Of Royal Blood ~ Everqueen Palace

In ages past, after the death of Aenarion, Morathi longed for her son Malekith to take on the Phoenix Crown and for her to rule at his side. But Malekith was denied the crown as it passed to Bel Shanaar, and the symbolic queen of Ulthuan remained the Everqueen. Yvraine, the Everqueen, had incredible powers to commune with all creatures living upon Ulthuan – powers Morathi craved.

In the ensuing war that divided the elves, Morathi made a desperate bid to seize the power of the Everqueen and take the Gaen Vale, but nature had another course. Once the Gaen Vale was connected to Avelorn by an isthmus, an artery that connected the spiritual heart of Ulthuan to the rest of its body. Morathi’s drive onto the Gaen Vale however led the two great armies to clash upon the isthmus at the gates of the Gaen Vale, and the overwhelming might of the Druchii began to wear away at the Asur defenders. And so to save the Gaen Vale, the most sacred shrine of Isha, Yvraine made the ultimate sacrifice and collapsed the isthmus, for ever severing her link to the rest of Ulthuan. The isthmus sank into the Inner Sea and with it the Druchii host, but Morathi’s hatred for the Everqueen would not be brushed aside so easily.

As the centuries wore on, the Everqueen’s changed, but Morathi lived on. Though among the eldest creatures in the world, her skin maintains a youthful vigor unnatural for her age. It is said her enrapturing beauty has been maintained through the ages by her dark blood rituals in which she bathes in the blood of young maidens. Opposite of the spite-driven creature that is Morathi is the Everqueen Alarielle, the most beautiful being in the world. Where Morathi has to maintain her artificial beauty by partaking in dark blood-rituals, Alarielle has been gifted with true beauty – a fact that burns deep in Morathi’s mind. While Malekith’s gaze has ever been on the Phoenix Throne, Morathi longs for not only the magical power of Avelorn, but for the beauty that is gifted to the Everqueen.

Now in the Age of Reckoning Alarielle has gone missing; many suspect the Dark Elves are behind the plot. The quest to find the Everqueen, be it to restore her to her rightful place among the Asur, or to tap her blood for eternal beauty, takes both factions deep into the Gaen Vale. Within the Vale is the Everqueen’s palace, which is in fact a temple dedicated to Isha. It is here that the Shining Guard and House Uthorin shall meet. It is in the halls of the Everqueen Palace that blood shall be spilled in pursuit of the Everqueen. In these halls which are to honor abundant life, death shall take hold.

The Everqueen Palace is a death-match scenario that takes place in the heart of the Lost Vale. The Shining Guard, first to the scene, lays situated within the interior of the palace; the forces of House Uthorin arriving later approach the palace grounds from the exterior. Inside a bloodbath awaits. All life must end in death, and from death new life is born. Such is the will of Isha. Who will be victorious in gaining control over the Everqueen Palace and finding the clues regarding her whereabouts?