“The Gods’ tears can be felt by the people when the world of Alura sees the presence of copious amounts of rainfall. The realm of Alura has never been the same since that faithful day, and it never will be. Thus, the Valley of Sorrow will always be marked by this remembrance instead of its great beauty. Yes, battle took place in the Valley of Sorrow, but that is just half of its history. It is far greater than that, it is the day when the Elven dominance ended by the betrayal of Ashandae Maraendis. What was one three is now turned to one. There is no more love between the Elves only hatred that will forever be remembered during the Battle of Weeping Tears.”

“In the beginning there were three houses of Elves. Andor, the high and noble High Elves led by Shae Alindae. Finglian, the adventurous and brave wood elves, led by Taeshai Laerdon, and Ilythirii, the magical and intelligent Dark Elves led by Ashandae Maraendis. Although slightly different they kept their peace and worked together to dominate the other races of the world often in wars with Orcs and Goblins never losing a single battle. This peace was too good to last, and soon something would come along to make the houses chose a side.”

“The tale of the Ilythirii, Dark Elves, begins during the Sundering when the Elven with help of the Dwarfs fought against the Human/Goblin Alliance. The war was distinguished by numberless deaths leaving all the races that fought with many fatherless children. The final battle was set in the Valley of Sorrow and the Ilythirii had to walk a great distance to even see the battlefield. Thus, the far walk made Ashandae Maraendis and the soldiers of the Ilythirii late for the battle and the battlefield was already soaked with blood and the cries of the soldiers echoed throughout the valley as they fell to the ground to never awaken again. Ashandae Maraendis was about to command his troops in to the battle, but he thought to himself, “Is this even my war, why should I risk with nothing to gain.”

“His vast army was ready to strike at the rear flank of the enemy forces, but they merely waited as Ashandae Maraendis did not give the command to attack. The other Elves cried out for help, “Oh mighty brethren, help us! Help us or we shall not see the light of day! Why do you refrain?” The only response that Ashandae Maraendis had to this was to turn his soldiers around and march them home. The Alliance of the Dwarves and Elves were crushed at the Battle of Weeping Tears. The remaining houses of Elves in battle along with the Dwarves barely escaped total annihilation. Their numbers were now greatly lowered, but their heart was ruled by hatred of the betrayal.”

“The Elves forever cursed the Ilythirii, terming them Dark Elves, to live only in darkness, the darkness they had caused. Upon return from the dreadful slaughter, the house of Andor purged itself on the Dark Elves. They killed the men, and exiled the woman and children who were never allowed to return as they were cursed to search for their new homeland.”

“Unknown till the research of the Hades Horn Encampment it was surprising to find an encampment full of Dark Elves. The people of Hades Horn told the scholars that the gurgled screams had awoken them allowing them to escape the treacherous outcome the High Elves had in store for them. They escaped from under the noses of the High Elves and met outside of the town and agreed they would search for an encampment in which they can live outside the prying hands of the High Elves. They traveled day and night through horrible conditions until they passed through a thick jungle and then in to a barren wasteland. Once they touched the barren wasteland they knew that no other Elves could find them and they were finally able to live in peace as they had achieved seclusion from the rest of Alura.”

“The exiled women and children watched as their homeland was destroyed and salt was poured on the land to make sure no settlement would thrive there ever again. They were pushed out of the gates and forced to go find their new homeland. The road they traveled to find their new home was a hard journey as famine ran throughout the people because the lack of food. The malnourished bodies of the Dark Elf people made the trip even slower because they had no energy. All hope was lost until they finally came to a mountain flat spot where vegetation grew aplenty. They began building their town there and grew gardens and ate the wild vegetation that grew there. They remained there the rest of their lives, their town slowly becoming one of great importance to Alura. The people hoped the other Elves did not come back to finish the annihilation.”

“After the exiled woman and children found their homeland they built it quickly, but it was amazingly beautiful and they gave it the name AshGuard after the mountains they had just climbed. Shortly, after construction of AshGuard they were attacked by a band of Mercenaries for they had no strong army to protect its outpost. The Mercenaries quickly ram sacked the town leaving many things in ruins especially the tavern which was nothing more than ashes scattered by the wind. They knew that someone had hired the Mercenaries to invade the town, but they also realized that nothing could possibly be done about it. After they reconstructed the tavern they put up schools that taught combat skills to all the boy children so they would never again be invaded.”

“They people of AshGuard also knew that to fully return to the normal society they once were that they would have to open up trade with someone. After many years of searching for a race to trade with the Goblins welcomed their merchants with open arms and invited them to open trade routes with them. However, in return they were to never again attack their borders or their people. They Dark Elves quickly accepted and they have forever remained trading partners. The Goblins generally trade their steel and armor for the Dark Elves sweet syrup and stunningly beautiful mountain rubies.”

“Although the people of the Hades Horn Encampment have finally been discovered, the people of AshGuard they have not wandered into their midst until recently. They have set up meetings between the Dark Elves sometimes occurring in Hades Horn other times in AshGuard. They details of these meetings have been kept secret from the people of Alura and even the scholars. No one really knows what has occurred in this meeting, but one can only guess what goes on. Many in the Elven fear the combined forces of the Dark Elves will launch an offensive on them to pay them back for slaughtering them many years ago. In preparation for a war ahead the Elves have started training soldiers intensely and have sought protection for their town. They feel war is imminent! Some also believe that this may be a plan to unite the Elves once again and the Dark Elves are just plotting how they will get accepted back in to the Elven way of life. This has caused the Humans and Goblins to build up their army as they do not want to feel the effect of elvish dominance again. Alura will have to keep their eyes peeled and wait to see what happens.”

Discovered by Lore Master Apolyon