Merlonn Grimm
Headmaster Merlonn Hirobus Faewyll Grimm
What is a mortal to do, when the weight of the world lies upon his shoulders?
- Merlonn Grimm, the final page of his journal, recovered after his death
The world will remember Merlonn Grimm as an evil man, and we at the archive will not disagree that his final actions were very much so. Though when it comes to the man's character, we believe that much like the knowledge he strived to attain, Grimm himself was a man of absolute neutrality.
No Elf in recorded history has reached the end of their natural lifespan, and though he got close, Grimm was no exeption. If it had not been for those who ended up ending his life prematurely, he himself would have done everything in his power to indefinitely extend it.
Being a mortal who had lived for nearly seven centuries, Merlonn had made quite a name for himself throughout all of Asharith. He had created spells of immense power, raised cities from nothing, cured plagues ravaging entire nations. He was seen in general as a friend to the people, though after examining his journals, we know that all his acts of good in the world were done for profit, so that he may fund his academy and even our own archive.
Why did Grimm dedicate himself so to the acquisition of knowledge? Up until the recovery of his journal, we could only speculate, though now we know the truth.
Merlonn Hirobus Faewyll Grimm was born fifty years before the Shattering and the end of the War of Great Ruin within the largest city of the Feywild, the city of Yntal. Throughout his life, he was taught the basics of the arcane arts by his mother and father, who were known as prolific wizards within the city. When he turned 22, he saw this city and his parents burn when Gor'Hazj broke through the the Drasil Gate and laid waste to the unending stretches of Elven wood.
Being one of the few Elves to escape the Feywild with his life, Merlonn worked his way to the front lines of the raging war, using his wizarding talents to fight the evils spilling out into the lands. Little did he know, that the Supra were already planning their final attack that would end the war. It was one fateful night, the final year of the War of Great Ruin, that Merlonn found himself surrounded by an army of orcs, gnolls and goblins, the rest of his party already torn to bloody pieces.
He too would have died, had it not been for the direct intervention of the Deific Media, who all three descended upon the scene and with one swing of the Raven Queen's wing, all who surrounded him perished.
Merlonn stood frozen, even his talented mind unable to comprehend the true forms of these beings. They looked like theirs icons which stood within the churches, yet they looked nothing like any mortal did. They stood tall as mountains yet small enough for him to shake the All-Knowing's hand when they approached him.
Beside their daunting figures, another thing utterly confused him. These were the Gods of neutrality, who had not lifted a finger during the great war, yet here they stood before him, having decided upon a side.
Merlonn's retelling of the encounter reads as follows.
I found myself in the company of the three things that had ruled my life for the last decade, had shaped me into the man I was then, standing there in that field. Knowledge and the Arcane had been the things that had shaped my childhood, though it had not been until I saw the face of death that I knew it had ended. Knowledge shook my hand, though I could feel that this hand I held was nothing more than a hair compared to their true size. Arcana looked me in the eyes and told me my name, though I had never heard it spoken with such weight. Death surrounded me and said nothing, only making me aware of its everlasting presence. I was told that this war would soon come to an end, at the expense of many lives, both mortal and divine. I was told that these beings had sooner wished to take no part in this conflict, simply keeping to their work. I was told that it had become clear to them that should this war end in favour of the Infra, the Media too would lose all it had. Knowledge relied on mortals to record it, Arcana relied on mortals to wield it, Death relied on mortals to live. In that moment they gave me my purpose. I would be the first champion to live after the end of the war. The first and last champion of the Media. - Merlonn Grimm, the first pages of his journal, written in the final year before the ShatteringIt seems Grimm was given the task of preserving all knowledge, both material and arcane. It seems Grimm was given the task to preserve life, should it ever be threatened again. It seems Grimm put all his effort into his first task, and chose only the students of his Academy to be worthy of preservation should a second War of Great Ruin come one day. Only twelve years after the Shattering and the end of the War, Merlonn aided in the founding of Konaïs, the first city of the new age. Together with acquaintances he had made in the years following the War, he founded the institutions which would help him in his efforts to preserve his gathered knowledge, The Opal Academy and our own Adamant Archive. Merlon would serve on the Vox Cognit for the rest of his life, influencing Opulan politics with both his coin and his garnered reputation. He spent his days gathering funds and more arcane knowledge until the first day he looked in the mirror and saw he had become an old man. The fear of his own mortality seemed to have left Merlonn ever since his encounter with the Death Goddess herself, yet in that moment, it returned. Grimm did not fear death for the same reasons any mortal fears it. He was not scared of losing his life, what scared him was losing his knowledge and failing his given task. He decided it would be best if he broke his connection to the Raven Queen, whom he had resented ever since his parents' death, long before their meeting, in order to extend his life beyond its normal length. Merlonn, being ever a man of extremes, thought it best to immediately attempt to gain immortality, a feat never accomplished before by a mortal. For indeed, the only beings known to be immortal were the Gods, and the only Gods who were still able to be physically interacted with, though with difficulty, were the Infra. Thus his plan was born, he would decide upon an Infra Deity, summon them and, through a ritual of immense arcane power, replace them. To gain the necissary knowledge he would need This plan lead to the event now referred to as the Day of Scales and Shadow when Merlonn set his plan into motion. Grimm had decided on his target, Vecna, The Risen. Through myriad prior experimental rituals, Merlonn had come to the conclusion that summoning such a God required not only the necissary components, but also a large sacrifice, and what better sacrifice than the city he had almost complete control over? Protecting his own institutions with warding circles, Merlon began his ritual which caused the sky to darken and the ground to shake. Had it not been for the efforts of a select few students and one of his own faculty, Merlonn might have succeeded, though luckily, the ritual was stopped and Merlonn was killed. Merlonn Grimm leaves a legacy of destruction and devastation, despite his research and innovation.
Species
Ethnicity
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Headmaster
Vox Cognit
Date of Death
3rd of Brand 651
Life
48 BS
651 PS
699 years old
Circumstances of Death
Killed by Ivae Peral and Phoenix DeTrafford-Brandwreath
Children
Gender
Male
Founded Settlements
Ruled Locations
Comments