Post by Ashurr on May 14, 2011 0:44:38 GMT -5
The Elf–Dragon Wars
Although the destruction visited upon Xen’drik by the dragons was monumental, some of the continent’s denizens did survive. While the dragons brooded, elven refugees established the nation of Aerenal on that tropical island-continent after fleeing Xen’drik. Thousands of years of research into
necromancy and the magical teachings of Argonnessen produced the Undying Court, an alliance of undying elves with a collective magical and divine might that rivaled the fiendish Overlords of the first age of the world. Since that time—nearly twenty-five thousand years before the founding of
Galifar—dragons and elves have been at war. The tides of strife ebb and flow, and centuries might pass between battles . . . but sooner or later the dragons return to fight once more. The basis of this age-old conflict, and its conduct, is another of the mysteries of Argonnessen.
Many find it impossible to imagine that the Aereni could stand against the force that utterly destroyed the giant civilizations of Xen’drik. In truth, the elves have never faced the full power of Argonnessen. The strike on Xen’drik was carried out by the full, unified force of dragonkind; the Elf–Dragon Wars have involved only a few flights from the Light of Siberys, the draconic army of
Argonessen. The fact that the Undying Court has been able to hold off the dragons remains an impressive feat, but the undying have never faced the true power that ravaged a continent.
Those who study this puzzling behavior ask: Why not? What motivates this seemingly endless struggle? If the dragons truly wished to eliminate the elves, why do they not commit their full forces to the task? If they do not care enough to do so, why do they continue to fight in the first place?
One theory is that the dragons despise the extensive practice of necromancy, even when it draws on the radiant energy of Irian, but do not view it with the same abhorrence or alarm as the giants’ planar studies and blood magic. Thus, they cannot agree en masse that Aerenal should be laid low.
Another possibility is that the struggle is a form of exercise for the dragons, a proving ground for the younger warriors of the Light of Siberys. Conversely, it might be that the wars are fought to test the elves and harden them for some future conflict foreseen in the Prophecy, just as a soldier will
sharpen his blade in preparation for battles to come. The dragons might be unwilling to share the secrets of their arcane power with lesser races, but they can still push the lower creatures to reach their full potential. The long struggle with the dragons has certainly forced the clerics and wizards of
the Aereni and the warriors of the Tairnadal to master the arts of battle and magic.
The elder wyrms of Argonnessen offer no explanations for their actions, nor do they negotiate. Only two instances of elves and dragons working side by side are known, and both involv the noble line of the House of Vol. Following the appearance of the Mark of Death , a number of green dragons began working with the Aereni family line of Vol in whom the dragonmark
appeared. This alliance produced the half-dragon female Erandis d’Vol. Allies of Vol in the present time claim that her birth was intended to forge a bond between the two races and bring an end to the constant wars.
Others believe that the emerald-skinned dragons sought to gain control of the Mark of Death through their half-dragon offspring. In the end, the birth of Erandis d’Vol did unite Aerenal and Argonnessen . . . in a quest to eradicate the line of Vol. But this alliance was short-lived and involved
minimal communication between the allies. Once the House of Vol fell into shadow, the dragons returned to Argonnessen, and in a few centuries the cycle of war began anew.
Vvaraak’s Betrayal
Throughout time, rogue dragons have pursued their own agendas and dreams. Still, in the aftermath of Aureon’s Folly and the destruction of Xen’drik, few dared to share the secrets of Argonnessen with lesser creatures. One such rebel was the Emerald Claw, the father of Erandis d’Vol, and it destroyed him. A more well-regarded rogue was Vvaraak, the black dragon who trained
the first Gatekeepers, and brought the secrets of druidic magic to Khorvaire.
A true Child of Eberron, Vvaraak foresaw a disaster that would wound the world itself. The Conclave of Argonessen had no interest in this struggle; just as the dragons had stood aside while the giants of Xen’drik battled the natives of Dal Quor, the elders of the Conclave told Vvaraak that they
would act when a clear threat to Argonnessen existed, and not before.
Frustrated, Vvaraak abandoned her elders and her flight, traveled across the world, and began training humanoids and other creatures in the use of druidic magic and primal power. Although she is best known for teaching the orcs of the west coast of Khorvaire, Vvaraak had other students. Some
Seren druids (the spiritual leaders of the human barbarians of the Seren Islands, the archiepelago off the northern coast of Argonessen that acts as a protective shield against those who seek to reach the dragons’ homeland) attribute their skill to the teachings of the Ebon Mother, and lizardfolk boast
adherence to the Gatekeeper drudic sect in both the nation of Q’barra on Khorvaire and Xen’drik. Vvaraak stayed in the Shadow Marches of Khorvaire for less than a century, and her final fate is unknown. Perhaps she lived out her final days in humanoid form, moving among her students and
hiding from the angry Eyes of Chronepsis. Perhaps she descended into Khyber to teach the denizens of the deep. Some say that she returned to Argonnessen, that her act of rebellion was actually a carefully calculated move on behalf of the draconic Conclave. If so, it could be that the dragons planned and implemented both the destruction of the Dhakaani Empire and the defeat of the daelkyr.
Of course, it is possible that the invasion of the daelkyr from Xoriat was not the great threat to the natural order Vvaraak foresaw in the future. If this is the case, what monumental danger still lies ahead for the world?