I am admittedly a bit bias, but I believe the Koada’Dal to be among the greatest race on the face of Norrath. After the Elddar Forest burnt and Takish’Hiz was buried beneath its ashes in the now Desert of Ro, the surviving High Elves made their way across the raging seas of the Ocean of Tears until they found shelter on the quiet continent of Faydwer. My people forged ahead and despite the relentless attacks from the orcs of Crushbone, the grandest city in the world was built. It became known as Felwithe and was named after a hero of the Koada’Dal, Alissa Felwithe who was instrumental in the survival of the race. My people ruled over the Greater Faydark for centuries and along with our allies in Kelethin, we kept the scourge of orcs cowering in their keep. However, as most great civilizations do, Felwithe fell. The walls crumbled to the armies of Neriak in the bloody War of the Fay. The Koada’Dal were finally able to take their home back from the Dark Elves but at a cost. The home of the High Elves was, for a second time, destroyed and that was only the beginning of the dark times. Since the gods were now gone, the broken Faydwer had no divine inspiration to turn to and many could not bear the pain these lands now made them feel. Many inhabitants of the once lush land made their way back across the sea to Antonica and took refuge in Qeynos, who had opened their gates. Then came the Rallosian armies and then the Rending and finally the shattering. I, however, was not a witness to any of these events save the shattering and I was but a mere child then. I was born in a small home in Castleview Hamlet and I only have early memories of my parents. They were among some of the first that braved the rendered, ravaged seas to return to their home on Faydwer. Not wanting to risk my young life, they left me in the care of a gentle, elderly Wood Elf named Rose and if they made it home successfully they would make arrangements for me to join them. That was nineteen years ago and I have yet to hear from them so I have accepted the fact that they perished at sea like so many that braved the wild oceans at that time. They were a mystery to me and Rose never would tell me much about them but I always felt as if she was keeping something hidden from me. Rose was an ancient Feir’Dal who had migrated from Antonica and helped build the treetop city of Kelethin. She told me many stories of her adventures as a druidess of Tunare and her tales captivated my imagination. My people have typically been drawn to the arcane magics and she was more than willing to send me to the Academy but I knew in my soul that I wanted to follow in her footsteps and become a great druid. She taught me everything she knew of woodland magic and kindness and helped me depress my innate arcane urges and focus more on the power that nature could provide. Although Tunare had not yet returned, she still taught me the importance of belief in a power higher than myself. She warned that the mortals of Norrath had taken the gods for granted and that is why our generations now have suffered so greatly. If only she could have lived to see the return of her goddess that she was so devoted to even after being abandoned. She passed away in her sleep one night five years ago and I buried her in a small plot in the Willow Wood district. I long to see Rose and my parents again when I pass on to The Plane of Growth and walk through the gates of Takish’Hiz. Until that day, I have dedicated my life here on Norrath to uncover the secrets of the past. So much history was lost due to the quakes and disturbances caused by the rendering and I have been on a search to uncover any tome or artifact that will help me piece this world’s lost heritage together as well as my own. Over the past five years, I have gone on many excavations and missions and have uncovered a good amount of lore that was thought to have been forever lost. In that time, I have met other like-minded people that have helped me along the way. I created The Path of Thorns society and built a home for us all to gather in under the Qeynosian banner so we could continue our research together. Some of the work being done within these halls was not acceptable to Queen Antonia and while she accepted the importance of my work, she could not allow it within here city. I have since relocated my citizenship to the home of my parents, Kelethin, and had an associate of mine pull the strings she had with the Overlord to recreate The Path of Thorns Society in Northern Freeport. We had to mask much of our research and provide a useful contribution to the city before he would allow it so my associates Anestacia and Jeremiah built the Ice Song Opera House and perform nightly concerts within the halls. I too decided to place my findings, under heavy guard of course, within our walls and created The Museum of the Lost. Here I have recreated many tomes and placed artifacts that I have found and all are free to view and study them if they so desire. I hope that my continued search for these lost artifacts will one day bring peace back to Norrath and we can fully rebuild all that we have lost over these past centuries of Darkness. I missed the many years of greatness for the Koada’Dal but I hope to be instrumental in the next age of our greatness. Thank you for reading my tale and be sure to check out my collected works of our lost history as they become available. -Stormcaller Yukii, the Artifact Raider
