Istmaeon Illistim

Istmaeon Illistim was the Argent Mirror who ruled at the end of the Kiramon War. The war was a thousand years old at the time, having begun only a couple of millennia after the Undead War, ultimately leading the Illistim to resort to drastic measures. They were vanquished using a spell that banished their enemy, tricking the kiramon into traveling through a portal to what was thought to be an uninhabited world. Whether this was truly developed by Illistimi scholars, or some forbidden lore of antiquity, it was necessary for Istmaeon to authorize its use.

Though he called their triumph a "heroic act" in public, he felt there would be greater consequences. It would later be discovered that the portal had been to the world of Bre'Naere, which was inhabited by the people who would be enslaved and transformed into the Aelotoi. The guilt of this collateral damage was a major factor in the way they were received in the Elven Nations in 5,103 Modern Era.

Istmaeon assumed the Peacock Throne in -12,105 Modern Era (37,002 Illistim) and presumably abdicated in -11,884 Modern Era (37,223 Illistim) after 221 years. His actions have been considered reasonable at the time they were made, and that the horror inflicted upon the Aelotoi was accidental. There are some Faendryl critics who regard this as extreme hypocrisy, since the Illistim suspended their own rules regarding forbidden magic when it suited them, only to defend it with the same argument they rejected with Despana. The Undead War was only 3,000 year ago, still within living memory. Tearing the Veil and summoning extra-planar entities was "only forbidden with voids and demons", the argument goes, but "merely 'research' when calling it portals and elementals."

Argent Mirror of the House of Illistim
Preceded by:	-12,105 Modern Era to -11,884 Modern Era (37,002 to 37,223 Illistim)	Succeeded by:
Unknown (eventually Segeir Illistim)		Unknown (eventually Yathrauniel Illistim)
Non-Dynastic Argent Mirrors
Descendant of:		Ancestor of:
Unknown		Unknown

Behind The Scenes

Hiraani Gael Illistim's work on the Ta'Illistim Monarchs is probably wrong about the reign dates of Istmaeon. Consistency with the Timeline of Meachreasim Illistim would require the kiramon to be eradicated around 39,300 Illistim, and pushing his reign two thousand years into the future would make Yathrauniel Illistim much more plausible for age reasons. An ancient monument in Ta'Illistim supports the 39,000 millennium as the eradication date.

Museum Artifact

[Museum Alerreth, History]
The marble walls are punctuated with several glass cases, each of which is set either above or below an inlaid copper strip. The metallic band stretches from the right to the left side of a copper-plated arch, circumnavigating the room in the process. A square tile of the same copper as the arch and timeline is inset into the center of the floor.
Obvious exits: none

>look mandible
The mandibles are pierced, each one's chitinous exterior drilled through with a small hole. The lot is suspended from a thick silver metal cord. Metal spacers separate one trophy from the next. Next to the display is a small plaque.

>read mandible
In the Common language, it reads:
Prior to the presumed eradication of the kiramon there was a brisk trade in kiramon body parts, due to a bounty offered by Argent Mirror Istmaeon. Trophies were strung on cords, such as the example here, with each spacer recording the location of the kill and the manner in which the kiramon was dispatched. This early attempt by Argent Mirror Istmaeon was unsuccessful in either of its two aims -- to kill off the kiramon and to determine their weaknesses, to allow for a more effective war effort.

Memorial (Note: Interpreted as saying "Eradication of the Kiramon, 39,?6? Illistim")

[Ta'Illistim, Vaeshean Wey]
Stone slabs and bronze sculptures wall in the wey, their faces the memorials to elven families lost to time.  Nearly all have at 
least one crest and most are marked as well with the seal of Ta'Illistim.  One white marble obelisk is set apart, piercing the 
sky from atop a raised pedestal of purple porphyry.  You also see an enameled silver signpost.
Obvious paths: north, southeast, west

>look statue
Time and weather have taken their toll on this statue, and even now vegetation seems ready to reclaim the cracked stone as its own.  
Crumpled skeletons lay in a heap before two columns, a quarter of an arch still standing between them, while three standing figures 
gesture from precisely designated points along the perimeter.  Close inspection reveals that the vine-covered skeletons are insectoid
forms.  A carved plaque rests at the base of the sculpture, its letters nearly all worn away.

There appears to be something written on it.

>read statue
In the Elven language, it reads:

Er  icat  n of   e Ki    n, 39 6