Eldar the Archmagus

## Overview

Eldar the Archmagus, also known as Mystra's Menace, was not only a member of the Nine, but the greatest among them; making him the most powerful magus to have ever existed. Eventually, he was corrupted by the addictive pull of the arcane; so much in fact that he was driven into pure evil in his efforts to devour all the magic he could. Toward the end of the Era of Ancients, Eldar's cursed magic began to spread like cancer throughout the leylines, which caused disorder across the world and beckoned in an age of chaos and darkness.

## Mythos

### The Pride

Eldar, a proud and righteous Auroven, was born with the highest magical affinity known to date. When he was young, in the old times, magic was more prevalent and more powerful, as were its wielders. He gained greatly in knowledge and prowess over time, and eventually gathered together the greatest magi the world had ever seen, the Nine.

The Nine was tasked with overseeing the magical ongoings of the world, curating items of magical power, protecting Crelen from otherworldly incursions and above all ensuring Crelen ran as designed.

Along with being the most proficient magus, Eldar was also the most adventurous

    with magic. In secrecy, he experimented with the fundamental laws of magic that bound the Universe together. This fueled yet another surge in power that none in the Nine could hope to compete with, and so they grew weary.

### The Fall

Eldar grew more and more distant with the Nine as he experimented with the limits of the Laws of magic. Eventually becoming so proficient that he could, at will, modify the structure and effect of a spell; inventing metamagic. Which he used in great effect to reshape the world in his own image. The pure elves, he reasoned, should be separated from the mixed masses; and so he, with the assistance of the Nine, moved their home to the Northern seas. Then the "beastly" races were to be banished far beyond the limits of civilisation, to the furthest reaches of the Esterlands where they could live primitively.

These projects grew in intensity and frequency until a dispute that turned violent against the rest of the Nine. Zoron, Archmagus of Chaotic Neutral, was slain at the hands of Eldar and his tower would sit vacant until Sorg's imprisonment. The remaining Archmagi, with great expense, managed to banish Eldar from the material plane, averting further damage. The battle was so intense however, that the scars of their ancient battle can still be seen in the Arcwood.

 Eldar was lost within the great expanses of the Astral plane, where he could draw upon a near-infinite wellspring of magic to fuel his terrible addiction. Here, he worked upon another of his greatest accomplishments. Eldar managed to twist and corrupt arcane magic to such an extent that rather being a manifestation of order, it became a pure manifestation of chaos, distilled and concentrated into a magical form. This, he named Eldritch magic, which has become a source for innumerable evils in the Material Plane.

Despite the ability to draw upon the immense spring of magic to experiment on in the Astral Plane, it limited him. Worse of all, he had a hunger for the magic of Crelen. Magic in the Astral plane has been described as stale air, compared to the fresh air of Crelen. It is magic that has been recycled for innumerable spells across a vast timeline, expended and sent there to gather and reform. So, Eldar enacted his plan to return, but he couldn't pass through the wards and barriers protecting Crelen alone.

### The Return

The barriers that once entirely protected Crelen from incursion, the Leywards, also kept out other beings from entering. Things could only exit through them, and could, by no means, enter. Many beings were, and still are, desperate to break through them in order to harvest the magic and soul rich world of Crelen. A dark pact here would be made, the devils and demon hordes awaiting beyond would be empowered by Eldar's Eldritch magic, on the condition that they served him. So, alone, Eldar managed to unite the warring demons and devils, and imbue them with power beyond what they had hoped of previously. Once he had perfected a spell which would allow one to bypass the Leywards, a portal; a tear in time and space.

The age-old empires of the Age of Ancients were overrun by the demonic hordes, and evil swept across all over the world. Souls were harvested, and the magic of the leylines was corrupted. Countless people, magical items, civilisations, and knowledge perished in the tragedy, known by a thousand names.

The Gods intervened at a great expense of their power and defeated most of the demonic beings. This, however, created permanent tears in the Leywards, which allow for interplanar travel. Ever since this event, magic is believed to be slowly dwindling from Crelen, making the great feats of old unachievable. The whereabouts of Eldar are unknown and he is one of the most dangerous beings in existence, any form of resistance against him is futile. Whatever his next plans are, we cannot know, but only fear.