The History of Impiltur

Wherein we hear the story of Darius Whiteplume, Arden Ravenclaw, Bryn Willowfeather, and Varkaok Elfslayer at the time of the Starfall.

Part I: Brynn Willowfeather

"Do you hobgoblins know what your problem is? You die too easily!"

"Easily" might not be the right word. Perhaps the eladrin should have said "quickly," because dying on the edge of Winter's Fang is far from easy.

Brynn Willowfeather, Champion of Evereska, whirled through the crowd of hobgoblins. Not a drop of blood stained her armor as her frost brand bastard sword cauterized wounds with ice. Stiff bodies lay around with a sickening red-gray frost caked at the end of severed limbs and rent bellies. A cloud of snowflakes billowed around her as she brought death to the Gray Forrest of Impiltur.

A flash of light came from above. The starfall, she thought. She heard a shout from Whiteplume for his orc. Something must be up, the orc was retreating. Brynn touched the amulet at her neck and spoke an ancient word. Suddenly her sword was lighter and her limbs more quick. She began to rain death upon her foes like a hurricane. The brutes could barely react.

Unlike the others, Brynn had been waiting for this fight. Every tree in this wood was a forebear to her. Each was once an eladrin trapped in these woods by these fatherless hobgoblins. Her pace quickened. She fought recklessly. Tirelessly. Mercilessly.

She was nearing the Witch King now. This foul hobgoblin with his demonic sword was calling out to the fallen star in the grunting language of his ilk. The foul smell of the sword burned her nostrils. The flashes of light turned the snowflakes blue. Then a flash of green and the wizard Darius was between her and the Witch King. He began casting some spell, apparently trying to contain the hobgoblin.

"Brynn!" he called back to her, "I was wrong. This is not how things should have happened."

The light in the sky grew stronger, seemingly closer.

"We are done here, Brynn," he called. "Return to Evereska, perhaps your people can succeed where I failed."

"I cannot leave you here," she replied, "You are mad!"

He took the strange gem from his robes. She had only seen it once before, on the day they found it. Its glow was both beautiful and perverse.

"Go, Brynn. Evereska must know I have failed!"

She drew another amulet from her pouch. She watched the wizard raise the strange gem before the Witch King, then she spoke a single word, "home."

Part II: Varkaok Elfslayer

As his blade swung, Varkaok waded into the throng. He moved with a sense of purpose unusual for his kind. His friend Darius Whiteplume had found him fine instructors over the years. Few are willing to train orcs, but the wizard can be very persuasive. All that preparation, it appears, was for today's fight.

Standing a foot taller than his foes, Varkaok was like a bull in a flock of sheep. He scythed through the hobgoblins, raining foul-smelling blood, skin, muscle, bone... In his youth he would have loved this, but now the work sickened him. This was not combat, it was practically murder. Then he saw his goal ahead. A harsh smile came to his lips and he pushed on with greater determination.

That sword, he thought, must be destroyed.

A bright light shown in the sky. The star Whiteplume had warned of. He was running out of time. He began moving more wildly — letting the old rage fill him; slapping the hobgoblins aside with his shield and trampling them underfoot. The crackling light from the Sword of Impiltur was glinting off his foes' armor. He could see the Witch King, smell the odd mixture of brimstone and electricity. The Witch King looked his way briefly, then up at the falling star.

"Varkaok!" came Whiteplume's voice from behind. He pretended not to notice for a moment, but then came to his senses. He owed his life to the wizard and must obey.

The wizard was standing next to Arden Ravenclaw, the druid. She was working some magic on the hobgoblins.

"It is too late, friend Varkaok," Darius said, "I need you to go to the portal I showed you."

"This fight is far from over," the orc replied.

"I have Brynn here to aid us. Please, brother, you must go and take Arden with you."

"What?" the druid exclaimed, "I will not flee, I have business in these woods. Your concerns and mine are parallel, but they are not the same."

"Varkaok. Brother. Please do this for me," the wizard practically begged. He had always treated Varkaok as a friend rather than a bodyguard, but he never called him brother.

The orc grabbed Arden by the arm. She spoke a word and spit at his face. The orc had seen this trick before and wisely dodged. He saw it hit a hobgoblin and heard the sizzle just before the screaming started. He grabbed the druid , threw her over his shoulder like a calf, and ran off into the woods. She struggled in vain, raining curses upon him. Some of which, he worried, would stick.

Part III: The Witch King

These fools, he thought, they will never succeed.

The hobgoblin Witch King, Garnak, raised the sword and spoke an unholy word. The lightning and black light emanated from the sword. "Maglubiyet!" he screamed. In answer the sky flashed, and the star began racing to earth. "It is the time! Fight my warriors! Slay the humans!"

Of all the warriors the human wizard brought, Garnak kept his eye on two; the eladrin and the orc. These two will make fine sacrifices. Then the orc retreated. Small loss he thought, their blood is foul. An eladrin is worth ten orcs to the dark father. After some argument, the orc retreated with one of the humans in tow. What is the wizard up to?

"Captain!" he cried out,"take a troop of scouts, and follow that orc."

Moments later, the wizard appeared before Garnak in a flash of green light then drew a gem from his robes. No, not "a gem" but "the Gem" — he stood transfixed. What was the wizard thinking to bring the last piece of the puzzle to him? Was he mad?

"Garnak!" the wizard shouted, breaking the Witch King from his delirium.

The Gem began to glow, and Garnak felt a tightening in his stomach and began to taste bile. His bowels quivered. He spoke another unholy word and the feeling subsided, but not entirely. He glared at the wizard. As he did, he saw the Book. Bound in human skin; the cover a face stretched flat. The Book of a thousand-thousand blasphemies; the Book which contains the name of every evil that has plagued mankind; a tome so vile, that even the Witch King feared it.

What is this wizard doing?

Part IV: Arden Ravenclaw

"Drop me this instant, you pig-faced dolt!"

Heedless, the orc pushed on. Branches and brambles scraped her feet and legs as she flew by them on the orc’s shoulder.

"You and your master will pay for this. By the way, we are being followed."

The orc dared not look back. Arden felt him increase his speed.

"You won’t make it like this. I don’t know how far you plan on carrying me, but you can’t go much longer," the druid stated flatly.

When the orc did not respond, she decided to take matters into her own hands. Speaking a word, the grass and vines around them began to writhe and twist. They grabbed the orc, as well as the hobgoblin pursuers.

"Perhaps now you will release me?"

With a grunt, the orc released Arden. The vines and grass merely caressed her as she was set down. She grabbed Varkaok’s hand and the vines released him as well.

Arden addressed the orc, "we have some time now. Perhaps you will tell me where we are going?"

Varkaok looked anxiously at the hobgoblins, but knew the druid’s power. He began to walk. "Darius showed me a portal. He said that when the time was right, I must take you to it; through it. He said you would be safe there and able to save us all later."

"And to where will this portal lead?"

"That I cannot say," the orc said honestly, "I am to take you there and serve as your bodyguard."

After several hours of walking, they arrived at a lone archway deep in the woods. It was covered with moss and ivy. An untrained eye might have missed it as the forest consumed the structure. Arden could sense its power. As they approached, Varkaok drew a pouch from his belt and emptied its shimmering contents into his hand. He threw the mixture through the portal and it sprang to life. The pair walked through with a touch of hesitation.

When they reached the other side it was dark, and the trees towered high. It was a beautiful forest, though obviously manicured. Arden could sense the beasts of the wood around her, but there was something else. A pair of eyes appeared in the dark before them, then a smiling mouth. Finally a beautiful eladrin male walked forward.

"Lady Ravenclaw of Toril," he said, "welcome to the Seelie Court."

Part V: Darius Whiteplume

I was completely wrong about this, and now the world will suffer. I predicted the Starfall accurately, but it is a mere herald of things to come... All of this is for nothing; the death of these men I led into battle, the death of my friends is imminent. The death of the woman I love... I must put a stop to this.

After sending his friends away, it was time to confront the Witch King.

He desires the Gem Darius thought, let it distract him..

The Gem sent out a pulse, a wave of nausea washed over Darius, though it would be worse for Garnak. As the hobgoblin cast a curative spell, Whiteplume drew the Book from his robes and raised it above his head. Several hobgoblins and humans in the vicinity dropped dead on the spot. The trees and undergrowth drew back, or shriveled and died. Whiteplume's hand burned both hot and cold, and the voices of a million demons screamed inside his head. When Garnak saw the Book, the horror in his eyes was plain. This artifact most foul, The Book of Vile Darkness, could consume even powerful beings, and Whiteplume hoped it would consume the Sword of Impiltur.