WotBS Lylandra's War of the Burning Sky continued

Have you read ahead to adventure 12? There are a few Ragesians introduced later that, if I'd had the benefit of hindsight, I would have teased earlier.

Oh yes, I have. I dropped some of their names (mostly the other Generals) later, during the first grand war council. I also had Karedan running around somewhere. They akready knew about Kreven and Koren (Sheena wants to get her hands on the traitor). I couldn't place any of them, besides the already known Signus and my own addition, Octavia, among Magdus' ranks though.

For the Shahalesti... well, a certain necromancer is going to have a small cameo in the next post.

Drama time

Note: Tinuviel did write Shalosha a lengthy letter where he tries to reach out for her conscience to not ally with some leader of a country prone to aggression and war. He basically said that Shahalesti will need her as a future queen as the Shahalesti look up to her and will loathe to see their shining princess to share bed and bloodline with a human “enemy”. Plus Shaaladel will need to be controlled and he is sure that her father would try to annex Ragesia as soon as Magdus dies. And even if her children inherited the lands of Ragesia and Shahalesti, there could be blood wars like in Dassen with the Calanis nobles trying to pull their strings (he didn't really consider that Shalosha would surely outlive her half-elven kids though) and that the least thing the world needs is a unified Ragesia/Shahalesti. So in his opinion it would be better to break Ragesia down to their origin states and have her rule Shahalesti someday.

The party is then led to a small area in the encampment that is close to the Shahalesti. There they can get a glimpse at an old wizard who causes Cuin's blood to freeze in his veins for this is none else but Nahrem, the scourge of Ycengled. And while he feels the need to kill this man for a split second, Cuin tries to calm down as they are here to talk and not to fight. Even if he knows that this very same man once hunted his kin for his Lord Shaaladel.

After almost an hour, Tinuviel is called to one of the Shahalesti tents, so he estalishes a mental connection with Cuin to let him secretly participate. Inside he finds Shalosha, sitting inside a zone of truth. She says she demands to get some answers from him, so she prepared this magical zone where he cannot lull her with his lies. She wishes to know where he got all this knowledge about her and how he could possibly know the future of her marriage with Magdus. She says that she doesn't like being manipulated or mentally spied upon, especially not by people she thought she could trust.

Tinuviel seems pretty torn at her accusations. He then stands up and says that he needs to confess something to her. He then takes her hands and kisses them slowly. “I love you, Shalosha. Nothing more, nothing less. I seek your happiness, I fear for your safety. I never meant to embarrass you. I'm sorry I left you alone in Calanis.” He then proceeds to carefully kiss her lips and sits back down again.

Now Shalosha seems even more confused than before. She explains that she neither knew, nor expected him to have feelings for her after all these years. Still she cannot return his love as she doesn't feel the same for him and has neither the time nor the freedom to fall in love. She then explains Tinuviel her plan to maybe get peace someday: To unite Ragesia and Shahalesti so that neither party feels the need to wage war on the other. And to have her children usher in an era of peace. She says that while she doesn't love Magdus either, she knows that they share mutual interests and truly respect and complement each other.

Tinuviel urges Shalosha to give up her plan and instead become the leader of the Resistance. He says that both he and Cuin fear an unified monster-nation which could crush anyone who's against their interests. “Shahalesti needs you as its future queen.” he explains, “Our homeland needs change and you cannot convince our nobles to follow your lead while you're busy ruling in Ragos”. He then adds that the Resistance would most certainly not ally with both Shahalesti and the rogue Ragesians with the prospect of creating a super-nation after Leska's eventual defeat.

Shalosha says that she sees reason in his words and needs to think about it. Still she needs to know why and how he could gather so much information about her. Tinuviel explains that he cannot really tell her lest he'd endanger other people he loves. But he swears that he didn't enter her mind or mentally manipulated her. She returns that she kind of understands, but has to discuss this matter with Magdus. So Cuin, Torrent and Tinu should just stay a little longer as they both will wish to speak to them one last time.

Tinuviel returns to Cuin'halar who stares at him, eyebrow raised. “So you do love her still...” he sighs, sounding quite unamused. Then Cuin's tone turns pretty stern and he demands that Tinuviel speaks to Torrent about this... unforeseen development. He adds that he'd better make sure to not break their friend's heart, even if he'd totally understand if she needed to take a break from their company.
Tinu does as he's been told and he confesses to Torrent that he loves Shalosha, even if this doesn't diminish his feelings for Torrent. The cleric seems pretty hurt at first and asks Tinu whether he could just let his cousin go as it is quite obvious that this relationship has no future. She then tells him about the reason why she was so aloof when it came to love and didn't want to form any serious romantic bond, especially not with an elf: When she was a mere acolyte of Yara and on her pilgrimage through Shahalesti, she fell in love with another elven acolyte. But while she was happy while their relationship lasted, she had to learn that elven emotions are rather volatile the hard way. And so she decided to never let her heart be broken again. That was, until persistent, cute Tinuviel came along.

Tinuviel then confesses that while he does love Torrent, he also fears for their future as she's a human and he is an elf. He says that he's afraid of losing her to old age while he's still a young man. Torrent returns that she understands his reasons, even if such depressing thoughts are usually not his style. She insists that he'll make his choice soon though and explains that she'll prey to her goddess for guidance.

Note: And that's how Tinu's player cursed me with a love triangle Usually, I loathe them. They make bad rom-coms worse and usually only add unnecessary drama. However, Tinuviel has a point with his fear of losing Torrent even if her becoming old and dying way before Tinu is beyond the scope of this campaign (same thing why “gratz you are now immortal!” highlevel perks are always more fluff than anything else). I liked the dynamic between Tinu and Cuin though and this time it really payed off that I actually fleshed out a full background story for Torrent...

Regarding Torrent, I am a bit torn. I hate classical DM pets as I've suffered from too many of them as a player, but I also love Torrent as a character and my party sees her as a close friend and love interest. Which is why I'm often walking a thin line between playing her too much and too little. What I do try though is to make her and especially her assessment of the current situation realistic. I roll knowledge checks for her and I also use her point of view which is why Torrent's information can be flawed or even false.

The conference continues a short time after when Shalosha and Magdus finish their private talks. Both proclaim that they will not get engaged right now and they'll also enter the rebel alliance with the condition that Shalosha is announced as their military leader and the alliance supports Magdus' claim on the ragesian throne. As a sign of goodwill, Magdus has also brought along
the four lycean adventurers, Ferrandros, Mya, Ruthger and Leonhard who were sent to Sindaire by Simeonne. The quartet seems to be in a good condition and the general snarkily comments that the headmastress shouldn't have send kids like these to spy on an army.

The trio thanks him and they promise to bring the Ragesian-Shahalesti suggestions and terms to the alliance's leaders. They know however that the withdrawal of Shalosha's wedding plans maybe only temporal and they should probably find more reasons to convince her to abandon her idea of becoming empress.

They travel back to Seaquen and release the four lyceans to Simeonne's care. They also tell her about their parley with Magdus and Shaosha and it seems like the headmastress is quite open to welcome the Shahalesti and the rogue ragesians in the Resistance. As long as Shaaladel doesn't demand to be their High King or something ridiculous like that.

To gather more information about Ycengled, the trio travels then to Gate Pass to meet up with Tharaleth. As is it nighttime already, they manage to find him in their home where he's trying to find some sleep despite the dire situation in the city. As usual, Tharaleth is glad to see his sons and Torrent and they exchange news of the ongoing war.

Tharaleth seems a bit reluctant to talk about Ycengled as he had tried to close this chapter of his life, but he nonetheless tells them about Rhuarc, the man with the black scimitar. He says that this assassin is quite a mysterious figure and he doesn't really know his motivation. All he knows is that he fought on many sides in the past, then got the name “Knightsbane” by wiping out an order of human knights and re-appeared when Syana was slain. He had tried to help Trilla, but failed and fell off a cliff where he presumably died.

Note: Yeah, I searched the forum for all info on Rhuarc. Another NPC I really like.

Asked about the strange necromancer, Tharaleth grows even more quiet and grim. He explains that Cuin's assessment might be right and this man could indeed be Nahrem, the scourge of Ycengled. He explains to both Tinuviel and Torrent that Nahrem was one of Shaaladel's war mages, a sort of inquisitor before Ragesia had them. He says that it was this man (among others) who tried to find Trilla and used torture to press information out of the Taranesti. He muses that Shaaladel might have tried to forge a second torch for himself, as he feared the imminent attack of Coaltongue with his torch. So he most likely wanted to level the field for both nations.

Tharaleth then says he wished that neither of them had to see what has become of their home, but he understands that the situation demands it right now. He agrees to be mentally connected to Tinuviel and shows him places he remembers so Tinuviel can teleport there safely.

They arrive seconds after saying goodbye to Tharaleth in a dark, eerie forest. The air is icy and filled with remnants of horrors that happened here over 40 years ago. What's even more unsettling is the sound of rusty, swinging chains that seem to grow out of the forest's twisted trees. For a split second, Cuin'halar seems the image of an elven child who's running through the trees, deeper into the forest. They follow the child (and by now they are pretty sure that it has to be a ghost), only to be ambushed by murderous trees.

Torrent uses a light spell as she's not used to such darkness and together they fight against the vile treants. Cuin cannot really understand why they would attack them though, as usually treants are guardians of nature and friends of his people. As soon as the oaken treants fall, they can guess the source of their malevolence: One of the dead trees has a long-dead elven child bound to its bark, chained there by the very same chains that are all over the place.

This sight nearly breaks Cuin'halar's heart and he rushes towards the dead body to cut it free and give the child a proper burial. Looking around, he sees countless trees that look the same and he can only guess that there must have been a Taranesti man, woman or child chained to every single one of them.

“So this is why your father didn't want you to come here... it feels like even my goddess has forsaken this cursed place” Torrent whispers and it seems like there is more than just a bit of fear resonating in her voice.

Note: Reading about Ycengled was tough. On the one hand, this is a very classic horror setup. On the other hand, WotBS is not genre specific, but rather a consistent epos which is why the theme and history of this forest have a much harder impact, especially when one of your characters is related to the victims. But then again, this is a story about war and real people committed similar atrocities under the guise of “doing what's best for their people”. On top of that, the person responsible for this is very much alive and not an ancient evil or mustache-twirling villain, but rather the “Shining Lord” of hypocrisy who loves to surround himself with angels. And can I say that the D&D alignment system isn't that viable in WotBS? Because Shaaladel surely isn't LN. And calling him LE isn't doing him justice as well.

I'll take that as a compliment.

Shaaladel was an NPC antagonist throughout two of my campaigns that inspired WotBS. I think from all my years of gaming he might be the most loathed NPC I ever ran.

Some day I might tell the story about how his tale came to an end in the canon of my home game. It was rather tragic.

Take it, it's all yours!

I guess I'm repeating myself, but I love your writing and your characters. They have so much depth and nuance. Once we're finished with the campaign I might do a more complete review, but for now I'll stick with It feels real even if it is clearly a high fantasy story

My boys loathe Shaaladel as well, due to their background. And I don't know if there are many NPC out there that ticked them off that much, at least on the long run.

I'm trying to capture the motivation and character of a highly successful Shahaleti supremacist with him without making him a caricature or carbon copy of Hitler.

For your home campaign: I think I read about it somewhere when I was doing research on the WotBS "expanded universe". There was this post from 2006 (?) where Shalosha tried to teleport her father to safety before the rest of the party could kill him. And she kind of forgot that there was this Burning Sky effect. Which killed him. But I'd be more than interested in a synopsis of the original WotBS storylines.

Ah and regarding Shalosha: What happened to Shalosha's mom?

I have no established info on her mother.

Hah, well, then I at least didn't break canon by introducing Valiana and her death at the hands of Tharaleth. Now what will happen when Shalosha finds out that Cuin's and Tinu's dad killed her mom?

---

They continue their journey through the forest, looking for clues on where Rhuarc could have gone to hide. Shortly after, they see what can only be described as a procession of ghosts, wandering through the forest without a clear aim. Before they finally pass by, one of the ghosts' gazes falls upon the small group and it seems like he's smiling for a split second before returning to his kin.

Suddenly, they all feel relieved, as if the gloom of this forest somehow lifted a tiny bit. After a while, they come across what's looking like a fresh, naked corpse bearing a gruesome stab wound. To their shock, the body closely resembles Cuin'halar, which reminds Cuin of the nightmare he had in Korstull. They all rush towards the dead person, only to find it dissolving into snakes and, finally, dead leaves.

“Careful, nothing's like it seems here. Even if I really don't understand what's going on.” says Torrent and Cuin adds that at least he knows for sure that Tinuviel wouldn't have stabbed him despite his recent “vision”.

After a while, they find more bodies, but this time they stay corporeal when the party approaches them. They examine the dead and find that they have been part of what must have been a Shahalesti partol. All of them died of deep wounds from a slashing weapon, but they can find no traces of an attacker. Still Cuin is troubled by the presence of Shahalesti in Ycengled as this can only mean that they still lay claim to the haunted forest that was once his peoples' home.

As they can find nothing of value on the dead bodies, they make haste to bury them. There is already enough malicious intent in Ycengled and they don't wish to add more enraged spirits to all the Taranesti ghosts.

Minutes after they finished their burial rites and moved on, they find a small, old road and decide to follow it for a while. There they almost stumble into another Shahalesti patrol that orders them to stop and explain their business in this forest. The Soldiers say that they are looking for a “monster” who's systematically killing their people without mercy and it seems like at least one of the team is not a Shahalesti elf, so they are quite suspicious.

While Cuin is busy trying to not attack the elves at sight, Tinuviel takes a step forward and explains that he's actually distantly related to the royal family, so they should better not needlessly harass him or his fellows. While Tinu does his best to convince the patrol, they are not quite sure whether they should truly believe his claims, so they ask him for proof. Before Tinuviel can show the man his papers, the Shahalesti leader is struck by a massive arrow and a giant, berserker-like, red-haired woman jumps at him, weapons drawn.

“Hands off, sun-kisser scum! Die like the vermin you truly are!” she growls in elvish and uses her two machetes with lethal efficiency. “Seems like this facade is finally over.” Cuin sighs in relief as he draws his scimitar and joins the wild woman's deadly dance. “So much for diplomacy...” adds Tinuviel and draws his weapons as well. “Sorry, but you should have left us alone when you still had the chance.”

The fierce woman draws most of the resulting Shahalesti fire onto herself (there are several archers who had been hiding along the road) while the four quickly cut down the Shahalesti soldiers. When she's sure that all enemies are dead, the woman introduces herself as Fayne Rawnbeck while pulling out the arrows that struck her. Torrent makes sure to heal her wounds while Cuin and Tinuviel do their best to explain why a genuine Shahalesti scion is teaming up with a Taranesti exile.

Fayne is irritated by their story and cannot really understand why a “noble sun-kisser” would ever be friends and feel sympathy for one of her kin. As soon as Fayne's wounds stop bleeding, they ask her to share some rations with them while they explain why they are here and how they turned up to be so close friends. Fayne agrees and leads them to a well-hidden resting place of hers. There, they tell her of Tinuviel's parents and their friendship with Tharaleth Shelenbîl, a Taranesti general who led the exodus of a group of surviving Taranesti to Gate Pass. In return, Fayne explains a surprised Cuin'halar that there are still Taranesti living in Ycengled who survived the genocide 40 years ago. She adds that she's somehow responsible for them and their well-being, so it is only natural that she'd kill off everything that could endanger her pack.

Note: I wanted to have Fayne and the survivors be more savage and ruthless than what Cuin knew his people to be. First, they had to go into hiding for four decades, second, they were not part of the city-dwelling bunch from Phorros and third, only the strongest of them would be able to survive at all. Also, I loved the image of this headstrong, determined and pretty brutal defender who knows what to do while not being the smartest planner. She's using two MACHETES after all. Also, this was a small stab at Cuin's player who was constantly teasing me with a “Taranesti princess” who'd surely be hiding somewhere in Ycengled.

She goes on to tell them about her recent troubles as she's missing her dear cousin, Liat, who was captured by other Shahalesti and brought to their big encampment at the forest's border. Cuin, knowing what Shahalesti are capable of, fears that they might be trying to interrogate the poor girl, so he agrees to help Fayne free Liat.

“I always told her to be more careful. Why don't they ever listen, these pups?” Fayne sighs and then thanks the trio for their promise to help. She then asks them to stay in her camp for the night, as the forest can become even more dangerous once the last light fades.

During their camping, Torrent takes Cuin aside and tells him of her troubles with Tinuviel who seems to be stuck with his feelings for Shalosha. She says she knows that petty jealousy doesn't beget her, but she doesn't wish to be in a relationship built on sand. Cuin replies that he understands her feelings too well and he hopes that Tinu comes to his senses and make a decision.

“If only I were an elf and not a human! Then he wouldn't have to fear losing me.” Torrent cries in frustration, while being comforted by Cuin. He then thinks about the whole situation for quite a while and finally has an idea. He explains that he can totally understand and would even suggest that she'd end their relationship and get a healthy distance to the two brothers after their trip to Ycengled, he can see a possible solution: Torrent is a devoted cleric of Yara, an elven goddess. So if the goddess agreed to the union of her and Tinuviel, she might even give them their blessing and grant Torrent her wish of becoming an elf.

In return, Torrent smiles all of a sudden and thanks Cuin for that perfect idea. She says she still has to think about possible consequences, but this might actually work. If Tinuviel would devote himself to her in return, that is.

As soon as they return to the rest of the group, they all hear a strange howl, which is answered by several more in the distance. Even Fayne finds this sound quite unusual, as she's never heard anything like it. But she doesn't worry too much as from the intensity and the time between the two howls she knows that these creatures cannot be close nearby.

The next morning, all except Fayne sense that something is calling them, almost drawing them towards it. They can sense no ill will behind this strange urge and decide to follow their instincts despite being told by Fayne that the Shahalesti encampment is in the opposite direction.

Note: I shuffled the events a bit as I did want them to encounter Fayne before going to the Henge. I also noticed that there was no conveniently laid out plan on how to free Liat as the camp itself is very well guarded and it would require either enormous magical resources or a bloody massacre to get her out the direct way. So I wanted to mention Liat, but draw them to the Henge afterward so they get a chance to know more about the Shahalesti occupying the forest.

Once they reach the place their inner urges draw them to, they see a sphere of utter darkness which gets lightened up every now and then. Inside the sphere are strange obelisks and Cuin'halar recognizes this Henge as a sacred place for the goddess Demetria, Lady of balance and peace. He instantly knows that the Shahalesti are about to defile the holy place, so he enters the clearing and calls out to them.

As he sees that they are in the company of celestial beings, an avoral and a leonal, he asks them for the reason why they are here and also turns to the celestials to ask them why they let something like this happen. Turns out that none of the Shahalesti or the guardinals know about Demetria or her Henge and they are just looking for clues on how to get into Phorros Irrendra as they believe to find Coaltongue's assassins there. Cuin urges them to stop their experiments at once, as they clearly don't know what they are doing and simply adding light to darkness will only disturb the balance and harmony of this place.

Lkendreis, the Shahalesti wizard, tries to argue with the young Taranesti and agrees to stop her experiments if he in return shows her the path to Phorros. Cuin returns that the Shahalesti have no business in the forsaken capital and it is warded off for good reason. He could agree to show them the teachings of Demetria which must be engraved on the obelisks though, if they agree to leave the forest of his people at once.

Meanwhile, Tinuviel asks Torrent to hold back Fayne should she try to attack the Shahalesti without giving them at least a signal while he turns invisible and tries to sneak up to the wizard. As Lkendreis and Toruviist wouldn't even think about leaving their work here, Cuin gives them a last warning and says that his people have already suffered enough from the hands of Shaaladel's lackeys, so they wouldn't hesitate to use lethal force to get rid of them.

The Shahalesti see this as their welcome excuse for combat, but as no one noticed Tinu or Fayne, they are in for a nasty surprise. Fayne leaves her hiding to finally kick some sun-kisser's butt while Tinuviel whispers a quiet “rest in peace, stubborn sister” into Lkendreis' ear before piercing her heart from behind. Cuin'halar takes on Toruviist who's shocked to see his protegee die right before his eyes. Raging Fayne hacks her way through some of the hapless soldiers.

As he knows that his fellow Taranesti would spare no one, and having prisoners could come in handy when it comes to freeing Liat, Cuin decides to beat some of the lesser soldiers unconscious instead of killing them. When only the celestials are left standing, Cuin urges them to lower their weapons as they who are beings of pure good must certainly realize that their masters had picked the wrong side. He says he doesn't want to fight them, but he has to protect his kin and, as he mentioned earlier, the Shahalesti were the ones who defiled this very forest by killing every Taranesti they could find just because their “Shining Lord” wanted it so. He adds that their masters are dead, so they may return to whatever plane they came from.

The guardinals Chaeluk and Manrik exchange a few words before they both agree to Cuin'halar's statement. They mention that there is still another celestial in the service of the Shahalesti in their camp, a trumpet archon named Jafreinjar. Both seem quite relieved to be able to finally leave this haunted forest and return home.

Note: I really like this aspect of the Shahalesti. Usually you'd only see celestials in the company of clearly good-aligned, benevolent spellcasters. But to have the opportunity to have a heroic party actually fight the folks they'd usually team up with is brilliant.

Cuin then explains to Fayne that he needs to keep the unconscious soldiers alive so he may actually get Liat free without risking her life. Then he and Torrent examine the obelisks of the Henge. The cleric learns that the sacred rituals of Demetria don't seem to be too much different from those of Yara. She explains that there's a ritual of balancing light and dark inscribed in the obelisk's runes and explains the two elves how they all could perform it. It turns out that the trio has just the right components to renew the Henge's powers: A cleric, a magus and a dancing rogue with two swords.

Note: I laughed hard when I saw that the ritual seemed to perfectly match my party. Of course Fayne could have helped out with the dancing part, but I didn't see her as the person who'd be much into ancient rituals.

After they complete the complex dance and incantations, they suddenly feel as if they now just got insight in how to get to Phorros Irrendra while the Henge radiates in full magic again. However, it seems like something is blocking their access to light-based magic now. Cuin also makes sure to clean and polish the obelisks before he steps out of the zone of darkness. They then discuss their further plans: Freeing Liat has utmost priority and they would also love to see her return safely to the other Taranesti survivors. Fayne takes one look at Torrent and Tinuviel and then reluctantly agrees to bring them all to the Taranesti's hideout once they get her cousin back.

It is pretty odd to have a party with only elves, so this adventure *is* an exceptional fit.

Any update?

The last Taranesti of Ycengled

oops, seems like I forgot to complete my half-finished post!

Thanks, [MENTION=63]RangerWickett[/MENTION] and Cuin, for reminding me that I kind of neglected my WotBS post in favour of my Zeitgeist recap translations

Don't worry, I'm still on it and there's definitely more crazy stuff coming in adventure 7. And yes, this adventure is perfect for my group, especially Cuin'halar. There's so much you can do and expand upon once you got a PC who's got his own history with a place or a people.

---

Fayne leads the trio on the long way through Ycengled towards the big Shahalesti encampment in the southernmost part of the forest. At first, she seems to be a bit dismayed at their slow pace as especially Torrent and her heavy armor keeps the ranger from taking shortcuts through the undergrowth. Also, dragging the captured Shalalesti soldiers with them takes time as well.

Once they arrive near the camp, Tinuviel and Fayne scout ahead and find lots and lots of guards and patrols. Unfortunately, these Shahalesti know how to build an easily defensible base and once the two scouts return and report their findings, they all decide to abandon all plans of infiltrating the camp or trying to overwhelm the Shahalesti forces.

Note: I was really thankful at this point. Tinuviel can be a bit reckless and jumping into an EL21 encounter, even if they'd only try to do a grab&run, could have ended in a disaster. I admit that I tried to paint the Shahalesti as competent as possible in order to make it clear that ambushing this camp with four people could be close to suicide.

So they agree to try the diplomatic route. Cuin'halar approaches the camp with one of the captive Shahalesti soldiers (not Toruviist) and asks to speak to one of the Shahalesti officers. He immediately adds that the elves should better not try to shoot him and free their comrade as his Taranesti troupe who are currently hiding in the forest nearby hold more of them captive, including a Solei Palantis officer.

Note: He did a splendid bluff check when it came to the number of his allies as Cuin made it seem like he got a small army out there somewhere.

It takes a while and a beautiful Shahalesti who introduces himself as commander Kiznith leaves the camp and enters the clearing. He is accompanied by a trumpet archon and two bodyguards and, to Cuin's surprise, looks very much like ta taller Shahalesti version of himself. Kiznith is very much surprised as well to see a Taranesti who's not looking like a savage brute, but an elegant man and Cuin even goes so far to compliment the elf on his elegant hairstyle in return.

Note: Again, I laughed very hard when I read Kiznith's description because it matched Cuin'halar's almost perfectly. Cuin has reddish hair which he enhances by dyeing some strands in golden hues to create the image of a living flame. So basically the definition of “dramatic” hair. His movements are both elegant and artistic and he loves fashionable, expensive clothes. So I dubbed Kiznith “the anti-Cuin”.

He then turns to discuss the reason why he came here in the first place: The Shahalesti have taken a young Taranesti scout named Liat prisoner and he's here to negotiate her freedom. He says that they have four prisoners they would leave unharmed if they got their woman back, including the one called Toruviist, even if these people were trying to defile one of the Taranesti's holy sites. Kiznith returns that from what he heard this place was simply a place filled with darkness, possibly hiding ancient secrets, and he wouldn't have dreamed of someone actually using this as a shrine.

Cuin then quickly explains that there are no secrets of his people left to discover and destroy as the Shahalesti did their best to wipe them all out forty years ago. He says that what the Shahalesti seek, a path to Phorros Irrendra, has been cut off from the mortal realm so that no one can enter the forsaken capital. Which is why questioning poor Liat would be futile anyway. He adds that he also knows that they might be searching for some assassins but he and his people don't know about them so they better leave them alone.

After a while, and some encouragement from the trumpet archon, Kiznith seems to open up to the idea of exchanging prisoners. He asks his men to get Liat and Cuin asks Torrent and Tinuviel to bring their prisoners in return. Kiznith is surprised to see a fellow Shahalesti teaming up with the Taranesti, but Tinu just shrugs and explains that not all Shahalesti can ignore the injustice that has happened during Shaaladel's genocide. The prisoners are then exchanged without further incidents and both elves grin slightly once they overhear the archon's password to his forbiddance: “This forest is our shame”.

“At least the angels have some decency left inside” murmurs Cuin and he muses how much it would have pained him to serve the hypocritical Shahalesti had he been a being from the upper planes.

Fortunately, Liat is unharmed besides some smaller scratches and Fayne greets her cousin with an overwhelmingly strong embrace. She immediately lectures the younger elf afterward for not being cautious enough and getting herself into serious trouble. This is when Liat says that “he said the same before I got captured, that old half-blood”. Suddenly, three pairs of eyes fall upon the brown-haired Taranesti.

Liat confesses that she ran across an old half-elf named Rhuarc days ago who kind of ambushed her and just let her go when he realized that she was Taranesti. He lectured her as well and told her to be more cautious and then simply left her in the middle of the forest. Naturally, the trio wants all possible information Liat can give them, but she doesn't have much more to say. Just that he kind of looked lonely and tired and nevertheless ready to kill anyone who'd be opposing him.

Fayne thanks the three again and this time they got the feeling that she opens up a bit more, knowing that they not only kept their promise to free Liat, but also seeing that their strange, patient talking seemed to work. So she finally leads them to the secret hideout where the last of the remaining Taranesti elves of Ycengled have found refuge.

Once they reach a majestic waterfall, they suddenly feel as if a couple of watchful eyes follow their every move and Fayne leads them through a slightly overgrown gap in the rocky structure through a hidden path until they reach a massive sinkhole surrounded by a vast cave structure.
“Cute sun-kisser doesn't look like he's your prisoner. What's up with you Fayne? Want to play with live dinner?” one slender Taranesti huntress asks her leader jokingly while eyeing Tinuviel like a predator. Several others, especially the women, seem to find more interest in Cuin'halar though who, he guesses, must be looking like a foreign prince to them.

Fayne quickly dissolves any misunderstanding and explains that these three helped her free Liat and are her guests, so they better treat them with respect. She also asks for the whereabouts of a certain Halveth the elder and she's pointed to the study room. There they find a really old Taranesti in what Cuin remembers to be traditional scholar's clothes. The old man is accompanied by two elf kids who look as if they're in their teens and who seem to be studying ancient tomes.

Once the man realizes he has company, he immediately and politely introduces himself as Halveth the librarian and explains that the two kids are twins, Reynos and Elerian, who were left in his care by their parents during the last days of the war. He then looks up and seems utterly surprised once his eyes fall upon Cuin.

“Can it be... are you by any chance the son of Eshânii Elenbîl? You have her eyes, you know?” he asks Cuin, before correcting himself. “No, no, that's not correct. She married that Shelendis fellow, Tharaleth, if I remember correctly. A noble man indeed.”

Cuin's mood lightens up immediately when he hears Halveth speak the names of his parents and he confirms that he's indeed the son of Eshânii and Tharaleth, Cuin'halar Shelenbîl.

Note: I'm prone to expanding and building cultures, I know. So Taranesti, at least those of Phorros, combine their family names upon marriage. There has also been a “slight” difference between the culture in Phorros, especially those following the magical traditions of the Syllith and dragon scholars and the rangers and forest-protectors, even if they were never as savage as Fayne and her kin. I wanted to show both parts of their culture with Halveth and Fayne, even if the forest-dwellers were the ones who stayed in Ycengled and survived, while Tharaleth led the exodus of the few surviving elves of Phorros and its outskirts while the Syllith were placing the ward on the city.

Halveth explains the astonished Taranesti that he knew him from the time when he was but a wee babe and he was still a librarian in the grand library of living stone. He always admired the Syllith and his people's dragon guardians and it seems like Elerian and Reynos share his interest in magical studies, even if he never had any talent for magic. Fayne would prefer to see them become capable warriors, he adds.

The trio then explains that they might have reasons to go to the lost city and they offer Halveth and the twins to fetch any kind of tomes they'd like to read in the near future. This causes the elves to cheer in excitement. Until Fayne enters their study room to call them to dinner.

“Don't get their hopes too high. Hope is a luxury we cannot easily afford these days” Fayne sighs while she leads them to one grand, illuminated cave.

“I'm sorry, but you're wrong, Fayne” Cuin replies. “Hope is what our people need the most. We will survive. Our race will survive. But we cannot lose ourselves in the process.”

“How can you say that?” she whispers “You have seen them. I have to keep this bunch together every day. And every day I fear that we might lose someone. And regarding survival... have you seen any kids in these caves? Althissa is the only one who's with child right now and me 'being soft with her' is already straining our defense”

“There is hope for our people, Fayne.” Cuin insists again. “And I will show it to all of you”

Then, when all of them are gathered in the dining hall, Cuin opens up his backpack and reveals the gold dragon egg he got after the spirit of Syana fused with him. The other Taranesti gasp at the sight and Cuin explains that he feels as if this was the parting gift from both his late mother and Syana to him and to their people. He proclaims that once this dragon is born, the Taranesti will have a dragon guardian again who will protect its people. Until then, no one shall ever know that this egg exists as the Shahalesti will surely want to experiment on it to create another torch.

This finally melts the ice with the other Taranesti who are eager to touch the dragon egg as if it was a reliquary from another time. Cuin lets them have their time with it, but insists that he has to keep it safe for now.

He, Torrent and Tinuviel then explain that they have to go to Phorros Irrendra to find the one they call Rhuarc Knightsbane as he has stolen the artifact responsible for Shaaladel's envy and his sole reason to commit the genocide when he could not find Trilla. They fear that as long as Rhuarc stays in Ycengled, the Shahalesti will send more and more forces and that it is only a matter of time until they find, capture and interrogate more of them. Fayne replies that the city has been forsaken for a reason, but if anyone could find answers there and understand its secrets it would be them.

They are then welcome to spend the night in the Taranesti hideout.