Luclin

Luclin, the Maiden of Shadows rules the Plane of Shadow, She is short of stature, about 4'9" tall; sleek and thin, with an elfin body structure. Her short hair is deep gray with long side locks down to her stomach.

Her silver eyes have no pupils and her skin is solid black. She wears black and gray robes and a shadowy mist perpetually swirls around her feet. In one hand she bears a massive silver and platinum staff carved in the shape of two tendrils wrapping around one another to form two humanoid hands at the top.

Floating just above the cupped palms of the hands is a small black orb whose surface has an iridescent sheen similar to that of oil.

The fear he had borne those many, many long year, since the end of the Age of Combine, had come to pass: The disapperance of the gods, Yes, for hundreds of years now that had been known as the Lost Age, and of course that name was given by those who knew little to nothing of events during that time.

Of course, few – perhaps none – had lived a life as long and eventfu as this ancient elf called Aataltaal. Now, it seems, he’d outlasted even the gods.

The elf looked up into the bright night sky and watched Luclin’s continuing disintergration. A flaming meteor, no doubt a portion of the sphere of the Maiden of Shadows, soared fast and low just to the south of him. Lightning traced the rock’s path through the swirling clouds, and Aataltaal was certain he felt the wind and heat generated by the meteor.

The destruction of Luclin, named for the goddess who was for countless years beyond the reach of mortals, was a metaphor for the fate of all created races… as well as for the gods themselves. Even if they were not dead, the gods who birthed the races of Norrath and had guided the events of millennia, including the seemingly wanton destruction of all they had so assiduously crafted, were beyond any mortal’s reach. The immortals might as well be dead for all they could do on behalf of those who relied upon them, those who worshipped them. Likewise, there was little to be done by one such as Aataltaal, who sough to slay gods, or at least some – partculary one! – among their number.

As he sat on the Luclin-blasted landscape of the Thundering Steppes, with no other living entity around for league upon league, Aataltaal gave himself over wholly to these reflections. And soon his vision returned.

In the long past age of Combine, Aataltaal had foreseen the fall of that great empire. He tried toward emperor katta, but neither of them understood the meaning of the vision fully enough. Of course, Aataltaal considered that failure to be his own: It was his magic that had crafted the visions, his knowledge that should have deciphered them, and even his plans that had set the fracturing of the Combine into motion. Granted, the plans of those against whom he toiled, General Seru and his fell sorcereress, were a considerable part of the events that brought the empire to its knees.

Ages had passed since then, and yet another was dawning in this time of the broken moon, and still Aataltaal toiled. He had victories to relish and humbling defeats to rue, and still his nemesis Opal Darkbriar dogged him. She thought to have won the day in Freeport, but he had meant the promise he made to the humans there after he saw them safely westward across the Ocean of Tears. That city, like his battle against the gods, might seem lost at present, but the Wheel of Time always rolled round again. The trick was stopping the wheel when it was properly poised for one’s purpose.

The Vah Shir

The Vah Shir are an offshoot of the kerran race that originated on the Norrathian continent of Odus. Legend holds that the kerrans were once bitterly divided and in the throes of a bloody civil war when a great leader, Kejaan Kerrath, emerged to unite the tribes into a single nation. A golden age followed, during which the kerrans became the dominant species on Odus.

Kejaan proved a wise and resourceful ruler, drawing his elite nobles from among the other kerran clans. From clan Shir came nobles, generals, and warriors. From Kajek came shamans and counselors. From the clan of Shahar, Kejaan drew his hunters and farmers, and from clan Karani, he selected his civil servants and bureaucrats. The so-called Komiyat Kerrath grew in strength and influence.

The coming of the Erudites proved catastrophic for the kerrans, even though relations between the two races were good. When a small number of Erudites first took up the practice of necromancy, however, the kerrans began to fall ill, and soon plague raged through their cities and villages. Convinced that the heretic Erudites and their dark magic were responsible, Kejaan himself went to treat with their leaders, but even he returned weak and sickly. He died soon thereafter, and his son Vah took the throne.

Vah gathered his elite forces in the Shir city of Shar Vahl, intending to join the Erudites in their war against the heretics. Before he could act, however, a great battle broke out between the heretics and Erudites, resulting in huge pieces of Norrath being flung into space — and among them the city of Shar Vahl.

The rogue Rejik tells the story of the Vah Shir and their arrival on Luclin. He was a scout and a spy of middle rank on the day of the great explosion. His account is a rare record from the early days of Shar Vahl, since written works have since been prohibited there.

Luclin is a jealous and somewhat petty deity, but she chose in this case not to punish the interlopers, for she knew that their coming was not by choice. Once more, she allowed Norrathian aliens to remain on her moon. Soon after arriving upon Luclin, the kerrans also discovered that their connection to the spirits of Norrath had been cut off. Only the great beast-spirit Sahteb Mahlni remained in contact with the Vah Shir, leading many of the