Alaric Ylyndar

Giantslayer Alaric Eldrin Ylyndar

As the thick smoke of the fires cleared, the Knights of Yggdrasil looked on to see their leader bowed over the back of his white wolf, her fur caked in the dark colors of Giant blood. There was a collective silence as the Knights bowed their head in reverence, assuming the worst had occurred when Alaric had reached up to smite the Giant prince Krojak.

Slowly, the form of the wolf began to stir, a blackened hand still holding the sword that had been granted by the Elven King moving to his lap as he unfurled to his full stature. The other hand slowly rose above his head, catching the falling motes and watching them dissolve on his gloved hand. The Giant prince had fallen, and the war had ended, but the harsh reality of the battle at Krojak’s End could not be erased by the victory.

Alaric Ylyndar had slain the Giant prince Krojak using the sword Stormrender that had been granted by the Elven King. The Giant Wars were long and bloody, the battle that brought the Head Knight and the Giant prince together being the bloodiest of all. It is said that Alaric gained some recognition amongst the Giants for his victory, but whether this is true is unknown.

— Volume V of the Yllvalion Codex, The Giant Wars

Alaric Ylyndar, the grandson of Ylyndar Clan patriarch and founder of the Knights of Yggdrasil, served as the leader of the Knights of Yggdrasil through most of the Giant Wars. Known for his leadership, compassion, and his trusty companion Ylmari, Alaric earned the name Giantslayer after his battle with the Giant prince Krojak that brought victory to the Elven Kingdom during the wars.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Alaric was born the second son of Taeral and Aila, relegating him to a simple life as one of the Paladins in the Knights of Yggdrasil. His younger days were spent training in weaponry and strategy, often alone as he was much younger than his brother Ryo Ylyndar and his cousins. As the grandson of Eldrin Ylyndar and one of the only grandchildren to bear his name, Alaric was held to a high standard, often being forced to train and study much like the older grandchildren, even when he was very much a child by Elven standards.
It was assumed that he would join the ranks of the Fey Knights upon his 250th birthday as was common in the Ylyndar Clan, but his training began much sooner than most of the children. By his twentieth birthday, he was considered proficient with a sword, making him a prodigy when it came to weaponry. His days were entirely spent studying the art of fighting and the intricate dance that came with it for over seven decades. When Alaric passed his first century of life, there were no weapons that he was not proficient in, training daily with the more veteran Knights of the Order.
Once he passed a century of life, Alaric's father dedicated his time to training Alaric as a strategist. Alaric's role would eventually be to serve under his brother Ryo as the Order's strategist, a highly coveted position that his father had once fulfilled under his grandfather. For decades, Alaric studied military tactics in the library of the Ylmaris Citadel.

Young Alaric Ylyndar

Young Alaric Ylyndar by Portrait via Portrait Workshop, created by RiverFang

As a teen, Alaric Ylyndar was set to serve as the strategist for the Knights of Yggdrasil under his older brother Ryo Ylyndar. Due to his brother's illness, Alaric quickly had to become the leader of the Order that his father had always dreamed of.

Knighthood

This was meant to be my brother's place, his birthright, but his path was taken elsewhere and I must fulfill the duty in his stead.

— Alaric Ylyndar

Upon his 250th birthday, Alaric swore his oath and joined the Knights of Yggdrasil as a Fey Knight. His training had served him well and he was easily able to keep up with the older members of his family that had been serving the Order for decades. For the first five years, his duties were simple, including things such as patrols of the Northern Outposts, strategy meetings with his father and brother, assisting the citizens of Yllvalion, and anything else that fulfilled the tenets of his Order. He had settled into the life of being second in command behind his brother as his father transitioned to retirement.
A dark and horrible winter struck the edge of the Elven Forest one year, forcing those in the Northern Outposts to leave their homes for the safety of Yllvalion and the Ylmaris Citadel. Ryo Ylyndar led this movement, spending long days outside the city walls, leading the people to safety inside. As the days stretched longer and the wind and snow became more violent, Ryo was struck with fever, an illness that even the Cleric of the city could not cure. The winter continued for what seemed years, but when the snow finally broke at the beginning of Spring's Morning, Ryo was but a shell of himself. He could no longer fulfill the duty of Head Knight and was sent to Alfensil for his own health.

Yllvalion

Yllvalion by Landscape via Artbreeder, created by RiverFang

Known as the white city of the north, Yllvalion is the ancestral home of the Ylyndar Clan and the Knights of Yggdrasil. Through the Giant Wars and the Eldritch War, the keep and its leader have never fallen.

Alaric inherited a city and Order that had barely survived the harsh winter of the edge of the Neither Tundra. With his brother no longer in Yllvalion and his father much happier in retirement, the leadership of the Knights of Yggdrasil fell upon his shoulders. Alaric had been trained as a strategist, not a leader, but the people of the Northern Outposts needed to rebuild their lives after a winter spent in seclusion. The young Alaric would have to lead the Order and its people forward if they wished to survive.
His early years as a leader were far from simple. Problems plagued the Order and the Northern Outposts and the Order and Ylyndar Clan had never survived on the leadership of a sole individual in their centuries of existence. He served as leader and teacher, bringing cousins and others into the fold to serve as the leadership that the Order so desperately needed. Alaric did not believe in delegating or leading from high, often being the first to volunteer for patrol or aiding those in the city. This willingness to help gained his great support and notoriety through the years and also brought him his greatest companion in the white wolf Ylmari.

The Giant Wars

Northern Outposts

Northern Outposts by Landscape via Artbreeder, created by RiverFang

The snowy lands of the Northern Outposts on the border of the Neither Tundra are inhabited by Elves, but the Giants of the north have been known to encroach on the territory of the Elven Kingdom when the need arises.

The Knights of Yggdrasil had been created in order to stop the Giants of the Neither Tundra from encroaching on the territory of the Elven Kingdom. For centuries, this quasi-peace had lasted, with only small skirmishes along the border between the Neither Tundra and the Elven Forest, but these instances were easily stopped. After nearly three centuries serving as the leader of the Knights of Yggdrasil, Alaric would be faced with the Order's first large-scale war.
The Giant Wars stretched for hundreds of years, with battles occurring sporadically and then quiet stretching for years. In 3500 I.M., the Giant prince Krojak broke the constant ebb and flow of battle, forcing an offensive against the northern border of the Elven Forest. This offensive stretched along the northern part of Vóreios, bringing those from the Cradle of Clay and the Human Empire into battle. The Giants greatest focus was the Elven Forest, forcing the Elves into a weary war. Throughout this campaign, Alaric led the Knights of Yggdrasil into battle after battle, eventually culminating in the battle at Krojak's End.

Krojak's End

The final push of the Giants during the Giant Wars was toward the white city of Yllvalion. Many of the settlements and outposts of the Northern Outposts had long since been abandoned as the battles stretched throughout the area, often burning buildings and parts of the forest beyond recognition. As the Giants began their march towards the city, Alaric was gifted Stormrender, a blade enchanted by the Elven King in hopes of ending the war. The battle near Yllvalion would be the last stand of the Knights of Yggdrasil, otherwise, the white city would fall and many lives would be ended.
Battle rang around them as Alaric and Ylmari moved across the open clearing towards Krojak, the Giant's deadly claymore covering the battlefield in blood. The Frost Steel sword gave off an ethereal glow and the duo moved towards the Giant, hoping to end the battle in a single strike. Both were already wounded from the hours that the battle had raged. Both sides had lost many people, the battlefield difficult to traverse.
When the Giant moved to attack a group of Paladins, Ylmari le[t at him, sinking her teeth into the meat of his forearm. A howl of pain rang across the battlefield and Alaric used that moment to speak the words that would empower the blade with a divine smite. As Krojak attempted to shake Ylmari from his arm, Alaric attacked, smiting the Giant with his full power, shards of ice shattering around them as divine power filled the battlefield with a bright light.
As the light faded, the broken claymore of Krojak lay next to his prone form. Alaric pulled himself into the saddle on Ylmari, his arm blackened by the power that had rung through his sword. When the smoke and snow cleared, the Knights looked at their leader, hunched over his wolf, and assumed the worst. As they looked on, Alaric rose up, their victory clear, but the reality of the death surrounding them removed the happiness of their final battle.
A small settlement would eventually be built upon the site of the battle, serving as a shrine and burial place of those that had so graciously given their lives in the fight against the Giants. The shattered pieces of the Giant's claymore still rest in the ground, no one able to remove them from where Alaric had struck him down. The settlement and the remembrance were one of Alaric's final wishes, one that many wished to fulfill.

Species

Emerald Elves

Ethnicity

Northern Culture

Professions

• Paladins

Date of Birth

21 Fall’s Evening, 3978 IM

Life

3978 IM 2816 IM 1162 years old

Family

Ylyndar Clan

Eyes

Bright, green

Hair

Short, brown

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Tanned

Height

6’4”

Weight

220lbs

Aligned Organization

Knights of Yggdrasil

Other Affiliations

• Elven Kingdom
• Northern Outposts

Related Myths

• Alaric's Sword

Founded Settlements

• Krojak's End

Related Historical Events

• 3500 IM
  Krojak's End

Ylmari the White

Alaric's patrols during his days as leader of the Knights of Yggdrasil lead him across much of the Northern Outposts. It wasn't uncommon for him to come across abandoned creatures, left to survive the harsh winters of the area alone. Very few ever held his attention for long, but a lone white wolf pup kept his eye as he traveled. Alaric swept the pup up and returned to the city, vowing to keep the pup as a pet.

Ylmari

Ylmari by Model via Heroforge, created by RiverFang

A large white dire wolf that was found abandoned in the Northern Outposts, Ylmari was adopted by Alaric Ylyndar and would become one of the most decorated animals found in the Paladin Orders of the Elves.

Ylmari was unwanted early in her life in the Ylmaris Citadel. Many told Alaric to leave her out in the wilderness, away from the city, but he refused, seeing something in the pup that the others could not. She became his constant companion, going with him everywhere and training to serve as his companion in battle.
She would serve beside him during the campaign of the Giant Wars, often saving him in the throes of battle. Ylmari would gain her fame during the battle at Krojak's End, biting onto the Giant's arm in order to give Alaric an opening to smite the behemoth down.

Stormrender

Throughout his time as a Fey Knight, Alaric has used a large array of weapons, including the Elvish lance that was once the specialty of his father and became the commonly used weapon of the Knights of Yggdrasil. In his younger years, he was known for the lance and longsword that he wore crossed on his back, held in sheathes that were the snow-white color of Ylmari’s fur. The earliest recordings of the Giant Wars in the Yllvalion Codex take note of the blade he wore that was enchanted by Yllvalion’s enchantress, but these weapons paled in comparison to one that quickly became his most trusted weapon.

Stormrender

Stormrender by Model via Heroforge, created by RiverFang

This sword was gifted to Alaric Ylyndar after being enchanted by the Elven King for the sole purpose of destorying the prince of the Giants during the Giant Wars. With a single empowered smite driven through Stormrender, the Giant prince met his end.

Stormrender was forged by the Dwarves of the Great Furnaces and enchanted by the Elven King with the express purpose of killing the Giant prince. As the head of the Knights of Yggdrasil, the sword was gifted to Alaric and remained by his side until his death.
Forged from Frost Steel and enchanted with powerful magic, Stormrender could easily channel the divine smite of any Paladin. Alaric poured as much of his divine magic into the strike that ended the Giant prince.