The dark elves were blamed for the heinous act and were forced to leave their forest dwellings and guided by the Faceless, fled underground near the Dwarven border. High King Arniel was caught inside the conflagration and was burned alive. That peace was destroyed when Brythigga, the Mother of Trees and home of the original royal dwelling, was burned to the ground, leaving a blackened scar on the earth where nothing would ever grow again. Peace was finally recognized and reparations were made, albeit grudgingly.Ī tense peace existed, which was called the "Peace of New Spring", for twenty years, yet tensions remained dangerously high between Irollan and the new dark elves. With her new powers of Dark Magic, Tuidhana reaffirmed her kingdoms independence but forever splinted the once singular elven people into two different and embittered societies. The price being they abandon Sylanna and convert to the worship of the Faceless' god Malassa, Dragon Goddess of Darkness. This rejection and the High Kings disregard for her people ultimately forced the desperate Tuidhana to make a dark pact with the mysterious Faceless, which they accepted for a price. Arniel only took action when the Empire starting getting further in the forests of Irollan but paid no head to Tuidana's people. Unfortunately, Arneil rejected her plea stating that "she stands alone, let her fight alone". Under attack form the imperial armires, Tuidhana appealed to Arniel for aid.
The conflict between Arniel and Tuidhana escalated into open war and turned even more complicated when the knights of Emperor Liam of the Holy Falcon Empire took advantage of the situation to seize Tuidhana's land of Tarlad, thus beginning the bitter remembered War of the Bitter Ashes. Among the various rebels that clashed with him, the most tragically famous was Queen Tuidhana. His solution was simple, to usurp the powers of the local elf kings, strip the Druids of their authority, and make his own title hereditary. After the demons defeat and banishment to Sheogh due to the sacrifice of Sar-Elam, the elves retreated to their forests, to heal the damage done to their land.Ī few years before the Second Eclipse, his head turned by a band of flatterers, High King Arniel decided that elf power was too decentralized, and that the traditional way of electing the supreme ruler (through a vision shared by the Druids) was unreliable. Elven history is long and ancient and it has been said that they are the ones who first answered the call against the first Demon Invasion during the Wars of Fire.