| The Emberlight | |
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Capital City: |
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Largest City: |
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Languages: |
Thalassian(Primarily) |
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Noble Houses: |
House of Netherstar |
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Population |
Thriving |
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Terrian |
Alpine Forests |
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Economic Status: |
Affulent |
The Emberlight is a long sprawling province of the Kingdom of Quel’Thalas, found within the most southern reaches of the Ghostlands. Nestled into the Amani Mountains, the Emberlight is a series of valleys and pine vales that stretch from the heart of the Ghostlands to the Forbidding Sea. It is a land of misty mountain passes, tall gray pines, roaring waterfalls, and haunted forests. The name of the province comes from the consistently overcast skies and the harsh winters. Unlike other provinces of Quel’Thalas, the Emberlight is not blessed with eternal spring.
The overlords of the Emberlight are the pragmatic and ambitious House of Netherstar, which makes its seat at the ancient fortress of the Netherholde. Although the land is administered and retained by the Netherstar, there are many other noble houses of near equal prominence. the House of Blacksun, which retains and hosts a massive fortress known as the Blacksun Gate serves as the largest standing army within the Emberlight. To the north sits the noble House of Silverdawn, which is known for wearing coats of white lynxes as cloaks. Finally, House of Blacksquall operates Dawnbreaker Anchorage - the largest port city within the province and hosts a powerful academy of hydromancers.
The land is well-known for the snowy peaks of the Amani Mountains which surround the Emberlight. The Outer Vale of the Emberlight connects to the Ghostlands and holds many villages and Shrines to Belore . This land is taxed and defended by House Blacksun, whose massive gate sits as at the way point between the Outer and Inner Vales.
The Emberlight
Outer Vale[]
The Amani Mountains bend and nearly meet in the center reaches of the Emberlight. This narrow pass is where House Blacksun made their seat. Over the centuries, they erected a massive gate which defends the inner lands of the Emberlights from marauding troll warbands. House Blacksun, whose matriarch is Idrya Blacksun , holds one of the most impressive personal armies in all of Quel’Thalas. Their sole purposes, however, is to keep the constant threat of the Amani Trolls at bay, for the Troll Wars have never quite ended in the Emberlight.
Inner Vale[]
The Inner Vales are a series of misty valleys and haunted forests that are overseen by House Netherstar, the Emberlight’s overlords. Lord Izulde Netherstar is currently the lord paramount of the Emberlight. In between the forests are stony meadows and rushing rivers that crisscross the widest swath of land. With the safety of the Blacksun Gate to defend their homes, many smaller villages dot the vales and several ancient shrines can be found dotting the countryside. The road from the Ghost Lands forks here to the north it stretches into the high reaches of the Netherholde, and to the south, it winds down to Dawnbreaker Anchorage.
Sitting in a high clearing in the Amani Mountains is the seat of House Netherstar. Their seat is the impressive citadel named the Netherholde. Made of six spiraling towers, the Netherholde is built into the mountain itself and it dives deep into the rock in deep rivets. The Netherholde supports many ancient academies of archaic arts and warfare. House Netherstar sports a prestigious academy of blood mages and spellbreakers, which make up the bulk of their armies.
Northern Reach[]
The most northern reaches of the Emberlight are controlled by the noble House of Silverdawn, which makes its seat at Lyxn's Home, a fortress carved into the rock face itself. Although the population here is very small, it sports a warrior culture of strong independent arms men and well-disciplined knights. The nobility here made a tradition of hunting the elusive white lynx. Those who are successful in the hunt boast their prowess with the pelt worn as a mantle about their shoulders.
Recent Conflicts[]
In the last two years, there have been two major conflicts fought within the Emberlight. The first was an encroachment of land by the Amani Trolls spurred by the Zandalari tribe. This series of battles was known as the Invasion of the Emberlight, which ended in a decisive victory for the thalassian army.
More recently, after the Invasion of Zul Aman, a massive host of undead trolls and fallen elven warriors marched into the Outer Vale. The armies of House Netherstar and Blacksun joined forces with the Sunguard, to repel the invasion. While they were successful, it came at a great cost which included the plunder and destruction of a Shrine of Belore. The head leader, Cidfidus Dawnseeker was slain in the ensuing battle.
The Fade[]
For almost four thousand years, the elves of the Emberlight fought a bitter and desperate war against the trolls that naturally resided there. But the high elves had one advantage over their foes, arcane magic. Having been crafted for centuries of war, House Netherstar had produced some of the finest pyromancers in the high kingdom. With renewed vigor, they pressed upon the trollish empire and turned the tide.
Unwilling to give up their homeland, the amani trolls sacrificed one of their great loa's, a serpent creature named I'anno. Upon its sacrifice, it placed an unending hex upon the Emberlight forever known as the Fade. This curse meant that all sentient life within the Emberlight is forever doomed to wander its misty vales upon their passing. These souls overtime would soon become corrupted and maleficent. These malevolent spirits are known as Mandrakes.
To combat this curse, House Netherstar founded a series of shrines towards the newly worshiped sun sects of Belore. This priesthood would be forever known as the Priests of Belore, and their purpose is to guide wayward spirits into the afterlife. Less publicly they are also charged with the hunting and elimination of mandrakes and their evil presence.