The History of House Ellerovyn
by Harri MäkiSplit in Alfheim
In AC 700, old King Celedryl had died in Alfheim. There were two prominent contenders for the throne: Doriath and Charan, both former advisors of King Celedryl and both from the Erewan clan. Their own clan was very evenly divided between their supporters, but among other clans, Doriath was looked on more favourably because of his neutral attitude to the different clans. The result was a defeat for Charan.
At first it seemed that Charan would accept the decision. However, he bore a grudge not against Doriath, but against the other clans who had refused to support him. His pride couldn't stand to stay in Alfheim as a "might-have-been-King", so he started searching for a place to migrate. At last, he thought of the Highlands north of the Broken Lands. There were already a few elves (although not like the elves in Alfheim), who might need help fighting against humans in the area. Charan informed his closest friends and relatives about his decision to go there. He was greatly surprised when they all said that they would come with him. At the end nearly all of his Erewan supporters left with him.
It took nearly ten years for them all to get there with all the planning and fighting on the way. They left Alfheim at the fall of AC 700, and then they stayed over 2 years in the area of Corunglain in Darokin before they made their first attempt to cross the Silver Sierras in the summer of AC 703. They got through only on their third attempt in the summer of AC 709, and arrived in the forests of the Belcadiz elves in the winter of AC 709.
First Years in the Highlands
Those ten years changed Charan Erewan somewhat. He looked older than his 168 years would assume he was more matured, more determined and he was more modest, although his pride wouldn't have allowed him to recall the trip during the harsh years in Darokin.
Charan contacted immediately Don Miguel de Belcadiz, leader of the local elves and acknowledged his authority, asking permission to settle amongst his elves. The alliance between two elven clan was sealed in AC 712, when Don Miguel's younger son, Don Fernando, married Charan's younger sister, Charlena. The two young elves had fell in love immediately after their first meeting two years earlier, but it had taken some time to convince the leaders of the desirability of this marriage. Charan had immediately liked Don Fernando and his father, but there were other elves at both sides who needed persuasion. Don Fernando's brothers, Don Antonio and Don Alfonso, were those they couldn't persuade to accept the marriage. For some reasons, both Charan and Don Alfonso immediately disliked each other.
In the same year, Don Miguel and Charan decided that the area was too crowded for both elven groups. Don Miguel proposed that the Erewan elves moved to the woods between Vesubia and Red River, which was inhabited only by a few Flaemish woodcutters. Unfortunately Don Miguel didn't even think about asking the Flaems their opinion on the matter. Immediately after the Erewan elves had moved there, the Flaemish lords declared that the truce between the elves and the Flaems was broken, and began raiding the area. The brunt of the raids was targeted at the Belcadiz elves, and in AC 717, Don Antonio fell defending city of New Alvar. The skirmishing between the elves and the Flaemish continued for thirteen years. The Erewan clan also got their share of raids, but while the Belcadiz elves retaliated, the Erewan elves usually only harassed the Flaems, when they were returning and didn't follow them outside their own areas.
The coming of the settlers from the Alasiayan land in AC 730 was a lucky strike for the elves. Charan immediately realised their value and supported Don Fernando against the other elven leaders, when he promised the settlers a safe route through the elven lands in exchange for their military support. All skirmishes with the Flaems ended. During the next 56 years peace reigned in the Erewan lands. There were some humanoid raids from the Broken Lands, but nothing serious.
Like Don Fernando, Charan too refused to take any part in wars amongst humans. During those years, the tower of Ellerovyn was built, completed around AC 754, and the town of Erendyl soon followed in AC 766. Also, in AC 756, Charan at last announced his marriage to his distant cousin, Meralia. They had been already courting over one hundred years and some elder relatives had already begun to worry if they would ever marry.
War years
When Joachim von Drachenfels, the leader of the Thyatian settlers battling the local Flaems, personally approached Don Fernando de Belcadiz in AC 786 for military negotiations, Don Fernando immediately called on also Charan Erewan and other leaders of the Erewan elves. Charan realised soon that Don Fernando had to join Joachim and his allies because of the pressure from Don Miguel, Don Alfonso and the younger generation. Charan had no desire for war or for meddling with human affairs, but in the end he also decided that his elves would join the fight. He took this decision solely based on elven solidarity and out of friendship for Don Fernando.
Charan decided to personally lead his troops. During the fighting in the next two years Charan and Don Alfonso de Belcadiz assisted by Don Miguel lead the elven troops in the field. Whereas Belcadizian elves fought in close melee with human troops, Erewan elves were used as longbowmen and in surprise attacks behind the enemy lines. During these years, Charan and Don Alfonso developed a reluctant respect for each other's abilities as war leaders: Don Alfonso was a great charismatic leader who was always with his troops in the forefront, whereas Charan was a competent planner and strategist.
In AC 788, after the Battle of Braastar and the death of Joachim von Drachenfels, Charan stayed in Braastar with Don Fernando, and took part in the negotiations. Charan was not very sorry about the death of Joachim; during the last two years, he had seen through the Hattian leader and hadn't liked what he saw. Charan became very worried when Don Fernando expressed during the negotiations his opinion that the elves should ally with the humans as one state. Charan understood Don Fernando's reasoning, but he didn't like the idea. He also realised that if Belcadiz elves allied with the humans, Erewan elves couldn't stay out of the deal. So in the end, Charan had to agree with Don Fernando, and the human leaders were positively surprised when two elven leaders announced their willingness to join the Republic of the Highlands. When the Republic was finally formed, Charan took the other elven seat in the new Council of the State.
After the coup of the Alphatian leader Halzunthram, who declared the Highlands to be the colony of Alphatia, Charan was imprisoned with Don Fernando and three Flaemish council members. Charan was furious of this and blamed Don Fernando (at least partly) for the event. This would have never happened if the elves had stayed out of the affairs of the humans. This was the first major friction between Charan and Don Fernando. After Don Alfonso rescued them, Charan's attitude softened a bit towards Don Fernando, but he had decided that he didn't want to have anymore dealings with humans.
The Forty Years War broke out, and since the rebel leaders knew the attitude of Charan against humans, they only tried to persuade the Belcadiz elves to join them. Charan mostly concentrated on building defences against possible attacks. Also, in AC 793 his son, Celedrin was born. Charan still refused to join the fighting also when Don Fernando joined the rebels in AC 806 because of the dwarven troops fighting at Halzunthram's side. Only after Don Fernando's personal appeal to him in AC 808 Charan and the Erewan elves joined the war. Charan still kept his troops out of the major battles and concentrated only to defend the Erewan areas.
After The War
When the negotiations begun after the Forty Years War, the two elven leaders both agreed that they should stay out of the human affairs. The next years were quiet for Charan and his elves. He was of course shocked when he heard about the death of Lord Alexander Glantri in AC 835, but not particularly bothered.
Charan was not happy with Don Fernando's decision to join the Principalities after the negotiations with Friedrich von Drachenfels, because he had very grievous doubts about the state ruled by human magic-users. He saw them as a chaotic bunch of individuals who would probably quarrel with each other about every possible issue. But this time he also realised that his elves would be in a troubles if they stayed alone, so in the end he accepted Don Fernando's decision and announced the willingness of Erewans elves to join the Principalities.
Charan now took a seat in the House of Lords as the first Marquis of Ellerovyn, so that there would have been at least one voice of reason to make order out of chaos. He didn't also like the decision to include most of the Erewan areas in the new Principality of Belcadiz. He was afraid that in the long run there would be difficulties between two elven groups.
Outside of the politics, everything seemed to be fine. But then came the dark times. Charan had been happy for his sister and Don Fernando when they had their first child at last in AC 858. Doña Charlena immediately told his brother about her problems with Don Fernando. After Don Fernando announced that his son, Carlo had died and Doña Charlena told Charan his suspicions about the death, Charan directly demanded Don Fernando to explain what had happened. This incident caused the split between Charan and Don Fernando. The Belcadiz leader refused to speak about the matter and the two elven leaders never spoke to each other after this. And when Doña Charlena died in orc ambush in AC 869 all was lost.
First Charan could only protest in the House of Lords about the treatment of his elves at the hands of Don Alfonso in elven Principality. Only after the enfeoffment of Nouvelle Averoigne and Klantyre in AC 875, did Charan realise what he had to do. He began to lobby for another elven Principality for the Erewan elves.
The Principality of Erewan
The reason behind the creation of Principality of Erewan was not so much Charan's work for it, but the result of the investigations against the alleged misconducts of the ruling Belcadiz elves against the Erewan elves. Chancellor Friedrich von Drachenfels was appalled at the findings and his support for the division was the decisive factor, even though Don Fernando fought until the end against this decision. So in the summer of AC 884, after 96 years, Charan Erewan found himself a member of the ruling Council of the Princes.
At first, the Council was somewhat unsure what kind of a charge they should give to Prince Charan. But then Robert McGregor pointed out that there was Fort Ylourgne, which was the only major fort in Glantri that was not in direct control of the Council. They took control of it from Etienne d'Ambreville, and made Charan the Viceroy of Ylourgne. Most of the Princes agreed on this, as it was a slap to the arrogant ruler of Nouvelle Averoigne. Etienne, of course, was not happy with this, but Friedrich von Drachenfels reasoned personally with him and managed to calm him. Charan was also not happy with this, because Ylourgne was so far away from Erewan. He would have rather stayed without any charge.
Council meetings were not so difficult to Charan as he had imagined beforehand. Don Fernando was mostly away tending his duties as the Chamberlain of the Land, and they actually met only five times during the following 12 years. These were busy years for Prince Charan. He had to divide his time between Council meetings, Fort Ylourgne and creating some kind of infrastructure for his Principality.
New Charges
Year 896 meant promotion to Charan Erewan. That year was busy for the Council. First the Supreme Judge Toktai Virayana I died, and then, Castle d'Ambreville disappeared along with all of the d'Ambrevilles. The race for the two highest positions was on. Charan watched the humans amazed and disgusted at their power hunger. The choice of a new Grand Master of the Great School of Magic was easy, because everyone acknowledged that Don Fernando de Belcadiz was the most suitable for that charge. But then nearly everyone else wanted to be a Supreme Judge. Only Charan and Morphail Gorevitch-Woszlany refused to compete. After much behind-the-scenes discussions, the current Treasurer Kenneth McGregor was chosen. Charan's election as new Chamberlain of the Land after Don Fernando was nearly unanimous. Obviously, Don Fernando was against this, to Charan's great dismay.
Charan was satisfied with his new charge. He hadn't been content with his viceroyalty, as he didn't like stone castles or any castles for that matter. Now he could do something more suitable for him. When Charan got engrossed in his duties, he was positively surprised when hr realised just how good Don Fernando had been in that job. His respect for his brother-in-law was somewhat restored.
In AC 902, soon after becoming Chamberlain, Charan discovered the Radiance. He began to study this strange phenomenon and become obsessed with it. He soon found the dangers of these studies, when in very short time his feet developed a withering disease and he lost his ability to walk normally. He continued to tend his duties as Chamberlain, but from then on, he always moved on horseback outdoors or with levitate spells indoors.
Prince Charan continued to be a Chamberlain until the crisis with Grandmaster Johann von Drachenfels in AC 957. When it was decided that the Council should remove Prinz Johann from the charge, Charan immediately announced his candidacy. Charan had long realised that if he wanted to continue his studies with the Radiance, he had to get rid of his duty as Chamberlain, and now he realised that as a Grand Master, he would have all the facilities of the Great School at his disposal. Charan was chosen to be Grand Master because there was no better alternative.
As a Grand Master, Charan mostly concentrated on studying the Radiance. He left administrative and teaching duties mostly to his aides. Students only saw him at the beginning and the end of the terms. During the years, other personnel of the Great School saw his health gradually weakening, as his strange disease slowly spread. At last in AC 973, Charan delved too deep into the Radiance and he was transformed into a zombie-like creature. Before he could flee from the Great School, the other mages - who didn't recognise Charan anymore - managed to destroy the unknown undead. At the age of 431, Prince Charan Erewan had disappeared, like his predecessor, Johann von Drachenfels.
Celedrin Erewan
Celedrin was 180-years old when he followed his father as Prince of Erewan. He has seen his father's strange disease spreading and had been afraid that it would kill him, but his sudden disappearance was totally unexpected. Celedrin wasn't totally inexperienced in governing, although he hadn't shown any interest to it. Still he had some natural charisma and was very likeable. Some of the "older" Princes liked his boyish manners.
Celedrin was chosen as Viceroy of Ylourgne. He was at first delighted because he liked to do something new. He was however soon very bored with the fort, and spent more time in Broken Lands fighting the humanoids there. The five years Celedrin was Viceroy of Ylourgne run fast enough for an elf, and in AC 978 he was chosen as the new Chamberlain after Georg von Drachenfels.
Celedrin found this charge more suitable to him because of the variance of the duties. Still he could enjoy the charge only for 5 years. In AC 983 humanoid raiders killed Celedrin at the early age of 190 years.
Carlotina Erewan
Celedrin's successor was his 172 year-old wife Carlotina. Their two children were still too young to become Prince. Carlotina was chosen to continue his husband's duties as Chamberlain and she is still around petitioning the Princes to defend the woods of Glantri and it's borders from the humanoid raiders.
Summary:
Charan Erewan b.542 d.973
First Marquis of Ellerovyn 859-973
First Prince of Erewan 884-973
Viceroy of Ylourgne 884-896
Chamberlain of the Land 896-957
Grand Master of the Great School of Magic 957-973
Celedrin Erewan, son of Charan. b.793 d.983
Prince of Erewan and Marquis of Ellerovyn 973-983
Viceroy of Ylourgne 973-978
Chamberlain of the Land 978-983
Carlotina Erewan, wife of Celedrin. b.811
Princess of Erewan and Marchioness of Ellerovyn 983-
Chamberlain of the Land 983-1004
Vicequeen of Huledain 1010-
Qenildor Erewan, son of Celedrin and Carlotina. b. 911
Baron of Celedryl 1015-