The Dark Elves of Newold

Eons ago, before the emergence of Humankind, the Eldain lived in the mountains and forests of Newold. Theirs is a long history, and little of it is written down, instead being committed to the memories of their Loremasters and the songs of their people. The Eldain are loathe to speak of much of it with outsiders, and withhold much from the ears of those whose youthful wanderlust takes them into the mortal world.

There was a war between two great houses, the Seelie and the Darau. The Eldain do not speak of the cause, only the results, and then only at great need. The Darau lost, and were cursed by the Didanu, the ancient and elemental gods of the world. Now called the Unseelie, driven from the bright cities of the Eldain into deep forests and caves. The light of the sun burned them, so they took to wearing masks of silver, the design of those masks denoting their rank and role. Hunters wear the masks of foxes and wolves while Lords of the Hunt wear more elaborate versions of the same, for example.

The Unseelie actually refer to their masks as their faces, and to lose one's face is a sign of great dishonor among them. There are fairy tales of humans who were able to escape capture by one of the "dark elves" by tricking them into a position where the human could steal their mask, leaving the elf groping blindly and madly for their "face" while the human ran away. There are also legends of humans foolish enough to put on the mask of a dark elf and becoming their enchanted thrall for the rest of their lives.

There have been a handful of open battles between the Unseelie and the Seelie over the millennia, but more often the wars between them are fought through mortal clients, magical attacks, and assassinations. Whether these have spilled over into mortal cities is a matter of much speculation.

While the enmity between the Seelie and Unseelie has continued for thousands of years, there are those who cross boundaries. Agatha is one such example. Born and raised as Alindariel, one of the High Eldain, she was a powerful sorceress and warrior, and led campaign after campaign to try to reclaim the Whispering Hills from the scourge of the orcs. When the High Court withdrew their support, she made an alliance with the Dark Court, took the name Agatha, and received her new face--some say from the Unseelie Empress herself. Agatha campaigned against the orcs for two centuries, nearly driving them completely from the Whispering Hills. She set up her house in the Arrowfall Woods with a court of Unseelie backing her.

About a century ago, a human man of extraordinary beauty discovered Agatha's home. He charmed Agatha with his words until her guard was down, and then stole her mask and fled to a boat that was waiting for him to carry him across Lake Umbra. She sent a mighty storm to drown him, but legend says that he made it safely to Ravensgate, where he disappeared. Having lost her face, Agatha lost her supporters, and was left to dwell alone, consumed by her rage and bitterness.

If Agatha were to regain her mask, she would certainly regain much of her standing in the Dark Court along with whatever magics were invested in the mask. What is unknown is what she would do with it. Would she go back to making war on the orcs of the Whispering Hills, making the region safer for everyone? Would she decide to take vengeance on the race of Man for stealing her mask in the first place? Only time will tell.