Malcorne

## The Dismal History of Malcorne

Malcorne was the proud bearer of a Tear of Latariana and chieftain of the eleventh Elven tribe, the Malcari. They ventured forth from the boughs of the Aymhelin and roamed far from other Elves, settling at last in what would become known as the Jornall Mountains, where Emorial was believed to have pursued the demons into their home. Among the other tribes, Malcorne’s folk had a mixed reputation. They were hailed as heroes for carrying Emorial’s legacy into the present, but also sometimes regarded as aloof and often criticized for taking action without consulting with the other tribes. In their efforts to fight the Ynfernael, they had begun to study and use the demons’ very power against them, earning them the consternation of their allies.

During one patrol, Malcorne was leading a band of demon hunters deep into the caverns when their battles caused a cave-in that separated him from the others. He was thought to have perished alongside the treacherous demons, and his tribe wept for their lost leader. When he returned to the Malcari city, having somehow miraculously survived his encounter with a demon, Malcorne was a changed chieftain, given to brooding moods and regarding his fellows with suspicious glances.

In time, Malcorne gathered a small coterie of his most trusted allies to his side and explained that in his wanderings he had found Emorial, their long-lost king. Emorial had explained to Malcorne that the Tears of Latariana were a gift in disguise, powerful enough to open a door to other planes of existence—to the Aenlong—allowing the Elves to return to their rightful home. In Emorial’s time hunting down the forces of the Ynfernael, he came to realize that the First were tyrants, afraid of being usurped by their own children. The promise the Foundrake Mennara had given Latariana was a lie: the false hope it had instilled in the Elves would keep them subservient in their prison and obsequious toward the First for the rest of eternity. In his dying breath, Emorial charged Malcorne with revealing the truth of the First to the other Elven tribes and leading them in rebellion against their former masters, lest they be prisoners forever. The Latari Elves maintain to this day that it was not Emorial whom Malcorne encountered in the cave, but a cunning demon wearing his face.

### A Tear in Shadow

Malcorne knew the Elves would need strong allies if they were to cast down the First, and so he used his Tear to pull down the shields between the Firma Dracem and the Aenlong. There, he found the allies he had been looking for: a horde of demons who had crossed over from where the Ynfernael overlapped with the Aenlong. In that moment, the Tear of Latariana that Malcorne possessed grew dull and shadowy, losing the light it once held.

   Once he had corrupted his birthright, Malcorne used the Shadow Tear, the Ynfetaar, to open up rents in the fabric of reality. However, the process was arduous. Malcorne reached out to the other tribes, explaining the Foundrake’s lie and that their Tears were needed in order to break the shackles of this reality and gather allies from the Aenlong. The other tribes saw Malcorne’s plans for what they were: evil and corrupt, twisted by the whisperings of demons. The two sides could not be reconciled, so Malcorne launched an attack on the other Elven tribes, determined to capture their precious Tears of Latariana by force.

Backed by ranks of savage demons and packs of Ynfernael creatures, Malcorne’s followers ravaged and routed the first few Elven armies sent to stop them. Soon, the other Elven tribes scattered before Malcorne and what they called the Daewyl or “Twice Fallen” Elves. The surviving Elves fled to remote regions, distant islands, and lonely mountaintops in order to protect their precious Tears from capture.

### The Battle of Enfreil

In the depths of darkness, however, a beacon of hope shone through. Glaciel Snowstar, son of the chieftain of the tenth tribe, the Nivalis, had witnessed firsthand the devastation of Malcorne’s assaults but refused to give in to despair. He rescued his father’s Tear and resolved to travel to the Yrthwrights’ own home, where he would ask the dragons for their guidance and help in defeating the corrupted Elven chieftain. Along the way, he gathered companions to his cause: High Priestess Celeneth of the Salish, the Feredel sorcerer Keldarim, Erenil the Swift of the Latari, and others. The extent of Glaciel’s adventures and the exploits of his companions have made their way into countless lays that are still sung in the verdant settlements of the Aymhelin.

The dragons, whom the First had tasked with preserving the world, seemed to anticipate Glaciel’s coming, but remained aloof even as he begged them for aid. They rebuffed Glaciel’s appeal—this was the Elves’ own doing, and the Elves would need to bear this burden. Yet the Nivalis lordling would not give up. When he refused to leave, the dragons explained that if they interceded in the Elves’ affairs, one day the tribes would be forced to pay a terrible price. Glaciel could not allow his people to suffer any longer, and accepted the dragon’s deal. Glaciel and his companions returned to rally their respective tribes with a flight of dragons at their back. On the Plains of Enfreil, they fought a final battle against Malcorne. In the world’s most desperate hour, their combined forces ultimately achieved victory and struck down the dark Elven lord.

The remaining Daewyl Elves retreated from the combined Elven and draconic forces, hoping to hide themselves away. The victors could not afford for the corruption to spread, so they hunted down their foes to burn them from the face of this world. Malcorne’s wretched tribe was nearly extinguished in the slaughter. Many worry that small enclaves of the Daewyl still lurk in the dark nooks of the world, but at least one group claims to have come back to the light. Now calling themselves the Deep Elves, they seek to atone for their sins by destroying demons in this realm—and in others beyond.