The Heroes of Shadow, or as they are known in Gavin Wel, the Fugitives of Dark Port, are on their way to Dinnae aboard the Feydark galleon Amoria.
Archive for the the Fey Dark Category
The Company of the Black Orchid
Posted in Ancient Lands, Gavin Wel, the Fey Dark on November 2, 2011 by coyoteandthunderThe Dragonkin Wars
Posted in Gavin Wel, Lesivith, the Archfey, The Dragongods, the Fey Dark, The Fey People, The North, The Shadow Road, the Talisman on October 22, 2011 by coyoteandthunder
Announcing the publishing of the Valena Quoul, the history of the Dragon Kin Wars in the ancient lands of Unon. Click here or on the picture above to link to the PDF. This book is another chapter in the hugely involved plot of how the shadow grows over this campaign world. I am still experimenting with my idea of publishing a novel version of the campaign world…been working on it for twenty years. When published, of course, I will only use appropriated art with permission. I appreciate all the artists’ talents on this website and if permission is ever requested I will of course abide. For now, the site is published for personal use only.
The Secret of the Island of Blood
Posted in Ancient Lands, the Fey Dark, The Fey People on October 15, 2011 by coyoteandthunder
The Dark Mistress died years ago. Her dark spirit continues to linger in the dark feywilds around the mansion that was built by her lover before they were both betrayed. Salymira was her name. Once a shadar kai and then the mistress of Janulen of the Black Sword keep, now a tragic, cautionary tale of passion and shadow.
Janulen was an artificer of fantastic renown who specialized in thunder magic. Then living at Mantan, the Black Sword Keep atop Mountain Iredinn, in the days before the event known as the Gherivoninacht, the night the mountains crashed into the sea. Janulen was contracted by the Dark lord Maurphiun to create a device to be called the Gherivon, the thunder machine. Mauphriun, a thrall of the Shadow King Alnayab, chose Janulen for the job because of the remote location and his singular talent.
Janulen lived alone with his wife Ralyria and his assistant, the faederkin Thanataign. For many years Janulen struggled to construct the Gherivon for his dark employer. Maurphiun, a scholar of ancient history, moved to the mountain to aid and observe Janulen and his designs. IT became clear to Maurphiun that the building of the Gherivon would drive Janulen insane as the construction of the device might literally tear his mind apart. Maurphiun contracted the services of a Shadar Kai sorceress and consort, Salymira, to soothe and revitalize the exhausted Janulen. In those years, the ShadarKai were known to inhabit and consort with the Dark Elves of Baestelix, and this is where the two lovers began their triste, all to the betrayal of Ralyria.
In the year 1125, in the hours before the Gherivoninacht, in the last moments before the activation of the Gherivon, Ralyria learned of her betrayal. She found the mansion of Phytherios on the other side of the mountain peak and asertained its dark purpose. A legendary fury arose in her heart. A fury so great that an elemental daemon named Farthuriel from the FeyDark, heard her woeful heart beat and came to taste her rage. Farthuriel offered to take the heart of Janulen and cast it into the dark well, and in return, Ralyria would let him transform her rage into a mighty thing. “Anything! I will give you anything to condemn Janulen’s heart to the void!” Ralyria gladly screamed.
Thanataign, the faederkin, every faithful to Janulen, overheard this dark bargain and reported it to his lord. Maurphiun was there when Thanataign reported on Ralyria’s dark dargain. Maurphiun sensed that this daemon, this Fartheriel of the Black Well, might actually have the ability to stop the Gherivon from activating. To save his agenda, Maurphiun made a dark deal of his own with Farthuriel to become an undead demi-lich, trading a bit of his soul, so that the Gherivon might not be interrupted.
He did not know, however, that indeed Faruthiel had betrayed Ralyria too, and had transformed her into a black dragon to kill Janulen. As the Gherivon was activated, the dragon attacked and the incantation ritual to realize its full power was never manifest. For indeed the Gherivoninacht occured, reducing the Southrin Mountain range to the sea, but lo, the plan was to destroy all of Ethilistyr as well. Ralyria pierced Janulen’s heart with her vile tooth and sent the doomed artifacer to a unliving state of wraithdom. Maurphiun, in a blind need to fulfill a plan that was never fully realized, keeps trying to subdue the dragon, who still haunts the mist trail.
The Raelfaen and the Eladrin
Posted in the Archfey, the Fey Dark, The Fey People on October 14, 2011 by coyoteandthunder
With the coming of Shadow, the splintering of the Astral Tower in the Game of Mountains, and the rise of the ancient Fey power of the Aoltha Pana, in the Seventh Aepoch of the Raelfaen, a cultural and spiritual divide has occured, or has become evident, between who may be called Eladrin and who may be called Raelfaen. For fifty thousand years, the two races have been one and the same, interchangable and in harmonium. No longer is that the case. In the recent days following the Dragonkin War, the Pale Court of Raelfaen at Tem Salaam as presided over by Lady Kasalai, in the ancient lands of Unon, has ruled what all of the finer sylvan races have already known: the onyx-eyed Raelfaen are of shadow and can not be known as one people with the ivory-eyed Eladrin. Nowhere is this more periously felt than the ancient city of TemAol. 200 miles west of Gavin Wel, TemAol, the City of Silver Trees, is the Eladrin/Raelfaen capitol of Lauwerfel in the Feydark. Passions run wild in this ancient place of nethermagic where fine weaponry is crafted, including Raven Blades form the Black Orchid Knights, and are exported to the rich success of its citizenry. What was once whole has now been split as a snake’s tongue, the paths of these two ancient peoples now diverge. How and to what mortal end all this goes, none now can say.
The Archer in The Shadowwood
Posted in Elves, Farharrow, the Fey Dark, The Southern Kingdoms on October 6, 2011 by coyoteandthunder
Iados, an archer of Farharrow, one of only two Raelfaen in town, keeps to himself. Although he can usually be found at Travesters on any given night, or protecting Bobbin’s Still from Goblin Raids, the mysterious archer prefers the periphary. Laconic is word that is used when the educated folk of the Feydark hamlet discuss their friend Iados. As of late, he was indeed instrumental with the takedown of the Bugbear zombie piloted by the mad goblin Gethish. As well, Iados helped the Shade arcanist Eddison and the halfling assassin, Brynn, rid the town of the Fey Daemon who plagued Isentide Church and possess a young vistani girl. Iados has a younger sister named Salifa. The Priestess of Isentide, a shade named Raechel has recently taken a romantic interest in the shadow archer. Only Brynn Bobbin knows the truth of her dear friend, that Iados is actually in hiding from terrible events that recently transpired between the eladrin and the raelfaen in his hometown of TemAol.
backstory: Nyrrin the Dark Elf Warlock
Posted in Elves, the Fey Dark, The Southern Kingdoms on October 6, 2011 by coyoteandthunder
Nyrrin is from the City of Baestrelix. Baestrelix was founded fifty years ago and then was destroyed three years ago. A blink of an eye in the lifespan of a Dark Elf. The City was built in the caverous limestone depths of the Southrin Mountains. Following the terrible event called Gherivoninacht, during the cataclysmic dragonkin wars twenty years ago, the mountains themselves were destroyed, becoming the Southrin islands which pock the Inland Sea between Dinnae and Gavin Wel. Baesrelix was a ruthless matriarchy, one where males were often killed for their uselessness. A civil war continued to rage in the City of the Spider Soul, between the followers of Lolth and the followers of the Elemental Eye. In an unprecidented moment of empathy, Nyrrin was gifted a warlock’s binding spellbook by his grandmother before she died. The power therein enabled Nyrrin to rise in the ranks of the young army of Spider Souls. He was assigned to an Ythbet, a party of warriors, who were to explore the Island of Belach Na, searching for the device called the Gherivon, the tool that was used to destroy the Southrin Mountains. When exploring a ruined hous at the south end of the island, a place known as the Mansion of the Dark Goddess, the Ythbet was sacked by a brigade of terrible golems made of fire. All in the Ythbet were killed, save Nyrrin. The young warlock was chained up in the study. The Spirit known as Ithmay loved to torture the dark elf, and did so for weeks before Nyrrin stopped responding to her cruelty…
This is where his new life begins.
Voyage into the Feydark
Posted in Ancient Lands, the Fey Dark, The Fey People on September 29, 2011 by coyoteandthunder
The Amoria, formerly known as the Gold Wing, was once a proud war galleon of Gavin Wel, the premier war vessel of the Raven Queen’s navy. Since then it has been retrofitted, painted and is now a derelict pirate-ghost ship, still under the command of Aeryn the Gold. The ship was built in 1115 and served in Penelius’ Navy during the Dragonkin Wars for the next five years. It was restored in 1130 by the necromancer of Dinnae, Athol the Red. It has 38 oars and is powered by team of 76 eladrin zombies whose souls have been retired to the Shadowfel. It is 135 feet long, 43 feet wide and weighs 220 tons. Its main mast is 85 feet tall.
Aeryn, the only captain the Amoria has ever known has gone from celebrated general to privateer in the age of the Feydark.
Dzjaran, a horsemaster of Hyth Anir, surrendered his three destriers when Netherdann relieved him of his head.
The Final Battle of the Epic Quest, into the Pit!
Posted in Gavin Wel, Men, the Fey Dark, The Sherriff on September 18, 2011 by coyoteandthunder
Into the Abyss! went the adventurers for the final battle in the Epic campaign. For some, this adventure concluded three years of work with these characters. Above, the Ghoul King, Doresain, challenges the crew for the soul of Tim Tigeon. This campaign defined Epic experience! At times tedious, at times emotional, at times wonderful, and always glorious, the Game of Mountains campaign was one of the great adventures of all time. Thanks Matt!
WolfDog, Zarconus (Iokhen), Teak Mumbai, Ghesh and Krugg defeated the Ghoul King by fleeing to the Fay Dark.
The Dark Pana was waiting to take the Tigeon boys and claim final victory. Ultimately, the Archfay queen, and younger sister of the Raven Queen destroyed Wolfdog, Teak and Krugg. The Stickareign Blade, the Second Sword of Glory, was smuggled out of the Fay Dark and back to the Dreamwater by Tim, the returned sherriff and Ghesh, the Druid lord. Iokhen, the knight formerly known as Zarconus, ascended to the Astral Court of Dragons as eternal champion.
We battled through Hell (well, actually the Abyss, but it felt like Hell…at times) to conclude the most epic campaign imaginable. Check out some pics and story from our final session. It came down to being assassinated by The Dark Pana, the Archfay Queen Mother of Shadow Magic, the Moon, Wine, Blood, and Owls. Wolfdog died a 27th level weaponsmaster who we started as a 12th level fighter almost two summers ago. Teak (or called Tiki, by some) Mumbai was killed as well. We wrote Tiki as a first level warlock in the Summer of 2008. She died at 27th level as well. Krugg, an epic-cleric, was also killed by the Pana’s Blade in the Black Bog of the Fay Dark.
Matt DM’d a tight and beautiful series of adventures: the final eight chapters of the campaign, rounding out an amazing story-arch that took us through the Astral Tower. You can download the Astral Tower Campaign Setting as a PDF on the DAOTYR website as well. Although glorious, this certainly was a bittersweet ending for all. The campaign ended with Iokhen, the knight formerly known as Zarconus ascending, but not before handing the Stikarein blade to Tim to return to the Dreamwater.
In our Epic Campaign (beginning at 20th level) we did all of the following, in order:
1. Became champions of Vecna by destroying avatars of our worst nightmares outside the City of Dis
2. Destroyed An Elder Brain of the Illithid to gain entrance to the Happy Hunting Grounds
3. Championed over a united front of Daemons and Angels controlled by the Manifest Power of Bane, Lord of Battle
4. Met with Bahamut, the Lord of Light, and raced Rimfire Griffons in the Arena of Celestia
5. Destroyed Arnithol and Nakrathan, the High Elder Masters of Hyth Anir, and defeated the Sword of Doom, Rendelreign as it was coorporeal as a Ancient Blue Dragon
6. Faced the hydra of Demogorgon in the Labyrinth of the Abyss
7. Encountered Glasya in the City of Infernus
8. Rescued the Sherriff, Tim Tigeon, on the 487th Plane of the Abyss by facing Doreseen, the King of Ghouls and fleeing to the Fay Dark where the Dark Pana had been waiting the whole time…
The Dark Bloom
Posted in Ancient Lands, the Fey Dark on September 10, 2011 by coyoteandthunder
The Dark Bloom behind Bobbin’s Still in Farharrow appears from the outside to be a single overgrown bramble that stretches nearly forty feet in height and is the size of a city block. In truth though, it is a wilderness unto itself, much larger inside than out.
Jennelith the Black Orchid
Posted in Gavin Wel, the Archfey, the Fey Dark on September 10, 2011 by coyoteandthunder
For over a thousand years, the leader of the Black Orchid knights is Lady Jennelith. Her infamy is matched only by her mystery.
Chronicles of the World of DaoTyr 