Caerthilian ? [Archive] - EQ2 Forum Archive @ EQ2Wire

WarShe

06-01-2006, 08:48 PM

<DIV>Any one remember hearing about Caerthilian or seeing lore on this old city? </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>if I remember it would have been under whats now DoF a very long time ago, but I dont have any old lore I can find left on this to read. it may have been around the LDoN time frame or completely made up, im not sure.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>And was it from before or after PoP?</DIV>Message Edited by WarSheol on 06-01-2006 09:54 AM

Mary the Prophetess

06-01-2006, 09:10 PM

This story, I believe, (though I could be mistaken), comes from EQ Live Beta. It never made it to launch officially, and is not a part of official EQ Live lore. Long ago, and far away, there was a famous, (some say, infamous), guild in EQ Live that specialized in lore and history. They called themselves The First Fist of Light. They accumulated all the lore they could find on EQ Live and presented it on their guild site as a type of lore library. They also accumulated 'Test' lore such as the War of the Broken Crown, and included some of their own, (very well written), Fan Fiction, and put it all together into a multi-volume work named, The Codex of War. The problem was that they did not include a caveat as to what was what, and it was all mixed together and presented as if it were all 'official' lore.. Players, hungry for lore, could feast upon a banquet of official EQ Live lore, seasoned with some 'Beta' lore with a dash of Fan Fiction thrown in to taste. Very tasty, but not strictly accurate. The problem was that they became known as THE lore experts in the game, and the differentiation between what was valid and what was not, was totally lost on many, many players. So much so, that the 'unofficial' lore contained within The Codex of War, has acquired such a large following, and has been so widely circulated, that it is often cited as valid lore. It's been quoted and requoted so many times over the past six years, that it's status has become known and believed by many players. It has, for better or for worse, assumed a more or less 'quasi-valid' status in the minds of many, and may be thought of as being in the same category as folklore. Additionally, in this particular case, certain elements of the story of Caer T' Hiel have been included in the EQ Table-Top RPG, which further adds a measure of validity to the story. here is an exerpt from the EQ Table top RPG module titled, Realms of Norrath: Forests of Faydark: [Some legends suggest that Felwithe is built upon the ruins of the ancient Dark Elf capital of Caer T' Hiel, although no public records to support this claim can be found within Felwithe. The Teir 'Dal suggest that Tunare's Children razed Caer T' Hiel after Solusek Ro destroyed Takish 'Hiz, putting the Dark Elf inhabitants to the sword. The Koada 'Dal, of course, balk at the idea that their wonderous city could be built upon the ruins of such a hateful place. A few High Elves however, claim that there may be some truth to this story, suggesting further that one can still find remnants of the Teir 'Dal construction where water now flows beneath the city. A few extremists have even suggested that the Koada 'Dal flooded the bottom portions of Caer T' Hiel purposefully, in order to hide the truth of the matter. City officials and patriot Koada 'Dal historians dismiss this idea entirely, stating that the water canals were constructed in order to further beautify the city, and to offer more means of transportation through Felwithe.] There is a fundamental problem with the story as presented below though, (lore-wise). This is the obvious contradiction with official lore about which god(dess) created the Elves. Official lore states quite clearly it was Tunare. Innoruuk's role being to kidnap the first king and queen of the Elves, and by means of poisoning the queen, (such that only the life-essence of her husband could keep her alive), gradually corrupted them into the founders of the Teir 'Dal. This 'Beta' story on the War of the Broken Crown, presented below, forwards the idea that it was Innoruuk, and not Tunare, who was the creator of all the Elves, not just the Teir 'Dal. I have seen players and guilds of Teir 'Dal who, (for their own role-play story lines), dismiss the 'official' lore as false, (having been written by the Koada 'Dal), and who are willing to accept the 'beta' lore as the 'true' story of the Elvish race. This is not to say that they don't recognize which is the 'official' lore, and which is not, it's just that the 'unofficial' lore suits their story line better. Most 'purists' would dismiss the story below as 'folklore', (at best), or as pure lies that were presented deliberately in an attempt to 'blur' the line between official lore and 'other' lore. In other words, to 'hijack' the official lore and re-write it in a fashion more to their own liking. Personally, I don't see such sinister motives at play, and I don't think that it is entirely a bad thing to have two separate, (and contradictory), stories floating around. It is just so much more for the Teir 'Dal and Koada 'Dal to disagree about. From a purely role-playing point of view, such conflict is a good thing. So, you have been warned: you may accept the following story or reject it as you see fit. __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ______ The War of the Broken Crown Of Caer T' Hiel: The Dragons had relinquished their hold over Norrath, and what are now known as the elder races, the Elves and the Dwarves, stepped out from under their gargantuan shadow. The Dwarves sprang forth from the earth, to hold dominion over their mountainous kingdoms. The Elves took to the primeval forests of Norrath, creating a vast empire that spanned several continents. Ruling from the city of Caer T' Hiel, the Elves lived in peace; under the guidance of Innoruuk, the Elven god. Of the Rebellion and the Outpost of Wielle: As corruption in the empire grew, so did the unrest in many Elves' hearts. They wanted more and more power for themselves. They grew suspicious of the strength of Innoruuk, choosing to destroy his works, and kill his servants. At first they were small in size, and weak in power. But as the years went by the rebels' power grew. By using treacherous methods to slander the leaders of the Elven Empire, their insurrection spread. The first overt sign of the growing rebellion came at the Elven outpost of Wielle, located where the city of Freeport is today. Wielle was loyal to the Empire, and therefore, enemies of the rebels. A rebel army under the captain, P' Aetroen savagely attacked it. All the citizens of the outpost were killed. That action shattered centuries of relative peace. Suddenly the Empire had to face a new enemy; a darkness in it's midst. The Emperor, Kel' Anthinstion, called on all of the citizens of the Empire to fight for the cause of Innoruuk. He sent his most trusted advisers, all disciples of Innoruuk, to the far reaches of the Empire. They were to gather support to fight the rebels and support the unity of the Empire. The rebels had sent their own recruiters, using underhanded tactics, to undermine the populace’s faith in their god. The war continued for decades. Of the Battle of Aerignon and the Wild Elves: The war remained stalemated for many years. That changed with the Battle of Aerignon, named after the province of the Empire where it took place. The loyal forces of the Empire thought to catch P' Aetroen and his rebels unprepared. They attacked him at his home base, just north of Elizerain Lake. Forces were massed and placed under the direct command of the Emperor himself. He was to lead the army of Innoruuk to destroy the rebels once and for all. As the army encircled P' Aetroen's military headquarters, a victory for the blessed forces of Innoruuk seemed assured. Outmaneuvered and outnumbered, the rebels were unable to gather enough forces to turn back the impending assault; and escape by any other means was impossible. But Imperial victory was denied that day, as a third player in the war, the Wild Elves, revealed themselves, and entered the conflict. Wild Elf was a term used by citizens of the Empire for the primitive Elves the lived beyond the borders of the Empire. They had remained neutral throughout the war, but had succumbed to the rebels' promises of victory, and had joined the war on the rebel side. What was supposed to be a day of victory for the Empire turned into its greatest defeat. The Emperor himself was killed when an Wild Elf assassin slipped into his tent and killed him from behind. On that day the Empire was doomed. Of the Fall of the Imperial City: The war continued for a number of years after the death of the Emperor. In desperation, the remaining loyalists sent messengers to the Dwarven Kingdoms for aid against the rebels. They returned with discouraging news; the Dwarves were fighting their own war, and could send no help. With the help of a new fiendish type of magic, the rebels pushed the loyalists back to their capital, Caer T' Hiel, which was in the area now known as the Loping Plains. Inside, the last of the loyalists huddled in their homes, manned the battlements, and attempted to hold on to the last remnants of their shattered empire. Without a leader to rally them, they were demoralized, and their resistence was futile. Help however, came from an unexpected quarter, in the form of a priest of Innoruuk, who rose up as leader of the demoralized survivors of the capital. His name changes with every telling, but the fact remains that in the dark of the night, the day before the final assault on Caer T' Hiel, the priest led the last of the loyalists into the earth, through a chasm that was opened and closed by Innoruuk himself. When the rebel army assaulted the city the next day, they found nothing but an empty town, devoid of any life. Of the Elven Schism: As the loyalists took refuge underground, the rebels felt themselves to be the victors of the War of the Broken Crown. They took the name Koada 'Dal, meaning High Elf, while the Wild Elves became known as the Fier 'Dal, or Wood Elves. Without the Emperor to guide it, defeated, and demoralized, the Empire fell apart. The Elves that remained on the surface, the High Elves, could not stand the symbol of Imperial power that was the old capital of Caer T' Hiel, and in an act of rage and defiance, they destroyed it. They created their own, new capital of Felwithe on the very spot where the Emperor had been murdered in the battle that destroyed the Empire. The loyalists now fled west to the wild and uncharted continent of Tunaria. There, they established the well guarded, underground city of Neriak, where they stayed for many, many years attempting to rebuild their once great empire; all the while plotting revenge against the rebels who had forced them from the Faydwer. Having been exposed for generations to the low light of their underground kingdom, and to the harsh conditions of life underground, the skin of those Elves still loyal to Innoruuk has become darker, and the Elves themselves have become warriors guided by the power of their god. They are feared by the inhabitants of Tunaria, who call the loyalists the Teir 'Dal, or Dark Elves. __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ___________ Message Edited by Mary the Prophetess on 06-01-2006 11:14 AM

TheManInTheBox

06-01-2006, 11:01 PM

I was in the 1st Fist of Light on Firona-Vie, then on Druzzil-Ro when Banegrivm ( the guild leader ) made the choice to go back. When he left EQ 1 I took over the 1st Fist of Light for a while trying to keep it alive, but he finally asked for leadership back and dismissed the guild it seemed as he wanted it to go with him and his legacy as he called it.. He almost seemed angry at Verant/Sony for not going along with the plotline he thought would happen. He had a deep compassion for lore but in my opinion I fear he got a little lost in it all. <div></div>

Cusashorn

06-02-2006, 12:56 AM

<DIV>Yeah that guy was a maniac. he expected the game to revolve around him, which is partially why the codex of war is a lot of fanfiction, and why they don't tell the two apart.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Strictly speaking though, the codex should not be relied upon for lore. Not even Beta lore. There are other sites out there that do a better job.</DIV>