The Path of the Faendryl
III. The Rise of the Elven People and the Trial of Darkness
Millennia passed, and the Faendryl grew in power and strength. Their Art flourished and their knowledge deepened. In all things they were the epitome of the best of Elven-kind. Yet, they held all of the Elves in high esteem and considered them equal, for the people were one people, and the Houses did not yet exist.
How could the others be any less? They were all Elves. Other than the Arkati, who still walked freely and often among the people during this time, there were no others, for the lesser races still lived in simplicity and savagery.
As time passed, certain Houses became more powerful, gathering influence and prosperity. The greater families slowly united, until there stood only seven. It was in these seven families that the Elven people found guidance, and through time these seven began to embody aspects of life important to the Elven way of life.
It was during this time that the Elven people, under the leadership of the Faendryl, began to take their natural role in the governance of all of the land, the only race capable of filling the void left by the passing of the Drakes. The Arkati, while powerful, were few, and could not watch over the land with the same care and precision as could the Elves.
This became most evident during encounters with some of the Arkati who had once inhabited Lornon. These beings were dark and twisted, caring nothing for the land or its people, although the Elven people would not know the full extent of their darkness for some time. Those of Liabo opposed them, although no battles erupted between them. Still, this stalemate, and constant watch of one side upon the other, left the Arkati little extra time for the land itself.
During this time a trial of darkness descended upon the Elven people. The Lornon Arkati, come again into the world, wanted the Elven people to return to servitude and once again worship them as gods. Most of the Elven people refused, as the true nature of the Arkati was known, but some were weak of spirit and longed for that time of coddling within the religion now cast aside by the Elven people.
One such Elf, whose name is recorded only as Ivaryn, abased himself before the Lornon Arkati. Whether insane, weak of spirit or lured by their promises of power, he left behind his pride and all that the Elven people had become. It is believed that, at the very least, Eorgina, Luukos and V’Tull had a hand in his shaping and he once again worshipped them as gods.
Ivaryn, as a tool of the Arkati he served, sought to hinder the Elven people and their move to tame the lands and bring peace through governance. He sought to subvert members of the great families, but especially those of the Faendryl, whom he considered the greatest threat to the rule of his so-called gods.
Knowing that he was unable to face the power and the wisdom of the Elders, Ivaryn kept to the shadows, preying upon the young and impressionable in secret moments. His poisonous words and whispered half-truths eventually found root in the mind of a young Faendryl named Tahlad Tsi’shalar.