Sildanyar

Outsiders know them as the Fair Folk. To the sildanyari, they are the People of the Veil, descendants of an ancient beauty and wonder of an ancient world.

To many outside races, the llyranesi and silvanyari practically exemplify the concept of fae glamour and magic, with the mul'niessa as its underbelly. The People of the Veil exude a sense of otherworldliness that tends to define the more mundane perceptions where expectations of the fae are concerned. Today, nearly all sildanyari hail from the hidden elven domain of Llyranost, located in the heart of the Greatwood on the very fringes of civilization.

Precious little is known about this land. The sildanyari guard their borders with a sense of desperation and aggressiveness that contrasts greatly to the diplomatic envoys sent out to other realms. Beyond Llyranost are glittering manses and enclaves located in places where the barriers between the mortal world and the unseen world are thin.

The sildanyari were upon a time one race, and once upon a time were creatures of the Unseen World. They dwelled beyond the boundries of the fae Veil, and existed in a realm where magic reigned supreme. There, magic was the very substance of the world, so the tales go, and could be altered at whim.

There, it is said the sildanyari dwelled as spirits. They served a role in the maintaining the precious life-giving energies of the World Tree. Sildanyari would say this is their original purpose, as directed to them by the Gods of Light.

However, during their long vigil, Gunahkar the Destroyer and the patron of the Daemons of the Void, entered into the blissful realm of the Fae and sought to unmake the Feywild. He wounded the World Tree with poisonous black weapons. Though the elves arrayed their great magic against the God of Darkness, it was only the intervention of the Gods of the Light that they were able to survive and drive off the nihilistic being.

Filled with wrath and a thirst for vengeance, many of the sildanyari sought to pursue Gunahkar and His minions to the material world of Gaea. Some also had grown interested in devising realms of their own. Against the wishes of the Courts, these sildanyari entered the world and did so arrayed in the shining glory.

The sildanyari as champions of Light in this era. They established great kingdoms and pursuing the great allies of Gunahkar, from ocean to ocean. Many crusades did they undertake in the name of the Light against the forces of the Void. However, these sildanyari soon found themselves akin to exiles. Their abilities to return, at will, to the Feywild diminished over time and with it so did much of their potency and spiritual power.

Civil war would soon grip them. Their loss of true immortality saw the rising paranoia of many factions of nobility. Some turned their hearts to the Goddess of Murder. They sealed a pact with Her for access to power they believed would restore their waning might. In their hearts, they had turned away from their race's true purpose.

They would fall, swiftly.

The result was civil war. Upon the death of the sildanyari's greatest king, the nation was torn in two. Each side claimed loyalty to a separate, royal heir. The great war caused the cataclysmic end of the greatest of the elven nations, Myn'Sandriel and eventually, the death of the twin heirs. Were that not enough, the sildanyari lost many of their families who were taken into Taara's fold.

Named at first "the Betrayers" or "the Cursed," the mul'niessa saw the truth of their bargain, as the dark goddess would bind a part of each of their souls. However, hungry for power, the Betrayers named themselves the mul'niessa and swiftly declared themselves the one true race.

One lone and surviving heir of Myn'Sandriel, a princess, led those who would come with her to what is today known as Llyranost. Here, somehow retaining a measure of the ancient and vaunted immortality of the old world, reigns to this day. Known by many names, Cherylindrea surveys a dwindling race from the depths of a forest realm.

Today, their realm rapidly shrinks as it is besieged on all sides by forces that would drive sildanyari from Gaea forever. Some of these spear-wielders are their own, former kin. Despite these losses, the remaining sildanyari worked diligently to shape the forest of their homeland. In response, the Elvenwood grew to be one of the most beautiful places on the continent of Arcania. At night, the forest truly comes alive with fey creatures, faeries, and more soaking in the magical glory of the wood.

Llyranost would grow in size over the centuries as more sildanyari from various parts of the world continued to migrate to it on great pilgrimages. Many remained therein, but others would be only passing visitors. In time, the pilgrimages to Llyranost came to be known as The Gathering. The Gathering also became a way for the llyranesi and sylvanori to reaffirm their connection to the fey world that their ancestors had left and were barred from returning to. The mul'niessa turn to other sources, and do not practice this tradition.

Today, the sildanyari live in a state of apprehension and anger. While for ages they had stood behind the wooden veil and continued to guard their borders, the world has changed once again.

The llyranesi and sylvanori still stand against the wrath of Gunahakar, and the slaughter of Caracoroth--whose madness would devour the sylvan wild, and teeth sink into the Moon, above.

Elven Races

Elf, Dawn (Llyranesi)     Elf, Shadow (Mul'niessa)     Elf, Wild (Sylvanori)

Recent Events

For years content within their isolation, the ascension of the dark goddess has alarmed the llyranesi and sylvanori greatly and placed them on the offensive for the first time in generations of the histories of men. Of late the llyranesi have moved forward into the world again, seeking ties and contacts with the world around them. The mul'niessa in Charn have taken the coming of the shadow goddess as a sign of strength, and have broken off to form their own nation.

The rest of the world waits to see what the sildanyari may do.