Our druids sealed the entrance to the Vale, by making the Dim Forest grow to cover the only safe entrance to the valley. Since we were now hated almost as much as the drow, our king decided it would be best to awaken the forest, to help keep unwanted people from wandering in. The forest had always been home to ferocious magical, and non-magical, beasts and awakening them made the Dim Forest one of the most feared places in the south. The Pandarans still reigned over the Barrier Peaks at that time, so they king felt that the mountain range surrounding us was well protected.
The myths, for that is all that's left, say that the king bound our people as a whole to some manifestation of Chaos, and that is why the other elves and their gods turned their backs to us. The Vale was once called the Valley of Chaos, due to this manifestation of chaos, and it is still a very chaotic place to be. Some say that there is a foreboding presence in the Vale, brought forth by negative energy that dwells there, though I know no one alive today has ever recorded feeling such a presence. Portals and gateways randomly open throughout the Vale, leading to strange worlds and bringing the strange beasts that roam our lands with them. Every Child of the Vale is born with a birthmark, said to symbolize the king's pledge; this mark allows us to travel throughout the Vale unmolested by the beasts, communicate over long distances, and kill us- though we think the first Mage caused the latter. The mark is only supposed to kill us if we're captured and cannot escape in an undetermined amount of time; we believe the first Mage laid this curse on us when he was forcing us to raid neighboring countries.
It is a faint rumor that Vecna comes from the Vale, and that he is the entity of Chaos we're bound to- that's just silly though. The King would never have bound us to the lichgod.
For a time my people lived in peace and solitude. Eventually gnomes tunneled in through the Peaks, and desired to join our isolated land. The king allowed them, because the gnomes would bring us trade, and they were excellent miners. Humans trickled in over the years with the gnomes, and they joined our society as well. We took in many during the Great Migration who could not find homes elsewhere.
After a few centuries of my people living in solitude, the king decided that enough was enough, He thought that we had isolated ourselves too much, and it was time to rejoin the world. So our beloved king packed himself and his court, and headed out of the Valley. We know that he spent a couple of months in the Duchy of Geoff, our closest neighbors who we have always had a good trading relationship with, and he was last seen entering the mountains with the promise that he would return when he found a way for us to get back into the Seldarine's favor. There is a prophecy that he will return to us when he has found a way for us to go "home," though no one has ever been entirely sure of the meaning of that. Though after being banished by the drow cunt of Vecna, I believe I have found the home he referred to, but I don't know how to get back there without being banished. No one ever saw or heard from him or anyone of in his court again. I've always wondered what happened to our king, and hope to learn of his fate before I return home.
It is said that the king bestowed upon the Grand Duke of Geoff an oak chest that contained sacred artifacts, and scrolls dating back to the beginning of my people. The Duke swore an oath to our king, one that included his entire line of descendants, that stated he would protect the sacred relics and history of the Vale until the One True King returned to his people. I did attempt to find it when I went to Geoff, but the ninth daughter of a clan chief doesn't hold as much weight outside of my valley; I was never granted audience with the Duke. I suspect everything has been destroyed by now though, this was almost three hundred years ago.
Life in the Vale continued on until about a month after the king vanished into the mountains. He had taken his court with him, a court that consisted of the powerful wizards and druids who managed the Vale's defenses. Suddenly we were left unprotected. The spells they used to shield us were beginning to dwindle, because they required upkeep and no one was left to keep them going. My people spiraled into anarchy and Chaos, which is likely the true reason for the Vale's old name. Suddenly the fearsome beasts who had always protected us, began attacking at random. But no one could leave. Anyone who tried to leave was found dead and bloodied, or never seen again. Rumors began to circulate that we could not live outside of the Vale, because of the oath the king of old had made to Chaos. From what I understand, this is still believed both in and out of the Vale; we don't leave it much, most of my people see little point in doing so- most other races despise us, so living outside our valley can be taxing.
When we thought all hope was lost, Jaran Krimeeah entered our valley. Krimeeah was a wizard from the Great Kingdom, who had been exiled and came to the Vale seeking a new home. The talents that exiled him from his old home, made him accepted and beloved in his new home. Krimeeah had done much experimenting in planar control and summoning; he was able to take control of the beasts roaming the Vale, and stop them from randomly attacking us. He saved us all, and was rewarded by being made the ruler of the Vale; which was renamed the Valley of the Mage in his honor. The titles "The Exalted One," "The Black One," and "The Mage" were bestowed upon him. These titles are still used by our rulers today.
Krimeeah brought with him a female drow, who became his Enforcer- no one has ever learned her name. She ran all military defenses, both magical and mundane. Everything went well for a while, and life seemed to return to normal. While music remained the main tool for teaching, Krimeeah gave us little time to play for enjoyment; this is when being a bard started to become undesirable- only those who had lived a long life were permitted into the college.
Though unbeknownst to the Mage, many of my people wanted our king back, and began seeking information on their rare treks to the outside world. Those who remembered the king found the Black One to be tyrannical, and wanted to be free of his grasp. He would frequently unleash his monsters on those who he felt defied him; so the movement to displace him fell deep underground. Such things were spoken of in hushed tones, for the Mage had eyes everywhere. My people were forced to participate in raids on Geoff and the small villages that lined the Dim Forest. Though we never took gold, slaves, or other treasures- we took basic necessities of living, like grain and cloth. Resources had become scarce during our time of Chaos, and that was the only was the Mage would let us rebuild.
The Mage was paranoid, and made my people build the Black Keep for him to live in. It is said that the true reason he demanded a new dwelling was because he did not want my people to be reminded of our missing king when seeking an audience with our new ruler. Once it was complete, he set up vicious magical traps in and around the entire Citadel to ensnare anyone who attempted to sneak in. Krimeeah feared the prophecy that our king would return, knowing he would be unseated as ruler. Some say he spent much time studying how he could use the prophecy to his advantage, but nothing seemed to have come from it.
When mobs of giants began ransacking the other nations in our area, a delegation was sent to beseech the Black One. Someone in the group recognized the Black One, not as Jaran Krimeeah, but as Nyeru of Bissel; another exiled mage, this one had been exiled for necromancy. No one knows what happened to Krimeeah, we know only that one day Nyeru was the new Mage; though he continued to claim he was Krimeeah, the Enforcer backed up his claim so no one ever questioned it. Some believe that Krimeeah handed his throne over to Nyeru and took up plane walking, so that he could better hide from the enemies he had made.
It is rumored that the Mage has hidden many artifacts in the Citadel and the Keep. At one point it was said that my people guarded the Sword of Kas, or one of the pieces of Vecna- though the legends surrounding that have always been vague. Some say Mordenkainen from the Circle of Eight visited our valley, searching for an artifact the Mage was rumored to own; it was called the Scepter of Shadows.
The Sundering gravely injured the Vale, and no one knows what happened to the Mage or the Enforcer, but they vanished during the Chaos that began roaming free again- just like when our king left us. It is said that my people renewed our oath to the entity of Chaos that holds our home. The Archmage of the wizard tower took up the throne of the Mage, for the first time in centuries one of our own people leads us; though it is rumored that he only rules because Chaos lets him do so. He is thought to be more the representative of Chaos than the actual ruler. After the Sundering most of our artifacts disappeared, and have not yet resurfaced. I believe that many of the missing pieces of our history are locked in the Citadel- no one has been able to enter it and survive since the Black One moved into the Keep. We don't know if Geoff still holds the sacred chest, since the Sundering could have destroyed everything it contained; no one has ever been granted audience by the Duke either, so we cannot even confirm this part of the legend. We still hope our True King will return to us, with the sacred chest, free our bonds, and lead us home.
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| Map by Anna B. Meyer |
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