Valadain Raikos Godslayer

( 24th May 2005 -9th January 2006 (retired) )

The dark elves from the south wiped out half the village, purely for food purposes, on their way past towards the great siege at Urak. Although Valadain’s direct family survived, many of his friends and relatives did not. None of the simple farming folk had any experience with weapons more sophisticated than a hedging bill.

The ungoverned evil of the daywalking invaders burned in the young man’s memory like a canker, and in the end he – like many – found his answer lay with belief in a higher power. He turned to Malkar and began to study His ways.

Once the damage was repaired, he left his home and travelled to Estal city, where he entered the Temple of Malkar and began his studies. The church was still reeling from the shock of the death of Sionis, and was eager for new recruits. He specialized in political history for his secular studies, but his main interest was theology and morality. Evil walked the world; he knew that already. And some were at its’ mercy; but to some men, Malkar gave judgement to see right and wrong, and the strength to uphold one and suppress the other.

Ojimar the High Priest saw in this approach to the Faith a likely candidate for the mantle of paladinhood. Valadain began to train with the Paladins of Malkar, and fell under the tutelage of Taladras Windhammer, who taught him the art of the battleaxe. The older man had a very similar view of the rights and wrongs of the world, and had fought at the siege of Urak – he had seen that supreme axeman, Hûra Mardor, die on the walls. The two became great friends.

However, although Valadain took to the martial tests quite well, in one respect he utterly failed to match the requirements. He was no good at all at leading men into battle. There were several reasons for this. Firstly, his involvement with evil was too close and personal; he could never step back and direct others in striving with it, but had to be in there at the front. Secondly, he was low-born; and still, despite all Estallia’s equalities, paladins were expected to be noblemen. Also, he found heavy armour too much of a burden to carry; and a paladin without serious armour wasn’t going to live very long.

So Valadain remained a priest, but quite definitely not a gentle shepherd. While deeply compassionate to the weak and vulnerable, he remained unshakably convinced that the best way to help them was to root out evil and crush it. This led him, on attaining Journeyman status, to head into the Rosen hills, seeking the darkness.

Researching intently into Malador, the Glennyn and Lamli, Fly Taren and Valadain managed to discover enough to link Malador with a demon named Azael. During this time, Malador himself began to communicate with the party, first via the raconteur Jarik, then to Valadain, demanding a meeting with Vance Dexton. The dark one contended that the death of the Reaper had left Greyhawk open to an invasion by undead beyond anything it could cope with – unless Vance became Malador’s disciple.

Valadain had no doubts at all about his approach; Malador was evil and not to be endured, but Vance seemed tempted for a while. Once Malador had finally committed to a meeting, however, Vance launched an all-out attack on Malador.

Skaarl the Ranger died in the resulting titanic battle, and Fly Tarren was dominated by Malador and would have been killed by his own comrades if Valadain had not managed to Hold him until it wore off. Vance was brought to the edge of death, right hand severed, but managed to attach the Hand of Ishtar to his right wrist and fight on, and Malador fled.

After that, the companions stepped up their hunt for the Glaenynn, following the trail of riddles across the face of Grayhawk.

Discovering himself to have been poisoned, not just by Vance, but by Illiem Runesabre and Malador as well, Valadain performed a ritual of purification, which not only cleared the poisons from his body, but revealed more about his past.

It transpired that Valadain's true father had been a vile madman who had spawned offspring to sell to necromancers and demonologists. The destruction of this operation and slaying of Valadain's father had been one of the early steps on Malkar's road to deity, and had irrevocably marked Valadain. Another product of this abomination was Illem Runesabre, now revealed as Valadain's half-brother. Runesabre declined to acknowledge Valadain however, apparently feeling himself too tainted from his origins and life to make the change.

With regular interruptions from Malador, the unravelling of the Old Gods' prison continued, although the death of Vance Dexton in Van Myrid was a considerable setback. Azael, leading an army of demons powered by the dead souls he'd harvested in the wake of Selemar's slaying of the Reaper, invaded Grayhawk, and Glenarrion emerged from seclusion to fight him.

With Glenarrion and Runesabre holding back the dark tide, Valadain, Jarik the Master of Resonance and Viator Varkos, King of Thieves, completed the sequence and released the Glaenynn. These proved to be every bit as arrogant and aggressive as had been feared, and only the regal dominance of Sarik Ramadius II and the use of the Dragonstaff by Jarik kept the subsequent council of war from dissolving into a free fight.

The decision was taken to strike directly at Azael rather than fighting an unwinnable conventional war against a hundred thousand demons, and a strike force assembled. This comprised

• Valadain Raikos
• Jarik Master of Dragons
• Viator Varkos, King of Thieves
• Malkar the White
• Glenarrion Kinslayer, Lord of Shadows
• Aliandir son of Willowstar and Demerak
• Three Glaenynn including their Lord

Andurien Willowstar herself refused to take part, and Jarik entertained suspicions as to her reliability as a member of the alliance against Azael, though he said nothing at the time.

Flying into the hordes of demons surrounding the last planar gate on Grayhawk, the strange band launched an immediate attack on the arch-demon. He had enslaved the souls of Agrius Shalandir and Vance Dexton into the form of a pair of hounds, but they were no match for the gods and heroes and were soon despatched to their final rest. A titanic battle ensued, with many shifts of fortune. Azael was wounded by Jarik's resonance; Jarik was stunned and hurled to the ground, leaving Azael in possession of the Dragonstaff and control of the Glaennyn; he turned them on his foes. Aliandir skulked in the air for most of the fight, before trying to drop a voidbomb into the fight - which would have killed everyone, had Malkar not managed to catch it. Glenarrion was dominated by Azael and turned against his friends; Malkar managed to restore his senses. Viator was dominated, but restored by Malkar - then pretended to be still enspelled to work around behind Azael. Aliandir, finally entering the fray, was slain by a Glaennyn who bit his head clean off. Valadain cast Silence 15' Radius, preventing Azael from casting any more spells, and Jarik managed to wrest the Dragonstaff from the demon's hands, returning the Glaennyn to the attackers' side. Glenarrion was bewildered by the Dark Fire to the point that he struck himself with Fangor Kinslayer, and was Unmade. Finally, Malkar disarmed Azael, Viator struck the demon from behind with a lethal dagger, and Valadain smote him down with his battleaxe to end the affair.

In the turbulent days following the death of Azael it became clear that the demon incursion into Greyhawk he had triggered was not something that would disappear like smoke with the death of its' instigator. The demons were here to stay, and the powers of Greyhawk would need to revise their thinking to cope with their permanent presence.

Malkar had named Valadain his Disciple, moving him outside the regular Church hierarchy, and he began to take the reins ready for a pogrom against the demons. Anger was hot against Willowstar, who in her turn was furious and grieving for the death of her son. She was reputed to be gathering a demon army of her own, and Valadain was poised to lead a crusade against them when a series of shattering revalations halted him in his tracks.

First hinted at in sly asides from various demons, finally confirmed by Malkar himself, was the discovery that Valadain's unspeakable father had in fact been half-demon, which made Valadain himself a cambion, or part demon. Hot on the heels of this came whispered suggestions that not only was Malkar himself also demonic in nature, but that he had committed dreadful atrocities at the site of Valadain's birth. The conflict this caused between the Valadain who'd striven for purity and the ancestry that had been hidden from him drove Valadain to the edge of madness. Malkar appeared not to be helping much when he entrusted to Valadain the Heart of Darkness, the black demon-attracting stone that had been his father's heart, and which caused demons to begin to call him Master and do his bidding.

Finally, Valadain journeyed to the scene of his origin, there to encounter his mother Lilliam's unquiet spirit and discover his father's true identity - Manalkar, older brother of Malkar! Summoning his God to him he demanded the truth, and for a moment it was touch and go whether the Disciple would remain true. Malkar, however, took responsibility for the mistaken zeal of his massacre of Manalkar and his offspring with such sincerity that Valadain's faith in the Good God was comprehensively restored and his doubts resolved.

His approach to their current problems required some changes, however; stamping out all demonkind on Greyhawk, apart from being either hypocritical or suicidal, was not going to be possible. Something had to be done to redeem them from the evil of their nature - or was it nurture? He had the highest precedents imaginable to prove that it was true.

Meanwhile Jarik and Viator were becoming increasingly anti-Malkar in their views, and Valadain had a juggling job to do with his loyalties.

Muziel's next gambit - from the shadows as ever - was to launch an assault on gods, temples and priests; Willowstar was kidnapped, every Willowstar temple in Greyhawk burned along with its' High Priest, and Malkar forced to flee to Limbo. Simultaneously a land attack was launched on Rosengrad, where Valadain found himself fighting alongside vampires, templars, dragons and King Archibald himself.

Returning to Gran Breton to research Limbo, now increasingly obvious as the correct destination for the souls of the dead, Valadain came into direct verbal conflict with Malkar over the latter's assumption of the throne of New Bretonia. Valadain argued so passionately for the fundamental essential of mortal free will and against the Gods living the lives of mortals for them that he half expected Malkar to blast him to bits on the spot. However, the two agreed to differ, and Valadain returned to his comrades in Van Myrrid.

As he left the palace he was attacked by six suspiciously well-dressed thugs who declared they had a "message from Viator Varkos". He beat off or slew most, but took the leader prisoner when he turned out to be, not an assassin, but a Malkaran Templar! Perim had heard Valadain's conversation with Malkar and apparently taken it on himself to punish the Disciple for his "treachery". Valadain enlightened him by casting Know Alignment and True Seeing on Perim, causing him to see Valadain for what he truly was - and who he served. Dismissing the Templar's resulting paroxysm of remorse with forgiveness, Valadain declared Perim his Acolyte and took him along to learn wisdom.

In Van Myrrid, he discovered that Viator had taken advantage of the slaughter of the royal family by Malador to make himself King, claiming some heirloom that gave him a claim. While deeply sceptical of this last, Valadain saw the return to stability in Van Myrrid as an entirely good result, preventing a chaotic succession crisis, and felt this worth any massaging of the heritage. Viator had clearly done this at least partially to deny Malkar the chance to increase his empire, and while disapproving of Viator's opposition to Malkar, Valadain was in full agreement with the position that his God should not increase his worldly empire.

For whatever reasons, Viator appeared ready to put the issue of the amulet behind him, and offered to shake hands with Valadain; this the priest accepted, while not entirely assuming that the Master of Misdirection had no further plots up his sleeves. After the examples of Vance and Malador, the first thing he did afterwards was to use Detect Poison to check he hadn't been tricked again!

Jarik had a surprise; Hoqar, a native of a plane called Elysium, and apparently its' last survivor after a visit from Muziel, carrying a staff very like the Dragonstaff. The lore Jarik had uncovered indicated a correlation between the Five Senses, and possibly more staves of a similar nature. Jarik corresponded to Sound, obviously; Hoqar being from a plane of Light was Sight, it seemed.

Leaving the King of Thieves to consolidate his stolen kingdom, Valadain, Jarik, Hokar, Fly Tarrin, Lord Glaenynn, Perim and Cara van Dia travelled to the plane of Limbo, seeking answers and to rescue the lost Glaenynn Eynar. Gaining access through the Namless One's power, they navigated through the hazardous realm by means of the two staves' powers. These enabled them to locate the fallen Glaenynn, but too late; he died in his Lord's talons despite Valadain's best efforts to provide first aid.

Attempts to communicate with the gargantuan creature who stoked the furnaces of Limbo with the souls of the dead to power reality were also futile. Frustrated by this, Jarik siezed the startled Hoqar and leaped into the concentrated souls below.

A bit flummoxed by this daring gambit, Valadain, Perim, Cara and Fly Tarin waited for some time to see what would happen, but when nothing did they eventually decided to leave Limbo and see if they could do anything to help from the outside. Outside the Gates, however, they were ambushed by Muziel's general Osar and Kelle the Marraq (who was armed with Void arrows) along with a vast assortment of demonic nasties.

Perim the acolyte gave a yell and charged the massed demons. His courage was rewarded by death at the hands of the Marraq Archer.

Disaster was piled on disaster, for next Kell shot the Lord of the Glaenynn with a Voidarrow and Unmade him. Fly Tarin worked a well-timed Rope Trick, into which he, Cara van Dia and Valadain escaped, and from which they hurled magical attacks to try and dissaude their attackers. They could have stayed indefinitely, but decided to make a break for it. This did not go well, and both Cara and Fly were killed before Valadain escaped by an Astral Spell.

Returning to Greyhawk, and to Gran Breton, Valadain was intercepted by High Priest Ollis, who warned him that Malkar had apparently gone mad. He was slaughtering his political opponents, sorcerers, even members of his own church! The few priests that had decided to resist this were gathering, and Ollis begged Valadain's help and warned him to avoid the palace before leaving to join them.

No sooner had he gone than a dark figure appeared from the shadows. Illeum Runesabre had returned, now that his half-brother was beginning to see the truth, and led him down into the sewers of the city, where he and Ledgor had gathered all the remaining sorcerers and citizens of note, planning to spirit them away. As they headed for the edge of Gran Breton they were intercepted by Ollis, wracked with remorse but compelled by Malkar's will to oppose them. Faced with the terrible choice between failing the refugees or slaying his friend, Valadain managed to work a Hold Person on the bishop and incapacitate him without harming him, allowing them to escape.

As they moved on, Illeum spoke urgently to Valadain, driving home the facts of Malkar's rule, and ripping away the last shreds of the deception he had worked on Valadain. He handed the disciple two arrows he'd made, specifically to try and kill Malkar, infused with the mystic substance Rootvile.

As Illeum spoke, Valadain's pace slowed, his spirit quailing as his brother's words drove the last nails into the coffin of his faith. Finally he halted, tears bleeding down his face as he realized the enormity of what he has lost. In that instant, he truly revoked his covenant with Malkar. He fell to his knees and wept, but even as he did, one word swirled to the surface of the prison of his anguish: faith.

For so long this word had meant faith in Malkar. But now, from the objectivity of despair, he revisited the concept and realized that, all along, serving Malkar was just a means of expressing his real faith.

Faith in Justice.

Faith in the protection of the weak from the evil by the strong.

Faith in the redemption of those who wish to be redeemed.

Faith in the power and will of mortals to achieve this.

Faith in Good.

Not for a moment did he regret the relinquishing of the Heart of Darkness. That power was his father's heritage, not his, and as tainted as Malkar. Nothing can taint this faith. It was his before he knew Malkar, before he knew his past. Rooted deep within, primarily it is faith in himself.

It draws a line between Good and Evil; and over that line he saw...

Decisively, he rose to his feet; Valadain would kneel no more. His 'holy' symbol dropped into the water with a sullen splash. Gathering his white robes, he tore the insignia of Malkar from them and likewise discarded them, before re-donning them; white was still his colour.

Drawing a deep breath, he turned a steady gaze on his brother. "The element of surprise is ours," he declared. "Never will we get a better chance. If we succeed, there will be no need to flee or hide. Even if we fail, the diversion will allow our people here a better chance to escape. Two chances, brother, for we two to redeem our past choices and deeds. And if we succeed - then we can turn to Muziel and the rescue of Sarrik.''

Leaving the rescue of the refugees in Ledgor's capable hands, the two half-brothers doubled back to the palace. Working their way inside with incredible care, they gained the palace, and came face-to-face with the carnage wrought by Malkar on his suffering subjects. Hundreds of sorcerers, priests and templars hung along the corridors in blood and torment by Malkar's malice - including Ollis, paying the price for his failure.

Ollis warned them that the throne room was a trap, and that Malkar had gone to the Astral to intercept the Staffwielders. Unable to bear the suffering of the trapped people, most of whom had served in goodness of heart and good faith, Valadain tried to use Malkar's magic to undo Malkar's malice and heal them all, but his spell failed. Nonetheless, he and Ollis freed enough to rescue the rest, and sent the non-combatant ones to meet the other refugees.

After a nasty encounter in the throne room - which nearly killed both of them - the brothers journeyed to the Astral, where, in front of the Gates of Limbo, they found Malkar, talking to - Muziel! The final twist of the knife, or so it seemed at the time.

“Just destroy the gate,” Muziel said, “what use are the staffs if they are entombed forever?”

“No power in the universe, save the Maelstrom, is capable of that feat,” Malkar replied

“What are they doing in there?”

“Learning,” the god replied.

“Then we must act!”

“Patience, Muziel, your impetuosity is surprising considering your journey to reach Grayhawk.”

“I have no stomach for this, Malkar, you know that! Let us return if we cannot flush them out…this plane sends shivers down my spine. I am just not dressed for it! And what of that damned disciple of yours? I knew that one would be trouble.”

“I have no disciple.”

Valadain and Illeum attacked at this point.

Valadain launched the two Rootvile arrows at his former master. The first struck home, hitting Malkar in the forehead and lodging there; the second was parried, but Malkar was clearly in trouble, as the deadly Rootvile ate its' way into his system. Runesabre and Valadain hurled themselves at the God and the Demon, and Muziel was quick to make his escape. An epic battle ensued, with the two half-brothers chipping away at Malkar as he weakened until each managed to land a telling blow and the tainted God fell. His dark spirit attempted to possess Valadain, but Runesabre had a spell ready and the attempt failed, leaving his soul to fall to Limbo.

Valadain took charge of the White Blade - no point leaving it around for Muziel to find! - and at that point the Gates of Limbo opened and Jarik and Hoqar emerged, equipped with the knowledge and power to restore the mechanism for the chanelling of the souls of the dead to Limbo. Jarik revealed to Valadain that he had witnessed the ravishment of Andurien Willowstar, and that the sole remaining God of Greyhawk was pregnant with the bastard demon spawn of Malkar.

Jarik and Hoqar decided between themselves who would establish which piece of the interplanar conduit for the dead souls, and Hoqar departed, taking Malkar's spirit with him to punish when he got bored. Valadain and Runesabre accompanied Jarik to Menengor, where the Resonance Master set up his mysterious Tower as the anchor of the channel in the material world.

The comrades split up then, Jarik flying to Elenoria to speak with Willowstar, and Valadain and Runesabre heading south to Gran Breton. There, they discovered the nobleman Sandor Gragorian had begun to get the post-Malkar slaughter under control, and joined in the process of tidying up. Kell the Marraq had been captured, but Valadain allowed him to live when he claimed exclusive knowledge of where to find Muziel, however impounding his bow. Runesabre agreed to take over the reins as steward once more until Sarrik was restored to his throne.

Rather to everyone's surprise, Ollis was there, and greeted Valadain warmly. Valadain was delighted to see his old friend alive, but underneath that pleasure was the realization that something had gone wrong; the death of Malkar should have destroyed all his senior priests. Something had survived somewhere...

Hot on the heels of this came Jarik's message; he had spoken with Willowstar, who was desperately trying to commit suicide to prevent the birth of her child, had tried to attack the spawn of Malkar directly with the Dragonstaff, failed, and had to withdraw. Agreeing with him, Valadain summoned Sharoshi and flew to the Elenorian Forest himself, determined to investigate and - if necessary - finish the job.

However, he was halted by what was to prove a pivotal encounter. High over the forest, a telepathic challenge crashed into his brain, as Illyanth, Princess of Elenoria, placed herself in his path and defied him in his teeth to come closer. At first Valadain reacted angrily, but the courage and steadfast honour displayed by the young Princess touched him, reaching inside to the remains of his trust. He turned back, commending his opponent and disavowing any further interference in Elenoria or Willowstar's doings.

After his return to Gran Breton, word arrived that the Queen of the Elenorian Forest and Sarrik Ramadiaus II had been murdered by Osar. This disaster came close to destabilizing the entire north of Greyhawk, but Illyanth took control in Elenoria, and Jarik, Viator and Valadain managed to persuade Gundren, mother of Sarik and Queen Mother of New Bretonia, to agree to take the throne.

Sarik's state funeral was a mighty occasion, attended by the great and the good from all over Greyhawk. All the allied rulers attended or sent ambassadors, except the King of Darim, who had argued with Jarik. At the height of the ceremony, Gundren stepped forward despite her own doubts and assumed the mantle of Queen, although she did not take Illeum Runesabre as her consort, much to that individual's chagrin.

As was increasingly the case in these days after the death of Malkar, Valadain found himself the object of fear and uncertainty, and made strenuous efforts to reassure people throughout the event. Jarik came to the conclusion that Runesabre was Muziel, and spontaneously attacked him, although Runesabre managed to disarm him and Archibald of Rosen calmed the situation before any blood was shed.

It was clear from the first that Illyanth wanted to make contact with Valadain, and as the evening of the funeral feast developed they met and spoke for the first time. The harsh words of their first conversation were set aside, and the strong respect and liking between the two deepened and grew as they spoke together. Later that night, an assignation was made and kept, and love was found in the midst of death and war.

Despite his new yearnings to remain right where he was, Valadain did not even consider abandoning his comrades, and so a few days later they took the perilous journey to the Plane of Abomination, Loramas' plane, where the ruins of the Library of Eth were reputed to have the key to Muziel's past and power.

After many adventures on the hazardous plane, they pentetrated the Library and were confronted by Greyjul, tailor to Muziel (and Viator!), who first held the thief Kreosot hostage and then fled, hotly pursued by the party aboard dragons. As they flew, Jarik unleashed the Maelstrom on the remains of Loramas' city, pulverising it. Kelle the Marraq, trusted once more by Viator Varkos, then changed sides again, attempting to shoot Jarik with a Void arrow. He was disarmed but Greyjul escaped. Balked, the group returned to Greyhawk, where they discovered several months had passed.

Willowstar's twins had been born, and named Malakar (after his father) and Elena (after the first Elenorian Queen), and all was not well from the way the Willowstar priestess gave the news, though there was no civilized way to glean more. Illyanth was also described as "blossoming".....

Below is attached Chappie's "End of Term Report", covering the transition of Valadain from PC to NPC...

Valadain Raikos cy 4822 – 4844

            The Godslayer moves into the Elenorian forest with his lover, Queen Illyanth, and their relationship blossoms. As elven consort Valadain is free from the responsibilities of leadership and is able to lead his own life within the palace. The fear and trepidation the Elenorians feel soon disappears as they see Valadain the man, the lover, and the father. His two sons, Brendil and Calandrin, become symbols of the union between Illyanth and her consort – any resentment of the man disappears and the elves come to love him as much as their queen.

            Valadain learns new skills. His budding sorcery consumes much of the early part of his time in the palace. He chooses the Paths, the mystical study of spirits and their effects on each other. Before the first ten years is out he becomes a Master of the Paths (equivalent to wizard) and this study leads to the discovery that he and Illyanth will never sire a daughter – the natural heir to the throne of Elenoria. Unlike human succession, however, elven kings and queens can sit on the throne for centuries (two millennia in the case of Elena, the first Elenorian queen) so Valadain is not worried by this discovery.

            His children become close to Willowstar’s godlings, Malakar and Elena, and they are close and good friends throughout their early years. Under the watchful eye of Jarik – a regular visitor to Willowstar – he shows them the meaning of balance and takes them on regular excursions on the backs of mighty dragons. Illyanth trains her sons well. Brendil is considered one of Elenoria’s greatest swordsmen at ten years old and both show a thirst for knowledge that surprises even their elven tutors.

            Valadain soon learns that Jarik and Willowstar have become lovers…his mastery of the Paths discerns this knowledge. He alone knows of the child the two will produce years before it happens…a child that will play with his own children, play with the godlings and, ultimately, rise to challenge the world. Andur Jarikstar is eight years old in cy 4844 and already the Elenorian forest is too small and provincial to meet his/her capacity to learn (the child is half man half dragon – no discernable sex, but it is called son anyway). Valadain stares down his friend’s path and for Jarik he sees the slow climb to god-hood. Willowstar subtly and secretly altered the nature of the monasteries and the Guardians of Balance…that alteration caused a filtering of his followers’ power toward Jarik. There will soon be a god of balance.

            Of Muziel there is no sign. The Echeron lord has vanished…sank into the mire shortly after the death of Malkar. Even in Myrid, the kingdom of Viator, his influence has dried up – many rumours spread but no confirmed sightings. Valadain is unable to read Muziel’s path because he does not possess anything that connects with the Echeron. (To read the paths you must be a) in touching distance of the man or b) in possession of something of great value  - sentimental or otherwise - that the person held dear). Many are thankful for the apparent disappearance of Muziel. Particularly Willowstar and the Elenorians, who have their hands full of children and godlings.

            Sadly Willowstar is an infrequent visitor to Valadain. Though the fears of her people are greatly reduced the goddess feels that her children would be thrown into conflict if a relationship developed between them. Though Willowstar regrets this she informs him that it is purely a pragmatic decision…in time their relationship will blossom…but only after her children are set on their own paths.

            Valadain never meets Malakar, though Elena secretly embraces him at Illyanth’s insistence and the two share tears for the death of Malkar. Elena is fiercely loyal to her mother and she too has the gift of the Paths. “Malakar will forgive you one day,” she says, “and you will be given the credit you deserve, Valadain, credit for the centuries of peace that will follow.”

            Valadain is uncertain of her words, for he too has stared down the Paths of many people. Peace? No peace for many of Grayhawk’s inhabitants.

            Brendil is seventeen and has a desire to leave Elenoria and forge his own existence in the world. Though Illyanth is nervous it is Jarik that persuades her to let him go…and it is Jarik that offers him passage to Kulland and the mighty citadel of Aldegaarde. Jarik has emptied the Darklands and the Sundered Isles of almost two hundred thousand refugees. An operation that took Sharoshi and a thousand dragons nearly ten years has seen the emergence of a new kingdom in the east. Valadain embraces his son and Jarik, though Illyanth cannot help but hide a tear for her son. His path is one to greatness, a heroic trail of great deeds and compassion. Elena, Willowstar’s godling, embraces the young man and Valadain sees her Path intertwined closely with his son’s – he smiles as the dragon flies south over the great green carpet of trees.

            Elenoria, the great elven kingdom, does not sleep in the domesticity of the children within its borders. Illyanth uses the fact that Willowstar is here to promote Elenorians as Gods People – though later chastised by the goddess the words of the queen have the desired effect. The Elenorians become proud (arrogant? aloof?) and maintain their hard work in areas such as construction (defences, farming etc) and more importantly in the military. Illyanth grows the army to double its size in the twenty years of her reign – furthermore she applies her martial genius to retraining these troops. “The world is getting stronger,” she says to Valadain one day, “and my Elenorians will not be left behind when it comes to armies.”

            After fifteen years a letter arrives from the Isle of Ice. It is Illeum Runesabre, who built an academy at Gorhaven and attracted some of Bretonia’s greatest sorcerers to it. An extract:

            …my congratulations on the birth of your sons, half brother, a truly wonderful thing that the Elenorians have embraced you. When they are old enough send them to me at the Palace of Ice – I will make them more than welcome…in fact come yourself and bring that pretty queen of yours too!

            They have made me king now! Imagine it…I was within a whisper of becoming steward of Bretonia once more but Jarik put paid to that…but I am not bitter about it. What happened has forced me into a better life so if I ever see Jarik again I may just thank him…or perhaps I will just destroy him!

            I am building a navy, by the way. My advisors say that it is the only way to get around in the western isles…have they not heard of dragons! Anyway, ignore the rumours you will hear that I am building a fleet to invade Bretonia…they are not true.

            In time we will dine together, my brother, and talk perhaps of the olden times…I would dearly like that…

            Illeum

            In conclusion Valadain has given himself to the training and upbringing of his children. With that upbringing comes the love of his queen and the admiration of all the Elenorians who come to know him. As a warrior and as a sorcerer he has reached new heights, but it is through his children and their deeds where his success will be measured. Valadain knows better than most, however, that stormy times are ahead.