Elithain Cross
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Elithain Cross was a human from Mestanir.
Appearance
You see Lord Elithain Cross the Summoner of the Arcane Eyes. He appears to be a Human. He is short and stooped and appears to be old. He has squinted sharp silver eyes and wrinkled skin. He has short, receding greyish-brown hair. He has a creased face, a hooked nose and thick grey eyebrows. A series of pink burn scars have disfigured the left side of his neck. An aura of faint orange light shimmers around him. He is in good shape. He is holding a faintly glowing red rune-etched dagger in his right hand and a gnarled fireleaf scepter capped with a pristine shard of onyx in his left hand. He is wearing a pair of ebony leather boots, an obsidian eye-shaped talisman, a smooth grey leather satchel, some heavy crimson suede robes, a black leather belt set with fiery-orange gems, and a gold-stringed brown cloth sack.
As Elithain gained power through Althedeus, he eventually took on a more youthful look.
Background
Elithain Cross was one of the founding members of a secret group of magic users called the Arcane Eyes, which was born in the shadows of Mestanir. Their organization predominately worshipped Koar, until a father and son within the organization, Sebasation and Grishom Stone, began to convince other members of the Arcane Eyes that there was true power beyond the Arkati and they should not worship them, but instead try to ascend above them. Elithain deemed such believers as heretics and used his own daughter Madelyne to seduce Grishom Stone, gaining the trust of their family before getting close enough to assassinate Grishom's father. Enraged, Grishom murdered Madelyne, trapping her spirit into his ritual dagger. This act caused an open civil war among those who supported Grishom, and those loyal to Elithain. The conflict spilled into the streets of Mestanir, just as Jantalar invaded with their army and Mandis Crystal. The anti-magic crystals and new occupying army scattered the Arcane Eyes all over Elanthia and Elithain himself went into hiding. In 5111, Elithain was sought out by the Heroes of Wehnimer's to help them in defeating Grishom Stone in his plans to make a powerful urnon golem. In the end, Elithain betrayed the heroes, using them to stop Grishom, steal his ritual dagger, and in the process creating the urnon golem for himself and transferring the spirit of his daughter into it. Elithain escaped with his new golem servant. It is rumored that the dark power once behind Grishom, is now influencing Elithain, wherever he may be.
Update:
He was the most prominent figure in a group of dark summoners called the Arcane Eyes. Once his family was nobility in Mestanir, until the Jantalar occupation drove their members underground. A year ago, he helped the heroes defeat Grishom Stone and stopped him from using the soul of Elithain's daughter, Madelyne, and transferring it into an urnon golem. But in the end, Elithain double crossed the heroes and after Grishom was killed, he completed his ritual and created the urnon golem, now filled with the obedient soul of his daughter. Cross then abandoned the heroes to die on Grishom's demonic island, taking with him his powerful urnon weapon, a new follower name Nysorm, and left the players to die. It is rumored Elithain Cross returned to somewhere within the Empire, secretly plotting their downfall.
In truth, Elithain had taken on the name of Lord Eldurn Winter, a wealthy nobleman and merchant out of Brisker's Cove. He hired the pirate Thanden recently to try to retrieve the Star of Khar'ta from Wehnimer's Landing, but his plan failed. He then unsuccessfully tried to have the merchant Juramis killed for asking too many questions, and while he was not murdered, he did keep his identity from being discovered. More recently, he provided aid to Stephos De'Archon, a councilman in Wehnimer's Landing, to fund a new criminal organization in the town called the Brotherhood of Rooks, being led at the time by the escaped prisoner Drangell.
Elithain Cross, under the control and guidance of Althedeus put his plan in action to rip the Turamzzyrian Empire apart. He had been soured by their racial treatment towards non-humans and their strict regulation on magic users. He despises the Hall of Mages, believes all should be free to undergo their research unhindered. After the invasion of Jantalar into Mestanir, and the arrival of the Mandis Crystals, Elithain's old organization, the Arcane Eyes, were splintered and scattered. He will stop at nothing short of the downfall of the Turamzzyrian Empire.
In the end, his plans to ruin the Turamzzyrian Empire failed, and his urnon golem was destroyed before it could become the new vessel to host the shadowy demon Althedeus. The spirit of his daughter, Madelyne Cross was torn from the golem in the final ritual, and her spirit was lost to the temporal magic deep below Melgorehn's Reach. Before the golem shattered, it lashed out to wound Elithain, and the gathered heroes finished the job and killed him.
Statements
- Alliance Invitation to Elven Nations (5114 Modern Era)
To the Leaders and Citizens of the Elven Nations: Behold, I bring to you a great opportunity to correct all of the injustices delivered to your people by the cruel hands and ancient corruption of the Turamzzyrian Empire. As this letter finds you, the human empire has found themselves assaulted from all angles, their borders and coasts aglow with the shining light of justice bearing down on them. Long has the Turamzzyrian Empire built their homes on the backs of non-humans, only to repay them with the brutality of enslavement, exile, or death. Long has the Turamzzyrian Empire held its steel boot to the throat of magic users, forcing practitioners of all forms into submission or destruction. Gnomes are waylaid by human hands without thought, dwarves are forced to toil in mines to supply imperial golden halls, and elves are driven to face extinction in dark forests or the unending sea. Nothing is agreed upon more in all of Elanthia then the malice of the Turamzzyrian Empire. This has not always been the way in the beginning, but there is no argument against the corruption, discrimination, and murder that runs rampant today. My name is Elithain Cross, and my gesture today brings the great elven houses a historical chance to join me in the war against the Turamzzyrian Empire, a war that when won will result in countless reforms across the entire human lands. No longer will land be stolen from elven blood. No longer will giants suffer as workhorses to toil for human bigotry. The Turamzzyrian Empire poses as great a threat as Despana and her armies ever did. While that conflict is over, the danger of the human empire who builds on lands stained with the blood of innocent elves, is ever present. I was born into nobility within Mestanir, I have witnessed firsthand the self-righteousness of imperial rulers, and I have witnessed firsthand the persecution of imperial intolerance as my death was sought merely because of the magic I possessed and the free will I had to not be caged. Many will say that I am a monster. Many will say that a great evil guides my hand, and guides my actions. These people are your enemy, as to tolerate the corruption of the Turamzzryian Empire is no different than enacting it themselves. Many will say the armies that march on the human empire are monsters, and this is indeed truth. There are few in our world who hold good will towards the krolvin, or ferocious minotaurs and ogres. But change cannot come on the back of shining knights when those metal clad barbarians serve the powers that corrupt, the powers that bleed non-humans. Reform must come, for the sake of all of those who have been victims, and for all of those before us. Reform must come in any shape it may, and be achieved by any heart that will listen. To you, the Great Elven Houses, whom have suffered the greatest at the hands of the Turamzzyrian Empire, I ask, are you listening? Signed, Lord Elithain Cross