerers and conquerors, wield-
ing terrible magic which they channeled from
onyx-tipped scepters and controlling vicious min-
ions using the power of will alone. Few mortal folk
would set eyes upon the Dark Emperors and live to
tell the tale, for nearly none of the victims who were
spirited away to Blysvar managed to escape, and

they appeared, the Vulgraks, the Dark Emperors;
but it’s vaguely assumed that they materialized from
the space between the stars and the shadow, a
void within which the power of even the Immordan
couldn’t touch. They certainly weren’t born of the
e
anyone who did escape quickly found their way into
the draconvir’s savage clutches. Furthermore, the
dark tyrants occasionally found allies among the very
people whom they were set to destroy. Wizards and
witches who practiced the more shadowy aspects

gods, nor did they emerge from the swirling aether
of the land in the Ephemeral Eon. The Vulgraks were
totally apart from Aeres herself. Thus Gipta, in her
infinite wisdom, with the very threads of fate whis-
pering their destinies to her, was unable to foresee
their coming; and Aeolas, master of dreams, found
no happenstance mention of these tyrants within his
eternal library.
The Corruption of the Ages
fil
of magic were invariably drawn to these creatures,
finding kinship in their utter obsession with twisted
mystical power and the dark arts.
The Vulgraks, realizing the advantage in keeping
the company of traitors from the western lands,
welcomed these acolytes with open talons, and they
often charged them with assisting the procession of
abominable magical experiments in the dungeons
deep under Blysvar. One of their most gifted stu-
dents was an occultist by the name of Olhogim, a

The good folk of Aeres would soon learn that the

Vulgraks operated their foul magic in the murky e
eastern lands, sequestered far away in their black
fortress of Blysvar, deep in the heart of that un-
mysterious former scholar of divination from Thul-
pl
charted continent. It was there that they channeled
their mesmeric power through the dream realm and
sent their terrifying “draconvir”—those nightmarish,
winged, dragon-like monsters born from the mixed
blood of humans and Kalkuriath—to subdue help-
less folk and ferret them to the wasteland, where in
the dungeons, the Vulgraks siphoned them of their
m

living essences, transforming these poor victims into

corrupt monsters totally enthralled with their wicked
masters.
A grim council comprised of only a handful of
members (whose full details are fleshed out in chap-
ter 5,) the Dark Emperors must have been dwelling
in those festering lands for hundreds of years, biding
Sa

their time, totally unknown to the world but quietly

collecting enough power from aetherian essence to
challenge the Immordran themselves.
These pernicious two-legged interlopers were
twice as tall as men, and they were both vulture-like
and draconic in grotesque countenance. They glared
sharply with black, fanged beaks and beady eyes
that belied unfathomable cunning and cruelty. The
beasts were fond of donning decadent, elaborate
royal garments to disguise their reptilian bodies
(which were only vaguely anthropoid,) and they
always flaunted priceless magical rings and gem-
stones upon their claws (treasures they undoubtedly

Aeres History 19
 druun (though not a Twilight Elf himself).
Olhogim served the Vulgraks for years, but in time
he came to hate his new masters, for they were
loathe to share their secrets, and his infatuation with
the art of siphoning living essence was insatiable.
The Dark Emperors were careful to keep their most
talented acolytes at arm’s reach to avoid fomenting
potential usurpers within their midst. Little did they
know that they were harboring the most dangerous
dark magician in the history of Aeres.
The Fall of Heroes
After a millennium of peace in the Age of Mysticism,
the first envoy of the Vulgraks, a loathsome bureau-
crat who called himself Tirograk, appeared on the
very marble steps of the city of Irilon, and he was ac-
companied by hundreds upon hundreds of foul crea-
tures and minions who had waltzed utterly uncon-
tested through the lands blackened by the Dragon
of Darkness (a sprawling wasteland of ash and death
that locals would call the Shattered Fields).
Crowned (a figure whose bloodline would persiste
At much protest from his fiery wife, Queen Brithe-
va of Jaermoor, the king of Irilon, Brioras the White-
into the present time,) surrendered reluctantly to the
Vulgraks, only on the condition that Tirograk would
pl
promise not to harm his helpless subjects. The
monster agreed, but of course it was all for show.
With the Dragon of Darkness on their side along
with a colossal army of goblins, ogres, and savage
draconvir (all born from the Dark Emperors’ profane
experiments,) they could have crushed the kingdoms
of men in a single night. But utter destruction wasn’t
m
their plan. The Vulgraks were after aether, the mias-
ma of magic which lingered on Aeres. The sweetest
essence of all was that which could be siphoned
from living beings, a horrific magical secret which
only the Vulgraks (and their dark acolytes) knew how
to harness. Perhaps these devils sought to swallow
aether in order to preserve their immortality. Or,
maybe they merely sought to further their own mys-
Sa
tical might, making themselves greater than gods.
There are none who can say for sure; nevertheless,
the consequence of their arrival was one of sadness
and misery for the entire continent.
While the realms of men came under the domin-
ion of the Vulgraks, the other races of Aeres hid
themselves away as best they could in the forests
and mountains, knowing that if they dared aid their
human allies, their kingdoms would fall under the fell
breath of the Dragon of Darkness. To them, there
was no other choice but to retreat and allow the
dark events within the realm to unfold. In later years,
the Irilonians would come to resent this cowardice,
20 Aeres History
and it would plant a seed of distrust that would fes-
ter between humans and the other races of Aeres for
generations to come.
The Dragons of
Strife
e
Erosiryn chronicles
Year 1010 – 1021
fil
Eros was the only Immordran whose magical pow-
er extended into the realms of warfare, but as he
watched the Dragon of Darkness circle Irilon from
his rocky sanctuary atop Soruban, and as the huge
clouds of black smoke from the burning northern
fields started to blot out the sun, the chimeric titan
knew he was no match for this mountain-sized
monster. Even if every Immordran somehow found a
way to gather and assault the dragon, the serpent’s
aether-destroying breath of fire would lay waste to
them all. The titans had only one chance to chal-
lenge this new evil, and it would mean sacrificing
much.
To this day, scholars know little about how these
loathsome creatures managed to summon
such an incontestable monster as Kalkuriath,
the Dragon of the Darkness; and even more,
manage to keep such a powerful creature
within their thrall. Perhaps they birthed the
dragon from the same type of ritual that the
gods enacted to give rise to Saeyos, the Silver
Champion; and perhaps, having been absorb-
ing the quintessence of aether from countless
living creatures in those dark eastern lands,
their strength was potent enough to keep them
from needing to sacrifice their mortal forms.
We do know this: the Vulgraks, the Dragon of
Darkness, and the detestable draconvir of those
times were all of the same black blood. I can’t
imagine any soul who would mourn their pass-
ing.
~Ferric Willow-Whisker
 Wasting no time, Eros sang out his immortal dirge,
only the second instance that Aeres had heard its
reverberation resound through every forest and ev-
ery dale, striking a holy chord to summon the other
Immordran. The Dark Emperors knew nothing of this
music, and luckily suspected nothing. As Tirograk
began to disperse his monsters to lord over the
lands around Irilon in fiendish command, the gods
crept from their hiding places and made way for the
northern forest of Jarnvidyr, the site of the immortal
World Tree which stood over Aeres. Even those who
dwelled within the aetheric sphere, Aeolas and Or-
thrak, abandoned their dreamlike menagerie to join
their brothers and sisters in desperation.
As they proceeded into the wood, the Immordran
set upon the crystalline river of Gruncrist a bridge of
mystical nature inlaid with glimmering rune-words,
a Rainbow Bridge that would allow no fiend or foe
to pass into the northern sanctum of the World Tree;
and they bade gentle Tolgamyr, Lord of Beasts, to
guard the bridge valiantly while they performed their
magic. (Thus, Tolgamyr would remain behind after
this age as the only living god left in the world.)
e
Sequestered in the glowing heart of the wood, for
nearly a fortnight the Immordran dwelled at the base
of Laedrethor pouring their magic outward into the
pl
m
Sa
mightiest magical ritual in the history of Aeres. With
each passing day, more of each Immordran’s eternal
strength flowed into the harmony of their poem, an
immortal song with the power to vibrate the very
strings of fate; the otherworldly music ensorcelled
the trunk of the World Tree with unimaginable
magic. Nearly halfway through this process, the
dynamism of the Dragon Song became so potent
e
that the gods themselves began to de-materialize.
Being creatures with flesh comprised almost entirely
of pure aether in concentrated form, the Immordran
lost themselves to the music quite literally, and their
essences began to slip away, enchanting the World
fil
Tree itself.
As the song’s final melody drifted through the
trees of Jarnvidyr, suddenly, in a spectacular burst of
white light so intense that the folk of Irilon could see
it, the World Tree shifted and metamorphosed. Its
leaves became scales, its branches became bones;
its roots turned to veins, and the bark of its trunk
softened into flesh; and at last, the wind between
its boughs swirled inward, alighting as an eternal
silver flame. From within this purifying light, the
Immordran vanished from sight, but what rose in
their absence was their ultimate creation, a beast
that contained all of their essences merged into a
single heart: a protector with the power to destroy
the Dragon of Darkness and save the realm. And
thus, the mighty Silver Champion, the immortal
dragon Laedrethor, was born into metallic splendor.
The Immordran, released of their flesh-sewn forms,
fell back into the sphere of aether that lies behind
the veil of the mortal realm. Their essences were still
held together by unbreakable willpower, and they
were still fully themselves, even carrying the same
appearances; but they were essentially trapped in
the ephemeral beyond and no longer able to cavort
directly with living creatures. Thus, they could only
watch in anticipation from the veil as their dragon
progeny took wing. (You can read more about the
Immordran and their current state in the following
chapter.)
The dragon Laedrethor, also in the Old Erosiryn
tongue called Saeyos (the “Silver One,”) immedi-
ately rocketed to the south beyond the Rainbow
Bridge, straight away to combat the Dragon of Dark-
ness in what would be one of the most tumultuous
battles in the history of Aeres.
Aeres History 21
 Battle of the Ages
In a crash of noise like a explosive thunderclap, the
Silver Dragon and the Dragon of Darkness collided
in the center of the sky over Aeres, nearly a mile
above a rolling field east of Irilon (the home of the
Jaermoorians in those days). Their melee echoed
out in a cacophony of explosions, roars, and buffet-
ing wings so intense that it could shatter glass nearly
a hundred miles away. The Silver Lord’s unstoppable
white flame rocketed across the sky, searing the
land below and cascading across Kalkuriath’s twisted
form. The wrathful Dragon of Darkness responded
with his own torrent of flame and a swift slash of
claws which tore Saeyos’ flank, sending platinum
scales raining down to the world below. How long
they battled, none can now say; the elfs claim it was
an entire winter, while the plainsmen around the
battlefield recorded that it lasted only until dawn.
Nevertheless, the two dragons exchanged blows of
massive force and ferocity until their energy was all
but completely spent.
e
The Silver Champion proved stronger, as he had
the power of virtue on his side, and the will of all
the peaceful folk of Aeres swelled under his wings,
lending him aetherian might. With an unparalleled
starburst of purifying light, Saeyos let loose his
pl
m
Sa
greatest breath of platinum flame, letting it cascade
across the ripples of the aetheric sphere to consume
Kalkuriath’s spirit. With his own flame extinguished,
the Dragon of Darkness fell limp and lifeless across
the horizon, crashing into the soft bedrock of the
western plain; the entire realm trembled with an
earthquake in his descent, and the final burst of his
fire ripped across those lands, consuming the desert
e
with ash and soot. At this, Saeyos roared his triumph
so loudly that every man, woman, and child on the
face of Aeres could hear it, and they celebrated in
resound at his victory.
The Vulgraks, watching completely astonished
fil
from their dark tower at this display of incredible
power, at first bemoaned the loss of their dreadful
eidolon; but they were undeterred. As punishment
for this transgression, they decided the fate of Aeres
in a heartbeat: one of total extermination. If the
Dragon of Darkness couldn’t do it, then perhaps the
draconvir and the Vulgraks’ other countless minions
could. What they had deemed as temperate ruler-
ship of the realm (despite its horrifying consequenc-
es for every other soul on Aeres) was immediately
cast aside. The Dark Emperors would drink the living
essence of every living person on the continent,
and then they would lord over the entire land with
impunity.
Grievously wounded and depleted of the arcane
silver flame that allowed him to soar through the sky,
the mighty Saeyos was forced to retreat to the north.
He settled at the empty cairn of the old World Tree,
his birthplace; it was a glade brimming with eter-
nal magic which would allow him to slowly recover.
Although he had defeated Kalkuriath, the war for the
fate of Aeres was far from over.
Despite losing their ultimate weapon, the Vulgraks
swiftly began to unleash their vast horde of goblins,
draconvir, and other monsters against the embattled
folk of the realm. Pouring outward from adumbral
leylines which their occult acolytes had erected in
the dark corners of the land, vicious armies of crea-
tures swarmed across the green plains and forests
east of the mountains, laying waste to villages and
towns and capturing thousands of victims for the
Vulgraks to drain of their living aether. This horrific
procession continued for months after Laedrethor’s
retreat.
However, now that the threat of total annihila-
tion from dragon-flame was over, the Silverleaf Elfs
finally charged forth with their best hunters of the
woodlands, while the dwarfs let loose their vaults of
silver-tinged axes and spears to do battle. The Erosir
and the other folk of the north charged through the
plains on mighty warhorses brandishing legendary
 weapons of steel, and even the peaceful gnomes,
kobolds, and hinterfolk clashed valiantly with mag-
ic against the choking hordes in their lands. Yet,
for every mile of ground gained, two miles were
lost the very next day; the Vulgraks, watching with
glee and cackling in delight from their crystal orbs
at Blysvar, knew that all of the good folk of Aeres
would fall into their clutches before too long. For
every half-dragon beast that fell from elfen arrows,
three Silverleaf warriors would sacrifice their lives; for
every goblin punctured by a peasant’s pitchfork, ten
more would arise in the darkness. The terror seemed
to have no end.
Scions of the Silver Dragon
In the midst of this catastrophe, King Brioras’s forlorn
council of knights at Irilon convened in desperation.
With seemingly nothing they could do to combat
the Vulgraks and their armies, they were left with
only one hope: the Silver Dragon who lay wounded
far in the north. Not knowing if they could possibly
rejuvenate the beast with magic or even uncover
e
some secret power at the shrine of the World Tree,
the king dispatched nearly one hundred of his finest
paladins, sorcerers, and men-at-arms—the Council
of Steel—to beseech Saeyos in Jarnvidyr; and thus,
pl
that very night, these brave warriors set forth to the
hidden wood, narrowly dodging draconvir warbands
as they went. Included among them was the king’s
right hand, Lord Theodric the Virtuous, a valiant
swordsman and a key hero of Aeres in the coming
years.
Deep in the forest beyond the glades of the
wilderkind, the pilgrims discovered Tolgamyr’s glade
m
before the Rainbow Bridge. Understanding the des-
peration of these heroes in their plight to save Aer-
es, the Lord of Beasts ferried them across, and they
were soon met by the spectacular form of Saeyos
himself, nurturing his wounds restlessly at the shrine.
Now, the Silver Dragon was (and still is) a guardian
filled with strength and authority, but also wisdom
Sa
and kindness; after all, his essence was comprised of
nearly every Immordran, and he was just as desper-
ate to rescue the realm from this evil as the men of
Irilon. Yet, in his dire state, the dragon’s power was
drained; his platinum ichor meandered outward into
the mist of the glade, seeping into the earth, and
although at any other time the dragon’s magical
might would have been marvelous indeed, there in
Jarnvidyr, he could offer these heroes only one path.
As the council gathered in the glade before Lae-
drethor, the dragon proposed a clever but harrowing
solution. To defeat the Vulgraks’ vicious draconvir,
the men of Irilon would need to summon draconvir
of their own. To this end, the Silver Dragon bade the
council to drink from the enchanted spring at Jarn-
vidyr, a crystal spring infused with his very blood,
which had been filtering into the underground from
his wounded flank. Doing so would cause them to
be transformed, their lives reshaped with the es-
sence of Saeyos; they would become scions of the
Silver Dragon, imbued with his draconic counte-
e
nance and resilience, and with their newfound might,
they could vanquish the Vulgraks once and for all.
At the expense of their humanity, nearly every
single Erosiryn champion accepted the dragon’s
offer, and the Council of the Silver Flame was born,
fil
with the aforementioned Lord Theodric at its helm.
The Argent Draconvir rode immediately to Irilon,
slashing through mounds of twisted Vulgrak min-
ions along the way; legends say that the band of
champions crushed nearly a thousand goblins and
dragon-beasts in the Shattered Fields, leaving a vast
procession of destruction in their path. The drag-
on-knights could unleash torrents of searing silver
flame not unlike that of Saeyos himself, and with
draconic plates protecting them, pitiful goblin spears
and arrows, normally deadly against men-at-arms if
brandished in mass numbers, were next to useless
against them.
King Brioras and Queen Britheva welcomed back
these ascendant heroes, and the people rejoiced
at their coming, for finally the end of the long and
devastating war was at last on the horizon. Wast-
ing no time, the king dispatched the high council
outward along with the best of his remaining riders
and swordsmen; led by the nearly unstoppable
dragon-knights, the warriors of Irilon rampaged
through the besieging forces that surrounded the
city. In a matter of weeks, they routed ten thousand
of the Vulgraks’ beasts and freed dozens of villages
and hamlets which were under the thrall of twist-
ed draconvir slavemasters. More importantly, with
their holy fire, the dragon-knights could sever the
dark leylines of power dotting the land, the strange
shrine-portals from which the Vulgraks summoned
their minions, leaving the dark armies without rein-
forcement. At the arrival of these valiant forces, the
battered armies of elfs and dwarfs rallied and broke
free of their imprisoned fortresses, joining the Erosir
on the field of battle. For nearly three winters, the
forces of Aeres swept across the land from east to
west, routing out Goblin Kings and their filthy battal-
ions, and dragging foul draconvir from the sky to be
summarily judged.
Aeres History 23
 Light Prevails
The Vulgraks and their followers, watching from their
enchanted tower as their plans slowly came to ruin,
howled their frustration nightly and bitterly fought
with one another at who might have been to blame
for their failure. They were losing everything; and the
Dark Emperors themselves, having depleted their

e
stores of siphoned aetherian essence, were slowly
but surely no longer able to maintain the magical
fiber of their immortal forms. They began to age and
decay, turning sunken and decrepit.
The Erosir knew that the time to strike was upon

fil
them. In mighty longboats built in haste on the
shores of Tristanvar, a stout alliance of Aeres cham-
pions, which even included King Brioras of Irilon
himself, sailed forth to assault the blasted wastes of
the east. In a short time, these good forces tram-
pled across the land uncontested and arrived at the
twisted gates of Blysvar, the Dark Fortress of Mys-
tery. The Vulgraks’ dozen or so acolytes and wizards
who commanded their dungeons (including the
young Olhogim) fled into the underground, leaving
their masters unprotected, trapped in a mortal-
e
ly weakened state. Knights of the Council of the
Silver Flame quickly breached the upper chambers,
confronting the frail and dilapidated Dark Emper-
pl
ors themselves. In that final twilight hour, at the bestowed upon the strongest warriors of Irilon the
realization of their doom, it’s said that the monsters quintessence of draconic might, Saeyos remained
screeched with terror so loudly that folk across the distant from the affairs of the mortal kingdoms, con-
sea could hear its otherworldly echo. With enchant- tent to allow the Council of the Silver Flame to ham-
ed steel, the dragon-knights laid low the Vulgraks at mer out their own form of leadership (which they
the seat of their power. The Scouring of Essence had would soon dispense to nearly the entire realm).
at last drawn to a close. The Argent Draconvir, finding themselves the

The Heroic Age

m

greatest warriors and conquerors of Aeres yet having

no foes left to defeat, were faced with the pros-
pect of ruling the human lands and even beyond;
Erosiryn chronicles but, being knights of high honor and nobility, they
Year 1021 – 1100 decided to act only in the command of the King and
Queen of Irilon, who at the time were still Brioras
In the following age, the land of Aeres, no longer and Britheva, upon any matters which concerned the
under the watch of living gods nor dwelling under governorship of the provinces of humans.
Sa

the predominance of the terrible Vulgraks, began
to unfold its mysticism once again. At the start of
the age, the Silver Champion Saeyos remained at
his golden nesting place in the very spot where the
World Tree once stood. Although his violent power
remained unmatched by any force on the face of
Aeres, the good dragon was actually a creature of in-
tense wisdom and gentle temperament; his purpose
was never to rule or command any of the mortal folk
of Aeres, but only to ensure that such primordial evil
as the Dark Emperors could never again take hold
upon the living face of the world. Having already
The elfs, dwarfs, gnomes, and other races ven-
tured back into their own lands, and they were privy
henceforth only in their own laws and traditions;
but the human kingdoms were vast in the north,
and the high council of Irilon required something
more than mere willpower to lead Aeres into a new
golden age. Toward this end, in the short years that
followed the defeat of the Vulgraks, the council of
knights traveled once again to Jarnvidyr to consult
with Laedrethor in his eternal wisdom.
With the help of the dragon himself, the most
idealistic of these scions gathered there beyond the
Rainbow Bridge and built a lofty stone shrine

24 Aeres History
 at the foot of the crystal spring which whispered
upwards from the roots of the World Tree. North of
the shrine, this dragon vigil also erected a simple
village far apart from the vices of the civilized realms
of men; and there they vowed to uphold the virtues
of Aeres herself. They codified their disciplines into
a new pact containing the most ancient Erosiryn
wisdom with the immortal guidance of Saeyos. They
called it the Platinum Oath, which would in more
recent decades merely be referred to as the “Old
Code.” The Code was a lengthy chronicle written
in Old Erosiryn, part poem, part diatribe, and part
treatise, which outlined commandments for knights
and kings to stride forth and rule with both honor
and humility. Even to this day, the dragon-knights of
the north dwell solemnly on the oath, upholding its
virtues throughout the ages. A small section of the
Old Code, describing the charges expected of any
follower of Laedrethor, the Silver Champion:
In solemn vigil shall ye followers of the mighty
Saeyos, whose wings shelter all of Aeres wheth-
er asleep or awake, and whose breath banishes
darkness and wickedness from every recess
of this realm, swear allegiance to these oaths
withholding no fealty to them lest honor be di-
vested of thee, so that true righteousness shall
e and its people. As wisemen and scholars unearthed
pl
ever persist across the face of the world:
Thou shalt be everywhere and always the
champion of the right and the good against
injustice and evil.
When called upon, thou shalt defend and
protect the weak and the destitute with all
one’s strength, even unto death.
m
Thou shalt refrain from the wanton giving of
offense, withholding wrath against thy offend-
ers, and offering instead mercy, compassion,
and understanding.
Thou must reject pecuniary reward for thy
deeds of honor, for witnessing the failure of
wickedness is reward in and of itself.
Sa
Never shalt thou refuse a challenge from an
equal nor recoil before an enemy, for truly as a
scion of the realm must desire to live in peace,
only through adversity shall thee find the
bloodbound meaning of thine spirit.
And so on and so forth. Note that these oaths
weren’t meant only for paladins and clerics but every
type and title of warrior who claimed to strive for the
justice of Aeres, sorcerers and spies alike. The scions
of Saeyos spread the Old Code across the entire
land from north to south, upholding the piety of
Aeres virtues for years to come. Peace and prosper-
ity reigned once more even beyond the passing of
the wise king Brioras, who left his kingdom to his
son Haelmanir, a stoic warrior wielding an enchant-
ed blade called Danturial (a blade which holds the
hallowed destiny of the Erosiryn kingdom). The elder
Queen Britheva would rule until Haelmanir came of
e
old age before gracefully stepping from the throne.
The Dragon Slumbers
fil
After a number of years, healed from the wounds
he suffered battling Kalkuriath and satisfied that the
realm was at last at peace, the Silver Dragon Saeyos
departed for the misty mountain of Mostmora far
to the southwest. There he would dwell underneath
the old caverns of Aeres, slumbering for an age so
as not the deplete his aetherian energy. After his
departure, all across Aeres, the misty presence of
aether began to return, since the Dark Emperors
no longer existed to eerily siphon it from the land
more secrets of aether, they soon came in contact
with the bygone Immordran, who still dwelled very
much alive beyond the veil of the visible world. The
old titans of Aeres began to seek communion with
wisdom-seekers through séance and ritual, and they
started to make their presences known with mystical
signs and portents, in nearly every instance leading
mortal mystics to even greater understanding of the
enigma of magic itself.
The Heroic Age would last nearly a century, and
during its extent, nearly every kingdom on Aeres
would rebuild and replenish its glory in the after-
math of the Vulgraks. Every race would be preoccu-
pied with craft and creation, artistic study and skillful
mastery, and careful stewardship of the land, which
still blossomed lush and verdant in nearly every
corner of Aeres. Skeptics would also accuse the Age
of Heroism as being an age of decadence, as the
utility of magic could answer nearly every need and
every whim of the people who mastered it, from the
healing of wounds to the building of castles.
Over the expanse of this age, distinguished alche-
mists and thaumaturgists began to emerge, sorcer-
ers who could wield magic nearly as potent as the
Immordran themselves (although they were almost
always well into old age by the time they reached
such levels of mastery). The most well-respected
archmage of the era was called Balcanur the Wise,
a graying and weathered human wizard who spent
most of his hours cooped up at the top of the library
tower in Irilon, practicing the art of rune-reading and
studying ancient languages.
Aeres History 25
 The Return he conducted strange rituals at his shrine, evoking
stygian magic that was never meant to be wielded

of Darkness
by mortal hands. The arcane power of the Vulgraks
gradually began to twist and deform not just his ap-
pearance, but his very spirit, turning him into an un-
Erosiryn chronicles dying monster barely connected to the mortal world.

Year 1100 – 1103

Awash in the blight of that wasteland, Olhogim soon
gained the visage of a yellow-eyed wight, draped

As mentioned earlier, while the rest of Aeres started
to get on with their lives, far in the east beyond the
broken black castle of Blysvar, new shadows began
to stir; for although the Vulgraks themselves had
e
in twilight robes with sickly moss-colored flesh and
grasping, bony fingers, which were said to reach
out to the sleeping folk of Aeres in their nightmares.
Even worse, through portents and dream travels, he
appeared in visions to call the most depraved minds

fil
been slain, their twisted followers and necromantic of Aeres to his domain. And thus, Olhogim drew a
acolytes had fled in the cover of night to the sur- small legion of followers to enact his wickedness in
rounding wastelands. The greatest of these aco-
lytes was called Olhogim, an
alchemist and thaumaturgist
who had assisted the Vulgraks
in developing the process by
which living creatures could
be deprived of their aetherian
essences, transforming them
into bloodthirsty, primitive
creatures (which the good folk
of Aeres had called goblins in
the old days).
For decades, Olhogim wait-
e
pl
ed deep in a murky swamp be-
yond the haze of the peak of
Naraczaman. At the top of his
cursed tower, far beyond the
watchful eyes of the Council of
the Silver Flame and the other
good folk of Aeres, Olhogim
m

practiced his foul magic in

secret. He gathered together
hordes of goblins from the
recesses of the mountain,
promising the Goblin Kings
the right to despoil the green
lands of the west once more.
The necromancer also coveted
Sa

a library of mystical knowl-

edge stolen from his Vulgrak
masters, whom he was quite
pleased to see slain. With this
esoterica, he continued the
dreadful practice of aether-si-
phoning, and over the years,
he drew together a terrible
band of wights, ghouls, gob-
lins, and other monsters, the
likes of which Aeres had never
seen. For countless hours
 every corner of the realm. If the kingdoms of Aeres
were more astute, they might have guessed that
something was awry; but Olhogim’s machinations
were clever indeed, and his followers often dis-
guised themselves with black magic, hiding in plain
sight to influence events from the shadows.
Wicked Lord of Black Magic
so potent that it could have rivaled the Immordran
in their prime. In terrifying countenance, the Witch
Lord rode out to meet the knights with his armies,
surrounding them and lambasting them with apoc-
alyptic spells. Although they fought valiantly, slay-
ing many hundreds of devilish minions, the Argent
Draconvir didn’t escape, save but one: surrounded
by countless fallen foes, the mighty Theodric slashed

The Witch Lord’s ultimate goal must have been
nothing less than to continue the Vulgraks’ legacy,
waging a dark war of destruction against the green
e
his way beyond the goblins barricades, narrowly
escaping to the west (and Aeres would later be glad
that he did).
Despite Theodric’s escape, the greatest bastion of
light on Aeres had been snuffed out. The Council’s

fil
lands of Aeres and siphoning away aether wherever warcries had gone silent, and the West was left to
he could find it to fuel his insatiable lust for magical face its doom alone. Luckily, unlike when the Dark
power. He took a careful cue from his old masters’ Emperors appeared, the Maiden of Fate (the Im-
tactics. Rather than invade the northern lands openly mordran Gipta) was able to prophecy the coming
at first, Olhogim allowed his seething shadow to
creep into the land slowly and quietly. A small village
on the outskirts of Hesmoor would come under at-
tack by a band of ravenous goblins. A group of elfen
scouts would be waylaid by hissing banshees in the
dark corners of the silverwood. The Witch Lord’s

e
forces materialized from murky caverns, abandoned
mines, festering swamps, and misty mountains,
lurking, slithering, and stealing away in the night. For
many years this continued as Olhogim himself grew
in power at the Peak of Sorrow. His monsters and
pl
followers always seemed to seek magical treasure
and enchanted trinkets, a prize for their murder,
and their presence grew bolder and more danger-
ous almost by the day, until eventually the gates of
Irilon and Esrendel were hounded nightly by deadly
beasts, and the dwarfs of Soruban were forced to
scythe away swarms of goblins from their halls.
m

Presuming only that the Vulgraks themselves must

have returned and knowing nothing of Olhogim’s
true nature, the King of Irilon, Haelmanir, dispatched
the Council of the Silver Flame in honor once more.
The dragon-knights were to hurry to the east, to the
ruins of Blysvar, to confront the source of this evil
and put it to rest; and thus, on a brilliant golden
Sa

morning, the dragonfolk soared outward to meet

their destiny. With a heavy burden which would
weigh upon the land for many years to come, there
at the Peak of Sorrow, the virtuous knights would
meet their end.
What they found was no longer a deserted, dust-
strewn wasteland, but a teeming battlefield swarm-
ing with thousands of goblins, who had been forging
cruel iron weapons in death-pits under the Witch
Lord’s command; and Olhogim himself, far from the
aging, pitiful creature that his masters had been at
the time of their demise, had grown in unfathom-
able might. He had become an arch-lich of magic
 of Olhogim many years before it occurred, and she
set in motion a thread of fate to open a path for
contesting him. Being trapped in the aetheric sphere
and unable to act on her prophecies directly, Gipta
instead placed a suggestion at the feet of Balcanur,
the eminent wizard, in the form of a portent written
in an ancient tome of power, which he one day stum-
bled upon not entirely by accident. Just as the Witch
of Undertree was especially skilled at flute-playing,
and he reckoned later that this was the reason he
was chosen out of all others, although he never
quite understood the procession of his fate.
Nevertheless, Balcanur collected him in haste, and
they both left the safety of the hinterfolk homes,
traveling on foot north of the place which is now
called Vindirtris and through shadowy woods and

Lord’s darkness was beginning to swell uncontrolla-
bly in the mortal lands of Aeres, Balcanur was able
to harness this knowledge and intervene. In that old
tome, the wizard learned of the riddle of Estera, the
greatest spell of Aeres, and one which could prove
e
trails to the icy pass of Bandelbron. On the way to
the north, perhaps in submission to fate itself, they
also gathered a wayward warrior of the dwarfs into
their quest, Rengathulorn of the Hills (whom often
just goes by Rengath). He would remain a hearty

to be the Witch Lord’s undoing.
As mentioned earlier in the history of the Dragons
of Strife, the Immordran empowered the World Tree
to take the shape of Saeyos by playing an incompre-
hensibly magical song of life, which was called Es-
tera. Before they disappeared from the material side
of the world, the gods left in Tolgamyr’s charge an
enchanted flute, one which echoed with the rever-
berations of that song; the last vestige of the Immor-
dran’s presence on face of the realm. Should Aeres
require the unfathomable power of that immortal
fil
and steadfast companion not just of the quest to fell
the Witch Lord, but also for many heroics of Aeres to
come.
On the morning before he left to collect Acca-
ris, Balcanur had dispatched a warning to the high
king of Irilon about the song and its keymaster; in
solemn response to this portent, the old king had
dispatched his son Lancathir, the sole heir to the
throne of the Erosir, to retrieve the holy instrument
from the enchanted glade at Gruncrist Forest, and

the flute and pass it to a worthy heir.

A Drawing of Champions
e
song once more, the Lord of Beasts would unearth
then return to meet Accaris and his charge before
the Witch Lord could overwhelm the city’s protec-
torate. The noble prince Lancathir was perhaps the
pl
Now, at the time of the Witch Lord’s coming, the
hinterfolk, or halflings as some call them, were
quite content to settle peacefully in the untouched
lowlands west of Bandelbron, in fact close to the
sea and in almost total isolation from the rest of the
realm. It was no coincidence that Gipta selected her
m

charge for the defense of Aeres from among these

gentle folk, as the halflings’ villages were so shel-
tered that there would be absolutely no danger to
them from Olhogim’s minions; at least not until her
chosen one was able to gather together a group of
heroic protectors on his quest.
The wizard Balcanur appeared at the doorstep of
one Accaris of Undertree on a bright and cheer-
Sa

ful morning, only coincidentally after Accaris had

awoken in the night troubled by strange dreams
and portents of danger. The old wizard confronted
Accaris with the prophecy which he had discovered,
and the halfling was shown the passage within that
ancient tome with his own name written in it. Any
regular folk would have immediately fled behind
their door, locked it, and thrown away the key; but
Accaris felt a strange compunction for adventure
swelling within his heart and a sudden and solemn
responsibility to see his quest through until the
end—whatever that quest might have been. Accaris

28 Aeres History
 most powerful swordsman in the entire realm, and
he wielded the fabled Blade of Honor Danturial, an
ancient claymore from the time of King Beorin. With
a band of battered and war-weary knights by his
side, Lancathir rode forth to the wood to seek the
council of Tolgamyr, hoping against hope that the
hour of his journey wasn’t too late.
In the time it took to recover the artifact from
Tolgamyr’s glade, the Witch Lord had unleashed the
full atrocity of his armies upon the unsuspecting folk
of Aeres. On black skull-ships sailed thousands of
goblins and their orcish commanders, along with ev-
ery ghoul and dead-eyed skeleton that Olhogim had
agglomerated in the wastelands of Astreas; all of
them poured in legion out from the eastern shores
of the realm.
Like a sea of death and decay, they washed over
the land, scorching and tearing down everything
good and green in those once-verdant fields, which
were even then only beginning to recover from
Kalkuriath’s flames.
The woods were pitch dark, not like they
glowing mushrooms. The wickedness of the e
usually were, which was alight with fireflies and
Witch Lord had cast all of Gruncrist in a blan-
ket of impenetrable shadow. But it didn’t mat-
pl
ter. We crept between the branches and the
underbrush, our unbooted feet making hardly
a sound, and we could smell them clearly, and
hear their heartbeats... an almost otherworldly
sensation to someone who had been just a
human boy in days past. I remember looking
over and seeing the whites in my friend’s eyes,
m
who was also a rat; his expression was one of
terror and resolve. The goblins never had a
clue that we were coming for them. And from
the darkness we struck, along with many other
beasts, all across the forest the sounds of
bloodshed and violence rang out. We had no
weapons. Only teeth and claws, as sharp now
as they were then; and we rended them. We
Sa
tore into the fiends without thinking, without
hesitation, as if the instinct of nature herself
had taken hold over our spirits. Two, three,
five, ten... monsters fell in rows, and they
shrieked and ran... but we let none escape. I
remember panting and shivering, overcome
by fear and mania. We won in the end... but a
heavy weight pressed upon my soul
. The tide was turning.
~Ferric Willow-Whisker,
on Olhogim’s assault of Gruncrist
Meanwhile, Accaris and his company attended
council with the king, and they were joined by more
brave heroes who had traveled far at Balcanur’s
urgent summons to protect the realm: Lonius of
Larendane, a cunning and wild elf-archer of Silver-
leaf, and the Champion of the Age, Kaerodar, who
was also called Blondar, the strongest barbarian of
the tribes of Astreas; at dire risk to their lives, they
e
had both made their way to the castle. Now with
the flute in hand and a band of the land’s greatest
heroes assembled, their last step would be to make
their way to the east... but they faced fierce opposi-
tion. Although he was a powerful magician, Balcanur
fil
himself was too frail to travel with the company of
Accaris. He bestowed upon the heroes as many mys-
tical tinctures and enchantments as he could muster,
and then he cloistered himself away at the highest
tower of Irilon to watch and wait for their return.
With the city surrounded, Accaris and his com-
panions (save for the noble dragon-knight Theodric,
still nursing his grievous wounds from the Council’s
direct attack on the Witch Lord,) had little choice but
to ride out with Haelmanir to force their way through
the Witch Lord’s infernal armies on the plains of
strife. Irilon’s wizards were war-weary and few in
number, and the permeation of aether in the north
had begun to dissipate, leaving no mysticism from
which to draw power for spells; mortal melee was
the only option. Across the Stonestrand Bridge, the
fair party met with the king and his three thousand
men-at-arms, watching in vigil for the approach
of doom from the fields. Doom came that night
indeed. At the bottleneck, Accaris witnessed from
afar as countless monsters funneled into the bloody
space on the other side of the River Oryn, attempt-
ing to ford the ancient bridge itself, only to be met
by the steel-tipped pikes of Irilon. Every warrior
there would wade into the melee soaked with blood,
sweat, and ash.
Yet, the Witch Lord’s wicked command was nearly
too much for the forces of good to withstand. As
King Haelmanir himself charged ahead of his men
in honor, as was the way of the ancient Erosir long
forgotten, he cleaved through the heads of twenty
orc captains before falling to a volley of arrows so
numerous that his breastplate split into a dozen
pieces. On that day, as dawn emerged over the
blackened horizon, Irilon lost its king and nearly ev-
ery last one of its footmen and riders; but the black
sea of Olhogim’s evil had been split in twain, and the
heroes of Estera were able to break free to the east.
Aeres History 29