Arrilan: A History
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Arrilan: A History

Post by rdjparadis »

Posted 07/14/06 16:33 (GMT) -- Xydel

Arrilan of Fey're

Race: High Elf
Height: 5' 11"
Build: Lean
*Skin: Fair
*Eyes: Grey/Blue
*Hair: Blond
*Skin, Eyes, and Hair are hidden by clothing and hood at nearly all times

Arrilan was born in the Elven city of Fey're, on the outskirts of the Greenwood Forest, which takes up the greater part of the south-western quarter of the island continent of Laydunn (approx. a 3 year sail south-east from the Anchorome lands). Arrilan never knew his mother; she died during childbirth and the pain of her memory kept his father from ever speaking of her. Arrilan's father, Gebb, died of disease when Arrilan was a very young 20 years of age. Unwilling to submit to being placed in a home of strangers within the Elven community, Arrilan ventured deeper into Greenwood Forest.

(to be continued...)

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Re: Arrilan: A History

Post by rdjparadis »

Posted 07/14/06 16:34 (GMT) -- Xydel

Young Arrilan

Arrilan adapted quickly to his natural surrounding, putting his intelligence and skills to good use. After a few years he was living quite comfortably in and among the trees. One evening when he was settling down for dinner, Arrilan was approached by a pair of cloaked figures. The three engaged in friendly conversation and, as night fell, the two suggested that Arrilan follow them back to their camp. A days worth of constant traveling found the three at the base of a giant oak tree, standing alone in a clearing. With quick inspection, Arrilan found a minute discoloration in a knot on the tree. After pressing it, the side of the great oak opened revealing a spiral stairwell. The other two watching Arrilan grinned and said, "Welcome to the Order of the Oak".

(to be continued...)

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Re: Arrilan: A History

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Posted 07/14/06 16:35 (GMT) -- Xydel

The Order of the Oak

The Order of the Oak was one of the largest guilds on the continent, focusing on preserving nature and protecting those in need. Arrilan came to be one of the guild's most valuable assets, and was like a son to the guild's leader, Thenalldir. Thenalldir was a stoic and proud Grey Elf, over a century Arrilan's elder. His wisdom, guidance, and considerable skill over natural forces often came to Arrilan's aid in times of need. After decades of service and loyalty, Arrilan found himself to be Second-in-Command of the Order, second only to the now ageing Thenalldir. Even though Second-in-Command of the Order of the Oak was a position of considerable prestige and power, Arrilan found more joy in his other title, Commander of The Heroes Of Righteous Nature (THORN).

(to be continued...)

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Re: Arrilan: A History

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Posted 07/14/06 16:36 (GMT) -- Xydel

THORN

THORN was in essence the special forces unit of the Order of the Oak. Arrilan had developed THORN from its beginnings and personally hand-picked each of its members. THORN had 6 members excluding Arrilan. It was the most elite and versatile force the Order of the Oak had to offer, each of its members; Rinnen, Tral, Bruce, Lillanthi, Gren, Helena, and Arrilan; were truly epic in their own right. Rinnen, a Halfling Agent of the Oak, had an uncanny ability to surmount overwhelming odds and his rogue skills were nearly unmatched. Tral and Bruce were Human twins, both incredibly strong Warriors of the Oak who had found the perfect balance of thinking battle prowess and brute animalistic fury. Lillanthi was a Wood Elf Druid of the Oak; here very personal connection to Nature, the spirit, granted her both the abilities of a druid and cleric. Gren, another Druid of the Oak, was a Half-Elf by birth, but his talent to shift forms made it so he rarely looked like one. Helena, a beautiful High Elf, was also a Druid of the Oak, but her inborn arcane abilities added greatly to her powers over nature. These six were not only Arrilan's subordinates, they were also his most trusted friends; particularly Helena, his lover.

(to be continued...)

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Re: Arrilan: A History

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Posted 08/14/06 13:48 (GMT) -- Xydel

Another Mission

When ever the Order of the Oak got wind of a new, potentially disastrous situation THORN was always the first to respond and investigate. The same held true when news from an agent in the distant city of Raynir, bordering the great Ringing Mountains in the north, brought word of "extremely unusual undead and construct activity". Even at the incredible pace that THORN was able to travel, by the time they arrived in Raynir they found that they attacks had become far more frequent and devastating; straining even the sizable army the city offered. Through investigation, the members of THORN were able to deduce that all the early attacks had been launched from a newly formed cave deep in the nearby mountain range. After brief discussion Arrilan and his elite group set out to put an end to the attacks.

(to be continued...)

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Re: Arrilan: A History

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Posted 08/16/06 15:15 (GMT) -- Xydel

The First Encounter

Information on the exact location of the fabled cave was sparse at best. As such, the group split up into three groups to quickly cover ground, staying in constant communication with one and other with their handy rose pins. Arrilan sent Gren and Rinnen to explore the east end of the mountain range; Lillanthi, Tral, and Bruce further north; while he and Helena set out for the west end. Each group sent in reports of encounters with both small and large groups of undead and constructs, all of which were disposed of. On the evening of the second day of searching the mountains, Arrilan spotted an odd outcrop on the side of a small hill. Upon further inspection it was quickly realized that there was writing on the odd surface. Helena identified draconic and an ancient elven of twelve languages written into the rock. It read as follows:

"Let all be warned, deep beneath these rocks is buried the head of the infamous blighter and sorcerer known as Kann. Only by a united effort of the entire continent was He brought to justice and sealed in these mountains. DO NOT DISTURB."

Just as Helena had finished reading those words Arrilan heard a disturbance over the hill. He leapt to the top of the rock to witness a seemingly endless line of undead and constructs of all sizes pouring out of a gapping hole in the mountainside. Arrilan cloaked himself in shadow and Helena bent the light around her as they swiftly moved to get a better view inside the cave, staying well clear of the amassing army. With his keen vision Arrilan was just able to spot the gaze of a floating skull engulfed in black flame; he felt Helena collapse beside him.

(to be continued...)

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Re: Arrilan: A History

Post by rdjparadis »

Posted 08/18/06 13:35 (GMT) -- Xydel

The Wrath of Kann

The members of THORN stood outside the great oak that was the Order's base of operations, discussing a course of action. Helena had just fully recovered from the demi-lich's magics; Lillanthi had been brilliant in her treatments while THORN flew back to the headquarters. The report had been given and the necessary research and divining had been done. Kann had been a great threat to the continent in his day. He had planned absolute domination over the land, killing anyone and anything that stood in his way, including nature. Plants withered and cities burned in the wake of him and his summoned army of undead while he was alive. When Kann was finally killed fifteen hundred years before this reappearance, he had been decapitated to prevent his resurrection. His body and head were buried on separate ends of the continent. It had been decided that Kann must have used his own body as a last minute phylactery just after his death and decapitation. THORN had been assigned the task of finding and destroying the phylactery while the rest of the Order would try to hold back Kann's new army, which had already reached the docks of Tristine Bay in the west and the white dunes of the Salir Desert in the east.

(to be continued...)

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Re: Arrilan: A History

Post by rdjparadis »

Posted 08/18/06 15:26 (GMT) -- Xydel

Search

A decision having been made by Arrilan, THORN set out east to the numerous islands just off the southeast coast of Laydunn. Folklore had convinced both Arrilan and Thenalldir that those isles were the most likely burial place of Kann's body. When they arrived, it was painfully clear which island to search, they had all spotted the island completely lacking in vegetation. An odd current off the shore of the island told Arrilan that the entrance to the crypt was likely underwater. Four days of dungeon crawling had produced only traps, wards, secret doors, and several groups of powerful undead. Where ever the body was it was protected from magical detection. They were so deep in the crypt that the air was overbearingly thick. At the beginning of the fifth day, after disarming yet another trap, Rinnen felt a crack in the floor, but none in the group could see it. Without need of prompting Tral and Bruce began trashing at the floor with apparently no effect, but soon the entire floor gave way and they fell through the illusion into a massive cavern. Gren dove and shifted, catching the others on his now draconic back. They landed in complete darkness, about 100 yards above them was some disturbance that defeated their magical light sources. They all quickly realized that they were not alone; they could smell the stench of the undead all around them.

(to be continued...)

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Re: Arrilan: A History

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Posted 08/21/06 15:42 (GMT) -- Xydel

And Found

The group fought fluidly, even in the unearthly blackness that engulfed the battlefield. They slaughtered score upon score of undead. Deep into the second hour of battle Arrilan felt something burning at his feet. He knew immediately what it was, it was what they were looking for. He tossed a bag around it and called his friends. The group ran through a portal Helena had quickly summoned, fighting off the undead hindering their escape. They reappeared on the surface of the dead island and Arrilan uncovered his treasure. It was a skeletal hand incased in gold, presumably the only remains of Kann's long dead body, and the focus of his lichdom. Each member of THORN tried in turn to destroy the hand to no avail, its protective wards far too strong. Arrilan decided the group should make haste to Thenalldir, hoping he could contrive some means of destroying the thing.

(to be continued...)

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Re: Arrilan: A History

Post by rdjparadis »

Posted 08/21/06 16:29 (GMT) -- Xydel

The Beginning of the End

Something was wrong, black smoke was filling the western sky as they approached... Greenwood Forest was on fire. They flew right over Fey'ri, Arrilan's birthplace, or what was left of it. It seemed Kann had made good use of the time THORN spent searching for the phylactery. The fires fell well short of the clearing that was home to the Order of the Oak, but Arrilan's keen eyes could see the horror hidden from his comrades. The image was only able to sink in a few moments after they had landed. Kann had thrown his entire force on the Order's headquarters. The ground was covered with dead Order members, destroyed constructs, and fallen undead. The mighty oak tree was split in two, with smoke billowing slowly out of the underground lair. After several minutes of silence between the members of the group, Arrilan gathered himself as best as he could and ordered the others to stand watch while he went bellow, they remained silent. The Order of the Oak had stood defiant to the very last; after a second broken barricade and a very large grouping of decimated invaders, Arrilan found Thenalldir, dead. He carried the lifeless body to the surface and set him down gently in front of the stunned group. Rinnen was on his knees sobbing. Tral and Bruce were shaking with rage. Gren was sitting next to Lillanthi, who was wracked with tears and crying loudly, doing his best to comfort her. Helena ran to Arrilan and he held her tightly as she buried her face in his chest. The Order of the Oak was completely destroyed, the souls had been ripped from all the bodies, THORN was all that remained.

(to be continued...)

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