Childhood and Early Life#
Elyndor, known in loremaster circles as “Keeper of the Hidden Tomes,” is an elf of Argirian origin who grew up in a seafaring village on the southern island of Gladhad. His parents are Argirian trademasters who frequently visit the Illyrian Trade Council outpost on the island, bartering fine, southern Argirian goods with the Council at Hope Ridge. While Elyndor was raised learning tradecraft, his eyes always gazed outward into the inner seas of the Broken Lands, particularly towards the distant, dark, and turbulent lands that only the firstborn can see with the naked eye.
Adventures and Encounters#
As Elyndor matured, his reputation as a chronicler grew among the Argiri and even reached the ears of daring outsiders. Elyndor’s adventures were marked by excursions across the most dangerous reaches of the central regions of the Broken Lands. Unlike his brethren, who worked in connecting trade routes throughout the Broken Lands, Elyndor sought stories — seeking to document every monstrous anomaly in the nearby regions. Over time, he began to focus almost exclusively on the Houergerrt and the monstrous chasm known as the Howling Abyss, from which the Houergerrt issue forth.
As he finally set off on a quest to spy on and document the Abyss, many of Elyndor’s encounters along the way were with the stories of unfortunate souls who entered the Abyss seeking fame or fortune, often meeting grisly ends that were faithfully recorded by a companion. Elyndor is famously credited with surviving an encounter with the Sirakk, aberrant spirits of jealousy and wrath, by trapping their essence within a crystal obelisk — an event later immortalized in the Ever-Night Chronicles.
>Notable Encounters with Factions#
Though the Houergerrt rarely interact peacefully with outsiders, Elyndor’s position as scribe and chronicler of their kind established him as a bulwark, protecting foolish factions from attempting to access or pillage the Houergerrt lands. In the early years of the Third Age, records detail Elyndor’s cold reception of a Dwarven envoy from the Elgean dwarven factions, who sought to establish a mining operation near the Abyss. Elyndor effectively convinced the envoy to return to Elgea and not tempt the Houergerrt with such a foolish enterprise.
Elyndor also repelled forces from the Circle of Five, who sent mercenaries to plunder relics said to lie in the Abyss’s heart. Rather than parlaying with the mercenaries, Elyndor orchestrated the “Wailing Labyrinth” — a night of shifting tunnels and echoed screams near the Abyss that left the opposition hopelessly lost and desperate, ensuring that not a single relic left the Abyss unclaimed while also protecting the foolish mercenaries from a sure death.
Later Years#
As centuries passed, Elyndor shifted from active events to a more withdrawn role, curating and safeguarding the vast tome collection that had become their life’s work. Persistent rumors among other who study the Houergerrt insist that Elyndor uncovered forbidden knowledge, and may have delved into realms stranger than shadow.
Elyndor’s later activities became increasingly esoteric, marked by cryptic prophecies and secretive alliances with mysterious aberrations that stalk only the deepest gloom.
Legacy#
Elyndor’s legacy is twofold: the Chronicles of the Ever-Night, an ongoing record scribed in unreadable tongues, and the preservation of countless relics and tales from countless doomed adventurers.
Beyond the Abyss, scholars and mages alike continue to seek fragments of Elyndor’s writings, believing they hold the keys to understanding not just the Abyss, but the tangled history of the Monstrous Factions entire. Elyndor remains one of the most enigmatic figures associated with the Howling Abyss — both a mirror of its terrors and the only true witness of its dark eternity.
Rare Items Associated With Him#
Among the rarest objects tied to Elyndor is the Obelisk of the Sirakk, a jagged crystal rumored to contain the tormented souls of vanquished spirits. Its touch is said to bring visions of the Ever-Night and whispers of lost souls desperate for release. For centuries, treasure hunters have sought this obelisk, though few have returned, and none have claimed legitimate ownership.
