Principality of Lorien
 Long ago, in the First Age of the Elves, after the Sundering of the Ancients, the children of Alestria Tirandiel, the First Mother, spread across Otara. Amid the golden woods and singing rivers of the central continent, the elven tribes gathered under a singular vision: the creation of a realm that would preserve their grace, knowledge, and purity against the growing darkness of the world. Thus was founded the Kingdom of Kael, named for the dream-forest that once bloomed in the heart of the land. It was formed during the First Partitioning, a divine and political division of the elven people into realms that suited their soul-aspect. During the many years of the Elf/Dwarf wars, a third race rose to greatness and soon began to spread over the world. This race, the humans, while short of life when compared to the elves, proved to be extremely adaptable and nearly as fertile as the Orcs. The humans quite literally flooded the lands with people and by the close of the Elf/Dwarf war, were pushing the elves out of their long held territories. The elves, weakened by the devastating battles with the dwarves, and the many millennia of battles fought with the Drow and Orcs, were unable to stem the tide of human encroachment and retreated to the only still purely Elven holding, The forests of Kael, and the city of Miryth Dragkor. Peace was maintained for a time and the elves began to slowly recover from the great Wars, but soon the humans again started to push into Elven holdings and the Elves once again found themselves at war. The Elf/Human Wars were fought over a period of 1,000 years and fought in a series of 4 wars. The Bloodshed in this short time made the losses during the Elf/Dwarf wars pale in comparison. Almost were the Elves brought to the point of extinction. And then the last great king of Miryth Dragkor came to rule, Endar Arcelduin. King Endar, was both a great warrior and a very devoted priest to the Seldarine. He knew that unless something was done soon, the elves would cease to exist, and so prayed to the Seldarine, seeking an answer to the dilemma. For many years did he remain in prayer, devoting much time in service to the gods, while allowing the ruling of the Kingdom to fall to his most trusted general, Jeraillae Elessedil, who later became his consort, then wife. As General Elessedil fought, an answer to the prayers of the king was granted. The King fell into a deep sleep, and there he saw a vision of two Island realms form from the mists of his dream. The voice of the gods called these lands Arethane and Lorien, and Endar was instructed to Divide the remaining elves into three parts. The first group would go to the Land of Arethane under the leadership of Endar s younger brother, a High Mage named Marek. The second group of Elves, under the leadership of Jeraillae Elessedil and with her their infant daughter, Sylvranae, would go to Lorien later to form their new Kingdom. To the third and smallest group would fall the price of these new realms. Endar and his remaining peoples would remain in Kael, and protect the retreat of the others and later join Elessedil in Lorien, once the way was safe. Unfortunately, Endar's daughter, who was staying in the royal sanctuary until the retreat could be implemented was lost when the sanctuary was overrun by High Orcs in the service of the Archwizards of Myraletch. Jeraillae barely escaped with her life, and in fact was dragged away by her retainers, grievously injured, while she tried to rescue her daughter. As earlier stated, when the human kingdoms began to rise up and challenge the elves for supremacy of Otara, the elves feared the worst. The cruel Archwizards of Myraletch had control of mighty magics, the likes of which, thankfully, have not been seen since. With the Myral encroaching upon the High Forest, some of the Elven clans there began a migration elsewhere, following the instruction provided by the vision of King Endar Arcelduin. Other elves in other parts of the World slowly began to follow their brethren. The plan of eventual Retreat was formally adopted by the Elven race. After considering ways best to consolidate Elven power, large numbers of elves joined the Retreat and after years of secret preparation, many elves left the mainland. Elven settlements that were indefensible or too near encroaching humans would be moved to Arethane or Lorien. Lorien was chosen by those who sought beauty, order, mysticism, and seclusion. News of the death of Endar did not take long to reach the strongholds, and in fact was known by General Jeraillea Elessedil, immediately, due to the bond shared by the General and his King. This additional loss, along with the grief of losing their daughter, caused Elessedil to fall into a deep depression that only deepened when details of the Last stand of the elves reached the Islands. This depression seemed to be shared by many of the Elves of the islands as Endar was much beloved. To make matters even more complicated, Jeraillea discovered that she carried her second child, who now would be heir to the Elven people. It is speculated that the loss of her King along with all these added stresses drove Elessedil insane. She became obsessed with the safety of the elves and the dream of her now dead king. and as her madness and obsession progressed, something happened to push her over the deep end. Humans attacked and drove the elves from the Island of Jordaine, an island principality belonging to Arethane. Elessedil decided that so long as a single human remained alive in the world, the elves were in danger. Her solutions were few. She could kill all the humans, which she knew would be a near impossible task, that even if accomplished would most certainly result in the mutual destruction of the elves or she could remove the elves from harms way. 20 years after the death of Endar, the Island kingdom of Lorien vanished into the mists, leaving only Arethane as a retreat for the elves. To the east of Lorien’s heartland, where the mists gathered over silver marshes and fey-touched hills, arose the Duchy of Eavermysst. Founded by Anarys Starwing, a granddaughter of Alestria and cousin to the Elessedil line, Eavermysst became a haven for Moon Elves, Grey Elves, and Starborn—those who embraced magic, dreamcraft, and stillness over politics or war. Eavermysst was unlike any other duchy. Its capital was not built in stone, but grown from living trees, suspended across the canopy of the enchanted Moonhall Canopy. Its rulers, the Vaelthirien family, were lorekeepers, memory-weavers, and veilcasters. Their magic protected not only their lands but eventually served as the foundation for the greatest spell of concealment in the history of the Elves. Eavermysst was the first to vanish. Its veilcasters deepened the shrouds, cloaking not just the land but time itself. Days passed like seconds within, while centuries drifted by outside. Soon after, the rest of Lorien followed. The loss of Lorien shocked the elves. The priests sought answer from the gods as to what had happened and mages searched alternate planes of existence for some clue. No answers or clues were found. Not long after the disappearance, the Humans of what was now called Vordan again attacked, but this time were repelled and could not gain further footholds in Elven territory. The world believed Lorien gone. Only myths and songs remained. Lorien was not gone, only hidden in the mysts but the mists were not perfect. And not all enemies were banished. Roughly four decades into the Misted Exile, a rising High Orc warlord, Ghurmarg Vileborn, discovered a tear in the eastern veil, hidden in the passes of the great mountains. With cunning and brutal force, he led a massive invasion into the eastern reaches of Lorien, lands that had once been fortified Elven outposts and watchtowers. The High Orcs captured and rebuilt these strongholds, erecting crude, angular fortresses over ancient elven foundations. They enslaved the land and defiled its beauty, establishing dark settlements and strongholds that would last for nearly a century. Queen Jeraillae, her heart broken by the invasion of her sacred realm, withdrew into silence. In her place, her son, Prince Altherion Elessedil, rose as the Warden of the Eastern Mists. A brilliant tactician and master of subtle magics, Altherion launched the Twilight March, a secretive, grinding campaign across decades. Utilizing veil-magic, shadow ambushes, and the ancient war songs of the Starborn, Altherion’s armies reclaimed fortress after fortress. Every ruin was left untouched, declared a Silent Memorial, and ringed with spells of preservation. At last, the Battle of Dalf Thragan broke the High Orc resistance. The elven forces, led by Altherion’s Moonsteel Guard, crushed the last fortress and erected the Shrine of Starlight Remembrance on the battlefield. The High Orcs were gone. But their presence, and the scars they left, remain engraved in the soul of the eastern lands. The towns and cities east of the mountain range, once Orcish strongholds, were not abandoned. They were transformed. Through grace, art, and immense effort, the Elves of Lorien reclaimed these places, building sanctuaries and academies where once there had been forges and torture pits. The ancient ruins of Elven origin that litter the mountains and valley were left in peace, overgrown but protected, revered as testaments of loss and triumph. After the unraveling of the Atlan’ysse binding magics, Lorien re-emerged into the material world. The mists lifted, but not completely. Lorien remains a place of twilight and veils, touched by timelessness. Princess Vaenyra Elessedil, great-great-granddaughter of Altherion, now rules Lorien from Lorienth, and has forged alliance with Arethane, the high seat of Elvendom. She walks among mortals, but her eyes shimmer with ancient stars. Eavermysst also returned, unchanged, unaging, and strangely silent. Its people speak of voices in the mists, of lost years and dream-realms. Some say the Duchy now straddles two worlds, neither fully in Otara nor wholly beyond. Lorien, no longer a kingdom but a principality of Arethane, has emerged stronger, tempered by memory, bound by the past but not ruled by it. Its people remember the silence, the war, the exile, and the cost of purity without purpose. Yet still, in its deepest forests and highest towers, one may hear the music of the stars, and feel the breath of the mists. For Lorien is eternal, not because it hides from the world, but because it endures it.
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