The Last Elvish Empress of Alfheim

"Alfheim, there's more myth than truth to that Empire... even the truth is full of legends at this point."

~Heretical Scholar of a Knightly Order

Summary

According to legend; towards the end of the Great Revolution the first Highlander King, his Eight Companions, and their armies converged on the Alfheim Capital (which later became the Imperial City of the Kingdom of Man) and began to raze it and slaughter the remains of the Elvish army. The last Empress of the Alfheim Empire, Empress Ljosalf Le Fey, fled her capital city not by foot but by magic via one of her Mirrormirrors to flee into the Shadowfell as a temporary retreat and destroyed her own Mirrormirror behind her so she could not be followed by the Human armies. She planned to return one day to reclaim the Freelands in the name of the Empire and to put the humans and their allies back in their place beneath the Elves. Strangely though, for thousands of years she has made no known attempt at returning to the Freelands and has remained hidden in exile away from her people. There she has remained, hidden from the world and through the use of unnatural and black magicks she has sustained herself in the Shadowfell and has slowly become a part of it. Some of her people followed her there and became twisted by the Shadowfell as well and become the "Shadar-Kai", while others retreated to the Feywild and became the Eladrin. The majority of her people retreated to the island of Avalon have began a new Kingdom in her absence, with a new royal line and a new way of living.

Historical Basis

It is true that the Highlander King and his people sacked the capital of Alfheim and turned it into the Imperial City that still stands today. It is not completely clear though on what exactly happened to the last Elvish Empress of Alfheim, she was never officially put to the sword and her body was never recovered.

Spread

The story was initially put to pen by Human Scholars from verbal accounts of Elvish prisoners of war before being summarily executed thousands of years ago. But during the Great Rebellion, many of these stories and legends were burned by the Holy Order of the Light as blasphemy and heresy.

Variations & Mutation

Most versions of the story are the same, though the Empress's name sometimes changes. It may be entirely possible was not "Ljosalf Le Fey" and that it was a placeholder name given to her by Scholars as it literally translates "Light Elf of the Fey". Other versions say she technically did die and is currently some sort of Vampire, Lich, or some other form of Undead thriving in the Shadowfell.

Cultural Reception

Many consider the legend to be ancient propaganda of some sort, either to serve as a warning to Humans that the Elvish threat may return or to serve as a rallying cry for Elves to come together to retake the Freelands.

In Literature

As with much of the literature from the time of the Great Revolution, many copies or versions of the literature were either lost or burned during the Great Rebellion. Many versions of the story are either shared by Bards today or by adventurers who somehow survived the Shadowfell and claimed to have seen her.

In Art

There is very little art of the Shadowfell as a whole, and even less art depicting anything having to do with Elves.

Date of First Recording

6000

Date of Setting

6000