Ephalon - Triumvirate
Chapter 1 - Desperation
SPOILER WARNING
The events described below coincide with the events that take place within the first three Ephalon novels. Read ahead at your own discretion
%20(upload).png)
Fall of the Ancients
The fourth Era - part 1
Passing of Lord Falloir
I received notice that an old friend had passed on, though his body was irretrievable. I can't recall the exact date, though I remember all to well, how I came across this information. With the help of the messengers guild, I was able to set up a minor news gathering network. This allowed me to stay in the loop of current events across Erafar, all the while avoiding suspicion from Lord Maeyl. Thinking back on it, I don't know why I went to all that effort, as I was not betraying his trust or even planning to usurp him, I merely craved knowledge of the goings-on from the outside world. The man somehow made every action I performed beyond my library feel like a betrayal. At any rate...
Lord Falloir had trapped himself in his tower which stood along the southern coast of the Areanas sea. The rumour was that he'd been experimenting with forbidden incantations and had thus garnered the wrath of the populace from the nearby town of Telneth. I suspect he was trying to utilise the dark powers from the Realm of the Forgotten. Even I'm not demented enough to attempt a deal with those who lurk within. Admittedly, I miss the old bastard; he used to be a mentor of mine in my younger years. He had some radical ideas, however, especially when it came to racial purity. Come to think of it; it's probably a good thing that he died as he assuredly deserved it.
Maeyl's abscence
Lord Maeyl had been strangely absent for many months. I even dared step outside my tower again, if initially only to visit the market. After a few more weeks, I finally travelled beyond the outer walls of Caldrigo to visit the beautiful glowing flowers of the illumination fields. The perpetual darkness that covers the Ligan region in which Caldrigo is situated has encouraged the growth an attractive subset of plant life. Furthermore, the ever-present shade makes it so I don't go up in flames whenever I step outside into the open air. Sunlight you see is rather damaging for us Cenebrians.
To my dismay, Maeyl accosted me while I was out on one of my strolls. The man looked considerably different from when I last saw him as he now wore an exotic set of armour. He'd just returned from a long journey all the way from the Orythorn continent. My master described to me how he had defeated a creature which possessed seven pairs of wings and the ability to discharge electricity. He'd merely used his shadow step to strike a fatal blow against the poor thing. As exciting as his retelling was, what truly caught my eye was that he now had two tails behind him, and one had a yellow flame.
Cursed confinement
Without a doubt, these were the worst years of my life. So much wasted time, well... I did manage to read and finally organise my entire collection of books. I cannot understate the tremendous help that Reina was with this gargantuan task. I dared not leave my library out of fear for Lord Maeyl finding me. The man exhumed an aura of paranoia, yet as I mentioned prior, he for some reason trusted me. I oft found myself the victim of his unexpected visits. Those black vortexes he could summon made his entrances rather abrupt and disturbing. I can attest that suddenly waking up to find that man looming over your bed is a most uncomfortable feeling, and this was only the start of things to come.
The carpenter
One day a man claiming he had travelled all the way from Numen-Nier sought an audience with me. How could I refuse, perhaps he was a friend of the former Lord Halcis. I don't recall his name, although thinking back on it, I'm fairly sure he never told me... how rude. Maeyl had summoned the man to construct a new room beside my library. I found it odd why Lord Maeyl would summon a person from the other side of Ephalon to build a single chamber. However, his purpose quickly became evident.
The man created a small room beside the main library within which he erected a strange chair and placed it upon a thin layer of water. The article of 'furniture' looked decrepit as though it was about to fall apart. I took the opportunity to request a few additions to the room, ones that were outside of Maeyl's specification. I paid the man extra of course, though mostly to keep his mouth shut, adding that if he ever spoke of it to anyone else, his life would come to a swift, decisive end.
The chair somehow allowed me to communicate with Maeyl over vast distances, though... well, I hated the thing honestly. Every time I used it, it felt like my life force drained away from me. I believe around the fifth time I used it something strange occurred. A floating blue flame leapt out of the chair, which I later came to know was a spirit. It followed me around for a few days before finally manifesting itself. It approached me in the form of a dark blue horse made entirely out of fire. I had heard of such creatures before, Nightmares, I believe they are called. They were and honestly still to this day are heavily associated with guiding the fallen to the afterlife.
​
The creature was unable to speak or communicate through normal means. After some experimentation, I was able to determine what was going on by way of my books. The spirit was able to point out specific word combinations to me, which allowed me to discern what had happened to it. The creature, for many years, had been trapped in the wood from which the chair was built, and my usage had somehow released it onto the world. As its way of saying thanks, it wanted to remain at my side to assist me anyway it could. I dared stroke along its fiery mane, but I found myself surprised as I was not burned by it. The creature was somehow able to choose freely what its flames affected around it.
Together we eventually agreed on a name for him; I believe it was a him, Arlos.
Fall of the Ancients
I have not spoken of this before, but a few years ago Maeyl had appointed me the new liaison for the Ancients. I had mixed feelings about this given that they were responsible for killing my father, though at the same time it would allow me to talk with people outside of Caldrigo.
My contact was Grimack, the elder of Sturmvere. One could effectively call him the leader of the Ancients up on the Great Plateau to the north. Most conversations up until this point were mild at best. There was no desire for trading or much else, to be honest. We merely spoke of matters in regards to keeping the peace. If I had to assess what I thought of the Ancients at the time, I'd call them soft. They'd grown peaceful after the war. Apparently, all the original instigators were either killed or banished, a cleansing of sorts had occurred. This had also caused their numbers to dwindle dangerously low. Besides Sturmvere there were maybe another fourteen or so settlements remaining.
I spoke with Grimack once every month. We did this via astral projection, which was something he could do. No point in asking me how he was able to do it since I have no records of Ancients or other species being able to do this. I can only surmise that it was one of their many cultural secrets which never left the plateau.
One fateful day he suddenly appeared before me, quite distressed I might add. There had been an incident where one of their own had stolen a Forbidden book. A relic from the War of Dominance which contained the incantations to summon forth the evil energies of Limbo. An accident had occurred, and supposedly there was now a malformed entity heavily infused with the necrotic forces of Limbo freely walking about and sapping the life out of everything. I could not assist him but promised I'd look into it. A promise I'd not be able to keep in time as Lord Maeyl had been eavesdropping. Somehow that man knew this conversation would take place and commanded me not to help.
A few weeks later Lord Maeyl came to me and told me we were travelling to the Great Plateau. It was then that I found out the horrible truth. The entity that Grimack had spoken of had eradicated the Ancient race. The western portion of the Great Forest was also decimated. Whatever had transpired, had sapped the life out of everything there. Upon reaching Sturmvere, I was shocked to find that a minor Rift into Limbo was still active. It's foul energies poisoned the air and ground around it. It was impossible to get close without succumbing to it.
This was the moment when I chose to interfere. I knew that somehow Maeyl had caused this, though I've never been able to prove his involvement. I found a strange book among the wreckage of the Sturmvere. I took it and hid it from Maeyl's sight, and he was none the wiser.
When I took that Forbidden book and hid it away from Maeyl, I became ensnared in the weavings of Fate. My life was now intertwined with the future of Ephalon. I even hid it away from my assistant as I didn't want to get her involved, not after the awful life she had endured thus far.
I don't regret my choice, but had I known beforehand its consequences I would have handed it over to 'that' man. The one who I'd later come to meet and even help at the final hour of despair.
