Faendryl

The House of Faendryl was once the leading house of the Elven Empire. Following the events of the Undead War, the Faendryl were exiled due to methods they employed in the final battle, which included demonic summoning. They were banished to the wastes of Rhoska-Tor, where in proximity to the local mana foci their physical appearance changed over the years, darkening their skin and sharpening their features. The various explanations given for this transformation are not consistent across the lore, and the Dark Elven language itself is mystically inborn, passing down forever in all offspring.

Approximately five thousand years ago, the Faendryl made overtures to rejoin the other elven houses, but these hopes ended with the death of the Faendryl princess Chesylcha and the ensuing war that culminated with the destruction of the House of Ashrim. Since then, the Faendryl became known as Dark Elves.

Roles

The stereotypical Faendryl will typically fill one of two roles, either a demon summoning sorcerer or a Palestra warrior.

Palestra warrior

Though an integral part of Faendryl society, it is rare to see a Palestra-trained warrior outside of New Ta'Faendryl. There does not seem to be a compelling reason for this, though perhaps it is because the discipline of the Palestra discourages 'renegade' lifestyle that is associated with sorcerers roaming the lands.

Training begins in arms, combat, and survival as early as 5 years old. The duration of this training is typically 50 years. Once this baseline competency in combat, weapons, armor, and general scholastics is achieved, they will spend some amount of time in private study or making connections.

After this period of independence, the warrior enters the Palestra. Here life is much more regimented than many are used to and the arduous course of study includes both intense combat training and thorough training in demonology. This period lasts ten years, and after that the warrior will join a military unit or seek individual training from other masters. Additionally, some warriors gain employ upon leaving the Palestra and become guardians of demon summoners, the real goal of all Palestra warriors.

These periods of employ are of a fixed duration (1-100 years normally), and so it is not uncommon for a Palestra to serve under many different masters at different points in his life.

• The Palestra is not a servant to the master, simply a sworn protector.
• The highest shame on a Palestra is for his master to be destroyed, especially by a demon.
• Palestra are quite magically inclined often learn spells or simply learn to use magic items well.
• There are 4 official PC Palestra.

Attitudes

Though they delight in the vanquishing of opponents, a Faendryl does not especially enjoy the actual process of doing so. It is more likely to be simply a distraction from scholarly pursuits or political machinations. They'll loathe close physical contact with a foe, though again, they are not above any means, really, to meet their ends. Scheming to achieve power, wealth, and prestige is how they'll spend most of their days: manipulating, assassinating, stealing are well within the range of acceptable means.

Behind the Scenes

When GemStone III divorced itself from the licensing for Shadow World and Rolemaster, the world name was changed back to Elanthia and the history had to be written over again from scratch. The central story of this new timeline was the rise and fall of the Faendryl. The exile of the Faendryl to the underworld beneath the wasteland, and their physical transformation becoming darker and more magically powerful, clearly originates in the "faerzress" concept of the Drow and the Underdark in Dungeons & Dragons. The Drow were the genocidal dark elves who lived in underground caverns.

Despana, Tormtor, Dharthiir, Shar, and possibly Breganda were Drow words taken from the Forgotten Realms world setting. In practice the Faendryl were not developed to mirror the Drow, which more closely resemble the later Dhe'nar culture which began as a player group. Southron Wastes, Maelshyve, and Rhoska-Tor appear to be based on archaic languages.

Resources

• The Faendryl Empire: The History of the Faendryl
• Path to Palestra
• The Theory of Governance and Social Order
• Basilica
• Elanthian Divination: An Overview of Faendryl Divination Practices
• Faendryl Symposium (2015 festival)
• Saved posts
• Palestra saved posts
• Dark Elves Officials folder
• Dark Elf Cultures, on Play.net
• The Faendryl Empire, on Play.net