{{Template:Hidden War in France - First Battle of Athel Loren}}
{{Template:Hidden War in France - First Battle of Athel Loren}}
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===Netherstorm===
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{{Template:Hidden Creation of the Netherstorm}}
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Main Article : [[Netherstorm]]
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[[File:Tenris_Mirkblood.jpg|thumb|400px]]
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{{Quote(1)|We had grown comfortable in our safety. We were blinded by it, and it almost cost us everything.|Kael'Thalas Sunstrider}}
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With the situation in the Kingdom of Lothlorian undergoing a dramatic growth there seemed nothing that could stop them from growing more and more. The threat from the Trollocs and Orcs were little due to the massive defences around the Gatekeeps, and the growing military. [[Quel'Thalas]] was too busy surviving against the Trollocs to actually put up any kind of threat to them so internal issues were the discussion of the day inside the Kingdom of Lothlorian. This would change in a moment with the arrival of Tenris Mirkblood of whome was one of the princes of the San'Layn. Tenris arrived in Athel Loren on the northern border and met with members of the silent remaining members of the San'Layn in Athel Loren. This group snuck him inside of the kingdom and past the runestones meant to protect the kingdom from such individuals. As he arrived in the western part of the forest he and his members would begin setting up the ritual that was meant to tear the forest apart from within. Tenris Mirkblood created a portal which he used to summon in the prepared armies of the San'Layn. The moment the portal was opened though the Lothlorians understood that something was wrong and they mobilized themselves to repel the invaders, and in these early moments the Lothlorians who were attacking without knowledge of the Tempest Keep found themselves with a great advantage. As the Lothlorians mobilized they discovered that they were facing a large threat when the San'Layn moved Tempest Keep through the portal. Tempest Keep was a truly massive floating fortress that was manned by hundreds of San'Layn and thousands of their undead solders as well.
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====Tempest Keep====
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Main Article : [[Tempest Keep]]
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[[File:Tempest_Keep1.jpg|thumb|400px]]
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{{Quote(1)|My King they have attacked with some sort of floating city. It is devestating our forces, and I do not know what manner of weapons to defeat it with.|Pantheon}}
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The Tempest Keep acted as a massive fortress which would block the relief forces from being able to attack [[Tenris Mirkblood]] and his attempts to destroy the Sunwell through the use of the spell. The Lothlorians attempted to attack Tempest Keep but discovered that the fortress was massively defended and had extreme firepower which could only be stopped by actually assualting the keep itself. The keep was defended on the ground by the massive army of the undead and since it was in floating in the air only an air assault could dislodge the fortress. As the spell reached its closing point the [[Lothlorian Magisters|Magisters]] in the Sunwell begin to enact spells in an attempt to delay the spell being cast, and this caused a massive battle between the two forces with the San'Layn already so far ahead that they were pushing the Magisters massively in the wrong direction. As the Magi battle turned against them they discovered the water around the Sunwell litterly tearing itself apart with the power of the spell.
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====Assault on the Eye====
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{{Quote(1)|This will be the last time I am found with my hands up not knowing what to do. I will never again allow my enemies to make me look foolish, and I certainly will never again allow my enemies to damage my people in this way.|Kael'Thalas Sunstrider}}
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[[File:Tempest_Keep_The_Eye.jpg|thumb|400px]]
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With the spell nearing completion the Lothlorians launched a massive air assault led by Kael'Thalas, and many of his luitenants invading all across the Keep. As the assault continued the defenders of whome were mainly elite [[San'Layn]] defenders along with Prince Taldarum of whome defended the main theatre of the Tempest Keep in the Eye. As the defenders fell one by one to the attacking Lothlorians they discovered that the Lothlorians took control of the Mechanar one of the three platforms of the Tempest Keep. With control of the Mechanar they flooded attacks against the Eye where the Lothlorians were now in an all out attack on in an attempt to take it before the spell was completed. In the Eye Kael'Thalas battled [[Taldarum]] and after a tough battle he beat Taldarum but he was saved from death by Haernene Kellblood who whisked his broken body from the Eye surrendering Tempest Keep to the Lothlorians. With the fall of Tempest Keep the Lothlorian army proceeded to beat back the undead army defending Tenris and they entered the summoning area just as Tenris was nearing completeting.
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====Creation of Netherstorm====
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[[File:Netherstorm.jpg|thumb|400px]]
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{{Quote(1)|Even in victory it was a minor defeat.|Kael'Thalas Sunstrider}}
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As the two forces battled to stop or allow Tenris to complete the spell the entire situation became too late when Tenris unleashed his Magi in the air and as the beam came back down and he prepared to push it towards the [[Sunwell]] Kael'Thalas unleashed a massive bolt of Magi at Tenris which caused the instant death of all of his companion summoners, and caused Tenris to fall to the ground and thereby the spell continued straight down and pushed straight into the ground causing a massive explosion. When the explosion cleared the San'Layn were gone as they had been taken away by the power of the spell as the portal to Icecrown had collapsed. The Lothlorians picked themselves up and surveyed the damage. A massive crater had been created throughout the west of [[Athel Loren]] from which the sky above was litterly a purple tinge from the power of the spell. Standing in the middle of the storm remained Tempest Keep of which pieces of the keep had fallen from the sky and were scattered throughout the land. With a massive portion of the forest now known as the Netherstorm the Lothlorian Elves realized that they had an external threat in the form of the San'Layn.
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{{Quote(1)|The threat of the San'Layn was something I believed was gone. I believed that in my core and for that we have been dealt a massive blow to our people. I have failed to protect our people in the way I had promised I would. For that I will make them pay. I will carve a bloody path through the San'Layn.|Kael'Thalas Sunstrider}}
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As the Lothlorian Elves surveyed the damage though they found the remains of two destoyed satelites from the Tempest Keep, and they had broken into pieces all across the Netherstorm, and out of the tears in the world itself had formed. [[Zerevor Sunsorrow]] and several other Magi were able to tap into these rifts and with hundreds of workers brought in from the capital they were able to seal them behind the remains of the satelites. As they continued to work they discovered that they could harnass some of the releasing energy into cubes of which contained pure pieces of the [[The Fade|Fade]], and the Magi itself. With this in mind Kael'Thalas would form the Order of the Netherstorm under the command of Zerevor Sunsorrow and they would be charge of creating these Magi cubes from the Mana forges set up throughout the Netherstorm.
The Kingdom of Lothlorian is the governing Kingdom that rules over the Sindar Elves of theAthel Loren forests, and has come to utterly dominate the southeastern section of France. The Kingdom of Lothlorian has become embroiled in a conflict with many different oponenets including Quel`Thalas, Icecrown, Trollocs, and the Orcs of France and this has made them extremely hostile to all that are not their allies thus making new friends is a problem for them.
The Kingdom of Lothlorian is ruled by the King of Lothlorian Kael'Thalas Sunstrider and the king is responsible for basically all decisions made in the Kingdom. The position is heriditary but their have been numerous changes in families since the beginning of the Kingdom. The High King of Lothlorian is also one of the only three Lothlorian Elves that has the ability to enter the Sunwell, as for nearly everyone else it is forbidden to enter the most inner sanctum of the Sunwell.
The Kingdom of Lothlorian is located within the forests of Athel Loren, a forest of which as you move farther away from the settlements of the Lothlorians is extremely dense. The forest has lost much of its Forest Spirits of whome see no collaberation to be had with the members of the Lothlorians, and as such some of the more powerful or headstrong members of the Ents of Athel Loren have left and gone to Quel`Thalas.
The Lothlorian Elves are quite unque in that there males as well as many females are obsessive users of Magi of which they have harnassed through their creation in the Sunwell. The Sindar Elves listened to their leadership and because of this they slowly begin to use Magi, and stop communicating on the same level with the forest. As this continued to happen the litteral appearance of the Lothlorian Elves begin to change and they all seemed to grow blonde hair and culturally they became obsessive wearers of red. No longer truly Sindar, they are not High Elves, and they are not dark enough to be Dark Elves, and this makes the Kingdom of Lothlorian extremely unique.
The Kingdom of Lothlorian was founded during the Exodus of the Sindar Elves although it was never planned to be a Sindar Society by the ruling elite, and instead to be a hybrid culture designed by their leader at the time. The KIgdom would really grow after the creation of Silvermoon City as their capital and after an offer by Illidan Stormrage they created theSunwell. Lothlorian would continue to grow for a long time before it was involved in a rash of conflicts of which the first was the conflict within their Kingdom in the Lothlorian Civil War. These two were once the same thing but following the Lothlorian Civil War the Sindar Elves that followed the old ways, and did not want to travel down the Lothlorian path decided to attempt to take control. This failed and the Lothlorians banished basically all non-Lothlorian Elves and in this way they are perhaps their own kind of Elven society now. Following this war the rebels would come to found two distinctly different kingdoms in Icecrown of which was a Dark Elven CUlture, and Quel`Thalas of which was extremely Sindar. With this devision the Kingdom of Quel'Thalas was created in the Lothlorian outpost forest of Quel'Thalas and the two would be at nearly constant border conflicts. Following this they would be foreced to defend themselves after Icecrown launched a massive assault which nearly destroyed the entire forest. Instead of destroying the forest the conflict created Netherstorm in the westen section of Lothlorian, and the Netherstorm has in fact only added to the growing level of power that is taken in by the Kingdom of Lothlorian. The Kingdom of Lothlorian would fully open relations with the Kingdom of Lucerne after they discovered from a captured Murloc that the Murloc were being slowly defeated by the Orcs and that it was getting closer and closer that they would have to pull back and regroup.
The Kingdom of Lothlorian has historically been the home of the Lothlorian Elves of Athel Loren, and has contained the heart of their empire for millennia. Although the woods have seen their share of battle between the elves and their nearest neighbors, the forest trolls, the region has retained a harmonic and peaceful feel. Within the overall Kingdom their are several regions known as provinces in the form of Eversong, Ghostlands, and the Isle of Quel'Dalas.
Eversong Woods stand in perpetual autumn with golden leaves falling from the trees. As yet there are no dungeons of any kind and no battlegrounds in Eversong Woods. However, there is an unknown wooden gate at Tor'Watha, just as seen in the Ghostlands (leading to Zul'Aman) in the southeastern portion of the zone. It can be assumed this is a portal leading to an unknown instance, to be implemented sometime in the future, or it could have been the original entrance to Zul'Aman.
It was during the War of Vengeance that the life of Sylvanus along with her family would change completely. She went along with her siblings when the call of the Pheonix King went out for all Elves to assist the war effort in France against the aggressive and monsterous Dwarves. As the conflict continued the four siblings began to show a split in what they were interested in. Vareesa followed the teachings of Maflurion Stormrage and looked for a forest that teemed with the life that the world was made of. Unlike her siblings who followed the general teachings of Malfurion Sylvanus was a believer in the teachings of Laera Sunstrider, and his words to her had been for her to find a place that teemed with the power of Magi that he sought. She was confused about this command but in the end she did it anyway out of devotion to him. She spent her time looking for a forest that met this criteria and eventually came upon the forest of Athel Loren. Deep within this forest was an island which she couldn`t take her eyes off. One day as she walked the edge of the forest she laid down to sleep, and when she woke up beside her was Illidan Stormrage. Illidan spoke to her of how this forest was teeming with Magi, and that he could litterly feel his power grow every moment he stayed in it. With this knowledge she prepared to leave the forest and find her siblings but discovered that they were all devided on what to do when the war came to an end.
This devide in which forests they all were visiting would have little importance during the war but when the Elves were forced to return to Ulthuan following the attack by the Dark Elves the three siblings found themselves serperated for the first time on how to move forward. Vareesa was direhard in her devotion to the high Druid in Furion Stormrage, and because of this she wished to follow whatever command Furion told them to do. This was different then Sylvanus who had become involved in a minor off shoot of the SIndar Elves led by a prince named Laera Sunstrider and she wished to listen to his teachings about the forest. In the center of this debate were Alleria, and Legolas who simply wanted to be a part of the forest as they had always been.
Laera Sunstrider
Exodus of the Sindar Elves
"There comes a point when all things end. A time in the lifeline of a people when the glory, and honor of the past are replaced by the greed and coruption of the future. I shall not sit by and watch as the island of Ulthuan burns around me. I shall not watch as the people I have loved and cared for since my birth are destroyed by the madness of our failings."
Eventually the coruption of the High Elves reached a point where no longer could Malfurion or the vast majority of the Sindar Elves in Ulthuan accept the madness of Ulthuan and in this way Malfurion began the exodus of the Sindar Elves of Ulthuan to the shores of France.
As Malfurion started this exodus the second most powerful Sindar Elf in Laera Sunstrider took his followers and went as well. During the crossing he used Magi to make sure that certain ships were delayed quite heavily. In this way the ships of his followers as well as several other Sindar Elves that he wanted did not arrive in France until nearly two months later. As time wore on the Elves on board became horrified that they would never arrive, and that some great evil was delaying them, but each day Laera Sunstrider used his charisma to control more and more of the Elves.
Around 400,000 Sindari Elves heavily divided between fighters, civilians, and children.
“I had to carve out a new destiny for our people. The Sindar Elves would only find themselves destroyed if they follow Malfurion any further. It was time for a new path.”
— Laera Sunstrider
As Malfurion Stormrage started the exodus of the Sindar Elves the second most powerful Sindar Elf in Laera Sunstrider took his followers and went as well. During the crossing he used Magi to make sure that certain ships were delayed quite heavily. In this way the ships of his followers as well as several other Sindar Elves that he wanted did not arrive in France until nearly two months later. As time wore on the Elves on board became horrified that they would never arrive, and that some great evil was delaying them, but each day Laera Sunstrider used his charisma to control more and more of the Elves. By this point Laera Sunstrider spread word to his supporters amongst Malfurion that the ships had crashed into rocks leaving the fleet of Laera dead or lost in the waters. Malfurion with great sadness would leave behind volunteers of whom took the form of Laera supporters to wait for the stragglers but he took the rest of the Sindar Elves with him to High Forest. When the second wave finally did arrive in France and did not find Malfurion waiting for them those who were not among the devout followers of Laera were scared, and open to manipulation. Laera used this moment to rally the second wave of Sindar Elves of which there were many of his personal followers, and brought them to the forest of Lothlorian which was the forest scouted by Sylvanus during the War of Vengeance, and of which she had advised him of.
“We had travelled all this way, and yet here I stood on the edge of a lake that was supposed to lead us to everything we would need, and I saw nothing.”
— Laera
When the Elves arrived in Athel Loren they were guided throughout by Sylvanas who had intimate knowledge of the forest. In this way the large group of Sindar Elves was able to dramatically eliminate the local Trolloc without much difficulty. With the forest clear Sylvanus lead Laera to the island that she had seen, and been told by Illidan was a source of great power, but when they arrived there Laera discovered that they had been tricked by Illidan and that there was nothing special about the island. As he prepared to give up on this spot out of the water appeared Illidan Stormrage. Illidan begged to speak to Laera priveatly and when he agreed the two discussed how Illidan had absorbed the Skull of Maethor thanks to the efforts of his children and for this he wished to meand the differences between the two by helping to craft a massive devise which would be able to harnass a massive amount of Magi, and become the culmination of everything that Laera had ever dreamed of. Laera was skeptical at best but told Illidan that he had one year to complete the devise, and if he succeded then all would be forgiven but if he failed then he would hunt him down and kill him. Following this Illidan travelled to the Island of Quel`Dalas as the Elves had come to call it, and begin constructing the Sunwell. While working on this he was watched over by Laera`s trusted daughter Maen`Tryden Sunstrider who was a youthful but still gifted Magi. As the sunwell was being constructed the Elves obviously could not sit idle so they were joined together and begin constructing the city of Silvermoon.
Founding of Silvermoon
“We had travelled all this way, and yet here I stood on the edge of a lake that was supposed to lead us to everything we would need, and I saw nothing.”
— Laera
Silvermoon was constructed over the course of the year that Illidan was constructing the Sunwell, and during this time the Sindar Elves who were heavy in number constructed a city that could home the entire group of them meaning that the well over 400,000 Elves at the time needed to live there. The city was constructed out of white stone and living plants in the style of the ancient Ulthuani empire and interwoven with the natural topography of the landscape. The city contained the famous Academies of Silvermoon as a center for the learning of Arcane Magic and Sunstrider Spire, a majestic palace home to the Royal family of the Sindar Elves of Athel Loren. The Convocation of Silvermoon (also known as "The Council of Silvermoon"), the ruling body of the Sindar elves was also based here within the Court of the Sun. Nearly a year after starting the construction and nearing completion the entire society of Athel Loren stopped as Illidan returned to the main island accompanied still by Maen`Tryden.
Betrayal
“I held up my end of the bargain Sunstrider. Its your turn to hold up your end of our deal.”
— Illidan Stormrage
Illidan would come shore with Maen`Tryden still at his side but she was now clearly quite pregnant, and this caused great anger from Laera Sunstrider of whom had planned her marriage to nobles loyal to him and this put a serious wrinkle in his plans. From this anger he would reject the deal he had with Illidan Stormage and after a great argument broke out Illidan would be taken into chains while Maen`Tryden would also be taken to the palace and kept locked away. Illidan would be kept under guard by Maeiv Shadowsong of whom would be placed in charge of the new Lothlorian Barrow Dens which would serve as a large prison for Athel Loren. While Illidan and Maen`Tryden remained locked away the upper echolon of the forces of Laera Sunstrider would travel to the now created Sunwell and upon arrival basked in its power with several passing out from the effects of the Sunwell. Large forces were brought to the island where they would construct the fortress of Quel'Dalas and completely cover the Sunwell within. While this was happening communication begin to open fully between High Forest where the main force of the Sindar Elves had landed, and the now growing lands of Laera Sunstrider of which Laera attempted to slow as he wanted to keep complete control. After months of construction Laera would stand over the top leadership and proclaim the creation of the Kingdom of Lothlorian, and in his first act he ordered the execution of his sister, and Illidan for treason.
“Give me my brother. He needs to pay for his crimes, but not this way. Laera listen to reason.”
— Malfurion Stormrage
As the preperations were being made for the two's execution Alleria Sunstrider would sectrely send word to Malfurion Stormrage in High Forest of what was happening, and after the initial shock that the Sindari Elves had survived in the second group Malfurion would go to Athel Loren in large force. Captain Vur'talos Darkshadow would arrive before the main High Forest army with some four hundred sentinels and would relay the coming of Malfurion Stormrage to the Lothlorian commanders of whom led by Laera planned to resist and tried to kill Illidan but found his, and Maen'Tyrden's cell's were locked through Magi and they couldn't get in. Moving in from the west another force of some two thousand Sindari Elves from High Forest arrived under the command of Hammon Winterdew and would block the western approach into Silvermoon awaiting the arrival of the main force led by Malfurion. Arriving at Silvermoon with nearly one hundred and fifty thousand SIndari Elves at his back Malfurion would demand the return of his brother to stand for trial, and at first Laera would refuse, but as the High Forest siege of Silvermoon continued many Sindari in his own ranks whispered of the right of Malfurions claims and thus he was forced to relent and returned Illidan to Malfurion, but the relationship between High Forest, and Athel Loren was broken. While Malfurion was willing to fight over the return of his brother he was less willing to fight over Maen Sunstrider of which Illidan once he was returned to the High Forest lines would take as a betrayal and not even the words of Tyrande could stop him from abandoning his brother who had just saved him.
Runestones
The construction of the Runestones was a religious effort for the Lothlorian Elves, and for the Sentinels/Sindar Elves this was the culmination of all the work the forest needed to finally protect itself. Following the contruction of the Sunwell, and Silvermoon city the Elves begin to expand beyond the natural bounderies of Silvermoon, and the region around it, and thus with this expansion came the growth in deaths amongst these expansions from the nearbye Trolloc who still entered the forest basically at will. In order to change this the easily accesible areas of the forest were laced with Runestones that made entry through them extremely painful except for through small entry points. Having entry points meant that the Sentinels, and the rest of the Lothlorian army could more easily focus on the attackers and not have to defend a vast forest that spread them too thin. As these runestones came to be more numerous the expansion of the kingdom came to coincide with the location of the Runestones, and thus in areas where they were heavily concentrated you would very likely find a large settlement.
The Orcish Invasion of Athel Loren This forest protects us. You shall never pass these walls. Never.
Orcish Invasion of Athel Loren
Regina Eisenburg and Valeera would bond giving to the elimination of the resistence of the expanding relationship between Malitivan and Kael'Thalas.
“Maybe not today. It might not be tomorrow. It might not be soon, but the truth is that every day you bring us closer to the humans is a day closer to them leading down a very bloody road. Blood and death are all there people know.”
— Valeera Sunstrider
The Kingdom of Lothlorian had historically been laize faire towards the Kingdom of Bretonia with the two mighty nations basically ignoring each other, but this changed dramatically following the meeting of Maltivian Eisenburg, and Kael'Thalas Sunstrider. Watching her husband grow closer to Maltivian it was Valeera Sunstrider that was constantly vigilant about protecting her husband from growing to close to the prince of the Bretonia. She warned Kael that the humans were not long for this world, and that getting involved with them would do nothing but bring trouble to the forests of Athel Loren. Despite her warnings Kael and Maltivian grew to be great friends and it was because of this friendship even more then the strategic importance that the Lothlorians became heavily involved in the War in France.
Second Assault
Total Defeat
The Orcs would mass one more time with a larger force then the second time as they received nearly a hundred thousand more troops incoming from Hispania, and moved forward towards the First Gate Once More. This time the army was led by two High Orcs in the form of of whom Incorporated dozens of Orc Magi into their assault of which greatly weakened the effects of the Elven Magi defenses allowing the Orc scouts to move into the actual forests where skirmishes quickly broke out between the Sentinels defending the trees and the hundreds of Orc irregulars that flowed into the forests around the main gate.
The Netherstorm
Main Article : Netherstorm
The Netherstorm This was meant to destroy us but I believe it shall be our salvation.
“We had grown comfortable in our safety. We were blinded by it, and it almost cost us everything.”
— Kael'Thalas Sunstrider
With the situation in the Kingdom of Lothlorian undergoing a dramatic growth there seemed nothing that could stop them from growing more and more. The threat from the Trollocs and Orcs were little due to the massive defences around the Gatekeeps, and the growing military. Quel'Thalas was too busy surviving against the Trollocs to actually put up any kind of threat to them so internal issues were the discussion of the day inside the Kingdom of Lothlorian. This would change in a moment with the arrival of Tenris Mirkblood of whome was one of the princes of the San'Layn. Tenris arrived in Athel Loren on the northern border and met with members of the silent remaining members of the San'Layn in Athel Loren. This group snuck him inside of the kingdom and past the runestones meant to protect the kingdom from such individuals. As he arrived in the western part of the forest he and his members would begin setting up the ritual that was meant to tear the forest apart from within. Tenris Mirkblood created a portal which he used to summon in the prepared armies of the San'Layn. The moment the portal was opened though the Lothlorians understood that something was wrong and they mobilized themselves to repel the invaders, and in these early moments the Lothlorians who were attacking without knowledge of the Tempest Keep found themselves with a great advantage. As the Lothlorians mobilized they discovered that they were facing a large threat when the San'Layn moved Tempest Keep through the portal. Tempest Keep was a truly massive floating fortress that was manned by hundreds of San'Layn and thousands of their undead solders as well.
“My King they have attacked with some sort of floating city. It is devestating our forces, and I do not know what manner of weapons to defeat it with.”
— Pantheon
The Tempest Keep acted as a massive fortress which would block the relief forces from being able to attack Tenris Mirkblood and his attempts to destroy the Sunwell through the use of the spell. The Lothlorians attempted to attack Tempest Keep but discovered that the fortress was massively defended and had extreme firepower which could only be stopped by actually assualting the keep itself. The keep was defended on the ground by the massive army of the undead and since it was in floating in the air only an air assault could dislodge the fortress. As the spell reached its closing point the Magisters in the Sunwell begin to enact spells in an attempt to delay the spell being cast, and this caused a massive battle between the two forces with the San'Layn already so far ahead that they were pushing the Magisters massively in the wrong direction. As the Magi battle turned against them they discovered the water around the Sunwell litterly tearing itself apart with the power of the spell.
Assault on the Eye
“This will be the last time I am found with my hands up not knowing what to do. I will never again allow my enemies to make me look foolish, and I certainly will never again allow my enemies to damage my people in this way.”
— Kael'Thalas Sunstrider
With the spell nearing completion the Lothlorians launched a massive air assault led by Kael'Thalas, and many of his luitenants invading all across the Keep. As the assault continued the defenders of whome were mainly elite San'Layn defenders along with Prince Taldarum of whome defended the main theatre of the Tempest Keep in the Eye. As the defenders fell one by one to the attacking Lothlorians they discovered that the Lothlorians took control of the Mechanar one of the three platforms of the Tempest Keep. With control of the Mechanar they flooded attacks against the Eye where the Lothlorians were now in an all out attack on in an attempt to take it before the spell was completed. In the Eye Kael'Thalas battled Taldarum and after a tough battle he beat Taldarum but he was saved from death by Haernene Kellblood who whisked his broken body from the Eye surrendering Tempest Keep to the Lothlorians. With the fall of Tempest Keep the Lothlorian army proceeded to beat back the undead army defending Tenris and they entered the summoning area just as Tenris was nearing completeting.
Creation of Netherstorm
“Even in victory it was a minor defeat.”
— Kael'Thalas Sunstrider
As the two forces battled to stop or allow Tenris to complete the spell the entire situation became too late when Tenris unleashed his Magi in the air and as the beam came back down and he prepared to push it towards the Sunwell Kael'Thalas unleashed a massive bolt of Magi at Tenris which caused the instant death of all of his companion summoners, and caused Tenris to fall to the ground and thereby the spell continued straight down and pushed straight into the ground causing a massive explosion. When the explosion cleared the San'Layn were gone as they had been taken away by the power of the spell as the portal to Icecrown had collapsed. The Lothlorians picked themselves up and surveyed the damage. A massive crater had been created throughout the west of Athel Loren from which the sky above was litterly a purple tinge from the power of the spell. Standing in the middle of the storm remained Tempest Keep of which pieces of the keep had fallen from the sky and were scattered throughout the land. With a massive portion of the forest now known as the Netherstorm the Lothlorian Elves realized that they had an external threat in the form of the San'Layn.
“The threat of the San'Layn was something I believed was gone. I believed that in my core and for that we have been dealt a massive blow to our people. I have failed to protect our people in the way I had promised I would. For that I will make them pay. I will carve a bloody path through the San'Layn.”
— Kael'Thalas Sunstrider
As the Lothlorian Elves surveyed the damage though they found the remains of two destoyed satelites from the Tempest Keep, and they had broken into pieces all across the Netherstorm, and out of the tears in the world itself had formed. Zerevor Sunsorrow and several other Magi were able to tap into these rifts and with hundreds of workers brought in from the capital they were able to seal them behind the remains of the satelites. As they continued to work they discovered that they could harnass some of the releasing energy into cubes of which contained pure pieces of the Fade, and the Magi itself. With this in mind Kael'Thalas would form the Order of the Netherstorm under the command of Zerevor Sunsorrow and they would be charge of creating these Magi cubes from the Mana forges set up throughout the Netherstorm.
Goverment
High King of Lothlorian
The Kingdom of Lothlorian is ruled by the King of Lothlorian and the king is responsible for basically all decisions made in the Kingdom. The position is heriditary but their have been numerous changes in families since the beginning of the Kingdom. The High King of Lothlorian nominally rules from Silvermoon City, and the city itself is his heridetary manorship of which he recieves the revenues from and the control of the personal military of the city. The High King of Lothlorian is also one of the only three Lothlorian Elves that has the ability to enter the Sunwell, as for nearly everyone else it is forbidden to enter the most inner sanctum of the Sunwell.
Kael'Thalas Sunstrider is the King of Lothlorian and one of the most powerful Magi users in Europe. Kael has two siblings in the form of Kaek'Jarno, and Maen'Tryden of whome Kael'Jarno is a leading commander in Lothlorian that leads the defence of the runestones, while his sister Maen controls the Sunwell Council which is an order that controls the female Magi in Lothlorian. Kael is married to his wife Valeera Sunstrider with whome holds an almost slave like worship for King Kael. With Valeera Sunstrider he has two children in the form of Maleera Sunstrider of whom is a loyal member of the Order of the Magisters where she is close with its leader in Solarian, and Kaelen'Tolas Sunstrider of whom is a member of the Shattered Suns where he is a secondary commander of the Sunfury Gate.
Kael knows that his people are addicted to the Sunwell, and he greatly fears what happens if the San'Layn style of Magi use is ever allowed to come to power in Lothlorian.
Born the oldest of the children of Laera Sunstrider a lot was expected of Kael and he showed immense skill as he got older, but he wasn't arrogant about this he was in fact quite withdrawn about his power. This was also tempered by the fact that he was the son of Laera Sunstrider who was perhaps the most powerful Sindar Elf behind only Malfurion Stormrage. Under the teutalage of his father, he and his siblings were introduced silently into Magi, and the three of them silently went to France during the War of Vengeance under hidden names. While there they engaged in a conflict with Illidan Stormrage when they discovered Illidan was attempting to find the same items they were after. When the war ended they returned to Ulthuan and then when his father brought his followers to France during the Exodus where Kael became the chosen heir for Laera's ideology. Kael'Thalas would continue to stand alongside his father Laera as they expanded, and at some point during this expansion Laera would die leaving Kael'Thalas Sunstrider as the new High King of Lothlorian. As the new High King of Lothlorian he was forced to deal with the Lothlorian Civil War of which he was very heavily out in front of and never allowed it to gain momentum. When the actual conflict happened Kael'Thalas spared many Quel'Thalasian Elves while he absolutely punished the darker form of the civil war in the San'Layn and only those who escaped the forests were spared his wrath. Kael'Thalas would grow close to the heir to the Kingdom of Bretonia, and despite heavy insistence not to get involved he would send a large force to assist his friends forces near Marseilles and they would be basically the main reason the Orcish assault in the south east of France was so innefective.
Kael'Thalas Sunstrider is the POV Character of Chapter Six of the story the Twilight. Kael'Thalas during his chapter details much of the Lothlorian Civil War, and begins to discuss the crisis that happened with Netherstorm and the invasion of the San'Layn. He also discusses the other brother of the Stormrage family in the form of Illidan Stormrage of whom tricks many within Lothlorian and pushes them further into a Magi obsession
Lothlorian Council
The Lothlorian Council are the leaders of the five main Orders within the Kingdom of Lothlorian. The Lothlorian Council has its own palace within the capital of Silvermoon, and they are appointed upon the beggining of a new High King of the Lothlorians. In this way they are meant to not be a backstop to the power of the High King but instead they are to be extremely loyal to the High King to such a level that they will serve for life and only death or the removal of them by the High King can allow them to leave the position.
The Lord of the Tempest Keep is the Lothlorian Elf that is placed in charge of the Tempest Keep, and the Crimson Hand of whom are the military Order that has control of the Tempest Keep. The Lord of the Tempest Keep commands over his charges from the Tempest Keep itself, and his command itself is placed in the Eye of the Tempest Keep. The Lord of the Tempest Keep in terms of the Council of Lothlorian stands as the third most powerful member of the council, but considering how new the position is this is an incredible rise to power. The Crimson Hand is supremely powerful militarily, and while not an actual competitor in numbers or eliteness to the Shatter Suns the Crimson Hand is extremely elite in its own right, and within the Botanica contains a massive roost of Pheonix Birds of which are seen as another future mount for the Lothlorian Elves.
Pathaleon is the Lord of Tempest Keep, and has become extremely powerful in this role. Pathaleon has one sibling of whome is a member of the San'Layn in the form of Taleon Bloodrayne of whome is a commander within the San'Layn forces and thus the two brothers are very at odds against eachother.
Pathaleon was born in Silvermoon City and from here he and his brother watched the death of their parents during the Civil War in Lothlorian and they took a distinctly different path with Pathaleon turning towards the Lothlorians and Taleon blaming the Lothlorians and joining with the San'Layn. Pathaleon would join the Shattered Sun order where he grew close to Gathios Sunstriver of whom would advise him, and eventually lead to his rise within the Shattered Suns. Pathaleon led a force of some one thousand Lothlorian Elves in the Fall of France, where he went westward and fortified the nearbye Asterlong Forest where he would hold out against thousands of Orcs and hold onto the expansion until finally the Orcish expansion begin to dry. When the San'Layn would come and attack Athel Loren Pathaleon would join with Kael'Thalas and was responsible for the capture of the Botanica on which he met his brother in battle and was forced to defeat his brother of whome nearly died but Pathaleon spared him and then took control of the weaponry on the Botanica.
The Order of the Netherstorm is the order that defends, and maintains the province of Netherstorm in the north west of Athel Loren. The Order of the Netherstorm was founded after the Invasion of the Netherstorm by the San'Layn and the main purpose was to siphon for themselves the massive amounts of untapped Magi that was spreading throughout Netherstorm. The Order of the Netherstorm produces a massive amount of Magi from the Mana forges that they run and operate, and though this they send this Magi back to the Sunwell in the shape of Magi cubes of which are released into the Sunwell and have been adding to the power of the Sunwell as they do this. Alongside this the Order of the Netherstorm under the most secretive of commands known only by Kael'Thalas Sunstrider has also begun to form its own Sunwell version in the form of the Netherstorm Sunwell where while its still in its infantcy the Netherstorm Sunwell could change the fabric of the Kingdom of Lothlorian.
Zerevor Sunsorrow is the High Nethermancer of the Kingdom of Lothlorian, and a leading member of the Magi in Lothlorian. Zerevor has a close relationship with Solarian of whome he has engaged in a longterm sexual relationship with and only her marriage has kept the two from becoming a couple.
Zerevor Sunsorrow was born on Ulthuan inside the great capital of the Atmer Empire, and a member of the powerful House Sunsorrow. Zerevor was a member of the Sindar Elves, but culturally he enjoyed the lavish lifestyle of the High Elves and for this reason he would move into the cult of Laera Sunstrider. Under the stewardship of Laera he begin to study Magi, and found himself very attuned to becoming a Magi, and this led to him travelling to the colonies in the easterlands, where he spent many years studying in peace. When the Great Sindar Exodus occured Zerevor would return to Ulthuan where he prepared to join with his brothers, and sisters, and he would rejoin his old master Laera Sunstrider as well. Zerevor was a member of the Lothlorian Magisters during the golden age of the Kingdom of Lothlorian and it was in this place that he would remain until the Nethertorm event. Zerevor would be one of the multitude of Lothlorian Magi that were using counter spells in order to attempt to stop the San'Layn spell of destruction, and Zerevor was one of them that had nearly caused the use of the Sunwell in order to augment the Lothlorian Magi's power. Following this conflict he would be placed in charge of the other side of the Netherstorm where he leads the Order of the Netherstorm and is very powerful due to the ramifications of what he is doing on that side of the Nether.
High Lord of the Shattered Sun
Main Article : Order of the Shattered Sun
The High Lord of the Shattered Sun is the commander of the Shattered Sun of which is the most elite, and well trained devision of the Kingdom of Lothlorian. The Offensive's main base is located on Quel'Danas in an area called Sun's Reach, on the island's northwestern corner and it is here where there massive training fields are located alongside their heavily fortified armories within the Sun's Reach. The Shattered Sun act as well as the commanders for every fortress, gatehouse, and defence base for any military formation of the Lothlorian Elves, with one of their largest presences being at the Gates into Athel Loren where they stand as the command base, as well as the most elite formations of the gatehouses.
Gathios Sunstriver is the High Lord of the Shattered Sun order which is perhaps the most elite force within the Kingdom of Lothlorian. Gathios has two siblings in the form of Naelist, and Olenia Sunstriver of whome Naelist is a member of the Lothlorian Magisters, and his sister Olenia was a Farstrider until she was murdered by Tenris Mirkblood during the inflitration of Athel Loren a murder which has caused a blood fued between the two of them.
Gathios Sunstriver led a normal Sindar Elven life as he was very much in love with the forest, but this all changed when he heard the sermons of Laera Sunstrider. Following his words Gathios became a devoted follower of the growing Sunstrider cult which preached a different interpretation of the Sindar Elven point of living of which was far more High Elven way of living. Gathios would follow his master to France where he would work extremely hard during the construction of the Sunwell under his orders and as a reward following its completion he was placed in charge of the new order of the Shattered Sun which was created in order to defend the Sunwell and the Island of Quel'Danas.
The Lothlorian Magisters are the Order of Magi within the Kingdom of Lothlorian, and they gaurd the Sunwell, as well as maintain its use, and most recently work alongside the Nethertorm Order in order to expand out the Sunwell. The Grand Magister of the Lothlorian Magisters leads the Order but unlike many of the other Council Members he is burdoned by many other influencial members of the Sunseekers Council of which the Grand Magister is only a member of, and his only increased power is that he has three votes on the Council of ten instead of the other seven having one.
Solarion Brightblaze is the Grand Magister of the Order of the Magisters within the Kingdom of Lothlorian. Solarian has engaged in a long term sexual relationship with Zerevor and it this relationship that has come to define her life even above the marriage she has. Solarian is married to Eramas Brightblaze of whome is another of the Magisters within the Order. With Eramas she has three children in the form of Kaendin, Salarian, and Maendas Brightblaze of whome Kaendin was a Magister but he was believed dead during the Netherstorm conflict but in fact he was captured and is now in Icecrown where he has been converted to the belief of the San'Layn, their daughter Maendas is a member of the Farstriders and she leads a small Farstrider force that defends the region south of the Runestone protecting Fairbreeze, and their final daughter Salarian is a member of the Magisters and is growing within the Order due to her high Magi level.
Solarian Brightblaze was born late in the First War with Chaos, and her youth was spent alongside her mother who was joining Teclis in assisting the Empire in the defence of their land from the forces of Chaos. Because of this she spent a large part of her youth amongst the humans of The Empire and as such she has a far more favorable opinion of them then most of the Sindar Elves, and especially the Lothlorian Elves of whome often blame the Humans for the deaths of so many during the War in France. She would leave the lands of the Empire when her mother took her and her brother to France in order to join up with the growing Lothlorian Kingdom which was supposed to blend the love of Magi, and the old Sindar Elven ways. As a Lothlorian Elf she became very interested in the Sunwell, and she was one of the many before it was off limits that used its wells of power, and this made her into something quite powerful in terms of Magi. Solarian Brightblaze grew close to the prince in Kael'Thalas Sunstrider and in this way she held the Magisters to the loyalist side, and didn't allow many to change sides to the San'Layn during the Civil War, and her work countered much of the support that the San'Layn had believed they would have been able to gather. Solarian would lead her Magisters in the Fall of France where she stood tall at Marseilled and was a part of the massacres against the Orcs, and she was also able to with relative ease obliterate the Orcs that stood in the way of the Elves retreating and thus she returned with the in tact army of Lothlorian back to the forests following the end of the war.
The border of the Kingdom is protected with the Magical barriers but in order to keep enemies away from the actual barriers the Sindarian Elf way has always been Sentinels. The leader of the Sentinels is a very powerful position in that the commander controls the recruitment, training and deployment of the Sentinels.
Sylvanus Windrunner is the Sentinel Commander of Lothlorian and a member of the influencial Sindar Elf family called the Windrunners. Sylvanus has three siblings in the form of Alleria, Legolas, and Vareesa Windrunner of which Alleria is a leading figure in the Kingdom of Quel'Thalas, her brother is a steady commander in the Kingdom of Quel'Thalas, and her sister Vareesa is a legendary archer in High Forest. Once extremely close to her family members she is now unable to even see them, as they have all grown to hate what Sylvanus has become in her lust for Kael'Jarno. Sylvanus Windrunner has two children with Kael'Jarno in the form of Lirath, and Sylvos Sunstrider of which both have become a part of the Sunstrider Family after making that choice at the age of forty, and Sylvos has become an achanist in the Lothlorian Magisters, while Lirath has become a member of the Farstriders under the command of his own mother.
Sylvanus Windrunner was born on Ulthuan inside the powerful Windrunner Family, and in her early days she was very close to her family. She would also during this time come to love the forest more then anything else in her world She would join her two sisters in joining the Atmer Empire when it defended France during the War of Vengeance against the Dwarves, but her time there would curupt much of what she once was. Sylvanus Windrunner was once a very devout Sindar Elf, but she became overcome with love for the Lothlorian Elf prince Kael'Jarno and this love drove her to abandon her family, and side with the Lothlorian Elves during the Lothlorian civil war. During the conflict she nearly killed her sister Alleria in a fight, and after this any doubt of her loyalty are gone in the eyes of the other Windrunners. Now a devout follower of the Lothlorians she leads the Lothlorian Rangers who are a significant force within the forest that controls the non-Magi wielding women of the kingdom and trains them to gaurd the forest with the skills of an archer. She would join her beloved husband during the Fall of France where the elven forces moved to Marseilles and would hold the line against the endless line of Orcs that attacked the fortress. Following this she returned to Athel Loren and became very close to her son Lirath of whom was now a Farstrider within the Kingdom of Lothlorian, and together they patrolled the forests of Athel Loren and made it safer and safer.
Culture
Names
A female Lothlorian Elf
As seen with most Sindar Elves who survived the Exodus eastward, the sin'dorei have (for the most part) retained their quel'dorei names. As such, the same naming rules are typical of their high elven cousins. The Sindar and Lothlorian elves share a connection with the sun that is quite prevalent in their choice of family names.
Male Names: Mariel, Athaniar, Anandor, Tharama, Viridiel, Malanior.
Family Names: Boughstrider, Dawnblade, Lightbringer, Morningray, Suntreader.
Unlike the High elves, or their Sindar Elven cousins however, a number of Lothlorian elves have taken on more aggressive surnames - often incorporating the word "blood" into their identity, which had not been heard of prior to the sin'dorei coming to power. Presumably, this is to better illustrate their cultural identity and their drive for vengeance, as many blood elves would have lost family members during the Scourge massacre. This is particularly prevalent within the Blood Knight order, which displays a number of members bearing the term - Bloodvalor, Bloodsworn, Bloodwrath, among others. A number of blood elven ranks, titles and organization names have been fashioned to better convey this, such as "Blood Lord" and "Blood mage", and indeed, the term "Blood Knight" itself.
Mounts
The Lothlorian most common mount is the hawkstrider, a cockatrice-like creature that appears to be native to the forests of Athel Loren, found no-where else in Earth aside from in the Lothlorian Elvish care. When Kael'thas led his followers into the War in France, the vibrant hawkstriders that were brought with them proved to be welcome reminders of the Lothlorian beauteous home in Athel Loren. Valued for their trustworthiness and speed, these colorful avian creatures embody the inherent splendor of the forests within the Lothlorian elven kingdom. While tragedy has befallen Athel Loren in recent years, the hawkstriders remain an integral part of the elves’ day-to-day lives.
Dragonhawks are another creature the Lothlorian elves have a positive relationship with. They have been used as flying mounts, and have battled alongside their elven masters in several conflicts. The Farstriders mounted them for an aerial assault against the Orcs as they attempted to take control of Athel Loren during the Fall of France.
Arcane Gaurdian
Main Article : Lothlorian Arcane Constructs
In addition to this, the Lothlorian elves keep and control a large number of magically-imbued guardians to supplement their own guard force, named the Arcane Guardians. These hulking, robotic constructs serve as Silvermoon City's elite patrol force, with the ability to seek out and destroy enemies regardless of where they hide. They are also employed by the Blood Knight order, as seen with Gatewatcher Aendor and his ilk, and the Scryers have also created their own guardians. After the reclamation of the Sunwell, the Arcane Guardians have also been stationed around the holy font of power to assist the blood elven guard force there. It appears that these guardians were created during the reign of King Anasterian, though the quel'dorei had never been seen to make use of them prior to their conversion to sin'dorei.
The Arcane Guardians have also been used as a propagandistic tool by the magisters, and will periodically remind citizens that the laws of Silvermoon must be obeyed, that Lor'themar Theron will lead them to power and glory, that Athel Loren will remain strong in the wake of the Sindar Elves betrayal, and will openly encourage the citizens of Silvermoon to live their lives in happiness.
The Kingdom of Lothlorian is populated by Sindar Elves of the Lothlorian Sub-sect. The Lothlorian Elves have changed from regular Sindar Elves in that there magi dependancy has made their appearance drastically in some cases different. The Lothlorian Elves are quite unque in that there males as well as many females are obsessive users of Magi of which they have harnassed through their creation in the Sunwell. The Sindar Elves listened to their leadership and because of this they slowly begin to use Magi, and stop communicating on the same level with the forest. As this continued to happen the litteral appearance of the Lothlorian Elves begin to change and they all seemed to grow blonde hair and culturally they became obsessive wearers of red. No longer truly Sindar, they are not High Elves, and they are not dark enough to be Dark Elves, and this makes the Kingdom of Lothlorian extremely unique.
Silvermoon City is the Capital of Lothlorian, and one of the largest Elven cities on Earth, and without question the largest Sindar Elven city. It has grown steadily since its founding and remains to this day the center of Lothlorian political and cultural lands perhaps second to only theSunwell. Silvermoon city is located in the Eversong area of Athel Loren which remains the most heavily defended and safe areas in the entire Kingdom of Lothlorian. Because of this protection the walls and defences of the city itself have become increasingly more ceremonial in nature due to the lack of any threat to the city.
"In time, the light and hope within will rebirth more than this mere fount of power. Mayhap, they will rebirth the soul of a nation."
-King Aenestatian during the construction of the Sunwell
Quel'Dalas is an island in the center of Athel Loren that houses the Palace of the Sunwell.
The Island itself since it holds so much of the important parts of the Kingdom of Lothlorian has become an almost religious area, that the people of Lothlorian was created by the first King of Lothlorian by using just his mind. Alongside this religious part the island is the center of the religious politics of Lothlorian due to this being the home of the Sunwell.
The Runestones of Athel Loren are the first line of defence for the Lothlorian Elves of the Kingdom of Lothlorian . The Runestones push out a magical shield that cannot be passed through except for a few hidden spots as well as the main gate of Athel Loren located aroundQuel'Lania.
The Runestones do not stretch across the entirety of the forest, but they are designed to surroud the most densly populated areas of the forest so that in an attack the populated areas will be safe. This strategy means that for the areas outside of this including much of the villages of the forest they are still open to attack.
The Sunwell is an amazingly powerful Magi device crafted by theLothlorian Sindar Elves to harness and magnify their Magi powers. The Sunwell sits on the Lothlorian island of Quel'Dalas and is housed within the magnificant Sunwell Palace.
Crafted early in the History of the Kingdom of Lothlorian the devise has cemented the Lothlorian obsession with Magi, and has become the focal point of a unique Lothlorian religion. During the Lothlorian Civil War it was the Sunwell that became the focal point of the later conflict between the San`Layn, and the Lothlorian Elves, which ended with the brief capture of the sunwell by the San`Layn and then recaptured by the Lothlorians. Since this the operation and control of the Sunwell has been more important and because of this the Lothlorians have created the most elite warriors in the KIngdom in the Shattered Sun Order.
