Eilunia Hrenfaras

Under the castle in Cloud's Top, the capital of the Claimed Lands, in the deep dungeons that span across the city is a magical prison that houses the ancient ruler and founder of this capital city that was once known as Skygate. This sealed queen is the high elf Eilunia Hrenfaras (pronounced: ai-LU-nia ren-FA-ras) who has been otherwise known throughout history as Eilunia Goldbrand, the Mage-Knight, the Blue Queen of Madness and Eilunia the Forbidden. The title Goldbrand came from her famed golden blade and her skill in battle with it. The title Mage-Knight was because of her powerful magic that she wielded in tandem with her combat prowess. The title Blue Queen of Madness came after her skin turned blue and she started acting even more obsessed and tyrannical than she was. The tittle  the Forbidden  came after she was sealed in her magical prison.

She was the queen of these lands during ancient times and had also designed and made Skygate as a city that can take to the skies and fly through intricate mechanisms and powerful magic in order to be able to reach the fabled Avariel, the Winged Elves of Myth. Eilunia had a fascination with these mythical creatures her whole life. After some years that fascination with the Avariel had become an obsession to the point that she made it her life’s mission to build a city in order to reach the mythical Avariel in the highest slopes of the sky and connect her kingdom with theirs. She didn’t hesitate to spend fortunes of her riches as well as riches taken from her subjects to make her dream come true. Some civilians starved because of such confiscations. Of course such a goal required even more resources than she had as well as knowledge she did not possess even with her arcane knowledge and vast skill in magic.

In time Eilunia petitioned to the goddess Dangad, the goddess of crafts and inventions, but the majority of the clerics didn’t answer her call as most of them felt that even though her project is worthy of aid, her methods and disregard of the project itself as a craft as well as the disregard for people involved were against the goddess’s teachings that the people and work put into a craft or invention is as important as the goal of the invention’s use and must be treated with respect and love.

Eilunia then turned to other ways of finding aid and so she sought out otherworldly patronage from the Lower Planes. She had found old texts about a being named Pazuzu who rules otherworldly skies and knows powerful magical secrets of flight and the winds, and knows ways that can help her achieve her goal. The texts suggested that if someone would utter Pazuzu’s name three times in a row he would appear and aid the caller. As she spoke the name three times, Pazuzu appeared before her and indeed offered aid. Eilunia made a pact with him and so Pazuzu gave her forbidden knowledge and power as well as magic to complete her project. Of course, over time she became further corrupted by the obyrith, and her constant exposure to his fell influence turned her skin blue and also made her a lot more unhinged than she already was. Pazuzu showed her that the path to her goal required more numerous and cheap hands so she began conscripting underpaid citizens and also took slaves from nearby cities of the Neryl Empire. That act led to war between her realm and the Neryl Empire.

On the day of Skygate’s completion and scheduled launch, a party of select agents of the Neryl Empire as well as other individuals fed up with Eilunia infiltrated Skygate as well as the castle itself, and tracked her down in the engine chambers of the city. Their goal was to assassinate her as well as her chief lieutenants and engineers. However Eilunia herself proved to be too powerful to kill as she was a very skilled spellblade; the influence and powers she got from her pact with Pazuzu on top made her unstoppable. However, the party had a contingency ready and so they sealed her inside a magical prison that was designed to house her for millennia should she was proven too powerful to kill. After she was sealed, she was declared forbidden and the location of her magic prison was also sealed physically behind locks and chains in the engine chambers under Skygate.

After Eilunia’s defeat and imprisonment, the city’s launch was stopped and all her engineers and collaborators were executed by the Neryl Empire. With the Hrenfaras family gone and with no heir apparent to rule the realm, the Neryl Empire took over it and made it a province of theirs. Eilunia was presumed dead by the public, but her imprisonment was passed down to rulers of Skygate for years and she was known among them as Eilunia the Forbidden. Somehow this information was leaked two times throughout history. Twice did cultists of Pazuzu tried to free her and twice they failed. Pazuzu of course had already done his work and through his influence Eilunia was corrupt and had made the lives of countless people miserable and chaotic. Of course, since she is still alive, Pazuzu sees her as a potential returning plaything although he has mostly forgot about her by now.

After a great many years and eons have passed, and after the Neryl Empire had been long since gone, Eilunia, her legacy and her actions have been forgotten completely and not a soul alive remembers even a vague trace of her story. Even the original name of her realm has been lost to time. No one knows what Skygate was made for and no one knows what it can do. The large cogs and mechanisms underground have long since fallen to disrepair and all the rulers that reigned after the fall of the Neryl Empire have viewed them as weird, otherworldly and dangerous technology of the Neryli that is best left undisturbed, much like the mechanisms in the Neryli Ruins dotted across the landscape.

In present day the city is also known by another name, Cloud’s Top; a name given for the city’s location in a high hill overseeing all of the Claimed Lands. During the rule of the Snitch-King, the Beholder Grexmorg made a lair under the city and he and his minions sought to capture a part of the city’s underworld. After the Snitch-King found out about Grexmorg he sent people to kill him. After they failed, the king made another plan, hired a specialized team and sent them after Grexmorg again. This time Grexmorg found more than he bargained for and was almost killed. However, during the fight, the already weakened seals of Eilunia’s ancient prison weakened more and while she couldn’t physically leave still, she could influence the outside world with her thoughts and power. While Grexmorg was nearing death, Eilunia spoke to him in his thoughts and offered to help him survive and also kill his enemies in front of him. Grexmorg was too proud to accept at first but he as he was at his last breaths he panicked and agreed. Eilunia in turn saved his life and so he triumphed.

Eilunia never left his thoughts afterwards, and wanted tribute and service for saving his life. Grexmorg couldn’t drive her away from his thoughts and even dreams, and after being tormented day and night he gave in on Eilunia’s demands. First she wanted to know of her old realm’s state. Second she wanted Grexmorg to act as her hands and eyes as it were. Third she wanted him to extend his reach and evolve his gang into an army in order to oust the current ruler and take over in her stead. Fourth she wanted him to begin repairing the mechanisms under the city as per her instructions and lastly wanted from Grexmorg to search for a way to release her although she knew that this last task was going to be the hardest since the magic that binds her is not so easily undone; even by the most powerful spells.

Grexmorg has taken over the Claimed Lands as Eilunia wished but his rule is not how he wanted it to be. He has appointed others as rulers under the guise of  Masked King  to rule in his stead and represent him as he is exhausted by Eilunia and her demands. He keeps himself secret by most of his forces too, as the last thing he wants is more attention. Grexmorg is overwhelmed by his tasks and he is always watched by Eilunia to the point that he is now terrified of her and just keeps doing what he is asked lest she starts tormenting his psych again. He is desperately searching for a way out of his predicament and doesn’t even want to be in these lands or be in charge of anything anymore. No matter where he goes Eilunia’s voice always haunts the beholder and should he fail her in any way she haunts his dreams and his thoughts, and terrifies his existence with unspeakable horrors.