LOST TOMB OF AEDMÔR, ELF FRIEND

 

Hook: The inn's common room is abustle with lively entertainment and a thronging crowd of people enjoying the Midday Festival... It is annoying to you, just now, after such a harrowing adventure, frought with danger every step of the way, but, the comforts of familiarity outweigh the discomfort of the celebration abrading your senses. As you settle into a dark corner with your food and sweet Antŵran mead and dark, watered Caliborian wine, the air thick with the scent of well-earned, highly anticipated meals, a short, lithe figure dressed all in mud-stained, green traveling clothes detaches from the celebrants, and glides toward your table. She brushes stray strands of golden hair out of her ageless face with thin, delicate fingers, doing her utmost to smooth them back into the rest of the silken hair woven into three long braids that fall to the middle of her back. The sharp, fine youthful features, thin lips, eyes the colour of leaden skies, and ageless face can belong only to an elf. She possesses an otherworldly quality that you cannot define, but, feel. The hems of her dress are muddy from the trek... Impassivity laced with an undercurrent of eagerness that sets your nerves on end clings to her, but, it's the way she approaches, and the fact you focus only on her, and how she manages to effortlessly move through the crowd that arrests your attention. You look up as she draws near to you. A small cloth sack materialises from within the folds of her cloak. Chicken meat stops inches from your mouth. All of you regard the stranger with mutual irritation. She struggles, momentarily, under your weary, frustrated, yet curious, gazes before speaking in an accent you have only heard one other time, 'Good even and good year, friends. I am Álëtraa the Tern, of the tonti... and I have come to beseech you... Beseech you to complete a special task. A task that needs the kind of attention I think you may be uniquely suited for... Will you hear me?'

Details: The Erämi warrior Aedmôr was born to Caliborian and Lakelander (Järviläinen among the Erämi nomads, Meresætan among the Lakelanders) parents. The Lakelanders are not tolerant of outsiders as much as the other Erämi are, and bade his Caliborian father take Aedmôr with him, when he departed. Aedmôr was early a friend of elves, as his spirit was of elfish stock. Desiring a second life, he returned to Aelŵydir to live, again, as a man. However, he could not choose to be what he was, an elf... When spirits return to the world, they enter forms at random. Aedmôr had many lives trying to accomplish his will, all of them wild animals of the forest, in an attempt to be an elf, again, until, finally, he returned as a man... and became a hero in his time. His elven life was one of peace and frivolity in the forests of the world. But, as Aedmôr, he was born a warrior. His disposition was one of peace, but, he frequently found himself, in the early days of the Age of Restoration, contending with forces trying to destroy the tranquility he so desperately desired. So, he became the champion of peace, and a knight, a protector, of the wooded places.

Aedmôr's father was a knight, a diplomat and dignitary responsible for upholding duties related to the League of 4 Crowns, specifically with the stubborn, independent Erämi. He spent years in service to the Crown of Calibor. However, he always felt a detachment he could not explain, and found he was driven more to explore wild places, and found any excuse to do so, until, deciding to leave the service of the Caliborian King and Queen, traveled west to return to his mother's land. He never made it. Instead, he became embroiled in many events, quests, and deeds that quickly established him in the eyes of the elves of Kor, and endeared him to the Erämi, who call him Lakewarden (Laguweardan). He saved the woman who would later become his wife, Álëtraa the Tern, during her days as Lentä (the gryphon riders who police the borders of the WIld Wood of Kor). One of Aedmôr's quests brought him to the world of Enchantia, where he became embroiled in the affairs of Alborŵn, King of the Faries, and that world, and served him as a retainer for a time, accomplishing great deeds in the name of the Fairy King, even returning to the world to establish an order of warriors, The Dawn Patrol, dedicated to the agenda of The Lady of Light and the woodland the Fairy King wished to see defended against both men and monsters, The Misty Forest...

When he died, Aedmôr's wife had him buried in the forest he protected with his life, in a tomb located near its centre at the tail end of the Cloud Mountains. Over the years, Aedmôr's mundane equipment became enchanted simply by virtue of the fact they were used to perform acts of courage and daring and good. They were each - both those items gifted to him and those that grew enchantment through their use - laid to rest in separate chambers protected by traps and tricks devised by elven and gnomish artisans and engineers, and empowered by their use of spells and magic runes, respectively. As another precaution, Álëtraa bound a guardian to the tomb, a contentious evil dragon Aedmôr subdued through the clever use of its name learned during a contest of witty banter before the dragon was to eat him. Unfortunately, the tomb's structure has become compromised by time and shifting earth. Álëtraa desires the items threatened by the collapsed areas removed, along with one other that is now easier to attain. She has seen goblins in the area and fears even the dragon may not be enough to stop their raiding. 'Dragons can be slain', she will say. 'Here, take this amulet imbued with the name of the dragon, enchanted by my own magic. Only the dragon can hear it. That way he will not attack you, when you approach, and I protect his secret. The amulet's sphere of influence is only so great, so, be sure to stay within its confines, or your safety is not guaranteed. Bring the pearl Sword of Amalthëaa, the Alicorn; the magical flying horse, Tuulijalka (Wind Foot); and the magical scale armour of Aedmôr to me for safe-keeping... The sword will present more of a problem, because its protections are still strongly in place. But, I cannot let his sword even come close to being stolen, with the other rooms nearby compromised, as they are... Do this, and I will reward you with more than gold... A special gift of the Lentä, of the tonti, the elves, I will give to you. Each of you...'

The stories of Aedmôr were compiled by his wife and the scribes of the Dawn Patrol. They are shared by all across Keltika, as Aedmôr was a friend of the region, as a whole, and defended it, specifically, against evil and unrest. The stories are known to elves (the tonti) and the Erämi as Enchantia Tarinota. Elven children (of Kor) revere Aedmôr. He is the only human spoken of with any semblance of respect among that people.