Volorel

> "Black, wretched villains they are, every single one of them. They have taken our greatest mage; robbed us of her legacy and, out of spite, sent chaotic horrors from that Black Country of theirs. I curse all their names for the rest of my days."
>
> Valtavien noble during a speech

The **Volorel**, also known as **Dark Elves**, are those that selflessly journeyed to Volrog, a chaotic, malignant hellscape where the most gastly of creatures originate. However, through the years, Elves in the surrounding lands like the Valtavien have confused them for being hoarders or summoners of such devils and mistrust them for it.

Referred to as the Womb of Evil, Volrog is the location where a giant meteor landed long ago, bringing soulless demons called Ghouls with it. The Dark Elves have journeyed to this place and set up fortifications there to protect the elves at large from these creatures. The lands of the Black Country are nearly constantly battered with storms, rain, snow and the sun is a distant memory there.

## History

Thousands of years ago, the Uthasi had a fellow aquatic rival named the Ulori who took up residence on the coasts of Volrog before the meteor struck. Foreseeing it's arrival, the Ulori took cover in their deep subterranean lair, managing to just survive the apocalyptic backlash from the impact. Feeling a need to defend the planet, the Ulori took up arms against the ensuing Ghouls that dwelled within the crater. From the ocean, the Ulori crafted giant walls of earth to help keep the creatures in. They defended the land valiantly for at least a thousand years but, in a single climactic battle the Ulori were genocided utterly from existence.

At this point, the ghouls overran the entire landmass and ventured beyond to slaughter as they went. The Valtavien were at a zenith in terms of power and control at the time and noticed the threat immediately. Afterward, the current Supreme High-Mage, Penemar (regarded as the greatest Valtavien mage who ever lived) ventured to the continent with a colossal band of warriors and fellow mages. There, she and her fellow Valtavien massacred the ghouls on the island and set up settlements there, henceforth, the Dark Elves were born.

## Notable Locations

The Volorel live exclusively on a single continent, **Volrog**, the **Black Country** or the **Womb of Evil** is a land that once had a temperate climate but, ever since the evil that was unleashed there, the region has been reduced to an icy coldness. The lands of Volrog are divided into Fronts, these are lands of chill, dead greenery and fortresses.

* **Naglass** - Known as the ‘Shattered Lands’, Naglass is the Province located between the gap in Volrog’s crater, surrounded by an archipelago instead of solid land. Naglass is known to have the Dark Elves’ largest fleet who constantly survey the islands for any signs of escape.
* **Taulith** - Taulith is generally considered to be the most prosperous region of land as it's mostly protected by mountain ranges as well as the Great Wall itself. Taulith is considered the magical capital of the Volorel, having a stretch of undamaged land regrown by Volorel warlocks so that new ones may be trained there.
* **Tarkhand** - Tarkhand is widely considered to be the religious capital of the dark elves, cathedrals and dark temples litter the landscape and the religious leader of Nevranism is seated here. Tarkhand’s people and architecture are tightly woven with religion, serpents, lizards and chains (all iconic religious symbolism for the Volorel) are omnipresent.
* **Kharik Vath** -  Known as the ‘Entrance to Mu’ (the Dark Elven underworld), Kharik Vath is a part of Volrog where new recruits are often transported to begin their service as guardians.
* **Girqar** - Widely regarded as the capital of the Dark Elves, Girqar was the Volorel's first settlement and where they first landed after their immigration to Volrog. Girqar houses the Volorel’s largest fortresses and largest population among the Dark Elves’ Provinces

## Religion

The strictly mandated faith of the Volorel is named Nevranism. A simplistic faith with few tenets and religious scripture but instead a set of several gods. Nevranism’s teachings mandate strict self control, they impose a set of firm rules about all of life, from clothing, to food, to battle to courtship. Religion is often forced upon disobedient children who seem rebellious and want to leave Volrog but those who accept their life and are open to defend, have religion be a far less focal point of their life.

**Gods:**

* **Sornmyr** - God of order, rules - rigid, inflexible, cold. Sornmyr’s strongest iconography is that of chainmail, each link being identical and woven with the others represents unity, rigidity and success as a group. As a result, Sornmyr is often depicted wearing chainmail.
	+ **The Imsara** - The Imsara are the daughters of Sornmyr and are said to protect warriors in life and guide souls to Zerith. They then stay and comfort the souls until they reach the afterlife.
* **Orindon** - God of smithing
* **Quendar** - God of Death, one of the principal deities of Nevranism, the brother of Sornmyr. Had many sons and daughters about death.
	+ **Drinar** - Goddess of Funerals and daughter of Quendar
	+ **Greyraena** - Goddess of the Afterlife and daughter of Quendar
	+ **Zerith** - God of the Path, he who guides souls to the Afterlife, Son of Quendar
	+ **Dauglir** - God of Sleep and the Long Rest, son of Quendar
* **Monroth** - Goddess of madness, disorder, chaos.
	+ God of hopelessness, despair
	+ God of delirious madness

* **Akhathlon** - God of laziness and nihilism

## Military

For the Volorel, war is their existence and , as a result, all things are militarised and this reflects in their social organization. The Volorel are locked in a vicious meritocracy, one’s standing and importance in their society being determined by physical strength, combat prowess and tactical genius.

* **Black Warden** *(Grigoris Ra)* - commands the realm. There have been seven Black Wardens in the time of the Volorel and each have been legendary warriors of almost divine might and competency. Each one has a personal troup of bodyguards and warriors and control over all of Volrog.
* **Black Watcher** *(Grigoris)* - commands a front
* **Chieftain** *(Atropost)* - commands a garrison
* **Half-chief** - *(Samael) - commands a squadron.*
* **Warrior** *(Lokhem)* -warrior

**Infantry**

* **Dark Sentries** *(Gadal)* **-** *Dark Sentries are the elite warriors of the Dark Elves. One is awarded the title of Gadal when they have served in battle for at least five-hundred years and still live to tell the tale. A Chieftain is free to do with their Gadals as they like, be it bodyguard detail, intelligence gathering or, where they feel most at home, in the heart of battle. Girqar, the capital Front of the Dark Elves, is almost entirely populated with Dark Sentries due to the sheer quality of their warriors, therefore Dark Sentries are often nicknamed ‘Girqars’ by other Volorel. Gadals are given the greatest armour the Dark Elves have at their disposal and are also allowed access to myriad kinds of weapons, whatever their preferences are in battle are satisfied.*
* **Archers** *(Khashad)* - trained bowmen that operate on fortress walls
* **Linesmen** *(Abyin)* - regular warriors, basic fighting force. Usually use swords

**Cavalry:**

* **Drake Riders** *(Parasi)* - *The backbone of Volorel cavalry, Drake Riders use giant lizards local to Volrog as mounts. Drake Riders are used for scouting transportation and the sending of messages because of their extreme speed.*

## Notable Characters

* **Penemar** - The very first Black Warden of the Volorel and formerly the Supreme Mage of the Valtavien Union. A paragon of selflessness, magical prowess, martial ability and leadership. All following Grigoris Ra aim to follow in her footsteps and learn from her past acts which have now been written into history tomes. It was she who decided that the Volorel first wear black and thus, she was the first to outfit herself in it.
* **Durgred Toth** - Durgred Toth was the 2nd Black Warden
* **Oloros Shil** - Oloros Shil was the 3rd Black Warden
* **Istryd Barrindur** - Istrid Barrindur was the 4th Black Warden
* **Jezra Belthaur** - Jezra Belthaur was the 5th Black Warden
* **Nybross Geld** - Nybross Geld or Nybross the Mad was the 6th Black Warden
* **Solimar Vance** - Solimar Vance is the 7th and current Black Warden (Grigoris Ra) of the Voloren Realm. Solimar is the current Grigoris Ra of the Dark Elf Realm and is one of it's longest-serving leaders. Vance is a stern but highly honourable man and shows a familial love to his warriors and his actual family, especially loving his daughters. Solimar has extremely long, snow-white hair and wears a stocky suit of armour, pelts, a wrist mounted bolt thrower and beads given by the Wood Elves. In battle, Solimar uses a greatsword named Duty which is passed down to every Great Black Warden and was originally held by the first, Penemue.
* **Gryphone Huss** - Black Watcher of Kharik Vath and the Black Admiral of the Voloren Fleet. He is a husky, gaunt and hardened elf who has rarely seen combat but has seen it at the most fierce.
* **Gurzon Halloss** - Black Watcher of Tarkhand. Gurzon is a highly pious and strict ruler who drills the words of the Nevranist pantheon into the minds of his subordinate warriors. Gurzon has iconography, sculptures and tributes to the gods wrought across his armour but, whether it be coincidence or divine intervention, he is one of the luckiest Black Watchers to ever serve.