Another restored art, this time from 2008!

Now for some lore. Enjoy! =D

Kissed by fire, native to the isle of Tyreve, the proud sons and daughters of Fyreden were widely known for their beauty, in an age when great kingdoms north of the Arystonaai Divide sought fresh bloodlines and marital alliances that benefited trade. Yet while Tyreve’s fortunes were many during the reign of King Avren the Watcher, everything changed when the orokian hordes of Ereuk the Mauled arrived.

Tyreve quickly became an appealing target for Ereuk’s raiders as his control of its surrounding waters isolated the isle from its allies. For this its people suffered as their beloved homeland became a staging ground for the orok’s evil ambitions. Ambitions that soon became clear to all as their war raged on.

Indeed, within years of his initial invasion of the isle, Ereuk saw fit to aggressively breed out its natives. Many of Tyreve’s captured women became mothers to unwanted offspring to their cruel orok masters, while its captured men were castrated, forced into labour camps that rose swiftly among the ashes of raided villages and once thriving trade ports.

That was until Soren, bastard son to Tyreve’s late king, rallied a devastated realm to secure several victories that brought Ereuk’s war to a violent standstill, when the promising youth singlehandedly slew five of his warrior sons, at the Battle of Maiden’s Pyre.

Although behind every great man, as they say, is a great woman. For it is thought Soren would never have become Avren’s successor, were it not for his half-sister, Ilia. For while many great tales have been spun about them both few forget the tragic tale when she was taken captive after her people's capital fell and saw her father brutally murdered at the hands of Ereuk’s greatest champion, Zurzan.

What followed still troubles historians today. Although there is overwhelming evidence that Ilia served several months as a reluctant bed warmer to Zurzan, she somehow managed to slay the great warrior, despite his inhuman strength and perchance to surround himself at all times with able-bodied guards. She was no warrior and it was said only one of great strength could truly bleed a monster like him.

One popular interpretation of these events suggest it was really Soren who bested Zurzan and not Ilia, after the young warrior snuck into his camp under the cover of night, in an effort to rescue his sister. Ilia in turn then persuaded her brother to exploit her standing among their people so she could garner further support for his cause, allowing her to take credit for Zurzan’s death while also making a public display of it to the cheering masses, signifying the first major defeat for Ereuk’s occupying forces.

There is, however, another tale. One of oaths and daemons.

While such is largely discredited, given available evidence to the contrary, Ilia was said to be responsible for Zurzan’s death, albeit indirectly. Indeed, some sources claim that not long after losing her father, Ilia was approached by an ancient daemon masquerading as Zurzan’s closest advisor, the sorcerer, Murukh. Having long dwelt in their world since before mankind returned from the fabled Sea of Mists, he offered the princess his strength to defeat her many foes, though only if she swore an oath to him. One that would haunt Tyreve and her people for many generations to come.

To this day, no one knows Murukh’s real name, only that it was with his aid that Ilia emerged from Zurzan’s tent with his severed head in hand. And in her other was the twisted, flame-touched steel of her father’s former blade, Heartfire, a blade which Zurzan kept as a prized trophy till Murukh personally plunged it through his chest, corrupting it further. The blade then went on to secure many victories at Soren’s side till the last of Ereuk’s allies were finally driven from Tyreve’s wartorn shores forevermore.

As for Ilia herself, the celebrated descendant of Esther, Fyreden’s closest companion, it is said she remained faithful to Soren as his queen till motherhood compelled her to raise their firstborn son, Tyren, in private. True, many did question their marriage, despite the couple’s leadership bringing a new age of prosperity to their shattered kingdom. None, however, were aware that Ilia was raising a child that would one day replace the unfortunate flesh that became Murukh’s latest, greatest host.

Ilia would, however, bear another child. One she made sure would escape the daemon’s clutches.

Art / Ilia / Lore - © Kris Paul Love