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By Jamey Martin
Uvaeren's Legacy
Fall 1372DR
Arriving back in Seven Oaks with the remaining kinder-elves, the band was thanked for their deeds and enjoyed the hospitality of the community for about a week. During that time Lacander greatly increased his knowledge of the elfin tongue, and also learned how to play the elfin flute and a number of their tunes ... mostly from the elfin maiden who was to lead them to Myth Drannor. She was introduced as Corralyntha Hawksong. It was explained that her ancestors had lived in the ill-fated city before its fall. Corralyntha would lead the band to the Hawksong Crypt beneath their mansion in Myth Drannor, and pinpoint the location with the help of the crypt's guardian, Corrallanthor Hawksong.
Neither Tyros nor Corwin nor Hector were unfamiliar with such "guardians", knowing them to be honourable lich-like elves called "baelnorn" in the elfin tongue.
At length, the band bid farewell to the elves of Seven Oaks, as well as to Melvarin, Lacander, and Sillania, who would be heading back to Hap. Their path carried them, quicker than they might have expected under Corralyntha's lead, first to Essembra, then up Rauthauvyr's Road to the so-called "Lost Trail" leading to Myth Drannor.
But a half day from the ruin they came upon two old elfin towers standing on either side of the road. These had been refortified and garrisoned by a large troop of what appeared to be Red Plumes, but with Corralyntha's aid and magic this obstacle was easily circumnavigated. And so, after battling their way past a pack of worgs, along with a couple of etins who happened on by, the band made it to the old Hawksong mansion, and there had to battle yet again. This time against a gaggle of gargoyles that had taken up residence in the upper reaches of the mansion.
At last penetrating to the mansion's crypt, the baelnorn soon revealed to his descendant that Uvaeren's Legacy sits in the eastern outskirts of the city, on the road once known as the Street of Sorrows. He described it as a great, 4 storied building, domed at its southern most region, with 3 entrances, each flanked by statues of elfin scholars. It warned however that the building was locked down and could only be opened via the use of a "scholar's stone". Fortunately, the baelnorn knew that one of these was located in the nearby temple to Oghma, in a pocket dimension accessed from a private area. He further related that in order to open the gate into this pocket, one would first have to play the elfin song of creation, and then ring the chamber's gong. With that, the gate would open. Before final entry could be gained however, the band would have to battle their past the pocket's guardian ... a ferocious demon named Shattatterroth.
With this information the band made their way to the nearby temple, and nearly fell prey to an enormous murder of stirges that made their home in the main worship hall. Finding an alternative entry, they at last reached the private worship hall, performed the ritual and fought Shattatterroth. With the demons defeat, the band at last entered the small pocket dimension and claimed the stone. The stone itself was small, oval, and well polished. On one face it bore a rune that looked half way between an Os rune and a musical notation.
Making their back to the Hawksong mansion, the band found a defensible room, which wasn't a death trap at the same time, and spent the night.
The following day, Tyros, Corwin, Baldred, Hector and Corralyntha ventured along the outskirts of the ruined city to its eastern reaches. After witnessing a pitched battle fought between some Red Plumes and a gang of trolls, the band found and entered Uvaeren's Legacy. It appeared to be empty. Locating the entry to the memory chamber, Corralyntha left the others behind as she herself went in.
In the meantime, with one entry still opened, it came to pass that a great behir wandered in, but Tyros, Baldred, Hector and Corwin quickly dispatched it. Soon after, Corralyntha emerged from the chamber.
Before leaving the ancient structure, Corwin had the elfwife tell all she had learned of the Orb/s of Dragonkind, particularly of the Green Orb, if such a thing existed. and so she did....
Little is known about the true origin of the Orbs of Dragonkind, but according to legend Corellon Larethian appeared to elfkind soon after they began to unlock the secrets of magic. He bequeathed upon the elves 5 orbs of great power that would give them the necessary might to throw of the yoke of wyrmkind and enable both their culture and magical might to flourish. And so it was, with legend going on to tell how many an elfin knight used one orb or another to master and slay dragon after dragon, until at length legend became history and the great elfin civilizations of Aryvander, Illefarn, Meyeritar, Shantel Othreier, and Keltormir had emerged along the west coast of Faerun.
By this time, with the mastery of elfin magic and the great reduction in the might and numbers of dragonkind, the need for the Orbs had diminished substantially. Nevertheless, they continued to hold symbolic value and so each of the great elfin civilization kept one within its greatest temple to Corellon.
Throughout the course of the Crown Wars, which raged from -12,000 DR to -9,000 DR, history began to lose track of the fabled Orbs. It is believed that, at one time, the realm of Aryvander had come into possession of at least three of them via it‘s conquests, while the dark elves of Ilythiir are known to have used enslaved dragons to destroy the realm of Shantel Othreier.
As for the Green Orb, it is known to have been carried eastward in the wake of the Fifth Crown Wars to the great forest Arcorar, now known as Cormanthor. It was brought forth from the remains of Aryvander to help the pioneers deal with the great number of dragons that made their home in the verdant wood.
Eventually the great elfin realms of Rystall, Jhyrennstar, Uvaeren, and Sembreholm sprung into being within Arcorar, and of these Uvaeren was the greatest. So rich in knowledge were the elves of Uvaeren, that their land became known as the Lorelands. Amongst their many fabled librariums, it is told that none rivalled that of Intevar‘s, for it is said to have contained the collective knowledge of all elves. And amongst its many grand temples, it is said that none rivalled that of Corellon Larethian, for it was here that the Green Orb was housed.
The glory of Uvaeren however, was brought to an abrupt end in the year -5,000 DR, when a great meteor fell from the heavens and devastated the Lorelands. While it is unknown if the temple in any way survived this destruction, the remaining ruins were in the hands of the increasingly present Drow within 100 years, and they held them until at last forced out in the year -1,354 DR; roughly 2,600 years after the birth of the city of Cormanthor (-3983 DR).
Little mention is ever again made of the Green Orb, save one...
In the year -982 DR a green dragon of great power named Venominhandar began to rampage in the southeastern woods. Such was the potency and endurance of this wyrm that the elves of Cormanthyr quickly called for a quest, to the ruins of Corellon's temple in old Uvaeren, there to find and retrieve the Green Orb of Dragonkind. The questing elves however, never returned, and the might of Venom as he came to be called, continued to wax.
For over 700 years Venom plagued the elves, destroying their communities, driving them out, and using his fell magic to twist and tangle the woods of the great domain he had claimed in the southeast. His personal power was unrivalled amongst dragonkind, and he commanded a veritable army of wyverns, black dragons and green dragons. Nevertheless, it was in the year -206 DR. that the elfin hero Jassin Aunglor, armed with a fabled moonblade, at last challenged Venom himself. This took place in the wyrm's lair beneath Haptooth Hill, and it was here that both Venom and Jassin met their ends, as the cavern complex the wyrm inhabited collapsed in upon them.
Of Venom's offspring only the terrible wyrm named Sessrellastrin (aka Manastorm) is known to have outlived her father. Her lair is thought to have been located somewhere south of her sires, but she was last seen bathing in a river in the year -204 DR, and both her fate and the location of her lair are unknown.
Some scholars believe that Venom's initial rampages were strategically aimed at forcing the elves to reveal the location of the Green Orb. They believe that the band of elves sent to locate and retrieve the orb were somehow followed by agents of the wyrm, and eventually slaughtered by them. With their murder, or so the theories go, these agents brought the Orb back to Venom, who then used it's power to raise and command his draconic army. Other scholars have denounced such theories as overly speculative, and say that Venom was more likely a mere throw back to the more fearsome dragons of the elder age.
As for the Orb; the more conservative scholars believe that it was destroyed when the meteor hit Uvaeren and wiped it from the face of Faerun. Others still argue that it was borne off into the Underdark during the 4,000 years that the Drow controlled the ruins.
The content of And Dragons Shall Rule is the property and copyright of Jamey Martin, and is not to be published or redistributed without permission.