Elemental Scions

The Elemental Scions is a faction of four elemental titans that attempted to conquer and subjugate Ta'Dorei from 809 PD to 816 PD. While not much is known about the titans' history or motivations, this article attempts to capture the knowledge and theories put forth by the Alabaster Lyceum and Cobalt Soul in their attempts to understand these otherworldly invaders.

The Scions

The four Scions that led the invasion are elemental princes believed to rule some (or perhaps all) of the Elemental Planes surrounding Exandria's Material Plane.
Stronmaus, Scion of Storms. A roiling hurricane of seething water and tempestuous wind, wielding lightning itself as her weapon. Stronmaus led her army of air elementals, lightning hulks, water weirds, and steam mephits. Her ire was focused on Westruun, striking from the northern shores of the Frigid Depths.
Thordak, Scion of Magma. A churning mass of lava and igneous rock, polluting the air with smog and drenching the land in fire with each step he takes. Thordak led his army of cinderslag elementals, salamanders, magma mephits, cinder hulks, and magma landsharks. His rage was aimed at Emon, bursting from the Seashale Mountains to directly attack the fortified city.
Errevon, Scion of Ice. A gigantic figure of icy glass and frigid mist, constantly mainfesting frost as the humidity of the nearby air plummets to freezing temperatures. Errevon led their army of cold snap spirits, frost salamanders, ice mephits, rime hulks, and water elementals. Their fury was directed towards Syngorn and Kymal, carving their dominion over a forest now known as the Frostweald from which their elemental forces could further expand.
Surtur, Scion of Ash. A towering mountain of sharp stone and blinding fog, commanding waves of tremors and wielding a massive club of radiant amethyst. He led his army of dust hulks, earth elementals, smoke mephits, and gargoyles. His wrath was trained on Kraghammer and Fort Daxio, carving new peaks onto the Cliffkeep Mountains as his hoardes tunneled to war.

The Scion Crisis

It is unknown just how long the Scions planned their assault on Tal'Dorei. It is clear, however, that the initial series of strikes was carefully fine-tuned by the four elemental princes.

The Invasion

The first incursion was that of the Scion of Ash, who burst open the Elemental Rift to the Plane of Earth guarded by The Ashari of Terrah. His armies quickly began to carve through the Stormcrest Mountains, focusing their attention on quickly burying the entrances and exist of the city of Kraghammer to entrap the dwarven forces from the surface. After thoroughly disabling Kraghammer, a direct strike against Fort Daxio, the massive stronghold that houses the standing army of the Tal'Dorei Republic, began a months-long siege.
Researchers have determined that this initial attack had two goals, both of which were successful. The first was to surprise the strongest army in the continent, the Daxio Outriders, and to preoccupy them by forcing them into a siege. The second was to bait all of the roaming battlements under Tal'Dorei banners to join together and push toward Fort Daxio, isolating them to a singular battlefield.
Within a week, the second phase of the attack began, as the Scion of Magma exploded the tops of the Seashale Mountains and poured lava over the villages of the Shalesteps. His army took advantage of the now mostly defenseless city of Emon and tore through its walls. He destroyed the Castle of the Sovereign and much of the Cloudtop District, cementing himself as the new crown of the capital. This attacked killed the sitting (and last) Sovereign of Tal'Dorei, Sovereign Uriel Tal'Dorei II, whose life was cut short after having recently announced his intent to dissolve the position of Sovereign and hand the right to rule to the Council that represented the varied peoples of the realm.
The attack on Emon sewed great chaos across the republic, as not only was the Sovereign killed with no direct successor, but what was supposed to be a slow and careful transition of power was rapidly thrown at the Tal'Dorei Council. Finding themselves immediately entrenched in a hostile occupation by otherwordly forces, the Council and the handful of surviving leaders fled the city with the aid of several arcanists.
The third attack came within two more weeks, as a massive hurricane led the forces of the Scion of Storms into Westruun, which had tentatively been setting up as a prime refugee city due to its central position along the Silvercut Roadway. The soldiers of Westruun, known as the Shields of the Plain, fought side-by-side with the many orders of paladins and clerics that had converged in Westruun to support the refugee crisis. Skirmish after skirmish was fought as the forces of Westruun attempted to use the nearby forest to pincer the approaching elementals, but the casualties grew at a tremendous rate.
A month into this war, the last of the Scions emerged. The Scion of Ice took a different approach from the other Scions, instead choosing to build their forces and even a full fortress as they terraformed an icy domain near the Stormcrest Mountains. Only once they had established a defensible territory did they begin to tear into civilization, covering Syngorn and Kymal in a deadly winter storm. However, for the first time in this elemental war campaign, the Scion forces encountered a truly prepared army as the Verdant Guard of Syngorn retaliated with a might unforeseen by the Scions. Buffetted by the elven army, the Scion of Ice instead focused on decimating Kymal, which quickly crumpled as the already crime-ridden city struggled to put up any worthwhile defense.

The Resistance

The surviving members of the Ta'Dorei Council reconvened in the city of Whitestone, an isolated city-state that had managed to not attract the attention of the elementals, likely due to its small size and its status as a minor ally to the republic. There, the most talented mages that the Council could muster rapidly developed an array of obelisk wards, anchors of illusory magic made of whitestone that could mask the city as blending into the larger Parchwood that surrounds the city.
With defenses in place, the Council began to seek aid. For the first time, the cities of Syngorn and Kraghammer put aside their isolationist cultures to step up to a greater threat, pledging to fight alongside the republic's people. The druids of the Air Ashari, experts on the Elemental Planes and keepers of the existing planar rifts, agreed to provide their counsel and magic. Independent factions such as the Cobalt Soul, Arcana Pansophical, The Claret Orders, and groups of powerful adventurers pledged themselves to fight as well in any way they could. Even criminal factions such as The Clasp rose to fight back against the elementals, claiming to this day that their knowledge of the secret tunnels under Emon was key to not only defeating the Scion of Magma but also in providing a means of escape to many of Emon's survivors.

Liberation of Westruun

One of the largest and deadliest battles of this war was named the Battle of the Bramblewoods, twelve seemingly endless days that dealt a decisive blow to the Scion of Storms. A combined army of the Shields, Air Ashari druids, and several paladin orders faced off against the largest battalion led directly by Stronmaus herself. The battle would have been a clear victory for the elementals were it not for the arrival of the Rivermaw Herd, the largest tribe of goliaths and the many wild peoples of the Dividing Plains. The ruthless barbarians of the Herd, led by their powerful Juggernaut warriors and their Stormlord-blessed Stormborn champions, carved through the elemental forces with an unsatiating rage. The bards of today sing of the Herd as the Stormlord's way of "spitting on Stronmaus' face", a brutal display of why only he may claim dominion over the Storms of Exandria. The battle ended with the death of the first Scion, a final blow dealt by the Voice of the Tempest, leader of the Air Ashari.

The Trident Strike

With Stronmaus gone, attention turned to freeing the forces of Kraghammer and Fort Daxio. Seeing proof that even the Scions themselves can indeed be killed, countless of volunteers from across the realm formed what was known as the People of Tal'Dorei, a loose militia of any able-bodied individual who could wield a sword or cast a cantrip and wished to defend their home. The Peakclimber Knights of Kraghammer successfully carved out a path to join the fight atop their giant goat steeds, creating the opportunity for a three-pronged attack on Surtur: the remaining Daxio Outriders from the West, the Peakclimbers from the East, and the People of Tal'Dorei from the South. This strategy, led by the famed war hero and current Master of Defense Josephine Gray, is now referred to as the Trident Strike. By the end of the second year of the Scion Crisis, Surtur was defeated.

A Shift in the Scions

The Syngornian Verdant Guard pushed towards Kymal in aims to liberate it from its icy shackles. Surprisingly, they faced little resistance, as the frost legion of Errevon retreated back to their master's domain in the Frostweald. It is not known why Errevon decided to pull their forces back willingly. Some historians believe this may have been a moment of treason against their fellow Scions, choosing to strengthen their own small claim in Tal'Dorei rather than further their collective campaign to destroy the major civilizations of the republic. Others believe that perhaps Errevon found something valuable within their new realm, something of enough import to take their whole attention behind the secretive icy walls of their fortress.

Campaign for the Capital

Defeating the Scion of Magma was a costly effort, as he had turned much of Emon into a truly inhospitable domain of lava and smog. Even approaching his forces, let alone fighting them, was a tricky endeavor. Much of the third and fourth year of the Crisis was a standstill at the walls of Emon, as attack and counterattack was launched with little ground gained to either side. Some began to even question whether Thordak was present in the city, as his massive form was not witnessed by any of the combatants during this time. The tide began to turn when a massive reserve of Potions of Fire Resistance were brewed by a combination of master alchemists and enchanters from across the realm. Enabling the People of Tal'Dorei to resist the dangerous environment of Emon allowed for the army to begin reclaiming the outer sectors of the city.
It was only when the People began advancing on the Cloudtop District that the Scion of Magma rose once more. The most powerful warriors, mages, and leaders of Tal'Dorei faced directly against the elemental titan, fending against its massive curved sword and showers of scalding lava. Many brave heroes fell during the battle, but their sacrifice secured the freedom of Emon as the Scion of Magma fell.

The Last Scion

The Scion of Ice maintained their claim on Tal'Dorei for another three frigid years. Having sculpted a tenebrous citadel of glass glaciers and harnessing direct energy from their plane through a new elemental rift from which they emerged, Errevon cemented their dominion. The combined forces of Tal'Dorei, Kraghammer, and Syngorn pushed their way through endlessly replenishing frost elementals, until finally reaching the lair of the last Scion. Errevon was the only titan to not be destroyed outright, instead forced back through the fresh rift to the Elemental Plane of Ice as the Ashari worked to seal it forever. While this venture was a success, the years of Errevon's influence permanently altered the area now known as the Frostweald, locking it into a ceaseless frigid winter.

Scars of the Scions

While the Republic of Tal'Dorei has rid itself of its conquerors, the presence of the elemental princes has left many scars across the realm. With the chaos obfuscating the day-to-day movements of the otherwordly invaders, theories and speculation regarding the lingering elemental effects continue to brew amongst the populace of Tal'Dorei. Some believe that it is likely that one or more elemental rifts continue to linger undetected. Others worry that perhaps not all of the remaining elementals were slain, and indeed there have been reports of elementals spotted in the less populated regions of the realm. Below you will find the publicly available collection of scars documented by the Alabaster Lyceum and Cobalt Soul, as well as the legacy of those who defeated the Scions.
Thordak's Crater. A large crater in Emon's Cloudtop District, which the Scion of Magma used as a breeding ground for cinderslag elementals. While the sizzling lava has been cleared, the igneous rock crater continues to be a reminder of the the decimation of Emon and the efforts of the brave warriors who freed it from its elemental tyrant. Beyond that, a labyrinth of lava-filled tunnels have been discovered beneath the city, and have continued to puzzle researchers. It is thought that Thordak's seeming disappearance for over a year was likely due to the carving of these tunnels, but where they lead or what his true purpose may have been continues to be a mystery.
Scar of the Cinder King. A large swath of land to the north and east of Emon that was torched by the Scion of Magma's armies as they marched onto Emon at the beginning of the invasion. The land was suffused with the elemental magic that poured from the Scion, and proved to not heal as easily as some might have hoped. The Fire Ashari of Pyrah were called by the Tal'Dorei Council to help keep vigil over the Scar and work to heal the land. While progress has been made, the land continues to need tending after 20 years. The Ashari have set up a base known as Flamereach Outpost, at the edge of Flamereach Grove, a small forest that burns perpetually.
Westuun's Defender. A statue named "The Black King" of Westruun's founder Palest Westruun was erected on an anniversary of the city's freedom from the Scion of Storms. Both the city and the statue were blessed by a high priest of the Lawbearer and when the city is threatened, the statue will legendarily animate into a golem to defend the people of Westruun.
Westruun's Survivors Legacy. The names of all those in Westruun who perished in the Battle of the Bramblewoods are carved on a wall in the Underwalk Ward, and has been expanded in recent years to include the names of those who survived the battle as well. It serves as a symbol of hope, and to this day folk make trips here to honor their lost loved ones.
The Frostweald. Along the northern base of the Stormcrest Mountains continues to exist a forest locked in perpetual winter, cursed to eternal cold by the invasion of the Scion of Ice. While several peoples have begun to live in within the Frostweald, the majority of travelers do their best to avoid the area entirely. The Council has accepted that the Frostweald is a lost land that will not be able to heal from its curse.
New Alliances. One of the few positive outcomes of the Scion Crisis was the number of new alliances formed to combat the elementals. Whitestone was officially inducted as part of the Republic of Tal'Dorei. The Ashari, while not formally a part of the republic, are now recognized as allies to the realm and have an ambassador to the Tal'Dorei Council. Syngorn and Kraghammer also gained ambassadors to the Council, and are formal allies to the republic.
Rebuilding Efforts. A grand reconstruction effort, funded by the Tal'Dorei Council and spearheaded by Master of Development Edelbern Cleareyes, has been greatly successful in rebuilding much of Tal'Dorei's destroyed infrastructure. Largely helmed by an organization of arcanomancers named the League of Miracles, the reconstruction has greatly lifted the broken spirits of the commoners directly affected by the Scion Crisis.
Lingering Magic. Across the continent, chaotic founts of elemental magic bring forth unpredictable dangers to unprepared travelers. Forests filled with twisted sentient vines animated by elemental earth, tempestuous storms that seem to purposefully strike lightning at living beings, geysers of flame that periodically erupt, and crystalline sands that that billow into gusts of icy shards are just some examples of elemental hazards reported by travelers across the republic. Although efforts to understand these magics continue to clear out these effects, any who wish to leave the comfort of their settlements are advised to not travel alone.