Lyslianth the High-Elf Paladin

(By Quilicin, disciple of bard Circeliane, the discoverer of ancient texts).

Lyslianth was renowned for his great love of the forest of Düarden where he had spent all his life. He had this noble attitude and beauty that was the trait of the original Elven race, and his ancestry must have been quite a noble one. Everywhere he went, High Elves felt at ease and peaceful. Lyslianth was also renowned for his boundless piety. Prayer had helped to guide him through almost all of his actions and footsteps, prior to undertaking them.

Lyslianth happened to met upon Miriador the Paladin, this was as a result of Miriador having stopped at the edge of the forest and was asking for authorization to enter. Their first contact was rather a cold one, however it did not last for long and both quickly became friends. They traveled the world together for quite some time, and Miriador had become a teach to Lyslianth in the arts of the sword. He was rather skilled with it, and showed great dexterity and intelligence in using one. Afterwards, Lyslianth learned how to use a shield. It was a rather difficult beginning, as his constitution did not allow him to withstand the most powerful of blows. He then created his own style whichconsisted of deflecting the blows rather than stopping them. The method was efficient, and the result was quite surprising. People say that Miriador himself was rather impressed at what he saw and that he later used this technique to save his strength while fighting very powerful monsters. Miriador ended his teachings by explaining to Lyslianth how to transform his shield into an absolutely deadly weapon. For the rest Miriador left it to Lyslianth to came to understand that the answer was within himself, and most of all, in Gothar. Then soon after, these friends had gone their separate ways, as Miriador had many disciples yet to teach, as darker times were drawing near.

And for certain darker times indeed came forth: An Orc horde invaded the region, burning and plundering everything in its wake. The Orcs seemed to be controlled by an evil force as their raids showed uncommon boldness and cleverness. They even dared entering the forest.

The High Elves had felt their strength decreasing for some time now, the wind seemed corrupt and cursed, and their magic powers were not as powerful as they once had been. Their chances to withstand a massive assault were rather thin. The key location for the battle was a bridge over a river which was the main entrance to the forest. Lyslianth had sworn to hold the bridge as the other High Elves would then be able to focus their strength on the edges, where the forest was thicker and easier to protect. Lyslianth stood in plain sight, right in the middle of the bridge.

The Orcs were gathered on the other side, and they all rushed together, descending upon Lyslianth, thinking that they would kill him in no time. But he used his shield to push many of them over into the river, whilst he killed the others with his sword. Lyslianth was wounded a thousand times the story says, but his wounds seemed to heal as his body began to emit a sort of divine glow. He fought as a hero, and on the third morning after the battle started the Orcs disbanded, disgruntled and frightened. The High Elves had felt the energy from within Lyslianth’s body, and they too gained strength from it; the forest was quiet, once again.

Miriador came back, a few weeks after the fight. He congratulated Lyslianth and made him a member of the Great order of Paladins. Miriador gave him a breastplate said to have been forged by the very hand of Gothar. The breastplate was extraordinarily light and strong. People say this breastplate had magical properties, and that it took many years for Lyslianth to use it at its best. More breastplates were forged like this one which drew their power from moon crystals. The type of protection, however, changes according to the type of crystals placed in the appropriate slots.