Ember Isle Lore  

See also: Ember Isle, Telara Timeline

Contents [hide]

The Forge of Creation

The five gods of the Vigil came together to make a new world at the Nexus of the Planes, to bottle up the Dragons of the Blood Storm like a genie in a bottle. They gathered massive quantities of sourcestone together to form the matter of this new world and everything on it and in it, but it was Bahralt, the builder, who made the Forge of Creation to smelt the sourcestone and work the ideas of the other four into solid reality. Bahralt was not alone in his labors, for many were the spirits that helped him. After, many of these spirits became the first Dwarves. [1]

The Kelari

Nearly 1600 years ago, a young elven priestess of Tavril named Isidora discovered that pacts could be formed with the elemental spirits of nature. This was thoroughly discouraged by the priesthood but she persevered.[2] Other elves followed her until a point of crisis arose.

This new faction of the Elves, led by Isidora, abandoned the worship of Tavril and left the Telaran mainland in search of the spirit voices they could hear calling them and a safe place to worship them. They abandoned the Vigil and embraced Shamanism, finding the island that would come to be known as Ember Isle. These were the Kelari and their leaving came to be known on the mainland as The First Schism.

In their new home, they built the great temple-cities of Atia and Nykantor, and at the heart of each temple lived the Temple Spirit, a Greater Spirit made more powerful by the worship given him. In return he could do many things to make the city more prosperous and to help defend it in time of need. [3]

The Campaign of Flame

Five mighty heroes came together and managed to bind Maelforge deep within the volcano of Mount Carcera — Talos Roda, the Purifier; Karine, the Bard; Ula, the Reaver; Asias, the Cabalist, and Nazim, the Riftblade.[4][5]

The Sourcewell

The Kelari tell a tale that, in the beginning, there was but a single Sourcewell. This massive vent to the furnace of the Nexus, the molten sourcestone core of Telara, attracts or creates (no one is quite sure which [6]) the concentration of spirits found here. It is believed that the five heroes used some special magic of the Sourcewell as part of the ritual that bound Maelforge. This apparently sealed the original Sourcewell but opened many smaller fissures all over the island, known today collectively as the Sourcewells.

The Keepers of the Flame

When the fissures known as the Sourcewells first appeared it was quickly realized that these founts of energy were like a bountiful feed trough for the planar invaders on the island. Many Kelari found themselves called to volunteer to take up the mantle of the five heroes and guard the Sourcewells. They built the defenses and, to this day, remain at their posts, giving their very lives (and sometimes beyond) to deny this food to the enemy.

The Farclan Dwarves

Farhall
Farhall
Centuries ago (in the year 1142 A.W.[7]) a song called adventurous dwarves from their delves and made them build ships and set sail for a destination none of them had ever seen but knew in their hearts awaited them. Some were called to join The Keepers, as they were sorely in need of new blood then. Some, however, were artisans, not fighters, and these salvaged the materials in their ships and built Farhall. [8]

Bahralt had taught their ancestors the secret of the Forge of Creation and, using a much smaller version, the smiths of the Farclan are able to create the Malgems which defend their hall.[9]

The last Queen, Alyona Karini, was lost in the first days of the wars with the rifts. Her daughter, Solya Karini, ascended to the throne there and then, on the field of battle, rallied her clan and won the day. It is said that Solya is the greatest Queen The Farclan has ever known.[10]

The War of the Fractured Plain

While within The Keepers the Kelari and Dwarves worked together as brothers and sisters, outside the Keepers things were not going so well. Competition for the limited resources of the island, as well as theological differences, led to friction between them and finally to war. While the war was brief it was rather bloody and has left ill feelings between the Kelari and Farclan to this day.

Sylver Valis

Occasionally, a child is born to the Kelari that cannot hear the spirits, nor can he make pacts with them. This is a cause of great sorrow among the Kelari and such a child is called "Nalthema". One recent Nalthema is Sylver Valis. Unable to converse with the spirits, he turned his mind to science, eventually becoming the greatest student of Orphiel Farwind, founder of The Defiant. [11]

The Kelari Civil War

20 years ago

In the village of Kheramos was a young priest named Karris. He seemed unusually sensitive to the Spirits of the island and rose quickly to the position of senior priest of his village. His spirit guide told him that the stiff formality of the Temple, and the hidebound traditions espoused by Anthousa Mona, were wrong. That much greater power was available from the wild spirits of Fire, which the temple priesthood shunned as too wild and uncontrolled.

Worse, he came to believe that what others thought of as corruption was simply a more powerful kind of spirit, and that by taking these "corrupted" spirits within you, your own power would be magnified many times. He convinced many of his followers to do this, and so the Pyrkari were born.[12][13]

One day, in the Main Temple at Atia, in the middle of a rather large ritual, Karris publicly challenged the authority of Anthousa Mona and was banished from the temple and the priesthood. This was the beginning of the Kelari Civil War. [14]

The Wanton

The "spirit" that Karris had been listening to was, in truth, Maelforge. Perhaps Karris did not know who he was talking to, in the beginning, but by the time that he initiated the Civil War he was without a doubt fully under the Dragon of Flame's malevolent influence. The Wanton, when they revealed themselves and attacked the Kelari, created a two-pronged attack on the already-beleaguered leadership and left Anthousa Mona with no choice but to abandon the island and return to the mainland. [15]

Shortly after the day the rifts came, the Kelari abandoned Ember Isle and made their way to Freemarch.[16] In the chaos of that day, Anthousa's son, Jace, was left behind. He was eventually captured by the Wanton and corrupted, later serving as Karris' right hand.[17]

Caduceus Rise

The Black Spit Pirates, members of The Golden Maw, have been carrying plunder into a hidden vale reached through a cave in eastern Ember Isle. With this gold, the Maw have been infusing the body of their leader, Caduceus, with the power of Greed in an attempt to create a new body suitable for Laethys, the Dragon of Greed.

Artifacts

There are five artifact collections that relate to Lore.

Books

There are many Collectible books all over the island. Together, for those bold enough to brave the jungles and ruins to look for them, they tell the Lore of the island.

Plaques:

RIFT
Wikibase™
Lore
  1. ^ as told in The Forge of Creation
  2. ^ as told in The First pact
  3. ^ as told in The Importance of the Temple Spirit
  4. ^ from information in the quest The Keepers of the Flame
  5. ^ as told in Entombed in Carcera
  6. ^ as told in The Spirits of Ember Isle
  7. ^ We have no idea what A.W. means. Possibly "After the establishment of the Ward"?
  8. ^ as told in The Song of Karine
  9. ^ revealed in conversation with Solya Karini
  10. ^ as told in The Fair Jungle Queen
  11. ^ as told in Nalthema
  12. ^ from information learned during the quest The Perils of Possession
  13. ^ official Trion lore regarding Anthousa Mona
  14. ^ as told in The Line that Divides
  15. ^ as told in Out of the Flames
  16. ^ from a conversation with Borrin Gammult at Fort Zarnost. This places the evacuation at roughly 20 years ago.
  17. ^ from information learned during the quest Returning the Spirit

Some images on this page are from http://community.riftgame.com/en/2011/10/18/ember-isle-concept-art/

Categories: Lore (RIFT) | RIFT
This page last modified 2011-11-10 22:18:09.
© 2024 Fanbyte LLC