From the Memoirs of Gakhan Val’istar
It’s been a hot summer in Valefor. The trees sing, but their song is that of a foreboding. They sing of an unseen foe with great force, and the animals of the land have grown aggressive, even to one such as myself who they see and interact with regularly. It is as if the peaceful land here, secluded in the ocean, has been discovered. Things do not bode well for my family. My father Kotumo has read the signs as well and has sent my mother away, hoping to protect her he is the only one who knows her location. The militia has been gathered as well, but we can only hope that our small number of archers, warriors, and the few mage’s we have will be enough to save us from the impeding danger.
The enemy has been revealed to us, cruel and corrupt sorcerer who has no name has brought wraiths, undead, ogres, and other ghastly creature that even our mystics cannot identify. The ogres are of course of little consequence as a well placed arrow will halt their march permenantly. The wraiths, on the other hand, must be handled by the few mages we have. I hope they can handle it. Hope is running slim, we do not know how to defeat the other forces…
My homeland, Valefor, is gone. My father was mortally wounded and has now fallen into his final rest. As he was the only one to know where and how to find my mother I am left without relations. There is nothing left for me here. The palace of Valor, the capital city, was taken by the evil sorcerer, and only by my innate ability to travel long distances quickly, by stepping into one shadow and emerging from the next, was I able to escape. I have decided to leave Valefor. I will move on with my life, most likely to a place near the middle of the Earth. Someday I hope to return to Valefor, but only when I am strong enough to retake what is rightfully mine…
End Memoirs…
Enter the annals of History
The Island of Valefor was burnt, and the evil sorcerer Del’raín has taken the palace. The royal family, the Val’istar’s, were slaughtered, but the bodies are still unfound. Gakhan apparently survived, the prince of Valefor, he has been found in the forests of Lothlorien in Middle Earth. It has been 1000 years since Gakhan was last heard of. His travels taking him to another breed of elves, have taught him much over the years. He has become very adept at walking the shadows, and has embraced the darkness. He has not God’s to follow but has followed the elves of the land. He had learned the ways of the wilderness, although he is no expert he can survive.
Once again Gakhan has disappeared, as the dark lord Sauron began to amass power he fled the land of Middle Earth. Gakhan knew that this battle was not his to fight and has moved on, to where we can only wait to find out. Now at 1500 years of age, we can only imagine where the still young elf will travel next.
Gakhan has moved to the land of Krynn. He has found the continent of Ansalon to be most accommodating as there are two branches of elves who reside in this land. Gakhan was very interested in these elves as well as a Conclave of Wizards, both he wrote about in his memoirs.
Return to the Memoirs of Gakhan Val’istar
I have traveled to the land of Ansalon, a continent in the world of Krynn. Since I have arrived I have met two most interesting groups of elves. They are slightly different in appearance and seem to grow taller than I thought of elves. The groups are, from what I can tell, two sects of the same race, much as tribes would be. They are the same in all things physical but their ideals are what separate them, and oh how separate they are.
The first group is called the Silvanesti. They worship the stars and a god called Paladine, who they are thought to be the chosen race of. The Silvanesti are firmly convinced of their own superiority over all other races and very rarely venture out of their homeland of Silvanost to deal with any other races. They are truly so naïve as to think that they are the true embodiment of good and that all things evil should be erased from this world. They fail to see the balance so necessary to the order of the world.
The Qualinesti, however, worship the stars. They too believe themselves to be the chosen race of Paladine, but they are not quite as aloof from the rest of the world. While they often venture out into it, they do not enjoy the rest of the world. They see humans as beings who have a half life and are much to frantic with it.
The elves however, are not my main interest. There is a place where magic user’s gather, the elves don’t take part, they feel they are exempt from it, but I am traveling to a place to gather information about the Conclave now. Hopefully I can find some answers, the head of the Conclave is a human white robe(the mages are grouped by their allegience to a god. The white robes follow Solinari, god of white magic while the red robes follow Lunitari, the goddess of red or neutral magic, while the black robes follow Nuitari, the god of dark magic and darker deeds. Nuitari interests me because of his love of shadows and all things dark…we shall see.)
I have found that entering the mage’s tower is impossible, so I have found a mageware shop and convinced the mage inside to contact the conclave who has given me an apprenticeship. Hopefully soon I can take my test, a test that all novice mages must take to join the ranks of the conclave. In time I will hold power.
End Memoirs
Gakhan became an apprentice under a black robe and grew in power rapidly. He took his test some twenty years after he began his study and passed, with the black robes immediately being given to him. Nuitari enjoyed his new apprentice and gave Gakhan much power. On his travels Gakhan met Darkan Rhal, an elf who had been cast from his society and embraced the black robes as well. Both men grew in power and eventually found Krynn to have nothing more for them to attain. Not wanting to give up his god or challenge his power Gakhan moved once again. This time to a land called Dragon Court. Darkan came with him. Gakhan went to Titan and Darkan remained solitary. They split company and would later meet. When Gakhan joined Titan he gained rank and became part of the member help in the clan but eventually left his position to enjoy himself more. The tales still are being written…