Many parents,
having grown resentful of their children, left them in the wilderness
to die. Hoping to find solace in anonymity, others moved to larger
cities such as Megath-Tor, Ardrennen Falls, Fairhaven or White castle
Harbor. Sadly, they found little respite from the prejudices of man and
elf, who looked upon their strange children with thinly veiled
revulsion, openly mocking the little folk with the stubby fingers,
awkward legs, big ears and overlarge feet. It wasn’t long before they
too were forced to leave the great cities of the elder races and
venture into the wilds of Simarra.
And troubles followed them still…
In those days, long before the roads were patrolled, long before
the mana wells were tapped, evil lurked in the wilds of Simarra. The
little folk found themselves preyed upon by brigands looking for an
easy mark and foul beasts looking for an easy meal. Foul gretchclaw,
wild orcs, goblins and a host of other fell beasts hounded the steps of
the halflings, hunting them incessantly; to such an extent that their
numbers were so small the world soon forgot about them. Indeed, the
Gheldrin (as they came to call themselves) might very well have been
wiped out during those dark times, but fate intervened.
Legends say the mother goddess Enâra took pity on these creatures for
all the troubles they endured in their short lives. She whispered into
the hearts and minds of the little folk, beckoning them to journey to a
place on the far eastern shores of Simarra, to an expanse of isolated
lowlands no eyes had yet seen. There, Enâra bestowed the race with the
ability to touch the minds of those who might seek to do them harm and
remove all recollection of ever having encountered the Gheldrin.
The mother goddess further blessed Gheldrin females with increased
fertility, and their numbers grew tenfold in the first years living in
the lowlands. Enâra also taught them of secret paths throughout Simarra
known as “Shadow Warrens.†Enâra warned that, while the shadow warrens
had grown exceedingly dangerous in recent years due to the efforts of
the dread god Thûrak to infest them with shadow spawn, they would
nevertheless lead those who had the courage to travel them to safe
havens in the most remote places of the world. The importance of the
shadow warrens could not be stressed enough, for there would come a
time when the world would be plunged into a darkness so great, that the
people of the world would have great need of the Gheldrin and their
knowledge of these dark paths.
Seeing her work complete, Enâra left the Gheldrin, but not before
issuing a decree; The Gheldrin were to refrain from seeking vengeance
upon those who had mistreated them in the past. Furthermore, they
should always seek to help those in peril or unable to help themselves,
and above all, remember to use the shadow warrens in those dark times,
for the need to travel in secret would be great.
Left alone, the Gheldrin built the fabled city of Shalledrin, which
came to be known as Haven in the common tongue. The halflings
constructed secret outposts throughout the Meregost Mountains so they
could watch for those who might seek to intrude upon their lands. Those
explorers and would-be settlers who ventured too close to the land of
the Gheldrin were captured, transported far away via shadow warrens and
then released, but not before the experience was wiped from their
minds. Some explorers, still retaining cloudy fragments of the journey,
spoke of the little folk and their secret lands. Thus, the legend of
the mysterious Gheldrin, the mythical city of Shalledrin, and their
secret land known only as the Vale of Mists grew.
During the Age of Plenty, the Gheldrin spread across Simarra. Their
knowledge of the shadow warrens grew immensely, and the halflings
founded settlements in numerous places both on Simarra and in other
places; islands and continents not yet visited by the other races.
Soon, the Gheldrin began to sneak down into the cities of man, elf and
dwarf, always keeping a watchful eye over their distant cousins. Some
even established permanent residence in cities such as Ardrennen Falls
and Megath-Tor, secretly taking over entire neighborhoods over the
course of years, or even building subterranean warrens housing whole
communities of Gheldrin who came and went among the other races in the
guise of gnome or dwarf. For the most part, the Gheldrin who lived
among the other elder races were content to simply watch them, ever
mindful of the words Enâra spoke to their ancestors — that there would
come a day when the Gheldrin would be called upon to aid those in need.
Other Gheldrin, however, cared little for the teachings of their
elders, and made their way in the world as thieves, spies, or
assassins, using their skills and abilities to selfish ends.
By the end of the Age of Plenty, the Gheldrin had managed to make the
shadow warrens relatively safe for travel, either slaying the horrors
outright or trapping them in powerful mana shards. Additionally, the
Gheldrin had nurtured a vast, intricate informant network rivaling that
of some Simarran governments. Known as the Shadow watch, the informant
network enabled the Gheldrin to closely monitor the affairs of the
world and keep tabs on unscrupulous organizations such as the Arcanus
League and monitor the activities of the Sundaari blood magi. And so it
was, when the Keza-Drak invaded, the Gheldrin were not entirely
unprepared.
Members of the shadow watch had been following the movements of the
Othrännän for some time; those of Agärazôn in particular. Members of
the shadow watch — a shadow hunter by the name of Derius Trel in
particular — assigned to monitor the activities of the Arcanus League
in the Cradle of Life began noticing strange changes in the behavior of
the god spawn. Agärazôn became increasingly reclusive. He spent most of
his time poring over ancient texts and memory shards dating back to the
end of the Age of Steel. The god spawn began traveling abroad more
often in the years leading up to the invasion. Agärazôn began using the
shadow warrens once again, something the Othrännän hadn’t done since
the Ascendant wars. Worse, Agärazôn, knowing of the existence of the
Gheldrin, woke the sleeping horrors of the shadow warrens, undoing the
efforts of the shadow watch to make the secret paths safe for their
kin.
Derius watched in horror as Agärazôn — the most powerful of the god
spawn — attacked unsuspecting Gheldrin as they moved through the shadow
warrens. He wanted to fight and die with his brethren as the betrayer
used eldritch spells, laying waste to way-stations in the warrens; but
he couldn’t bring himself to drop the obfuscating magicks and reveal
his presence to Agärazôn. Something larger was happening, and it was up
to Derius to find out what it was and stop it if he could.
Derius followed Agärazôn on his journey to places hidden even from the
Gheldrin and watched as he broke the seals binding the dread Morargrim.
The shadow hunter paled in abject horror as Agärazôn and the sinister
agents of Thûrak nearly eradicated the rest of the god spawn at the
Narballa Henge, listened as the betrayer announced his plan to fuse the
stone gates open and facilitate an invasion of the world.
Derius fled back into the shadow warrens with but one thought; warn as
many people as he could, save as many as he could. The rest of the
shadow watch had to know the things Derius had seen and heard. Stopping
the invasion was a fool’s errand; it was inevitable. The elder Gheldrin
had long spoke of the coming of darkness. They told and re-told Enâra’s
words throughout the ages, and now her prophetic words were coming to
pass. No, there would be no staving off what was to come. Now was the
time to embrace the destiny the mother goddess had designed for the
Gheldrin them so long ago.