Invasion of the Pale Elves

Caravan soldiers battle the Pale Elves

In Mansarki of Å-622, an army of Pale Elves **invaded** Archaeus from the Mortuus Arvum, clashing with and defeating Queen Adalhard's Caravan at Pirate's Cove. Taking several captives and forcing a retreat, the Pale Elves now control significant and expanding lands within Archaeus.

The caravan also briefly clashed with Jack Ketch and his crew after rescuing him from the Arvum via a ritual, eventually slaying him permanently with the sword Sorrowfall.

## Background

For weeks to months preceding the clash between the Elves and the Caravan, merchant groups (including those travelling to the war-torn land of Maagsor) had been being ambushed, their members scalped and killed but their goods left behind. This would later be discovered to have been the doing of the Pale Elves.

Since the hunt for the Journal of Jack Ketch, Queen Adalhard's Caravan had remained semi-incognito at Pirate's Cove, besieged by undead pirates. They were ordered to remain in place and watch for threats, as well as investigate mysterious failures of ritual circles that had been occurring across the world.

During the hunt for the Journal, a member of the Order of the Winged Lion named Dwynen touched and absorbed into himself a solid piece of the Mortuus Arvum, causing his right arm to become blackened. Though his life was saved by an impromptu ritual granting him a year of life, the Arvum continued to spread.

At some point between the hunt and the invasion, Fzoul, leader of the Fext, became trapped in the Arvum, where he has remained since.

## 16th of Mansarki

By the 16th of Mansarki, the Caravan had been under siege by undead pirates for several months. It had been joined by a group of 'irregulars' who had escaped from a prison barge and had also received several copies of Fox News, a disreputable newspaper published by Breadán Casta and Vulpus of the Wyldwood Company.

Mrs Greenbeans received an anonymous letter in Arvum Script, thanking her for opening 'the gates' that 'the h' had kept sealed and claiming that she would 'lead [them] into glory by [the author's] side', likely in reference to her accidental opening of the Arvum during the hunt for the Journal. Drygarn, a Dwarf member of the Guild of History who had translated the letter, used Astromancy investigate 'the h', seeing a foetal being larger than the galaxy, 'preparing to unfold'.

Dwynen, who had previously experienced no major symptoms from his Arvum infection, blacked out and attacked other members of the Caravan with incredible strength and durability. Subdued by Breadán Casta and his fellow OWLs with the help of an artefact known as the Chain of Chill, he claimed to have no memory of the incident. Later, a similar incident would occur in which he was forced to drink a liquefied piece of the Necromancer belonging to the alchemist Spiffel van Tunt, causing his other arm to become blackened.

Members of the camp's Dwarven contingent, believing there were Ninkilim in the area and seeking to fulfil their ancestor's request to appoint a new High Tay, formed plans to retrieve a stolen ancient throne, but these were later abandoned in the face of more immediate dangers.

An amnesiac Word Bearer named Grey-Hame brought to the Guild of History an Archosaur, a creature from another planet in the galaxy who had appeared in a ritual some months before. This was the fourth identified non-Archean species, after the Kenku, Naga, and Beholders. Magnus Brock and the Beholder Rrrr'k't Zygyjy' pt! later delivered a lecture on the Kenku and Beholder languages, both of which had proved difficult for Archeans to produce or translate.

It was revealed that two members of the Caravan, Granny Pants and Drystan, had both escaped from the Arvum and suffered memory loss; the former, a soldier in the Great War named Major Rattatoska who entered the Arvum somehow, and the latter born a slave of the Pale Elves who escaped.

The Queen's Own Dragoon Guards were inspected by a royal representative throughout the day. One member assaulted the captain and was shot in the foot and given seven lashes as punishment. The Guards also retrieved a map of a previously unknown island surrounded by mist.

Two members of the Irregulars, neither a ritualist, attempted a ritual to determine the number of approaching undead, accidentally summoning a Pale Elf that rendered both unconscious before disappearing. They were saved and the circle closed, but afterwards denied having even attempted a ritual.

In the evening, Rua Glas of the Halflings and Beaumaris 'Mamgee' Mynydd of the Dwarves were wed by Mrs Greenbeans in front of many members of the Caravan.

## 17th of Mansarki

The Fext members of the Caravan, who had previously been deliberately targeted by the attacking undead, received a Hivernum challenge from their apparent leaders. Later that same day, the Hivernum would occur, resulting in a Fext victory and forcing the undead to stop hunting them. The Fext were supported from the sidelines and healed afterwards by several other members of the Caravan, showing a development in their previously cold relations with the rest of the group. After the Hivernum, a Fext diviner received a vision that showed the Death King telling his followers that Fzoul, the Fext Omnissiah, was trapped in the Arvum.

Mrs Greenbeans led a foraging expedition into the forest, but was ambushed by undead who showed unusual strength and speed. Spiffle van Tunt was hired by the Guild of History as an accountant.

The ritualist Barron Ormauve attempted to reconnect with the Circle, which had lost its individuality after connecting with the network of circles throughout the galaxy. A Kenku appeared, telling those present to 'clean your house before you come into ours' and explaining that the red feather previously sent was no longer offered in friendship before disappearing. As a result, the circles of Archaeus became once again disconnected from the larger galaxy, causing the Circle to regain its individuality. Through communing with the Circle, Ormauve would later learn that the Realms of Magic existed before the races and were, in some way, responsible for their creation.

A pair of divinations by Emma Jumper and Drygarn showed an apocalyptic battle in which all the species of Archaeus, including the Ninkilim, fought together against the Pale Elves while the world was destroyed around them by volcanoes and earthquakes.

A representative from the Trade Guilds arrived to inform the Caravan's Masters of a change in structure due to the increased risk of travel, with the current Masters to form a council to approve new Masters. A limit of 5 masters for each trade was also imposed, allowing Journeymen to challenge a Master in order to take their place. In the evening, the Council oversaw multiple Masters' exams.

Seven druids communed with nature in a place of power in the forest, seeing a vision of four elements spinning in a pyramid around a fifth. The element of air - and its corresponding race, the Elves - were both broken in some way, and the Elven druids heard a voice, uncorrupted by the Arvum, calling for help.

The members of the Order of the Winged Lion, along with multiple Fext and Amanita of Dark Hollow, wielder of the sword Sorrowfall, performed a ritual to kill Dwynen and resurrect him as a Fext in order to remove his Arvum infection. Dwynen was stabbed through the chest by Bernard Fauchion, but failed to die and had to be finished off. When the ritual was complete, a black barrier of Arvum energy enveloped the circle, before collapsing to reveal Dwynen, alone but successfully resurrected.

A Locate Person ritual led by Olly, a faun ritualist, revealed that the other members of the ritual had been sent to the Arvum, where they had spent six weeks thanks to the Arvum's effect on time. They returned to the circle less than an hour (in real time) later, exhausted and traumatised, having survived off of a strange grey moss. While in the Arvum, they encountered Pale Elf slaves of various species, saying 'my life for the master' and following the Pale Elves' orders out of a kind of dispair. They also discovered that only Sorrowfall could harm Pale Elves in the Arvum, and that even it was afraid of a giant Pale Elf that had chased them into the portal that sent them back. Barron Ormauve secured the circle, but noted that even with such protection the Elves would surely get through after a short period of time.

For their heroic actions and sacrifices for their friend, the Order were officially named Knights of the realm by Commodore Edrich and Mister Bailey.

During another battle against the undead, a Pale Elf ran through the battlefield, not engaging with either side; afterwards, Breadán Casta and Vulpus of the Wyldwood Company followed it into the forest, fighting it to a standstill, whereupon they agreed to part ways. Shortly afterwards, a Pale Elf appeared and rapidly disappeared from the nearby ritual circle; later still, a pair of Pale Elves were found trying to break Ormauve's seals, but were driven off.

Desperate and with few options to deal with the approaching Pale Elf attack, Ormauve led a ritual alongside Greenbeans, Rrrr'k't Zygyjy pt'!, and assorted diplomats, pathfinders, warriors, and troublemakers to open a path out of the Arvum for Jack Ketch, a ship captain whose journal indicated that he had fought the Pale Elves for some time and may have had knowledge of their weaknesses; however, when Ketch and his crew appeared, now undead, they attacked the group. Ketch used a spell on Casta to force him to attack Edrich's first mate Berin, but Casta was pacified with the Chain of Chill until the spell wore off.

Apparently slain in the middle of the Caravan's camp, Ketch and his crew returned near the ritual circle after an attempt by Pale Elves to sacrifice Berin was thwarted. Ketch attempted to open every ritual circle in Archaeus to the Arvum, but was stopped by Ormauve at the cost of his own magical abilities; afterwards, Ketch and Amanita were sucked back into the Arvum, where Amanita slew Ketch for good with Sorrowfall and remained for 8 months, sustained only by the sword's power and the meat of Ketch.

Kami Moonstar, a Tiefling member of the Caravan who had thought his entire family and species dead, met two of his siblings, who pestered him for an extended period of time, eventually resulting in the revelation that his 'employment contract' with his bodyguard Darius was, in fact, a marriage contract, a fact of which Darius had been unaware due to his illiteracy.

Oggy, a member of the Dwarven contingent, received a mysterious letter from Clan Karn, speaking of having 'noticed' them and seen 'great potential'. Enclosed with the letter were several gemstones and a vial of red liquid.

Clan Uherrig, the Caravan's largest group of Fext, made plans to flank and cut off the Pale Elves when they arrived. Ormauve argued with Magnus Brock and Sana-Rae Wyldwood of the Guild of History over whether to attempt a previously discovered ritual of true resurrection on Ketch, an argument complicated by the fact that Amanita had threatened to stop such an attempt by any means necessary. Ormauve eventually conceded after a divination revealed that the ritual could not help them.

Drygarn of the Dwarves and Bryonia of the Halflings made progress in negotiating a trade deal involving large-scale road construction between Dwarven trade hubs and the future territory of the Halfling nation of New Tealand. Bryonia was married the same evening to Granny Pants; during the wedding, Breadán Casta (who gave away Granny) threatened Magnus Brock to stop him objecting on the grounds that he and Bryonia were already married by Halfling common law after having spent 8 months on another world together.

A pair of Greenskin maidens arrived at camp late in the evening and attempted to seduce several members of the Caravan.

## 18th of Mansarki

Dwynen formulated a theory that the four elements and four original races were each linked to a god (Aea with the Sylven and water, Errak with the Dwarves and fire, and Yu'Yama with the Greenskins and earth), the Elves' current lack of a god being why they were somehow broken.

A new rune was discovered, one capable of creating a large explosion when touched. A runesmith, perhaps relatedly, saw a vision of the 'Mother of Dwarves' bound to the earth, unable to free herself.

Skirmishes between the Dragoon Guards and bandits, as well as attacks by Pale Elf slaves, pre-empted an all-out assault by Pale Elves on the camp via Boggy Bottom Swamp. During the battle, the Pale Elves bowed to Mrs Greenbeans and did not attack her, but also refused to follow her orders, even when communicated in their language (which had been learned by members of the Guild of History using the magical Hat of Knowledge). The Pale Elves also captured and scalped a number of the Caravan's fighters.

During the battle, in a desperate attempt to find helpful insights, a divination 'tea party' was performed to investigate Dwynen's theory. The following questions were asked:

* Do the Elves have a lost god? **No.**
* Is there a lost god of the Elves trapped in the Arvum? **The word 'God' is insufficient.**
* What was the voice heard by the Elves at the Druid communion? **Ethereal.**

It was further discovered that Ethereal was in the 'web between stars' (likely Witch-Space) before it spoke to the Druids.

A Pale Elf slave and a Pale Elf's sword were captured, but neither yielded any useful information. Amanita, mentally exhausted and near-starved from her time in the Arvum, went berserk multiple times during the battle, but was calmed by the Chain of Chill and managed to reduce the pressure on her mind by using Essence. While fighting, a Pale Elf pointed at Sorrowfall and said 'that must go back'.

Thornwyn and Berin escaped from Pale Elf captivity, revealing that captives were being taken to slave pits and experiencing horrors beyond description. Hearing this, Thalaniel and Thornwyn clashed with the diviners and others not involved in the combat, imploring them to do anything to directly help.

The caravan was forced to withdraw due to massive losses and a freak storm. Throughout the battle, those captured included: the Dragoon Guards; Breadán and Valeria of the Wyldwood Company; Guiding Wisdom of the Order of the Winged Lion; and the entirety of Clan Uherrig, who had delayed the Pale Elves for an extensive period of time with their flanking manoeuvre before being overwhelmed. Amanita set off alone, intending to free them herself, while others made plans to rescue those captured with a teleportation ritual or a stealth assault on the camps. Fearing the worst, Commodore Edrich also prepared his ship, the *Endeavour*, for a full retreat.

## Aftermath

The Pale Elves, having forced the retreat of the Caravan, claimed vast swathes of territory around what was once Pirate's Cove. The military response of nearby nations remains unclear, though the Caravan is preparing for a counterattack.