When the ritual tore the veil asunder, it ruptured eardrums of people in Vyrantium, and was heard as far away as Abydos. A great glowing fire reached the sky; the whole world was greatly shaken...
Excerpt from The Book of Tears
Details
The book is a medium sized but thick leather-bound tome. The leather is a dark shiny brown. On the cover is an engraving of three weeping figures engraved in silver. The title and the author (Aereni) are also engraved on the cover and the spine. The pages themselves are smooth paper with small, precise writing in black ink.
Index
- The Coming of Man
- The Fateful Choice
- Tearing the Veil
- The Dark Times
The Coming of Man
Details the arrival of man on Eressea and the Elves interactions with them. The author attempts to provide context for the decisions that the elves will make later. He describes how the new kingdoms and nations expanded their borders without consideration for the elves, how treaties and agreements were ignored, and points of friction and frustration arose throughout Eressea.
The Fateful Choice
This chapter discusses the growing desperation of the elves that led to the decision to attempt the Ritual of Sundering to defeat their enemies. In accordance with the old prophecies, the land would be reclaimed and it would be a safe haven for all the Children of the Dawn. There was resistance from the side of scholars who studied the ancient texts. They warned against the ritual because the full impact of this deep magic ritual was unknown. Their warnings were unheard and no one wanted to believe the old prophecies could mean anything other than what they wanted it to. A group of elven leaders gathered as many artifacts and relics as possible. It was the greatest collection of such items since a time long past when some elves attempted to resurrect and summon a powerful mage who had died and was imprisoned in the Abyss. Their attempt failed, any many elven scholars pointed this exact event as a reason not to meddle with the Ritual of Sundering.
Tearing the Veil
This section describes the gathering of the Valamir and other powerful arcane relics at Aenor’s Hill, a confluence of numerous powerful ley-lines and the rumored resting place of an ancient family of witches and wizards. It was one of the few remaining places where the elves felt they could conduct this ritual successfully.
The Dark Times
With the very fabric between the planes being torn, rifts begin to manifest themselves throughout Eressea. The elves also learn that there is no controlling the farspawn. They are mindless, without reason, and utterly chaotic. Neither devil nor demon, they bear allegiance to nothing. At first they slice through settlements, cities and armies like a hot knife through butter. Then another, more sidious enemy reared its head: elfblight. While the farspawn could be cut with a sword, or hidden from behind a wall, the elfblight could not be stopped. Those nearest to the rifts developed the symptoms first, the sickness spread