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This article is part of the Poetic Edda

Do you see these daggers? I make them only of the bones of Orcs I kill. I have made more of these daggers than I can count. And I'm not even close to finished making them. I won't be finished until all of your vile, monstrous kind are removed from this world. Remember that, Orc.
 
— Gwendaridh threatening Bura

Gwendaridh Tevren is a Bosmer rogue. She was born into the nomadic Tevren Clan, but after the clan was raided and nearly eradicated by Wood Orcs, she and most of her remaining kin began to wage a revenge campaign against all Wood Orcs. Under Gwendaridh's leadership, the Tevren Remnant destroyed so many Wood Orc tribes that she became known and feared as Orcsbane.

A few years before the end of the Merethic Era, Gwendaridh met the Silvenar and joined his flock. She later became one of the Chosen of Y'ffre, selected by the Silvenar to meet with Y'ffre in the Heart of the Valenwood.

History[]

Backstory[]

Gwendaridh hails from the Tevren Clan, one of the uncivilized nomadic tribes of the Grahtwood of Valenwood. She grew up suffering the violent raids of the Wood Orc nomads, which periodically pillaged her home settlement. Death was something her and her tribe quickly grew familiar with, but even so, it did little to dampen the grief when one day, Orcish raiders killed her father and two of her sisters. That day would mark her for life; she grew vengeful and full of hatred, and she rallied her siblings and cousins to bring the fight to the Orcs. Now the Orcs were the ones being hunted and raided, not for food and supplies, but purely for the sake of death. Gwendaridh killed countless Orcs over the years, driving several clans to extinction and making many more flee Valenwood. She devoured the flesh of so many Orcs, that it started to affect her - she began to feel the berserker rage tug on her mind.

About four years ago, by chance or by fate, Gwendaridh ambushed the Silvenar on a jungle path in Malabal Tor during one of his pilgrimages. They had a lengthy conversation, and throughout it, Gwendaridh became enamored with the old Silvenar's worldview and wisdoms. He saw in her a pained woman in need of spiritual healing, and he offered to take her into his flock. She agreed and became one of his followers, directing her prowess towards aiding and protecting the Silvenar's people.

Of Frond And Leaf[]

Call to Action[]

The Silvenar's condition had become critical. The ancient elf wasn't in the best of health when Gwendaridh first met him, but now he was bed-ridden and seemed like he was close to death. A healer was asked to treat the Silvenar and see if he could cure him. Unfortunately, that was not possible. The news made her extremely upset.

However, the Silvenar was able to pull himself out of bed in a moment of clarity and relay a message to his flock. He told them of a vision he received from Y'ffre, the God of the Forest. The Silvenar gathered together a group of people, including Gwendaridh, to travel to the Heart of the Valenwood to commune with the god. He gave his relic, the Eldest Leaf, to the healer Oronin - whom was another of the Chosen of Y'ffre. After giving away the Leaf, the Silvenar returned to his weakened state and was brought back to bed. The Green Lady, the Silvenar's wife, asked the Chosen to work together to complete the mission given to them by her husband. There was friction within the group as one of them was an Orc, which only confused and angered her.

Before the chosen set off from the village, they were stopped by Malgoth Blackroot, the Chief of the Jaqspurs. As they were taking the Eldest Leaf with them, the village would be without divine protection from Y'ffre. They would be at the mercy of the forest and the spirits that inhabited it. Recently the nearby grove of Redbush had been destroyed and he feared that it meant the Destroyer was near. There was also the matter of the Wood Orcs. The Silvenar had negotiated peace with the Drujunit Tribe, but Malgoth didn't trust that the Orcs would keep the peace after the old elf passes away. So he asked the chosen to head to the Drujunit Stronghold, the Chosen orc - Bura gra-Dragag - was a member of that tribe, while he had his men scout out the area for further signs of the Destroyer. Gwendaridh was against doing Malgoth's busy-work, but he refused to give them a guide to the Heart of the Valenwood until they completed this mission for him so she had to relent.

Drujunit Splinter[]

The group of six traveled south to the stronghold. Along the way they encountered hoarvors, which had migrated outside their usual hunting grounds. They discovered a camp filled with dead bodies drained of their blood by those same hoarvors, but the wounds that had killed the campers weren't caused by the bugs. When stopping for the night, someone tried to sneak up on their camp. Luckily Oronin and Gwendaridh spotted the assailants before they got the drop on the group. Eplear Camoran was able to track the assailant through the dark forest to a hideout under a small graht-oak. They found Orcs guarding it.

While the others were twidling their thumbs on how to proceed, Gwendaridh lunged out and killed the Orc. Unfortunately the noise she made alerted more guards inside. She prepared for a fight. When another Orc came out to investigate, she jumped on his back and got him to drop his weapon. Bura told him to call off the others. They questioned the Orc who Bura gra-Dragag recognized as Brazub, one of her tribesmen. Brazub told Bura that their chieftain had gone crazy and killed his own son, forcing him and others to abandon the stronghold to try to escape his insanity. Gwendaridh pressed the Orc on the issue them stalking their camp and the destroyed camp they encountered. He revealed that they had planned ot attack their camp and did attack the other one they found, but claimed that he wasn't the one that killed those people. Gwendaridh didn't believe him and his admition of guilt on the others matters was enough for her to execute him. However, before she had the chance the other Chosen stopped her and subdued her. They let the Orc go and disarmed Gwendaridh of her daggers, infuriating her.

The group continued on to the Drujunit stronghold. They found it depopulated, learning that a large portion of the tribe's warriors had deserted with its former champion, Barrz. They spoke to the Huntswife to try to get an audience with Chief Kurzel gro-Ghora, but he was down in the caves busy with some ritual and could not be disturbed. Huntswife Ghorsha didn't answer all of their questions so they went to Bura's house to investigate further. They spoke to her sister Rulga and learned that the tribe discovered something in the caves that had caused the rift between Kurzel and his brother Barrz, leading to the tribe splitting apart. Rulga didn't know anything else, but suggested that they speak to the Heartswife Murtha or her son Shubak gro-Kurzel. Eplear and Bura headed off to speak to them while the others remained behind in the stronghold.

When the two returned to the stronghold, they informing the rest of the group that the tribe had discovered a spring of blood in their mines which granted power. Kurzel was currently attempting a ritual to bind the power of the blood to himself. Barrz had wanted the use the power for the whole tribe's warriors and that had caused the rift as Kurzel had been driven mad through the use of the blood and wanted it all for himself. They needed to the make mines to stop Kurzel's ritual, but the mines were guarded. Bura suggested that there might be another way into the mines through the cave system from outside the stronghold. Eplear, Areanae Rosemire and Gwendaridh went off to search for it while Bura and the others scouted out the entrance to the mines.

Eplear lead the trio towards the river basin near the stronghold, from there he asked Areanae to use her animal speaking abilities to use the wildlife to help them search the area for any caverns. Gwendaridh possessed the same ability, but she didn't offer to use it. They were able to get some birds to aid them in finding a cave and lead them there. Inside the cave they encountered a Giant Bat, which was spooked and attacked them. Eplear fended it off, but not before his arms got severely injured from the animal's sharp claws. He patched himself up as best he could and continued through the cave system, determined not to return to the stronghold empty-handed. His determination paid off when they found what could only be a sealed tunnel from the orcish mines. With this confirmation of another entrance they headed back, arriving shortly before the evening.

The trio regrouped with the others at Bura's house and told them off the entrance. Oronin was able to heal his arm up, bringing Eplear back to full strength. After a short rest, the trio led the rest of the group to the cave system and to the boarded up entrance. Valmerion busted the entrance open with his magic, allowing Bura to lead them to the newer section of the mines where she assumed the blood spring was. Her assumption was proved correct when they began to hear chanting from the various shamans of the tribe that were conducting the ritual. Eplear froze the blood pool with a magic arrow, stopping the ritual. Bura tried to reason with Kurzel, but the enraged chieftain instead demanded that she submit to him or die. She could not allow him to continue with the ritual so she attacked. The shamans provided backup for Kurzel, buffing him up with their magic. Eplear and the elves tried to take them out, while Bura, Gwendaridh and Oronin focused on the chieftain.

Kurzel strong and fast, even while wearing bulky heavy armor. He was being boosted by the shamans and the Blood of Mauloch that he had consumed. Gwendaridh tried to attack with her daggers, but they did little against his heavy armor. Though her swift maneuvering was enough to avoid incoming attacks from the chieftain. Bura was able to land a hit on him, but left herself exposed. He grabbed her by the neck and nearly choked her to death, if not for Oronin and Eplear's intervention she would've died. Kurzel attacked Oronin, who tried to bind him in place unsuccessfully. Bura attacked with one of Gwen's bone dagger, as she had lost her sword. Kurzel focused on her once more, attacking her with all his might. He nearly cleaved Bura in two, but she was able to avoid his attack and stab him in the eye with the dagger, killing the chieftain.

By then the other elves had taken care of the shamans, killing all but one of them. Eplear rushed to aid the dying shaman and asked Oronin to heal her, saving Ulush - the sister of Brazub - from death. They brought her with them as they went to the outpost to report to Murtha and Shubak. When they arrived, both of them reprimanded Bura and the elves for getting involved and killing Kurzel. As his death meant that Shubak couldn't easily claim the chiefdom for himself. Murtha quickly came up with a plan to summon an Ogrim in the mines and pretend that it was the cause of Kurzel's death, so that Shubak slaying the beast would grant him the position of chieftain. Shubak wasn't too happy about the ploy, but they had no other choice. If Kurzel's death at the elves hands were found out it would cause more in-fighting among the tribe to decide a new chieftain and potentially start a war with the Silvenar Bosmer. Because Ulush was still alive, Murtha had to drug her to try to wipe her memory of the events, as they could not allow the truth come out. Eplear led Murtha to the mines to summon the Daedra while Shubak led the others back to the stronghold.

By the time they arrived the next day the Ogrim had been summoned and caused a huge commotion in the tribe. Ghorsha was getting ready to attack the Daedra when Shubak convinced her to let him kill the beast himself. She didn't believe that he could, but let him go first to tire the Ogrim. Gwendaridh had no intention of helping the Orc tribe any further, seeing the better option as just killing all of them. So, like Valmerion, she did not offer her help to Shubak. Surprisingly, Oronin didn't offer his aid either. Only Bura and Areanae accompanied Shubak into the mines to help him fight the creature. Eplear arrived soon afterwards with Murtha and regrouped with the others. They waited for Shubak, Bura and Areanae to return from the mines. Ghorsha and her warriors went down to check on the situation.

When they emerged from the mines, the warriors were carrying the bodies of the chieftain and the shamans. A crowd had formed near the entrance. Murtha noticed Shubak with an Ogrim horn and took the opportunity to address the tribe. She declared that Chief Kurzel was punished by Malacath for his miss-use of the blood spring and that Shubak, as the slayer of the Ogrim was the new chief. The Huntswife and warriors were reluctant to accept it and one of the warriors challenged Shubak. Shubak accepted the duel and after a short fight, slew the challenger and was acclaimed as the tribe's new chieftain.

Shubak appointed his mother as the tribe's new Elder Shaman and Ghorsha as the tribe's Champion. While the two of them dealt with the aftermath of the day's events, the Chosen followed Shubak to his new longhouse and had an audience with him. Shubak agreed to uphold the truce with the Bosmer of Silvenar and even to aid them should their fears of the Destroyer's appearance be true. Unfortunately for Bura, Shubak had not forgotten about her killing of the chieftain. As her punishment, he exiled her from the stronghold. However, he could not do it publicly due to the secret that needed to be kept about Kurzel's death. So formally she was appointed as the tribe's ambassador in Silvenar. Before they departed from the stronghold, Shubak asked for their help in dealing with Barrz's deserters. They agreed to help, though Gwendaridh did it reluctantly.

They left the stronghold around noon. They headed first to Brazub's outpost and from there followed a trail - with the help of Areanae's animal speaking abilities - all the way to the deserters' camp. At the deserter camp, they decided to split up and send Bura, Areanae and Oronin to talk to them while the others stayed behind in case the deserters attacked. The trio was unable to convince the Orcs and when Barrz came out he demanded that the rest of the Chosen come out of hiding. The deserter leader told them to surrender their weapons if they wanted him to consider their story. Seeing no other choice to end this peacefully, they gave up their weapons. However, Gwendaridh only gave them her shortsword and some of her daggers, keeping one hidden for use should she need to. Barrz had Bura lead Brazub and another Orc back to the stronghold to confirm their story.

The Chosen were kept under watch the whole night while Bura was away, with their weapons far away from them. None of the Orcs tried to harm them, luckily for the Orcs as Gwendaridh was waiting for any excuse to kill them all. Bura arrived in the next morning. Brazub confirmed their story. Barrz let them all go and returned their weapons. The deserters promised to returned to the stronghold as soon as possible. The Chosen parted ways with them, heading back towards Silvenar to report to Malgoth.

Journey to the Heart[]

On their way to Silvenar, the Chosen were intercepted by a group of Bosmer along the road. Eplear Camoran recognized them as the Blackroots, a clan of warriors belonging to his community. The Blackroots had been sent to make sure the Chosen survived their encounter with the Orcs, as they had taken a while to return, as well as to provide them with a guide, Peragoth. Peragoth brought with him a Bosmer scout and a Maormer hunter to help them get to the Heart of Valenwood. The Blackroots agreed to stay behind to keep an eye on the Orcs, making sure that they would keep their end of the bargain, before reporting back to Malgoth at Silvenar.

They headed east then followed the Xylo River south. Eplear found them a place to camp while the Maormer Earendil and a few others went to hunt crocodiles. Bura went with the Jaqspur and the other main group of Chosen to help set up the camp. A while later, they heard yelling from where the hunting party had been. Areanae Rosemire, Bura gra-Dragag, Gwen and Oronin went to check on them. They found the hunters in trouble trying to fight off a group of crocodiles. Areanae summoned a Storm Atronach while Bura rushed in with her sword to help Earendil. Oronin helped heal the injured men while Gwendaridh used her daggers to help Virnir. As they were killing the last crocodile, an Orc fired an arrow at the crocodiles. When it was over, the orc introduced himself as an Orc from the Drujunit tribe and explained his intention to help them for saving his sister Ulush. Bura recognized him as Lubruk, the runt of Brazub and Ulush' family. Gwendaridh was quick to make her distaste for orcs known and began to instigate a fight with him. Bura defended Lubruk, only drawing Gwen's ire to her, she bit off a part of Bura's ear. Peragoth helped defend the Orc, getting himself stabbed by Gwen in the process. Oronin was able to restrain her, putting an end to the fight. Earendil knocked her out and carried her back to camp. When Gwendaridh awoke she was tied up to a tree back at camp. She struggled against her restrains for a while before giving in and calming down. Lubruk joined their group, much to Gwen's displeasure. She kept her distance from them for the rest of the journey.

They eventually reached the Eldengrove, the deep forest of the Valenwood. It was a dense maze of a jungle with massive ancient trees untouched by any civilization during the whole of the Merethic Era. It was a dangerous place, not only because of its fauna, but because it was easy to get lost. Luckily they had Peragoth to guide them, he warned them to keep close as the trees played tricks on them. That they did, with trees seemingly moving about, shadows dashing through the foliage and bio luminescent lights all taxing on their sanity as they endlessly wandered. When they were all exhausted from the trip, Peragoth called them to rest. He told them that that forest was alive, sentient from the spirits that inhabited it. They had reached the center of the Eldengrove, but now needed to wait for the forest to wish them to continue. They didn't need to wait for long before a group of Spriggans appeared between the trees. One among them, a Spriggan Matriarch, approached Oronin. His Eldest Leaf had begun glowing. She asked him to lend it to him and used the leaf to open a passage between the roots of a massive ancient tree.

The passage led them to the Heart of the Valenwood where the group came face-to-face with a divine tree, the First Tree. The Matriach placed the Eldest Leaf on the spring that surrounded the tree, it glowed and led to the awakening of Y'ffre. The God of the Forest spoke, beckoning an old friend to pass on into the afterlife. Bura and the others didn't understand who he was talking about. Their whole conversation with Y'ffre was confusing, he spoke cryptically and every question he answered just brought up more questions. What did become clear is that their mission was far from over. He had brought them to the Heart to give them the task of gathering together his various Earth Bones, which the Eldest Leaf was one of. He wanted to gather them together to restore his divine powers so that he could undo the betrayal of his first children, the Changelings, and bring prosperity to his followers in the Valenwood.

When their meeting with Y'ffre was concluded, they discovered that the Spriggan Matriach was really a Changeling as were all the animals that had been in the Heart's grove were also Changelings. Unlike the rebellious children that Y'ffre mentioned, the Matriach Olphras and her siblings were repentant. They sought to make up for their betrayal of Y'ffre at the end of the Dawn Era. Olphras told them that her kind could sense the pieces of Y'ffre when they were touching his fragments. Thus she had one of her brothers, Rontadras, to follow them and offer them guidance in their hunt for the relics. He was also to help defend them against their brother, Dringoth the Destroyer, who still refused to repent and was hunting the relics himself in an attempt to find his way to the Heart of the Valenwood. They were surprised to learn that the Destroyer was real and gladly accepted Rontadras' help. The Changelings used the Eldest Leaf to sense the other fragments and warned them that one of the relics in the Reaper's March was being corrupted, which made it harder to sense the others. Not wanting to let a piece of Y'ffre be corrupted they agreed to head after it first. Peragoth and Virnir split from the group, deciding to head back to Silvenar. The rest continued to the March.

War in the March[]

The Chosen reached the March after a few days of traveling out of the Eldengrove, which was much easier than before with Rontadras guiding them. When they crossed into the Reaper's March they saw the walking city Falinesti on its pilgrimage across the region in the distance. A good omen according to the Bosmer. They headed towards a nearby settlement to try to learn more about the region and find the trail of the tainted relic. However, as they got close to a riverside village they found it being attacked by a band of Khajiit. Gwendaridh and others headed to defend the village, saving the Bosmer civilians from the Khajiiti mages that were burning their homes.

The villagers thanked them for saving their homes and gladly offered them information. The village elder told them that the Khajiit that had attacked them were mercenaries from the Ayleid war between the cities of Aettus and Thormar. The King of Thormar was hiring lots of mercenaries to use against the Daedraphiles. Recently the war had been spreading south towards the Jodewood where the village was located, as mercenaries deserted the front lines. Eplear Camoran asked if he knew about a holy relic in the area. The Elder of the village didn't know anything, but suggested that they seek out the Greenspeakers, a cult of Y'ffre in the Northern Woods.

That night Gwendaridh went to vent out her frustrations on a tree, practicing throwing her daggers against it. Oronin discovered her and the two got to talking. He questioned her motives for continuing on with the group, considering her outbursts against the Orcs. She argued with him and let him know just how much she hated the Orcs, telling him all that her clan had suffered at the hands of the Orcs. Oronin sympathized with her past, but was firm that she needed to learn to control herself when dealing with Bura gra-Dragag, Lubruk gro-Rugan and any other Orc that had nothing to do with her past. She relented, but didn't know how to control herself. Her emotions were just too potent. He promised to help her. The two were interrupted by Rontadras, who was spying on them. He found their talk amusing, much to Oronin's and Gwendaridh's annoyance. After sharing a few words with Oronin about his abilities, the Changeling left them alone.

They learned the next morning that the Priest had left them. While Oronin and Eplear wanted to go after him, Rontadras and Areanae Rosemire convinced them that they had little time to waste with the relic being more corrupted by the day so they traveled north without the Priest. Leaving behind the village that they had saved, the group followed the river north. A day's journey away they saw the first signs of the war that had gripped the region. They came across a recent battlefield. Vultures were pecking at the corpses, which were mangled and torn. The corpses were a mixture of different races. There were Ayleids, some Bosmer, Orsimer, and some Khajiiti. One appeared to be a Maormer. They couldn't exactly tell what happened just from the bodies, but Rontadras felt the taint of Daedra in the area. Earendil Vokhiun smelled smoke. Rontadras investigated and discovered a camp in a fort nearby that guarded a river crossing. He couldn't tell much about it from a distance, so the group decided to investigate in case it was a bandit camp that could be a danger to the village.

They split up into two groups at Eplear's suggestion, not wanting to appear threatening to the fort guards. He chose Areanae and Bura to accompany him and they pretended to be travelers. The others remained outside and waited for word from Eplear that it was safe. Everything seemed to have gone well as soon enough Eplear called out to them through Rontadras and had them regroup inside the fort. Eplear explained that the fort belonged to the King of Thormar and was currently manned by mercenaries in his employ. The Khajiit that attacked the village had been deserters. When they were trying to leave the fort, however, they were intercepted by a group of Maormer mercenaries who demanded to have Earendil, saying that he was a deserter of one of their crews. Earendil tried to lie his way out of the situation, but could not convince them. Instead of picking a fight, he agreed to go with them, telling the Chosen to continue on their mission. They reluctantly agreed and left the Maormer behind.

The group trekked through the Ayleid controlled lands, passing near the city of Thormar but not heading there as they needed to head straight north. They stopped at a pond to rest up. Eplear apologized for getting them in the situation that led to Earendil was taken, but none of them thought that it was his fault. They continued ahead and found another crossing for the Crescent River that led into the Northern Woods. It was guarded by an Ayleid fort. This one was more protected than Ayleid soldiers and they figured that it would be too difficult to attempt the traveler disguise with them, especially since none of them spoke Ayleidoon well. To get past this one, they figured that a distraction would be necessary for them to sneak across the bridge. Rontadras sneaked in with his bird form to bring down the bridge, while the others sneaked into position. The plan was going well until a group of Ayleid knights headed out of the fort and would've spotted them had Areanae not summoned her Atronach to distract them. The Changeling managed to bring the bridge down and the group rushed across it. The knights defeated the Atronach and chased after the group. Rontadras transformed into an elephant and smashed the bridge so that the Ayleids could not follow them. They ran into the woods, with spells and arrows trailing them before they were safe.

Crossing the Northern Woods was unsettling, as the forest had been abandoned by the fauna. They found signs of Daedric influence tainting the land. Nonetheless, they proceeded but it was difficult to travel without being able to hunt for food. They became desperate and had to search out for food elsewhere. A trail of animal carcasses led to them finding an abandoned village. Inside the village to look for supplies, finding the place to be have been long since left behind due to the war. There was no fresh food to be found. More carcasses led them to footprints and to the fiend inhabiting the abandoned village. A Daedroth appeared from its den among the ruined houses and attacked them. Lubruk froze up, but was saved by Epler. Gwendaridh remained back with Oronin. Bura charge at the daedra, with Areanae and Eplear providing covering fire. Eplear shot one arrow through the beast's left eye. Rontadras saved them from being burned alive, paralyzing the daedra just as it was about to breath fire. Oronin's vines wrapped around the immobile fiend. Eplear distracted the fiend as Bura scaled it. The spell expired, letting the daedra move once more. It broke free from Oronin's vines, but the she-Orc managed to land a fatal blow through its skull.

They remained in the abandoned village for the night. That night Gwendaridh spoke once more with the healer. She asked him about his past as a travelling healer, learning that he left the safety of the city to pursue learning more about new diseases, alchemical ingredients as well as his want to help villages in need. She didn't find his tale very interesting. In response he knocked her off her branch, taunting her. She answered by knocking him off his feet, jumping on top of him and pulling his arm behind his back. Oronin apologized at her behest, so she let him go. The two traded japes before Oronin revealed that he thought of her as a good person. Gwendaridh was a bit taken aback. She thanked him for his kind words.

The Daedroth was not the only Daedra they faced on their way to the Greenspeaker's Grove, but the weaker Daedra were no match for them. They reached the grove, finding it to be overrun with webs. Rontadras could feel that the place was very tainted by the Daedra. He heard a plea for help, signifying that there might be survivors inside. The Chosen entered, cautiously, and found numerous cocoons hanging from the central graht-oak. Bura cut one of them open, to see if there were survivors, only finding a dissolved mush inside. Before they could check the other cocoons, they were met by a Spider Daedra who confronted them. She tried to bargain with them, trying to give them information on the relic they were searching for in exchange for Rontadras. The group refused to hand the Changeling over, prompting the Daedra to attack. They were swarmed by Spiderlings. Gwendaridh fought off many of them before she was overwhelmed and paralyzed. The Spider Daedra was able to get her hands on Rontadras. Eplear fired an arrow through the Daedra's hand, making her let go of Rontadras. Now freed, the Changeling managed to transform into a deer and pinned the Daedra to the oak. While he held it in place, Bura swooped in and stab the Daedra through the chest. The Daedra vanished, the battle was won.

As they recovered, they discovered which of the cocoons housed the survivor. Bura cut it open, freeing the Nymph that was trapped inside. Oronin healed her injuries Rontadras gave her his robe, letting the wounded Nymph rest as the group recovered. Lubruk confessed his insecurities to the group, while the others seemed empathetic to the Orc Gwendaridh had none. She mocked him and his people, much to Oronin's disappointment and Bura's anger. As they were waiting, Eplear noticed someone approaching the grove. He ambushed the person while the others prepared for a fight, however, it turned out that it was Earendil. He had escaped from the pirates and made his way back to the group. Not longer after, the Nymph awoke. She was scared of Rontadras, calling him an Oathbreaker, but he was able to calm her down. She told them that she was one of the Nymphs that had lived in the grove with the Greenspeakers, protecting the Eldenbark Shield. The grove was recently attacked by a group of Daedra and Ayleids led by a Changeling called Selene. Rontadras revealed that Selene was indeed one of his siblings, but had not joined Olphras in trying to redeem their betrayal of Y'ffre. The nymph, Evegarte, explained that Selene had the Greenspeakers killed and took the Shield for herself. Evegarte had managed to remain hidden. She sought out help, finding a masked mage to aid her, but was betrayed to the Spider Daedra by the mage in exchange for information. The Chosen realized that the mage must have been Valmerion. She told them that Selene returned to Aettus and that the relic was there with her. Unfortunately for the Chosen, they would not just be able to enter the city and retrieve the relic. They needed allies. After some deliberation, they decided to head to Arenthia to seek aid from its Queen.

The group headed east to the Crescent River. They took Evegarte with them, rather than leave her alone in the Daedra infested woods. They did not have a way to cross the river so Earendil volunteered to find them a boat. Before long he returned with one, probably having stolen it. They climbed into it while the Maormer swam them across. The boat landed near a trading post belonging to Arenthia. As they were crossing the trading post, the overseer intercepted them. She warned them that a duo of Maormer pirates were looking for a group that matched their description and said that they might be waiting for them in Arenthia. Earendil apologized for causing the group trouble, but it seemed like the pirates were still after him. Eplear thanked her for the warning and continued on their way.

Arenthia was not far from the trading post. They arrived late in the afternoon. Eplear was familiar with the city and helped them navigate to the queen's residence, a large spire in the southern part of the city. The gates that led to it were closed and guarded. The guards questioned them. Eplear explained the situation and used his connection to the Silvenar to obtain an audience. The city's Vicereeve met with them and agreed to bring them to the queen. He led them inside the Spire to a large living room overlooking the gardens. Queen Sylnia Arenthil came to speak to them and they explained to her what had happened at the Greenspeaker's Grove, Evegarte giving her a detailed account of the attack. The Chosen convinced Queen Sylnia that leaving the Eldenbark Shield in the hands of Selene and the Ayleids was a terrible idea. Sylnia was also angry at the attack on the Greenspeakers, which were an order of Y'ffre's monks that her ancestor Arenthil, the first King of the Bosmer, started. She could not allow their deaths to go unpunished. Though the political situation was difficult, since attacking Aettus might lead to retaliation from the Cyrodillic Ayleids. The risk of allowing Y'ffre's relic to be corrupted outweight the possibility of attack. She agreed to aid them in infiltrating the city, but first needed to coordinate with King Gondian of Thormar, who was already planning on attacking Aettus. She gave the Chosen leave to remain in her Spire and rest up while she ironed out the details of the attack. They thanked her for all her help.

A couple nights later, a young Bosmer girl named Kaaail infiltrated the Spire and was found by Rontadras. She told him that she had followed the Chosen from Silvenar and wanted to aid them in their holy mission. They agreed to allow her to follow them. As thanks, she warned them of the two Maormer that were searching for them. She revealed that the Maormer were currently at an inn and waiting for an opportunity to strike at Earendil. The former pirate decided it was best to strike first and the group agreed. The next day they exited the Spire and went to the inn to confront the Maormer. The Maormer woman revealed during their confrontation that Earendil was a wereshark, which shocked the Chosen. Nevertheless, they trusted him enough not to betray him to the pirates and instead were able to force the pirates to retreat from the city. Afterwards, they confronted Earendil about him keeping secrets from them. He told them that he could control his curse quite well and for them not to be concerned over it. They reluctantly accepted his claim, but said that if he put the group in danger with his curse they would need to put him down. He accepted that.

When the Queen was ready, she ordered the army to march from Arenthia. The Chosen followed her, heading west across the Crescent River and deeper into the Northern Woods. They found the woods to be more heavily filled with Daedra, making progress slow. To aid in making it across the land, the Chosen acted as scouts and sought out safe passages where they were fewer Daedra. While they were searching for a path to the city itself, they were intercepted by a group of Ayleids. The Ayleid leader demanded that they surrender and come with him to meet with Selene. The Chosen did not trust him and refused to surrender. Rather than try to convince them, the Ayleids turned to violence. The leader summoned forth the Daedroth that the group had fought previously. Earendil attacked the daedra, keeping it busy while the others fought the Ayleids. Gwendaridh flanked the Ayleid cultists and knocked one down with her daggers. The Ayleids summoned Spiderlings to swarm her and the nearby Orc. She left him to the Daedra, ignoring his plee for help as she went after the cultist to finish him off. The cultist tried to sap her strength, but was unable to stop her lung towards him. She stabbed him to death. After paralizing Lubruk, the Spiderlings went after Gwen but were cut dowb with her shortsword. Looking around, she saw the leader of the Ayleids was attacking Oronin and Eplear, crushing them with a shadowy hand he had conjured up. Gwendaridh hit the cultist with one of her daggers and Bura charged in to attack him. She caught the mage off-guard, but he survived her wound. The Daedroth came to its master's aid, forcing Bura to retreat. Areanae and Gwendaridh finished off the Umbral Mage, causing the Daedroth to disappear and winning the battle.

As they were recovering, Oronin sat down seeming worn down. Gwen approached him, a bit concerned about the healer. He was not accustomed to so much fighting, it was taking a toll on him. Gwen was the opposite, she was used to fighting for survival so this was no different. Oronin realized he had much to learn from her. That boosted Gwendaridh's ego and she grew snarky towards him. After he snapped back, asked her about her temper. She confessed that she didn't have much control over it. She wondered if it was due to her consumption of the Orcs that she killed, if their enraged nature became a part of her. Oronin doubted that that was the case, but agreed to help her control her anger as the Silvenar had done. He tried to teach her some meditation techniques, but she was not interested. Instead saying that she liked to practice her dagger throwing to calm down. He accepted that as an alternative. Kaaail soon returned from her scouting, finding the group relaxing among the dead Ayleids. Eplear had her head out to inform the queen that the way to Aettus was clear.

The Queen's army attacked Aettus at the same time as the Thormar army was attacking from the south. As their coordinated assault on the city began, the Chosen split off and sought to infiltrate while the Ayleid Daedraphiles were busy defending themselves. They headed to the northern section of the city where Rontadras set up a rope for the group to climb up the wall. The Ayleids noticed their approach and defend the battlements. Eplear, Lubruk and Areanae stayed back to provide covering fire while Bura, Earendil and the others headed in to climb up. Gwendaridh was one of the last of the first group to go up, heading up after Oronin. She stayed close to the healer to protect him. Areanae, Lubruk and Eplear later followed them up. Bura had managed to clear a path to the streets. With Rontadras' help they avoided patrols of soldiers and guards as the battle around them progressed. They made it to the palace, where Selene confronted them in the courtyard. She revealed that she had become High Priestess of the Daedric Prince Mephala. Rontadras and Oronin tried to convince her of the error of her ways, but were unable to. She demanded that they surrender the Eldest Leaf to her in exchange for their lives, but they of course refused. In response she ordered the Ayleids to attack them.

Rontadras protected the elves as they ran inside the palace, the Ayleids closing in around them. They could not linger so the Changeling used the Eldest Leaf to guide the group towards the corrupted relic. They fought back the Ayleids until reaching an underground passage. There Oronin sealed up the entrance with his vines to stall the Ayleids while they continued underground. The underground was filled with webs and covered in Daedra. Eplear's fire arrows let them pass several webs that blocked their path, venturing deeper through the complex of secret tunnels, torture chambers, ritual rooms and ancient halls. Eventually they were met with another aparition of Selene, who taunted them saying that they were merely walking right into her web. Rontadras returned the taunt, but it backfired as Selene opened a portal that summoned forth Spiderkith from Mephala's realm to attack them. Gwendaridh targeted the daedric archers with her daggers, using the agility to avoid their returning fire. Unfortunately one hit her in the leg, forcing her to head for cover. Leaving the archers to Eplear and Lubruk, she went after the Spiderkith healer who was keeping the daedra alive. She nearly took down the Cauterizer, but the daedra managed to sap some of her lifeforce to remain on Mundus. Before the daedra could retreat, however, Gwendaridh regained her footing and lunged at it with her shortsword, piercing the Spiderkith through the heart. Bura and Rontadras worked together to take out the Spiderkith leader, with the Changeling trapping her in his elk form while Bura stabbed her between her armor. By then the others had finished off the rest of the Daedra and Oronin was healing Eplear and Lubruk to get them back on their feet.

They tracked Selene down to a ritual chamber deep within the palace. She was performing a vile act, gutting a nymph into a basin of blood where the Eldenbark Shield was submerged. Nearby there were the corpses of dozens of Faerie. Rontadras yelled out at her. Selene dismissed his dismay, taunting them with the near completion of the ritual. Hearing that the ritual was not completed gave the Chosen some hope. Selene transformed into a massive spider to squash them. Gwen avoided the leg swipes and after drawing her shortsword, Gwendaridh followed Bura and Kaaail down to the bottom of the chamber to attack the spider. Together, coordinating their attacks, they cut into the underside of the spider leaving large gashes. Rontadras retrieved the Eldenbark Shield and used the Eldest Leaf to purify it. Selene pulled herself into the ceiling, escaping their range. She then spat a webs at them. Gwendaridh was trapped by the web, but her natural resistance to poison let her withstand it better than the Orc. Eplear used one of the Fire Arrows to free Gwen from the web. Valmerion appeared in the ritual chamber, and launched a powerful fire spell into the spider, causing her web to burn away and sending Selene back to the ground. While she was recovering, Gwen and the other women charged in and hacked at the spider. Selene shapeshifted into the form of a Spider Daedra to use magic to defend herself. She launched lightning spells at Gwen and Kaaail, but Oronin protected the two with his vines. Valmerion's lightning weakened Selene, letting Bura nearly gut the Oathbreaker. Gwendaridh was able to hack off one of the daedra's legs. Selene tried to cast a powerful spell, but was interrupted. Gwendaridh took the oportunity to climb onto Selene's back and stabbed her through the back. Selene reverted back to her original form before her body began to desolve into a grey goo. She taunted them, telling them that she could not be killed and that she would return. Nevertheless, the battle was won.

As they were recovering, Valmerion tried to have Rontadras give him the relic, but the Changeling refused. Instead he entrusted the Eldenbark Shield to Bura's care. She promised to keep it safe. Gwendaridh didn't like this, but kept quiet. Eplear demanded to know why Valmerion had helped them after he had abandoned them. He dismissed the question at first, but after continued pressure gave a short explanation. He told them that he could not defeat Selene alone thus needed their help one more. Now they were his best bet to get the other relics. After Oronin healed their wounds, they headed back to the surface, finding the battle for the city to be nearly over. King Gondian and Queen Sylnia were in the palace courtyard, with the defeated King Qarhor at their feet. Gondian killed Qarhor, then met with the Chosen. He thanked them for their aid and forgave them for the trouble they caused at his forts. Sylnia thanked them as well and offered them some information. She told them that another relic of Y'ffre had been in the possession of her ancestor before it was given to the Kinlords of Haven, whom had it now, the Heart-Root Blade. Offering them some parting words, she wished them luck in their mission.

Demon and Destroyer[]

The Chosen entered the ancient Grahtwood, the origin place of the walking trees that wandered the forests at their own behest. Even from a far, they could see the mighty wooden behemoths peaking above the rest of the trees. They were close to one such tree, Cormount, that wandering around the northern region of Grahtwood. Nomad tribes gathered around Cormount to trade with each other and with caravans coming from Arenthia to Haven, or vice-versa. The Chosen headed south towards the trading post of Cormount. While Lubruk, Areanae and Eplear had kept them stocked up on food, they needed to trade the remains of their hunts for other supplies.

On their way to Cormount they encountered an Imga named Bundash. The Imga was lost, having been separated from his troop. He said that a Demon had scared them off from their home and he hid while they ran away. News of this demon peaked the group's interest. Bundash offered to be their guide as he had living in the area all his life. The Chosen continued to Cormount. It was a collection of tents around the eponymous graht-oak Cormount. The tree's roots were slowly moving, dragging it across a small area. They found it to be sparsely populated, with only about a dozen or so tents. About twice as many Bosmer gathered there. From their garb most were nomads, though a few were well dressed so they were likely from Haven. Among the Havenites was an Aldmer. The group gathered information from both the locals and the Imga, with Oronin coming to the conclusion that this Demon was one of Khajiiti myths. He had heard of winged demons that attacked Elsweyr decades ago and caused great devastation. Legends said that the hero Khunzar-ri and his companions had defeated them all, but that one still lives and is in the Valenwood was terrible news. Some in the group wanted to confront the Demon, as leaving it to roam free put many people in danger. Valmerion was against the idea, thinking it a waste of time, but he was out-numbered. Rontadras suggested that they speak with the Demon as supposedly it was an intelligent creature and most of the group agreed.

The group traveled for about a week through Green Hall until they reached the location of the sightings of the winged demon at the Elden Tree. They searched for signs next to the shores of a lake that the Aldmer merchant had spotted it, but saw no clear signs. They suspected that it was hiding among the tree itself and so formulated a plan to search it. Rontadras would search up in the foliage while the mortals would search underneath the massive roots. The Graht-Oak was different from most trees in that it was not embedded into the ground. Instead it was suspended in the air by its many roots. The thickest roots offered the tree support, while the longest ones provided the locomotion. The countless smaller roots dug into the earth, extracting nutrients and water to sustain the tree. The space underneath the Elden Tree was expansive, it could easily fit a city beneath it. It was dark within the root system, with the graht-oak above them little light reached down into the depths. The only light they possessed was the Ayleid crystal that Eplear owned. They stuck close together so as not to be separated in the darkness as the movements of the roots made traversing the area difficult. Earendil smelled something close by and pointed out its direction. Eplear moved the shone the light in that direction. It reflected off the scales of a massive beast.

Upon seeing the Demon, Eplear exclaimed that they were no threat. The healer demanded answers from the Demon. The Demon was vague in his answers, but seemed drawn to Oronin. Areanae tried to explain their quest to the Demon. Her revelation seemed to interest the Demon as it drew closer and proclaimed his plot a success, seemingly interested in the relics. They asked why it was interested in the relics, hoping that it was not nefarious. The Demon rejected their mortal sensibilities, it cared only about its survival. It demanded that they hand over one of the relics in their possession if they wished to leave with their lives. Before either party could act, Rontadras returned and confronted the beast. The Demon recognized the Changeling and revealed that he was one himself, a Changeling named Goradir. Rontadras explained that Goradir was one of the Oathbreakers who refused Y'ffre's will. Goradir rejected the idea that he had betrayed Y'ffre, instead claiming that their father had betrayed them. He wanted one of the relics to stop Y'ffre's pact from being formed, which would strip the Changelings of their immortality and shapeshifting abilities. They tried to reason with Goradir, but the demonic Changeling was adamant in his opinions. Oronin brought up Selene in the hopes that her fate might dissuade Goradir, but he disagreed with the comparison. Instead likening her servitude to the Daedra with Rontadras' servitude to Y'ffre. He wished for freedom and would fight for it. attacking the group when they refused to hand over one of the relics.

Goradir breathed out flames to burn them, but Rontadras was able to create a magic Aegis to defend the mortals. They scattered as he could not hold back the flames for long. It was difficult to move in the maze of roots, which had become agitated from the flames. Areanae and Eplear used their arrows against the Oathbreaker, but his scales proved too strong to pierce and the light from the flames made it hard to aim at any weak-points that that he might have. Valmerion attempted to use magic against him, but Goradir had defensive spells of his own that hardened his armor and made their efforts fruitless. Gwendaridh remained behind, sticking close to Oronin to protect him and the Silvenar's Leaf. Earendil managed to grab hold of the Demon's tail and scale up its body. The Oathbreaker's flames was doing severe damage to the graht-oak so Rontadras urged Goradir to stop the fight, but he refused unless they surrendered a relic. The heat and smoke from the fires were taking an affect on them, causing the mortals to start to suffocate, their eyes water and their bodies succumbing to the heat. Rontadras urged everyone to flee before it was too late.

Goradir did not let them escape and followed them outside. Now out in the open, he was able to use his wings to their full advantage and the fight only got more difficult for the Chosen. Earendil had gotten severely burned and others were still suffering from the effects of the smoke. Rontadras took it upon himself to keep Goradir at bay and demanded that the others fled and regrouped elsewhere. While some were against the idea, Rontadras took the initiative and transformed - copying Goradir's form and flying up to meet him in battle in the sky. The two demons clawed and burned one another, but Rontadras was far too inexperienced with this shape to use it to its full potential. Goradir was winning their fight and the last that the group saw of him was him receiving a fatal blow in the sky before transforming back into his humanoid form just before Goradir swallowed the Changeling. Despite his defeat, Rontadras' efforts were not in vein as he had given the Chosen enough time to escape from Goradir. Once they were out of danger, they headed southward to Haven seeking to potentially find aid in the city and claim the third relic before the Oathbreaker.

When they reached Haven, Oronin suggested that they split into two groups as the Kinlord was located in his keep in the Aldmer district of the city, which would not allow the entry of the Orcs and the Maormer. There was some discontent, but the group agreed to the split with Kaaail staying behind as well. Eplear, the other Bosmer and Valmerion headed to the Old City, the Aldmeri district. On the way they noticed some hints of the city's decline due to the presence of Goradir nearby disrupting trade, and forcing several nomad tribes to be stuck in the surrounding lands - competing for resources with the city. The elven group was able to pass through into the Old City without being stopped by the guards, though they were wary of the Silvenarians as they had had trouble with Bosmeri nomads.

Once reaching the Keep, they discovered that a Khajiiti caravan was visiting the Kinlord. Oronin explained that the late Kinlady had been a connoisseur of Khajiiti goods. The Vicereeve of Haven met with them after they introduced themselves to the guards and gave them the token that Queen Sylnia had given them to present to the High Kinlord Trallon. The Vicereeve also recognized Oronin, whom was a native of the city and had spent time at court treating the sickly Kinlady. They were brought before the Kinlord's throne room where he was currently speaking with the elder of the Khajiiti caravan about Goradir. The Khajiiti knew of the demons as they had attacked their homeland decades ago and the Aldmer was seeking knowledge of the fiend. The grouped interrupted their discussing revealing that they had fought Goradir and that he was no Demon, but a Changeling. While it was not believed at first, the presence of Oronin and their possession of not only Sylnia's seal but also the Eldest Leaf was enough to convince Trallon that they were speaking the truth. They told Trallon of their mission from Y'ffre and its importance and he agreed to give them the Heart-Root Blade that was in his possession after they defeated Goradir and saved Haven. Valmerion nearly caused an incident, not wanting to waste time on defeating the Changeling, but it was avoided. Unbeknownst to the group, however, the rest of their party had indeed caused a major incident between themselves and the Nomads and were currently being hunted by the city guard. They would not learn of this, however, until after they attempted to regroup with them in the bosmeri district of the city.

When they arrived in the Bosmeri district, they noticed right away that something was wrong since the city guard were on high alert. On asking around they learned that a fight had broken out in an area of the city called Fishers' Square. Oronin already suspected that their compatriots were involved when he heard mention of Orcs. They soon arrived at the square and found it teeming with guards dealing with the aftermath of the fight, where a group of nomads laid dead, and questioning witnesses. The Chosen asked around as well and learned that a group of Orcs and Maormer had attacked and killed these nomads in cold blood. Oronin was furious and rallied the group to deal with their compatriots for this crime. They followed after the guards and learned that the assailants had escaped into the wilderness outside the city. For the Chosen, however, it was an easy task to track them down with Valmerion's clairvoyance.

They confronted their allies in their makeshift camp. They found their allies with an extra companion, Zicterna, much to their surprise. Oronin demanded an explanation for their murder of the Nomads. Kaaail explained that the Nomads had started the fight, but that was not enough to convince them. The Nomads had been killed in gruesome ways, one of them had been decapitated. Lubruk pushed the blame for that on Earendil. The Maormer tried to justify his murders by saying that he was defending the Orcs, who were the true target of the Nomads. Oronin, nevertheless, chastised him for his brutality. Gwen blamed the Orcs for the deaths, despite Lubruk's retorts. Bura took responsibility for what happened, trying to defuse the situation. Eplear questioned Zicterna and she revealed that her crew was attacked by some shapeshifting stranger and she was the only survivor. She now sought aid from the Chosen, whom were the only other people she knew in the Valenwood. Oronin's comment of fixing Earendil caused the situation to escalate and Gwen threatened the Maormer when he became uncooperative. Eplear was able to calm him down, striking a deal that Zicterna would keep Earendil in check and he would continue the stay with the group. Eplear and Oronin set off for Haven to speak to the Kinlord and attempt to resolve the situation, while the others remained behind to watch the group.

While they awaited for the two Bosmer to return, Valmerion approached Gwen and suggested that she inform the Nomads of their camp's location. Neither her nor the Aldmer had any love for the Orcs and saw them as no better than animals. She slipped away from the camp and searched the nearby area for the nomad tribe that the deceased had belonged to. She found their camp west of the city and was brought before the tribe's Elder by the camp lookouts once she revealed that she information about the incident. Gwendaridh was disappointed with her meeting with the Elder. He proved to be stubborn and did not share her ideals of camaraderie between nomad tribes. He did not consider himself and his tribe to be kin of other nomads and instead as rivals competing for resources. When learning that the ones that killed his tribesmen were a part of her travelling group, he grew more hostile. He seemed intent on calling for a Mourning War against Silvenar, to pay for the deaths of his kin and refill his tribe's numbers. He even offered Gwendaridh a position in his tribe, but she refused. His hostility was matched with hers and it seemed like it might come to blows before her meeting was interrupted by the arrival of Oronin and an envoy from Haven. She departed from the camp, leaving Oronin to deal with the stubborn Elder.

Gwen did not return to the Chosen's camp and instead remained in the wilderness to reflect on her failure. Her time with the Silvenar and away from nomad life had led her to believe all nomads could come together as kin, as the Silvenar had preached that all Bosmer should. Though the Elder made it clear that her ideals were not shared by some at the very least. It disheartened her. She remained sulking alone until Oronin found her to bring her back to the camp. She shared her thoughts and ambitions with him, and he consoled her after informing her that he managed to negotiate with the Elder. He promised to forgive the transgression against his tribe if they defeated Goradir - freeing his tribe from the Demon's snare.

For the next couple days the group prepared for their upcoming expedition against Goradir. Oronin took this time to bring Gwendaridh to Haven and share with her his knowledge of the city, teaching her of city life and the people there. During one of their trips they encountered an old friend of Oronin's, a Khajiit named Mazaro who was hunting a thief. Oronin and Mazaro caught up and the Khajiit decided to help them in their quest. On another trip, Oronin led her to the coast as Gwen had never been to the sea. He led her into the water and taught her how to swim. The two shared a kiss in the water and more when they returned to camp. However, Oronin soon had his heart broken as he declared his feelings for her. She did not share those feelings, seeing their relationship as purely physical as had been normal among nomads. After this, the two grew more distant.

Kinlord Trallon had promised them the help of his Red Spears, their leader Battlereeve Alwesse was pressuring the group to come up with a strategy to deal with the Oathbreaker. Oronin had taken it upon himself to determine how to defeat Goradir but he was having trouble. The stress of all the recent events seemed to be getting to him. The whole group was feeling the stress and it boiled over when Earendil humiliated Oronin for his unsuccessful attempts to court Gwen. Mazaro defended Oronin and insulted Earendil, driving the Maormer to lash out in anger. He transformed into a Wereshark and attacked the Khajiit with the intent to kill.

When Earendil transformed, most of the group came to Mazaro's aid. Valmerion did not get involved. The ones that did were unprepared for the strength of the wereshark and he quickly dispatched some of them. Gwen attempted to grapple the beast and shank him with her dagger, but he caught her, broke her arm and tossed her aside with ease. Her injury sparked a fury in Oronin and so he was able to overwhelm Earendil with his magic that allowed Zicterna to put an end of the rampage before the healer's magic vines drained him of his strength, rendering the Maormer unconscious. While they decided what to do with Earendil, a stranger approached their camp - seemingly drawn by the violent fight. He was shooed away by Oronin, just before Earendil awoke and had an episode. He was clearly mentally unwell and so the group took pity on the Maormer and bound him to a tree so he could not harm himself or them.

After they recovered from the incident, they suddenly spotted flames coming from the city and heard the distant echoes of screams. They had took too long to act and so Goradir seemingly made the first move. The Chosen quickly made their way to Haven and confirmed that it was indeed under attack by the Oathbreaker. Leaving the city guard to take care of the panicking populace, the group made their way to the Kinlord's Keep where the chaos seemed to originate. Once they arrived they found the Red Spears fighting against Goradir in the courtyard. The keep was damaged and it and several surrounding buildings were aflame. Several corpses lay in the Demon's wake and the Red Spears seemed at the end of their rope. Eplear took charge of the group and they engaged the beast.

The group split up, some heading into the keep to check on the Kinlord and the Blade while the rest remained outside to fight Goradir. Valmerion was the first to head inside the keep. Gwendaridh, Mazaro and Kaaail soon joined him and the four attempted to defeat a Changeling that was attacking the Kinlord to claim the Blade. However, this Fay was able to quickly transform and counter-act their attacks. When Valmerion attacked him with magic, the Changeling transformed himself into a Nixad who was immune to that element and when Gwen went in close range he transformed into a golem-like being with rocky skin that her daggers could not penetrate. The Changeling blasted Valmerion with a water spell and then froze him in place, leaving the others without ranged support. Try as they might they failed in keeping the Changeling from claiming the Heart-Root Blade and when he did he tried to cut down Gwen, but Kaaail jumped in the way and was injured instead. The Changeling then stabbed the Kinlord through the chest and caused some sort of possession to take place as the Kinlord was taken over by a Changeling. Seeing that they could not defeat the Changelings alone, Valmerion retreated after he freed himself and was followed by Gwen and Mazaro carrying Kaaail.

Once they regrouped with their allies outside they found that they had faired little better as Goradir was still rampaging and they looked no closer to beating him. Now faced with three opponents, the tide of battle quickly turned against the Chosen. Oronin, Eplear, Gwen and Valmerion fought against the bladebearer, who was trying to claim the Eldest Leaf from Oronin. They managed to trap him with the vines and Valmerion destroyed his body with a powerful destruction spell, but the fay quickly reformed himself and continued his pursuit of Oronin. They learned that this Fay was Dringoth the Destroyer and it became evident that they could not defeat the three Fey. Gwen was fatally wounded by Dringoth. She collapsed, wounded and unconscious. Unbeknonwst to her, she was saved when Oronin decided to heal her instead of Kaaail. Even after being healed, she remained unconscious while the group retreated out of the city with the help of Lurmaanon, the stranger that had found their camp. In the escape, Kaaail was possessed by a Fay spirit and lost to them. Earendil appeared and momentarily stopped Goradir, allowing the group to leave Haven with the Fey in pursuit.

Personality[]

Vengeful and dutiful. Quick to anger but always trying to restrain herself.

Statistics[]

  • Attributes: Speed, Agility
  • Skills: Master One-Handed, Expert Throwing and Sneak, Adept Light Armour, Survival, Acrobatics, and Athletics
  • Powers: Resist Poison, Command Animal, Uncontrolled Rage
  • Equipment: Four bone daggers, a shortsword
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