The Fey Ring Isles

Obscured within thick, shifting mists, few have set foot upon the fallen elves’ domain… at least, not by choice. Steeped in ruinous Magic, the isles rival Sindorien for spontaneous arcane occurrences. Unlike their ancestral forest realm, these anomalies are more nightmarish than majestic; shadows stalk those who cast them, and phantasmal screams ride the howling winds, as forbidding spire-palaces glower from the skies above.

### Infernal Kindred

Fallen elves do not serve The Narga, instead they claim to steal the power of Ruin. Despite this sentiment, many cambions exist among the Fey Ring Islanders, proof of innumerable illicit pacts and ritual mishaps. Pure blooded exiles look down on their half-demon kin, refusing to elevate them to positions of authority.

### The Ruling Covens

Traditionally elves are led by nobles called gloryborn, yet the exiles' lust for power has birthed a new form of gentry... the coventry; talented pure-blooded warlocks, gathered together for safety and political support. Each coven pursues their own nefarious goals, usually at the expense of their rivals.

### The Weeping Confluence

A grounded sky-spire, resting atop the highest peak on the isles, The Weeping Confluence is neutral ground; wherein the coventry have sworn to meet without shedding elven blood. Here, if words cannot prevail, disputes are settled through strange and violent rituals, enacted by slaves or bound lesser demons.

### The Slave Fields

Fallen elves busy themselves with only what piques their curiosity, disdaining to undertake menial tasks... for those, they employ slaves. Whilst household slaves live in fear of displeasing their cruel masters, true danger lies on the gloomy fungal croplands. There, demons are said to prowl between rows of enormous mushrooms, picking off slaves who succumb to exhaustion or the inevitable loss of hope...

### Notable History

Note: Fallen elf history is tied to their high kin in Sindorien. Their realm is also very young by elven standards. Below you will find several key events involving the exiled and their sinister home...

**1MR** - Made bitter by the loss of elfdom, centuries of human wizard-tyranny, and the creation of the vortex, elven sects in Sindorien dabble with ruinous power, convinced it is not only a neglected aspect of their birthright, but the best way to reclaim the lost potency of their people.

**50MR** - The War Of Burning Leaves transpires; hidden elf warlocks use the conflict to test their new powers and greatly swell their numbers.

**57MR** - **The Exile**: Queen Vilariel of Fen'arloth publicly outs the diabolic cults within Green Fang Forest, dubbing them "Fallen Elves" and sparking civil war. Not yet fully cognisant of their lost ability to manipulate high wards, the renegades fail to use Sindorien itself as a weapon, placing them at a sharp disadvantage. The queen's forces banish them from the forest, so the fallen steal ships and leave by sea...

**71MR** - After years of seaborne raiding, the exiles reach The Fey Ring Isles. Some choose to continue a piratical lifestyle, but the majority spread across their new homeland, laying down ruinous defences and preparing for a future of conquest.

**114MR** - **The Spire Struggle**: Nine arch demons, one for each Narga, manifest across the isles. Each seems intent to guard the area upon which it appeared, yet their corrupt influence starts to change the landscape, moulding faint reflections of the hells. The fallen elves, unwilling to surrender their realm, split into nine armies. With great courage and clever malevolent spellcraft, the armies assail the demons. Many are lost, but the demons fall one-by-one. Commander Zelecsu, her own troops having defeated a greater demon of Zeleel, discovers a tower buried beneath the battlefield. Soon similar towers are unearthed from each warzone. Exiled sorcerers rally to raise the towers... and see them borne skyward. Like the cities of elfdom, these towers levitate, becoming beacons of hope for the fallen.

**143MR** - Unexpectedly, an orc horde sails to the isles. The fallen revel in the ensuing mayhem, testing all manner of hexcraft and capturing hundreds of hardy slaves. No orc escapes.

**175MR** - Infighting increases amongst the exiles. One of their captured sky-spires is landed, becoming The Weeping Confluence.

**189MR** - Fey Ring elves raid the Jungle Of Claws for reptilian mounts. The first crop of beasts they bring back can't adapt to the cold, misty realm, but successive attempts, coupled with sorcerous and alchemical breeding regimes, produce a warm-blooded, semi-aquatic variant, dubbed Néodons. The coventry take to riding these scaly, toothy steeds, as they prove less skittish on the accursed islands than horses.

**230MR** - The slave Jai'rhyl, half fallen elf and a talented conduit, leads an uprising against her pure-blood masters. Impressed by a string of rebel victories, her foes agree to a surprise meeting... and soon find themselves grinning delightedly, as Jai'rhyl reveals her endgame. She wishes to join the coventry. A plan is concocted, and Jai'rhyl sacrifices her slave army without hesitation, sending them into a prearranged trap. Having proven her ruthlessness outweighs her human heritage, she is welcomed by her new peers, and forms the first mixed-blood coven.

**256MR** - Saatr'lydred, a rare two-headed dragon, attacks The Fey Ring Isles. Rather than face the monster directly, the fallen elves feed hundreds of bewitched field-slaves a poisonous plant called Husk Nettle, then goaded them into the open. Sure enough, Saatr'lydred pounces on the easy meal. Driven mad by toxic agony, the two heads tear at one another, inflicting mortal wounds. The elves then plant both heads on spears, upon the upper and lower tips of The Isle Of Sulphur, as a warning to their fiery neighbours.

**292MR** - **The Cold Return**: Acting on rumours torn from captured Vylks, Aralith Clovenhelm takes an entourage into The Bitter North. There he finds Heleg Necel and, as a claimant to the throne of Fen'arloth, convinces the ice elves to lend him their support. A tower, with frosty warriors to crew it, is gifted to Aralith, and it floats to Sindorien on currents of ancient energy. Once lodged in a secluded glade, Aralith's host pours forth. Violence fills the city of light, but alas, Aralith's new allies prove as fractious as the Fey Ring coventry. An ice elf captain starts to disobey orders, seeking prestige for herself. Soon others follow her lead. Sabotage by local gnomes and pixies further stymies the invasion. Aralith, discerning the inevitable outcome, abandons the war, and sneaks his way home via a long, murderous journey. As for the ice elves, they retreat to their tower, whereupon a terrible blizzard flares up. When the storm clears, they are gone, yet the tower remains to forever curse the glade with snowy cold and spectral fiends.

**356MR** - A corsair fleet skirting the southern coast of Frael comes under attack from golden-skinned elves astride manticores, wyverns, and other winged monsters. Fleet Mistress Ghyndarel holds them off until the leader seems to recognise his prey are elves too. The aerial aggressors swap tact, landing for negotiations. What is said, can only be guessed at, but Ghyndarel and her pirates opt to join what they dub The Hex Wing Hunt. A single ship with a skeleton crew returns to The Fey Ring Isles to inform the coventry of her decision.

**381MR** - Jealous of El’himshar’s commercial success, Sultan Közus III of Maphotepsis allies himself with fallen elf corsairs. Together, they invade and raze El’himshar. The fallen elves leave with thousands of slaves. Maphotepsis gains a battered but still impressive fleet, becoming a naval power.

**431MR** - A fleet of Fey Ring elves under master-assassin Mordesh The Seeping Shadow invades Baos; incensed by human appropriation of elven structures, but also intent on capturing slaves and elf relics. The populace, never very militant, are treated as playthings by the sinister elves. Emperor Zhinn, a devout follower of Lianda, sails with his army to liberate Baos. Mordesh, his hulls full of plunder, withdraws, leaving behind enough of his least-loyal forces to preoccupy the vengeful Lo'Quaim.

**446MR** - Ometrion, an elf ousted from the coventry for open Narga worship, gathers followers to infiltrate human underworlds. Convinced that the key to elven resurgence lies in manipulation of human realms, he sets out for Thaedia, sending his acolytes across Scy'kadia. None know how successful his efforts have been, but perhaps, that is by design...

**474MR** - The Pharidae War begins.

**583MR** - The Pharidae War draws to a close.

**595MR** - Prophets across Scy’kadia receive visions of the Weftyril portals reawakening. Fallen elves, smelling plunder and the chance to reclaim relics of Elfdom, start drifting Weftward.