Duke Dauntain, the Lost Elf’s Story:
The War Commences-Chapter 1
Returning from a vicious battle in which he was sent by his father, Duke Dauntain, the Elvish Prince of the Forest Grove of Lysthorial was at a loss. Their numbers were severely decreased and their morale was low. Even Dauntain’s own brother had been mortally wounded and lived only on the brink of death.
To add to their distress their Forest Grove home had vanished! Aimlessly, they wandered through the forest looking for signs of their once-proud retreat.
To fill the decreasing gaps in the availability of troops, Dauntain was forced to promote some of their younger ranks into the position of leadership, without the necessary experience. This caused some friction between them and surviving veterans.
Traveling through the forest they also befriended some local Centaurs; half-man, half-horse beings who felt they were forced from their homes on the plains by the Knights of Tyrolane. The charging Knights seemed to dot their romaing landscape until there was no more room for their thundering herds. Needing their space, they migrated to the forests but still missed the wide open plains they once called home.
Desperate to keep the morale of his brethren high Dauntain felt fortunate to locate a powerful ally; a Djin trapped in a magical vial who offered 3 wishes to the one who freed him. Anxious to employ his power to support the fleeting spirit of his team he placed his wishes; Keep his brother alive until they could get him home and receive the healing power of their Elvish medicine, support them in their cause by boosting morale and fighting with them, and help them find their home. Enslaved by the magic that held him bound the Djin honored his wishes and joined their quest to help them find their hidden Forest Grove!
The Borderland Dispute-Chapter 2
Returning home at a great loss from repelling the Asishton clan from their borders, the broken Duke Dauntain of the Forest Grove Lysthorial discovered their hidden retreat had become more than secret - it had vanished! Straggling through unfamiliar woods that had once been their home for centuries, with only a confusing, captured Djin as their guide, Dauntain fought to keep the hope and courage of his remaining charge awake.
Continuous attacks from neighboring kingdoms whittled away their moral until one day their puzzling Djin-guide suddenly spoke in riddles that no one could decipher:
The Beast who’d come-is now no more
In times it fought-in times of lore
It was repelled by magic deep
It was repelled-but not to keep
The Empress drove it deep away
The Wizard hid it-but not to stay
It now comes-it comes our way
To steal our bones-make them its clay
After much debate Dauntain and his fellow brethren agreed on a new course of action: fight their way to the Dwarf’s War Wizard and Saeline, then force them to return their home!
