It is 11 o'clock after Noon, on the Day of the Great Gods,
the 5th Day of the Month of Winter, Year 318.

Chapter 2

The Forgotten Champion of Ulthuan

        After years of war in the outer regions of Taeroth, King Aenarill finally returned to his homeland. Having being victorious over the wicked elves, Aenarill was looking forward to settling down and retire for he was growing old and weak. The crown would soon be passed down to Andarill.

        The crown itself was a legendary heirloom passed down from generations since the time of Tel-Arin the first of Taeroth's ruler and great great grandfather of Aenarill. Legend was told that the crown was forged in the deepest pits of Black Fire Peak by the dwarven runesmiths. It had in it the power of infinite wisdom and supreme rulership.

        And so it was called the Crown of Command. Knowing that Andarill was weak and lacked the superiority to rule his kingdom successfully, the king decided that the crown would be passed on to Desparill. But for great power comes great responsibilities, and so King Aenarill decided to put his son Desparill through a test that would not only prove him worthy of a king but a legend.














        You see, for many hundred years the splendour of Taeroth was not without a torn in it's side, for there was an ancient evil deep under the great fortress. It was a plague, that would strike twice a year. A long time ago there was a noble elven sorcerer who started meddling with dark arcane arts. He saw the mage class of the elven society as weak and frail, and wanted to make a change and name for himself as an immortal. Soon evil seeped into his soul and slowly he turned away from the light and was forced to move deep under Taeroth in it's underground tunnel ways.

        For many years he would plunder the tombs and catacombs located under the city for his foul experiments and slowly bringing the dead back to life to serve under his command as slaves and soldiers. None knew of this hideous being and his great undead empire underneath. Oh yes, he did indeed succeed in being an immortal and worst then that a greater lich. The name Xann the Black Wizard would be carved into the memories of all in the great fortress.

        Having discovered of the dark city, the Elven Phoenix Guards were assembled and soon an army was ready to purge the city of the foul beings and the lich. It took many months to drive and clear the undead out of the city and finally Xann was impaled and destroyed by a Phoenix Avatar.















        But before it's death he swore that he would return even after eternal damnation twice every year to bring back his empire bit by bit and with that very words the lich uttered words long forgotten in an ancient tongue, a curse that would destroy everything and a seal that would prevent the living from ever returning back down.

        And so with his last words all perished and the everything crumbled to dust until the Black One rebuilt it. And so Desparill was faced with the task of finishing off what his ancestors left. Why Desparill you ask? When King Aenarill consulted the oracle in the divine temple, it told him that only one would be able to pass through the great barrier of the dead, and that one being was the king's child. It would be either Andarill or Desparill for they were bestowed the blessings of the gods and the power to slay Xann. And only they could do it and none other.

        The king felt that the only one that could do it was Desparill. He had only one chance to make the right decision and he would die if, Desparill the son that he loved the most would perish. And so Desparill was sent into the deep unknown........









*Marius the Mad Elector Count of Averland*