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They were driven to the
Flanaess by the armies of the Suel Imperium in its expansionary days. The
Flan were a peaceful people who respected the gods and knew little of magic
and warfare. They were also a simple people who were very close to nature
and who awed at and feared the spirits of the world.
Their arrival was well received by the Elves who lived in the Flanaess and
the two races got along well. One fateful day the leader of one of the tribes
of the Flan known as the UrFlanae gave his heir to the king of the elves in
exchange for land rights. This heir greatly impressed the elven king and during
his stay with the elves he learned many of their secrets. The heirs name was
Vecna.
Upon his return home Vecna began to explore the secrets learned among the
elves, carefully hiding his work from them. None are sure exactly what occurred
but Vecna is believed to have had dealings with forces from beyond the known
spheres in his search for the secret to elven longevity. Whether these powers
corrupted Vecna or were welcomed by a corruption that was already there is
of little matter. Vecna was taught the secrets of necromancy and began his
first experiments in un-life.
We shall skip over Vecna's
rise to power and his 400 year war against the elves for it is a story that
long by itself. What is important is to mention that it is within this war
that the first record of Tehlei the Slayer is found. He was a general during
the siege of the City of Summer Stars and commanded an army of strange abominations,
undead and UrFlanae, one of many such armies that befell the elves. The UrFlanae
necromancers were out in force that day, for it was the day that Vecna had
ordered the city to fall and the final battle was approaching. Tehlei was
to be the rear guard and watch for elves trying to escape or for reinforcements
from their allies. It was by this order alone that he and his army survived
the cataclysm that befell the city and all who threatened it. What exactly
occured that day has been a secret that the elves refuse to reveal but the
city and the armies of the UrFlanae were all lost. Vecna himself was tremendously
weakened after the battle and it is then that he was betrayed by his general
Kas and the two passed from the Oerth. The remaining UrFlanae were scattered,
and eventually fell to the invading Oeridians.
Tehlei was the only general to survive this catastrophe, with most of his
army gone he had only a small cadre of soilders left.
Centuries later, in the
founding days of the Great Kingdom of Aerdy, the legend of Tehlei the Slayers
resurfaced. This was a time when warlords were common and boundries of civilization
were still fluid. From these war mongering men arose a warrior of such ruthlessness
that all others took notice. He was said to be a slayer of men, a monster
on the battlefield and a terror to fight against. He was known to consort
with the foul purveyors of necromancy and, with the aid of such magics as
they could command, was able to carve out a small kingdom for himself and
threaten a much larger one. The Great Kingdom fielded some of her best armies
against this Tehlei the Slayer, and they are remembered to driven forth from
his armies speaking of things and magics not seen since the wars against the
UrFlanae. Tehlei was said to be a horrendously cruel man who would shrug off
any blow and weilded a massive black axe that cut through men like they were
stalks of wheat. Fear and panic spread through the Kingdoms men and soon armies
began to break at word that Tehlei was on the field.
For such a man to live so long after the death of his people suggests that
Tehlei had a close relationship with the necromancers that once served him.
Indeed three such beings were spied amoung his camp and they are largely credited
for his longevity and seeming immortality. Of them it was told that their
power was such that they could regrow Tehlei's lost limbs, raise his slain
soldiers and steal the life from his enemies.
The Kingdom's generals began to take the threat of Tehlei seriously, and began
to plan a brutal campaign against the monster. The most compassionate among
them, an unnamed Paladin of Heironeous saw that this plan would result in
much death before Tehlei was stopped, and suspected that such a massacre was
precisely what the fiend wanted. This Lord took it upon himself to destroy
Tehlei and his necromancers.
Armed with the powers of the heavens the Paladin and his small but powerful
army met with Tehlei and his growing force. Their faith was like a holy fire
in a forest of dried leaves and they clashed with Tehlei himself in no time.
Descending on him en-masse, they overwhelmed him, and fought their way clear
of the horde with their quarry. Devastating magics were afflicted upon them
as they tried to escape and the holy warriors began to wither as grapes in
the sun. Very few escaped with their lord, who was said to have dragged Tehlei
along the entire time and was unable to defend himself from the many mortal
wounds he suffered. He had the warriors with him build a mighty pyre, upon
which he burned the corpse of Tehlei, to ensure his necromancers would have
nothing to work with to bring him back. Yet still the spirit of Tehlei was
strong and scraps of his body could not be annihilated. The paladin then cast
a mighty illusion over the remains of Tehlei to hide them as ordinary objects.
Tehlei's hands became rings, his flesh a cape, and his vile black heart became
an amulet. The paladin then instructed his men to distribute the items to
those they could trust and to scatter them as far as they could. With his
last breath he instructed the warriors to hunt down and destroy the necromancers,
and to ensure they remain dead. He then succumbed to his wounds.
The necromancers must have sensed Tehlei's destruction for at that moment
they began to weave a spell to foil the paladin, even should he momentarily
succeed. They were able to beckon Tehlei's soul back from the abyss and bestow
upon it the ability to possess the mortal who enshrouded himself in the vestments
of Tehlei. To promote this action they created a legend, saying that who so
ever donned all four pieces of jewelry would be able to summon the spirit
of once great general who would be bound to the summoners will. So it was
that Tehlei now waits in the nether between worlds for the summoning that
will allow his mind to bind itself to anothers will and be reborn unto the
Oerth.
The sage, Ilgrar,spoke
with an entity that said even if Tehlei is reborn he will likely still not
be as powerful as he once was since his blood will not be UrFlanae and his
necromancers are still imprisoned within Tartarus.
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