In The Eye of Loran
Talamh’faoin’Lleura and the Eight Moon Realms
In the south east of the Skarrellands is a great forest of Caernarrden surrounded by verdant fields of wheat and rye. They border the Faerie Realms of Talamh’faoin’Lleura (Realms Under the Moon). The heart of this realm is Gwycharianlleud, a glamorous silver city where the Lleudsidhe (Moon Fey) live in luxury and celebrate each day and night with festivals, displays of their wonderous art, and extravagant balls. Eleven Fey lords and eleven Fey ladies ruled over the Lleudsihhe in their shining silver city. The other moon realms beyond this city were wild and untamed, and so some of the Fey lords sought civilize them. Lord Cairbre an’Réiltín, took dominion over the forested crags and cliffs of Cian’Lleuran (The Deep Loran) and built there a marvelous Citadel where adventurous hearted sidhe joined him in his quest to battle the Shadow. Lady Teurwendwynthe took dominion over the plentiful fields and built there a palace of laughter and joy where those sidhe who found happiness in the arts could spend their days in peace and laughter. Her sister, Lady Ilmorvain, took dominion over they Fey realm that border the Beinn Mheadhon-oidhche (Mount Midnight), a tall bald mountain. She became known as the Lady of a Summer’s Night on the Mountain of the New Moon. There she built a grand castle where she could live in quiet solitude, for her greatest pleasures were found in studying ancient Lore and uncovering hidden knowledge. Some of the other Fey lords also began to search among the moon realms for a dominion of their own, building wonderful towers and palaces across the realms. As they traversed these realms they found that the moon opened portals to the mortal realms as well. Each such portal was tide to a particular phase and aspect of the moon, depending on the season of that realm, and during these times upon the mortal world the way would open between them. These “doors” were marked upon the mortal realm with painted stones placed there by the druighda (druids) of the skarrells. When the doors would open they would often invite mortals in to join them in their festivities. Some would remain for a time but most would be returned home safely as the portal closed.Ilmorvain’s Fall
Ilmorvain was enamored with Lord Caibre and for a time he had wooed her, but he was easily distracted and soon she learned that he had many mortal courtesans that he brought to his realm or visited in their own. It was of a union with one such mortal, a druidess named Liùsaidh (lucia), that he fathered a half-fey son whom he named Maelgwn (mal-cwyn, chief of hounds). This was in the year that The Great War began (1253 N.C.). When Ilmorvain learned of his infidelities she was greatly aggrieved and demanded he reject all mortal women and bind himself to her. But he was a capricious and free hearted man and despised her for her jealousy and cast her from his realm, forbidding her to ever return. Ilmorvain swore vengeance for his scorn. In the bitterness of her castle the Shade of Morwyn (the Queen of Air and Darkness), concubine of Aibhistear and servant of the Shadow who had Corrupted many of the Fey realms, heard Ilmorvain’s lamenting and came to her. Morwyn offered her vengeance and the power to be greater than all of the other Lleudsidhe. In her anguish and fury, Ilmorvain gave into the temptation. She allowed the Shadow into her heart, and so began the Corruption of her realm and the Fey there in. Thus she became the Countess of the Mountain of the Moonless Night, or as she later became known, The Witch of the Darkest Midngiht. Ilmorvain did not reveal her new found power immediately. She set about a dark plan to overcome as many of the moon realms at once as she could, with the intent to eventually re-enter the Deep Loran and take dominion of that realm from Caibre himself.The Castle of the Somber Princess
Ilmorvain began her plans by first removing the threat of her sister. Lady Teurwendwynthe had created a palace full of joy and happiness where the tall and beautiful moon sidhe could come to study art and rest. They occasionally even brought a few lucky mortals into their realm and let them frolic and play and know the joy of child hood again. Then, one day, her sister, Ilmorvain, brought her a gift: a beautiful mirror. But when Teurwendwynthe looked into the mirror it revealed her most sorrowful fears. She saw within its lens the Corruption and Death of her children by the shadow. The power of the mirror sapped her will and left her weak of heart, body and soul. She can only lay and look into the mirror, and sing a lament for her lost children. Ilmorvain promised her that when she had successfully taken dominion of all Talamh’faoin’Lleura she would free her sister from the curse. She warned her, though, that to shatter the mirror would make the curse far worse, turning her fears into reality. She then left her sister and the sorrow spread throughout the palace. The Fey were filled with sorrow, their art and music becoming dark and macabre. What more, any mortals who came into their realm would be so overcome by grief that they would simply lay down and die of sorrow. And when the door between the realms opened, the sorrow also spread to the humans in the villages nearby. The story of this Plague of Sorrows brought the attention of a great knight who came to save them. Teurwendwynthe had just enough will power to tell him how to suppress the curse. He followed her guidance and when he returned he placed a widow’s cowl over the mirror, which gave them some reprieve. She bade him to leave at once, and to seal the door behind him. He took the key to that lock with him, and it is buried with him to this day.The Crowns of Silver
Ilmorvain returned to Gwycharianlleud and began her ascent to power. She began by crafting magical silver crowns for the lords and ladies. Each crown was powerfully enchanted, greater than faerie glamour could create. When she presented them to the lords and ladies, most took them in vanity without considering any consequences. The crowns, it would soon be revealed, had a more sinister purpose. Thus 18 of the Lleudsihe nobles fell under her control. Three had not been enslaved by the crowns. Her sister, Teurwendwynthe, was already trapped in her own realm of where Ilmorvain had afflicted her with a curse of sorrow. Lord Caibre, was in his own realm, as she had planned for she knew he would deny any gift from her. Only one of the lords defied her. Banghofiorwerth (Baan-gfee-ew-erth, “The Forgotten Worthy Lord”), had long distrusted her and sensed ill intent in her gift. What wisdom he had we cannot know, but he did not don the crown and at some point he fled the Silver City and so escaped her clutches. In time Ilmorvain would use the power of the crowns to enslave the other Fey lords to her will. They were susceptible to her suggestions, unable to deny her wishes, and eventually unable to defy her will. Soon she had bent their will of every noble on the council and had total control of the Silver City. She warned them that a great danger was coming and bade them to prepare for battle. Ilmorvain had them order their people to stop making their art and instead make weapons and Armor. In the beginning the people thought the commands were the will of their own lords and ladies, and Ilmorvain did not reveal her purposes. But, in time, rumor of her control over the council began to spread and many guessed her evil intentions. The people began to refuse to serve, and when the commands of their lords and ladies were not enough to persuade them, Ilmorvain turned to more drastic measures. She conjured a storm of shadows to plague and terrorize the people. Only those who served her without question were spared their torment. The people fled and hid when the storm came, but they were cowed. In time, all the people of the Silver City served Ilmorvain in fear of the terrible shadow storm.The Wyrrdri
Ilmorvain now had an army prepared and so she began her plot to harm Lord Caibre. She wanted his son. She knew that the child was being raised in The Vale, where the druids resided. She knew too that the capricious and cruel Fey called the Wyrrdri resided in the forest nearby. The Wyrrdri were known to steal children, especially those lost in their woods. They took the children back to their moon realm, a massive warrens of mushroom filled tunnels. There they played with the children until they broke them. Ilmorvain knew their chieftain, Rhydderch Rhys, trusted his sister Blodeuyn Blevens and depended on her four counsel. But she also knew that Bleodeuyn (blood-vwyn) had a fascination with the magics of blood and bone, which made her easily to temp. Ilmorvain easily Corrupted Bleodeuyn and then had present to her brother, the Cyng, with a cursed magicl torch. Bleodeuyn told him the power of the torch would reveal those who were unfaithful, liars, untrustworthy or even Corrupted. But in truth, the torch only made him see that in others despite their true hearts and it slowly Corrupted him and all those who bathed in its light. Slowly it turned him paranoid and he only trusted his sister and the guards who were also Corrupted. When the time was ripe, Ilmorvain appeared before the Corrupted cyng and, because of the torch, he thought she was glorious and trustworthy. She told him there was a child, a boy, on the forests’ edge near Glynnyderwydd (glin-ith-eer-with, the Vale) and where he can be found. She told him to steal the child and bring him there for her to take. When his son, Rhodri Rhys, saw what was happening to his father he spoke against him, but the cyng accused his son of trying to steal his throne and cast him and all others he thought Corrupted out of the warrens. The Wyrrdri did as commanded and they knabbed the boy, Maelgwn, son of Lord Caibre. They took him back to their warrens. Ilmorvain then made herself appear as a poor skarrel woman and came to the druids in the mortal world, telling them that her son had been stolen by the Wyrrdri and begging them aid in recovering him. They agreed to help her and when they went to face the Wyrrdri they were horrified to find them more malevolent than before. They realized the Wyrrdri had been Corrupted. While they battled the Wyrrdri, Ilmorvain snuck in and claimed they boy. She left them all behind, chaos in her wake. The druids eventually drove back the mad wyrrdri and then imprisoned them by placing a magical barrier around their portion of forest. Even the uncorrupted Wyrrdri were caught within, but they would not return to the warrens. They uncorrupted Wyrrdri built a village near the entrance to the Warrens and tried for many decades to retake their realm from the Corruption.A War of Shadow and Glamour
When Lord Caibre learned his son had been stolen, he began to hunt for this unknown woman. Long he sought her out but was unable to find any trace of her or his lost heir. All the while, though, the power of the shadow was growing and the forces of the shadow began moving in the moon realms. Rumor grew of a powerful shadow witch who was served by a covey of Corrupted fae witches. At first he thought this was Morwyn, but soon he would learn the truth. He realized that one of these witches must have stolen his child, so he sought the aid of the Lords and Ladies of the Silver City. However, he quickly came to realize they were all in the thrall of the very woman he had scorned, Ilmorvain. She was the very witch who commanded the forces of shadow, and she was likely the one who had taken his son. Lord Caibre began a called upon his great host of knights to attack the Silver City. But Ilmorvain would not be defeated so easily. It is then that she revealed the power of the Crowns. She Corrupted the hearts of the lords and ladies and used their magic to summon darkness from the realm of shadow to overtake the city. All those of caught in the storm were made slaves of the shadow. The shadow storm made assailing the Silver City impossible for Lord Caibre. Each time he attacked the city was overtaken by the shadow and more of his kin fell to its magic, pitting pure fae against Corrupted fae. He mourned the tragedy of it and soon he relented in his assaults, seeing that no victory could come of it. And so, he called upon his knights to fight the shadow on other fronts and claimed many small victories, but always his greatest goal remained far beyond his reach. He never found his son. It was said that he had other children of other mortal women, but he always lamented his lost heir.The Great Gate
Ilmorvain knew if she were to ever achieve her Goals she must not just defend what she had taken. She knew she must take The Deep Loran. She went to Morwyn for aid, and the evil fae queen gave her a great host of shadow fiends. She sent forth this host against Y Porth Mawr (e-poth-mow-er, The Great Gate), a forested Fey realm paralleling Mórdorchafeith on the mortal world. This forest is the main entrance to The Deep Loran. This siege lasted long years. During this time she tried to corrupt the other realms. But she could not take that gate, so well defended was it.The Hall of the Harrowed
Caer’Derigmord was a great hall where Skarrels and Fey warriors came together to weather storms and make peace. At the last conclave the druids had hoped to bring them together to make war upon Ilmorvain’s armies. Unfortunately, Ilmorvain infiltrated their conclave and sewed evil. A battle broke out between the two groups of warriors and many died fighting amongst each other. In the midst of this castle is a portal door that leads to a Fey moon realm. The portal only appears in storm season and only if the moon shines upon it. Since it is often overcast this time of year it is very rare that it appears. That realm is the home of a Fey giant whose kindred were slain by the Skarrels. He is called the Harrowed, for he is haunted by his fallen brethren. Though Ilmorvain tried to infiltrate that realm she was somehow thwarted and unable to corrupt it. After Caer’Derigmord fell to ruins it was inhabited by a clan of Ogres.The Long Way
In time Ilmorvain knew she must find another way into the realm. There was known to be a secret passage upon the mortal world that leads from the mortal directly into the Deep Loran. It is called Y Ffordd Hir (e-forth-hir) “The Long Way”, a path of autumn woods that bypasses the difficulties of all other ways into The Deep Loran. Ilmorvain knew of the passage for Caibre used it often, but she knew not where it was. The druids of Carn’Arrden protected the entrance on the mortal world, so Ilmorvain sent out spies to seek it out. Yet none could find it. She grew desperate to succeed in her hopes of invading Lord Caibre’s realm, and soon the druids became aware of her intent.The Shadow Storm
Ilmorvain knew that if she found The Long Way she would need a means to send her army into the mortal world before they could invade The Deep Loran. She would need a power to block the light of the sun. There is an entrance to the Mortal Realm in the Silver City. It is a single structure called “The Silver Tower”. In the mortal world, it is a ruinous structure of grey stones and no apparent door, high on a hill south of the town of Ashtonfirth. In the Fey realm it is a tall beautiful silver tower in the heart of a great Fey city. Ilmorvain waited for the day the door opened and used it to send her shadow storm into the mortal world and her fiends used dusk and dawn to search out the entrance to The Long Way. A nearby skarrel village was overrun by the shadow and in time this drew the attention of powerful mortal sorceress named Fionnbhara. This sorceress came with a small host of young sorceresses to aid the druids and Lord Caibre in their battle.The Trap
Lord Caibre of Cian’Lleuran (The Deep Loran) called a council of all those who opposed Ilmorvain. Bréanainn of the druids of Caern’Arrden, Fionnbhara, a human sorceress, Argellis, a powerful gnomish illusionist, and Banghofiorwerth the lost Lord of the Silver City came together at the Vale to make their plan. They knew her desire was to invade the Deep Loran, and so it was decided that they would allow her spies to learn the secret entrance to The Long Way. They would place a barrier over that portal that would require her magics to open it. Thus she would have to lead her army into the portal. Once her army was in the portal, they would seal it off from both sides, forever locking her in the Long Way. During this time, Fionhbhara and her sorceresses would drive back the shadow storm and lock that portal as well. Ilmorvain fell for this trap. She led her army through portal of the Silver Tower and to the entrance to The Long Way. Argellis, the illusionist, made it appear there was a small defense before the entrance, enough to make the ruse believable. Once her forces were through, though, Argellis used his dagger, “Light Splinter” to seal the portal. Then the druids disassembled the stone archway that allowed the portal to exist. Lord Caibre battled Ilmorvain within the The Long Way, but once it was evident her shadow army was too great, he fled. She pressed on in pursuit, but was horrified to find that he too had closed the gate from his side. Once sealed, The Long Way was inescapable. But, what more The Deep Loran was also separated from the mortal realm. The only way in and out was through The Great Gate in the Fey realms, which was now completely under the control of the Shadow. During this battle, Fionnbhara and her host of young sorceresses drove back the shadow and sealed off The Silver Tower. The townsfolk were told to be ever vigilant and watch the entrance to the tower. That village eventually became the town of Ashtonfirth. Unfortunately, the true history of the tower would be lost in the generations that followed.The Locks and Keys
After the entrapment of Ilmorvain the remaining council agreed that they must make it impossible for her Corruption to spread any further into the mortal realm. Each of the moon realms was a risk to the mortal world. Some were still overcome by the shadow, The Silver City, The Mountain of Midnight, The Wyrrdri Woods and The Great Gate. To protect themselves they must lock the portals between the fae world and mortal world. The others could be just as dangerous. Each portal only opened under the light of a certain aspect or phase of the moon in a certain season. During this time, anyone could pass through them. At all other times only those fae or mortals with magic powerful enough to pierce the veil (the barrier between these realms) could travel between them. So it was decided to place magical locks upon these portals and magical keys to keep them safe, both the Corrupted and uncorrupted realms. Together they created these locks and keys and no two were alike. They then each promised to protect a key to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands. The Corrupted realms would be locked. The unprotected realms would be watched. The keys would be divided among Bréanainn, Fionnbhara, and Argellis. Each would find someone to guard each key so that no one person would know where all the keys were.The Keys of Bréanainn
Three were given to Bréanainn the Druid to protect. The first was the entrance to The Long Way. The stone arch was broken and its keystone was made the key. The archway was buried and a guardian placed there by the druids to watch over it. The stone was given to the Druid to protect. So long as the archway could not be assembled and the keystone kept away, Ilmorvain could not escape. Bréanainn had placed he keystone within the body of a treant. The treant would protect it and keep it from being discovered. Unfortunately, the treant died, the stone was discovered by two farm boys who recognized it to be part of the old stone archway. They began assembling it, giving Ilmorvain the power to touch the mortal world again. The second was the Palace of Teurwendwynthe, now known as the Palace of the Somber Princess. It was sealed and Bréanainn gave the key given to a young Bard in the service of the druids, Hildræd (hill-dra-th) Windsong. Her family long resided in the skarrel village of Ryeburn. She promised to pass the tale and the key along to her children and her children’s children so they would not forget and be ever vigilant of the dangers of the moon door. Hildræd had a son who was very greedy,Garreth. He believed his mother’s stories and thought he could find great treasures in the magical door that appeared near the village. He stole the key from her and used it to gain entrance to the tower, and whoever did so was overcome by the sorrow and hanged himself near the entrance. The sorrow spread over the town. A brave knight came to end the curse and he was able to close the door. He took the key with him and it was buried with him in a church at Ashtonfirth. She had a second son, Martin Windsong, who would be the father of Ardin Windsong. She decided she would tell them the tale as a fairy tale. The tower was eventually destroyed in a storm, and then it was nothing more than a door in a stone wall. And then the Sorans came and used that wall to build their castle. Thus began the town of Stanbrycg and the magical door became part of the Castle of Lord Ryelander. It still appears if the light of the moon enters the castle at just the right angle on the right day and when it does it is said that crying can be heard on the other side. The third was the entrance to the The Wyrrdri Warrens. A rock was placed beside the entrance with a golden leaf to be the key. Bréanainn himself kept that key. Decades passed before a group of adventurers came and convinced him they could end the Corruption. He gave them the key, hoping they could end the curse, but they were wrong and the key was lost within the warrens, leaving the portal open and the shadow the power to corrupt more Wyrrdri each year. The druids placed a magical barrier around that forest to protect the mortal world from the Corrupted wyrrdri.The Keys of Fionnbhara
Three keys were given to Fioonnbhara to protect. Fionnbhara herself had secured the door to the Silver Tower. When a key was crafted she gave it to Banghofiorwerth, the last lord of the Silver City. He went to the Fae realm called The Hall of the Harrowed, where he would reside in the court of Grugein (Gr’wain), and seek a way to end the Corruption of the shadow storm. The entrance to the Mountain of Midnight was secured, and the key given to Fionnbhara who then delivered it to Lord Caibre to protect in his realm. Thus, only if Ilmorvain escaped and Lord Caibre’s was defeated could she ever return to her own realm. The Hall of the Harrowed was given a lock, and Fionnbhara gave the key given to The Lord of Caer’Derigmord to protect. If ever that realm fell into Corruption the skarrell lord had sworn to lock the portal. Unfortunately, Caer’Derigmord itself fell to a clan of ogres who now reside in the ruins of that castle. The Ogres of Derigmord have become a pox upon the land.The Keys of Argellis
Three keys were given to Argellis The entrance to the Labyrinth of Argellis was also given a lock, and he gave the key to Talulla Fiadh’Myfanwy, a gnomish druidess who resided in nearby Cambar’Downs. She swore to be vigilant, and if the realm fell to the shadow she would lock the door. The Great Gate is an entrance to the Deep Loran and only accessible through the Fey realms. To reach it, one must pass through The Eye of Loran. A key to that portal was created and Argellis was to give it to someone to protect. The key to The Eye of Loran was also created and given to Argellis to protect.Talamh’faoin’Lleura (The Fae Realms of the Moon of Loran)
Realm Moon Phase Season Location The Deep Loran – The Long Way Crescent Waxing Rhein Achaidean Way Fey Realm: Y Ffordd Hir (The Long Way) Ruler: Lord Cairbre an’Réiltín (One of the eleven lords) The Silver Tower ½ Waxing Rhein Ashtonfirth Fey Realm: Gwycharianlleud (The Silver City) Ruler: The Eleven Lords and Ladies of the Lleudsihe (moon sidhe) The Palace of the Somber Princess ¾ Waxing Shelin Ryeburn Fey Realm: Palas Llawenydd / Palas y Gofid (Palace of Joy/Place of Sorrow) Ruler: Teurwendwynthe (sister of Ilmorvain, one of the eleven ladies) The Labyrinth of Argellis The Full Moon Zorin Cambar’Downs Fey Realm: Drysfa o Gemau Disglair (Labarynth of Glittering Gems) Ruler: Argellis (Gnome illusionist) The Great Gate Crescent Waxing Morin Mórdorchafeith Fey Realm: Y Porth Mawr (The Great Gate) Ruler: contested The Eye of Loran ¾ Waning Zorin Loch Loran Fey Realm: Llygad y Llyn’Lleuran (The Eye of the Lake of Loran) Ruler: Arglwyddes y Llyn’Lleuran (The Lady of the Lake of Loran) Hall of the Harrowed ½ Waning Torin Caer’Derigmord Fey Realm: Neuadd yr Ysbrydion (Hall of the Haunted) Ruler: Grugein (Gr’wain, the Giant Lord) and Banghofiorwerth (one of the 11 lords) The Wyrrdri Warrens Crescent Waning Rhein Cairnarrden Fey Realm: Tyllau y Wyrrdri (Wyrrdri Warrens) Ruler: Rhydderch Rhys (Wyrrdri Chieftain) The Mountain of Midnight The New Moon Korin Bone Mountains Fey Realm: Beinn Mheadhon-oidhche (the Mountain of Midnight) Ruler: Maelgwn (mal-cwyn, the half-mortal son of Lord Caibre) Eight Phases of the Moon: New Moon, Crescent Waxing, 1/2 Waxing, ¾ Waxing, Full-Moon, ¾ Waning, 1/2 Waning, Crescent Waning
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